Another year has come and gone as we look back and hope for events memorable and stay hopeful for what’s in store. Obviously, there were dozens of important and impressive events that took place over the last twelve months but we’ve narrowed it down to a few of our favorites. We checked the dates and calculated the data, so here’s a look at 2015 by the numbers.
14
The amount of goals scored in the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup by the United States team en route to their third championship win. The women’s USA team remained undefeated on a seven-game streak, eventually taking the cup from Japan during the finals in Vancouver, Canada. Maybe they should start training our men’s team?
400 Million
The number of active users on Instagram, making it, hands down, the fastest growing social media platform. Instagram may fall shy of their owners at Facebook, who have an enormous 1.5 billion user base, but 400 million dedicated users is still enough for it to easily surpass Twitter and other social sharing platforms. And to think we’ve been keeping photos of our food to ourselves for all these years!
2
The degrees, in Celsius, that the global-average temperature will rise as a result of global warming. This change is expected to take place in the upcoming decades and is something we’ll all have to carefully prepare for. That is just over 3.5 degrees Fahrenheit, in case you didn’t have a calculator handy.
$5
The price of registering your drone in the United States under new Federal Aviation rules. As of December 21, 2015, the FAA will require all drone owners to register their aircraft with the government. If they don’t pay up, they’ll be subject to a $250,000 fine or a three year prison sentence. On the plus side, at least you can call yourself a pilot.
432,000
The total issues of Vanity Fair sold with Caitlyn Jenner on the cover, after the former Olympian came out as transgender in April. That’s almost four times normal issue sales, making it the highest-selling copy of the famous magazine in the last five years. Kardashian fever has been at an all-time high throughout 2015, but I think we’re all getting a little sick of it.
4
The number of months it took Twitter’s new social streaming service, Periscope, to reach a record 10 million accounts. Apple was quick to name Periscope their “App of the Year” and it goes to show you how much we all love social media. In comparison, it took Twitter and Facebook two years before they hit their first 10 million users.
$3,000,000,000
The record sales stemming from the 2015 Cyber Monday rush, making it the biggest in history. E-commerce is booming with a 16% increase over last year’s Cyber Monday and a new record number of social media mentions. It looks like we’ve all had enough of longs lines and limited parking.
Looking back gives us the opportunity to move forward, and it seems like 2015 really did a number on us. In the United States we made noticeable technological improvements, expanded our civil rights, took note of our surroundings, and even walked away with a trophy. What could 2016 possibly hold in store? Let’s hope we bring home some more gold during the Summer Olympics and the online marketplace keeps on booming.
Anything we missed? There’s so much going on in the world, it can be hard to keep track of. Don’t forget to take the time to reflect on your personal achievements, as well!
