2021 Year in Review

On January 20, Joe Biden was inaugurated, or officially sworn in, as the 46th president of the United States. Kamala Harris became the first female U.S. vice president that day.

Because of the Covid-19 pandemic, the 2020 Summer Olympics didn’t take place until 2021! The Games finally kicked off on July 23 in Tokyo, Japan. Team USA won the most medals of any country, 113. 

American swimmer Caeleb Dressel was the biggest winner, taking home five gold medals. And when gymnast Simone Biles decided not to compete in some events, her teammate Suni Lee stepped into the spotlight. Lee earned three medals and became the first Asian American gymnast to win the gold medal in the all-around event.

In mid-February, a winter storm swept through several states. Texas, which usually has mild winters, wasn’t prepared. In Dallas, temperatures dipped to -2 degrees Fahrenheit—more than 40 degrees below average. Millions of homes and businesses lost electricity and heat, some for days. More than 13 million people—almost half the state’s population—were left without clean water as treatment plants failed and pipes burst. More than 200 people died. 

On August 29, another record-breaking storm, Hurricane Ida, slammed into Louisiana with 150-mile-per-hour winds. For three days, the remnants of Ida raged across at least a dozen states. On September 1, the storm dumped a record 3.2 inches of rain in just one hour in New York City. In total, Ida was responsible for more than 80 deaths.

Movie fans slowly returned to theaters this summer. No film brought them back like Marvel’s Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. It had the biggest-ever opening for Labor Day weekend, earning more than $94 million. The film, starring Simu Liu, is the first Marvel movie centered on an Asian superhero.

But will it be 2021’s biggest movie? Some experts predict that this distinction will go to another Marvel movie. Spider-Man: No Way Home will be released on December 17.

How do you spell champion? This year, it was Z-A-I-L-A! In July, 14-year-old Zaila Avant-garde became the first Black American to win the Scripps National Spelling Bee in its nearly 100-year history. Her winning word was Murraya, a group of flowering plants. 

Spelling isn’t Zaila’s only talent. She holds three Guinness World Records for her basketball skills, including dribbling six balls at once!