17 Cool 21st Century Facts That Will Surely Amaze You

Every century has its mark on the history of humankind.

When we understand the past, we can grasp and appreciate the reason behind the change. Deep diving into changes in political systems, society, technology, art helps us connect the big dots and position ourselves well for the future.

Adapting to change becomes critical for our happiness by leveraging the positive changes and better preparing for the challenges. It is crucial to align ourselves to the changing times because the pace of change is exceptionally rapid now, more than ever, compared to the previous centuries.

As a simple example, in the current times, anyone not comfortable with ordering essentials like food online may end up starving during pandemics.

Understanding the process of evolution and how we moved ahead over the centuries, the process of introspection, aids in comprehending our origin, journey, and where we stand today.

The 20th century marked several significant milestones and events like world wars, the Spanish flu pandemic, nuclear power and weapons, cold wars, industrialization, space explorations, the beginning of globalization, and many such inventions.

Let us now deep dive into 21st-century facts and events in the areas of global concern like the global economy, technology, society, and nature.

You can read more about other fun facts on our Kidadl website, 2oth century facts, and '50s entertainment facts.

21st Century Beginning Year And Ending Year

Technology and digitization have revolutionized our life, so much that what was amazing yesterday has become very common today.

The mobile phone, one of the most impacting technological innovations, was considered a luxury just about two decades back, which is now like a part of our existence. The cell phone has become a commodity.

Now mobile apps like Facebook, Whatsapp, Instagram, and social media platforms, have completely changed the face of our life by changing the way we live and interact.

Mark Zuckerberg has permanently changed the way we share our thoughts and events and keep in touch with each other, by introducing us to Facebook, Whatsapp, Instagram. Google has brought the entire information in the world under one roof, and mobile devices brought it into our palms!

With millions of mobile devices, 90% of the world's population obtained access to the internet in 2020.

Isn't it amazing! Similarly, the banking industry underwent another big revolution that completely transformed our financial world, the way we spend, save and earn.

In the era of globalization, work went to countries that could offer cost-effective labor, and sourcing goods and machine parts are done from countries that could supply them at cheaper costs. The entire world is one market with consumers anywhere in the world buying products and hiring services, including niche services.

The world is changing so much that it may never be the same again.

On the climate front, global warming led to sea levels rising significantly, leading to the islands disappearing. The greenhouse gases, emissions from industries and vehicles increased the pollution levels and temperatures leading to the melting of snows in arctic regions and other snow mountains like Himalayan ranges.

As per the Gregorian calendar, the present century is the 21st century in the common era, and it began on January 1, 2001, and will last until December 31, 2100.

The world population, which was at 6.1 billion at the beginning of the 21st century, grew to 7.8 billion by March of 2020 and is expected to reach 10.9 billion by 2100.

The population is supposed to experience a downward trend.

What is the 21st century known for?

Time and again, the proven fact is that life is cyclic, and something which falls has to rise again, invariably. Nature has its way of correcting things, which we have to accept. Let's read more about the events of the 21st century, which is a sort of mixed outcome across the world.

The 21st century has kicked off with the rise in the global economy, with the rise in consumerism in the third world. The terrorist attack of the Twin Towers, World Trade Center, in New York City on September 11, 2001, has triggered global concern over terrorism.

The civil wars in Afghanistan and Iraq region in early 2000, deepening global concern and political instability. The United States of America has remained a superpower, with other emerging countries like China slowly growing to become a superpower.

A big change happened in the European Union with 13 new member states being added, while the United Kingdom was excluded from the European Union.

Britain votes to leave the European Union; 51.89% voted to leave the Union. The European Union has a common currency, Euro, to enable free trade and travel within the member states.

Due to the subprime mortgage crisis, the world has witnessed an economic recession in the 2007- 2009 period. This was a financial crisis that started in the United States and spread to other countries, and IMF termed it as one of the severe economic meltdowns after the Great Depression.

