As we all know, there has been a lot of negativity prevalent about the year of 2016, especially when it comes to Social Media. It’s easy to get caught up in this negativity, so I encourage everyone to be a little happier, and to spread more positivity. With that being said, here is a compiled list of 16 happy, positive things that happened thus far in 2016 to show that the world is not as bad as it may seem sometimes.
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A group of people in India planted 50 million trees in 24 hours in a climate change prevention effort, breaking a world record.
2. Giant pandas were removed from the endangered species list!
3. Child mortality rates decreased.
4. A group of people stopped and created this human chain to save a dog who had fallen into a reservoir.
5. A group of college students dressed up as Disney princesses and spread magic, fairy dust and joy to children’s hospitals.
6. In China, animal rescuers paid around $8,000 to save captive dogs in a truck on their way to a slaughterhouse. Below is a picture taken after all the dogs were brought to their animal rescue center.
7. Portugal ran its entire nation using only solar, wind, and hydro generated electricity for four straight days.
8. Harriet Tubman is going to be the new face on the $20 bill. ~Girl power~
9. The ALS Ice Bucket Challenge was more than just a Facebook phenomenon. The organization raised $115 million to help fund research to find which gene contributes to ALS. One step closer to a cure!
10. New rapid cancer treatments in the UK are set to save thousands of lives. Patients will be fast-tracked to cancer tests; as detecting cancer early is the best way to save lives.
11. The tiger population increased by 22%; the highest increase in a century.
12. A solar powered plane flew around the world. Hurray for sustainability!!
13. A record number of cats were adopted from an ASPCA in New York on Black Friday. The shelter waives cat adoption fees on Black Friday, and more than 90 cats were adopted this year!
14. A dog shelter “rented” out their dogs for walking with people who were playing Pokemon Go, and the reaction was so positive that many people started adopting the dogs. It got to the point that the shelter began taking in dogs from other shelters for adoption!
15. Gilmore Girls and Full House both made comebacks. So many memories!
16. Finally, at SLU nearly 97 percent of St. Lawrence grads were either employed or attending graduate school less than one year after graduation, a career outcome rate that has remained consistent for several years. ($$$)