People Share The Most Positive Developments The World Has Seen In The Last Decade

We're a few days away from 2020, and the news for the last few years has just been a tailspin of tragic. That doesn't mean the world is all bad, though.

As we enter a new decade, we wanted to remind you of some of the year's better moments.

Reddit user SuspiciousCustomer asked:

With the decade ending, what is a positive development since 2010 that everyone should know about?

So consider this highlights reel our New Years gift to you. 2019 punched us all pretty hard in our figurative faces, and 2020 may not be any kinder if we're all honest with ourselves. So it's important to look for the good. Allow us to shed some light on some positivity for you.

Here ya go fam, have some happy thoughts!

Amazing Animal Awesomeness

Giphy

Rhino populations have had a 41 percent increase in this decade.

- LexusVII

After a near extinction the humpback whale population has increased to 25,000 which is pre-whaling numbers!

- Shayneros

Polar bears are doing really well.

- rjdim

Pandas are no longer considered as endangered species

- Sir_Huang

Lots of Greyhound Racing industries are on the brink of closing down. I think this is good news, of course there is a lot to pick up after and to stop them from selling those dogs to other countries for racing or other horrible stuff.

- TheNordicWolfe

Peace Out, Polio

Polio was eradicated over this decade, the last wild strain earlier this year! This makes it the second disease eradicated by humans. Smallpox was the first.

- 726Rifleman

Print It

3D Printing has saved countless lives and pushed the boundaries for new technology in the future. From personalized bone implant techniques, to the ability to print hearts from stem cells, the sheer addition to modern medicine will be greatly remembered for the overwhelming popularity and advancement of this technology.

- Tommygunz007

K9 Companions

It's not big and life changing or anything but, K9 officers, who have to develop intense emotional bonds with their dogs, now get the option to immediately adopt the dog after its retired. Previously the dog was auctioned off, and the officer either had to fight and pay way too much money, or give up a member of the family.

- Codenamepanda

Helpful And Happy

The world just seems a lot more accepting nowadays and less judge-mental overall. People find it easier to come out as gay or bi or trans. Hobbies aren't looked down on. Having a hobby nowadays is cooler than whatever the hobby itself may be, because the world likes seeing uniqueness and differences.

There will always be that vocal minority, especially with the Internet making it easier to project their voices but day to day life just seems so much more positive than when I was growing up.

Bullying isn't cool anymore. Helping others is.

- Swankified_Tristan

A Triumph Of Good

I think gay marriage and families with same sex parents here in the US is a triumph of good. I was brought up in the 70s and we had family friends, a couple, named Bob and Robert. They loved each other very much and my family just treated them like every other couple, which was with kindness. I remember my mom saying to me when I was a child how much they cared for our family and how sad it was that they couldn't have their own children.

These days they could raise kids. They would have made great parents! They passed away during the AIDS epidemic and never got to see that at least a good part of the US population saw them as equals. Back then nobody had to apologize for being anti gay. Still plenty of people now who don't feel the need. But the bar had shifted dramatically. That is a good thing, and it mostly happened in the last decade.

- riggedeel

Thanks Obama

Giphy

Obama leaving office. Trump getting into office.

- Blowswole14

I like this one! It certainly has wakened us up to the threat of executive corruption. Hopefully Trump's legacy will be that we strengthen the systems and never again have a traitor crook like him in office again.

I think it could also renew the Republican Party so that they need to rely less on voter suppression and disinformation to win elections, which HAS to be good for our democracy.

- RememberThatPhoto

The Youth Lead

More younger people are in office in the US now than there were at the beginning of the decade. Regardless of political persuasion, I see that as a good thing because young people are the ones who will have to live in the world long after the older generations die out.

- Blue_Dog_Democracy

Falling For Foreskin

Circumcision is falling in the US, and more people are becoming aware of how immoral it is.

- Tyler630

The fight against Male Genital Mutilation is finally getting some attention. Lot of push back from... anti-male interest groups, but people are starting to wake up to the fact that cutting anything off of a baby for cosmetic or religious reasons is barbaric.

We can stop both FGM and MGM in the US if we all try.

- Dies-_-Irae

Extreme Poverty

Between 2010-2020, extreme poverty has dropped between 1/3 and 1/2, and less than 10% of the world lives on less than US$1.90/day, a number than was as high as 40% as late as 1981. Extreme poverty will likely be a thing of the past in the next few decades.

- Mountainhawk98

decade

People Divulge The Songs They Sang In Childhood They Didn't Know Were Inappropriate

Reddit user Ok_Way_2341 asked: 'As a child, what’s a song you sang loud and proud, only to find as an adult it’s super inappropriate for a child to be singing?'

girl busker playing guitar and singing in front of wall
Felix Koutchinski on Unsplash

Back before we became self-conscious adults many of us sang our hearts out. But we weren't all singing the greatest hits of Barnie or Disney.

Probably more than a few of us belted out what we heard on the car radio, home stereo or streaming music services our parents or older siblings listened to.

Which led more than a few of us to expand our vocabulary beyond our years.

Keep reading...Show less
children

People Who Know Someone Who Died In A Freak Accident Share Their Experiences

black bus near trees during daytime
Photo by Hans Eiskonen on Unsplash

TRIGGER WARNING:This article contains sensitive content about death and injury.

Sometimes, on a completely uneventful day, while someone is doing something they've always done, something goes terribly wrong. An accident occurs.

Sometimes, the person is lucky enough to make it. Other times, they are not.

These are total freak accidents -- harmful incidents that occur under unusual and unlikely circumstances.

I don't have any experience with this myself, but Redditors do. They are now sharing the stories of how people they knew died in freak accidents.

Keep reading...Show less
freak accident

The Biggest Mistakes People Make In Relationships

Person holding out paper heart to another person
Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash

Dating experiences can be incredibly fun and even formative, but it can also be full of tough and painful lessons.

With each relationship, we're bound to learn things that we don't like or aren't looking for in our next partner.

Keep reading...Show less
relationship drama

People Share Unspoken First Date Rules Everyone Should Follow

Two people having coffee
Photo by Chewy on Unsplash

Countless emotions arise when going on a first date.

Making this all the more difficult is that a first date is one of the few things that absolutely must be done solo, so bringing friends as backup simply isn't an option.

Leaving one to wish there was a handbook for navigating a first date successfully.

Of course, while there is no official guide, everyone has rules and beliefs about what to do and what to avoid on a first date.

From how to effortlessly bring out your best qualities, to a foolproof escape plan if your date is anything but the one you've dreamed your whole life of meeting.

Keep reading...Show less
first dates