The recession was prevented from becoming a deep crisis worldwide by the intervention of western leaders like President Barrack Obama by approving a $700 billion bailout. This led to the biggest stock market crashes in the country's history.

The period between 2001 and 2009 saw a series of wars in south and west Africa. In Norway, same-sex marriages were legalized by the government.

George Bush took over as President of the United States, and Silvio Berlusconi took office in Italy as the Prime minister for the entire decade. In India, Pratibha Patil took charge as President to become the first female President elected in India.

Barack Obama, was the first Black President of the United States, came to power in 2009, defeating John Mccain. Barrack Obama was declared the winner of the Nobel Peace Prize for his excellent effort in international diplomacy and cooperation between people.

The period between 2010 and 2020 saw several events worth remembering. Julia Gillard was elected as the first female prime minister of Australia. Silvio Berlusconi, the long-term prime minister of Italy, resigns amidst the financial crisis, scandals, and public protests.

The Iraq war was also officially declared over. Pope Benedict XVI resigns, as he is the first pope after 1415 to step down.

In India, ushering in a regime change Narendra Modi, a thought leader, is elected with a clear majority as Prime Minister.

Though Hillary Clinton was the first woman to be nominated as a Presidential candidate from a major party in the United States in 2016, Donald Trump defeated her and became the 45th President. In 2013, Park Geun-Hye was the first woman to be elected as the President of South Korea.

In 2017, the Catalan Parliament claimed independence as the Catalan Republic, but the Kingdom of Spain did not recognize this and imposed direct rule.

The recent economic boom after the recession marks the 21st century. Again, a downturn due to Coronavirus severely impacted the world economy, lives, health, and people. The covid-19 pandemic shook the entire world by being a once-in-a-century kind of an event. The world came to a standstill with people locked inside their homes and many millions losing lives.

Being in closed environments has opened up new ways of living without travel, maintaining one's physical and mental health in virtual interaction modes. Often such stressful times lead to psychological depression for many as the traditional social life is missing, leading to loneliness.

Celebrations in the pandemic are totally different, with small groups and guest lists limiting to immediate family. The changing face of society, social interactions, sporting events, is a radical transformation beyond imagination before the pandemic.

In the USA, New England Patriots, the National football league, won six Super bowls between 2001 and 2018, becoming the dominant franchise for two decades.

Pluto is re-classified as a dwarf planet instead of a planet in the solar system. Now the solar system only has only eight planets instead of nine.

Why are 21st century skills important?

The digital revolution that happened in the 21st century is analogous to the Industrial Revolution in the 20th century. Data became the new oil, and the computer age has revolutionized the way businesses are run, records stored, and decisions made.

More recent developments of artificial intelligence and machine learning are further changing the color of the world and people's lives by eliminating redundant jobs and activities. Several decisions are now made by the computer, which earlier, were made by humans.

Robots have started to take over several routine and intelligent jobs. From high-precision surgeries to chatbots, robots are replacing humans with their presence.

Hence the purpose of 21st-century education is different from the past and becomes crucial to survive and excel in this century. Let's understand exactly what they are.

With this kind of transformation of the world, the skills required to survive and earn are also undergoing significant change. People with programming and database management skills, computer knowledge are in high demand for employment. Even as users, tech-savvy people can only survive and effectively use systems and processes in the internet age.

Some of the key skills required in this Information age critical to succeed are problem-solving, critical thinking, creativity, collaborative team working, and effective communication for global teams. Literacy in technology, media, and information is the default expectation for all.

Being flexible in thinking, work timing, high productivity, and being a self-starter with leadership drive becomes very important in organizations that value effective contributors. The flexibility to adapt to change is the most critical quality for all, especially the front-liners who are expected to have the vision to lead the change. After all, change is the only constant thing!

Some of these skills can be attained through college education, while some of them are soft skills and related to our attitude. The right attitude and work ethic can only be developed from childhood through grooming by parents and school teachers.

What did Nostradamus predict for the 21st century?

The science of predictions is not new to humankind. For ages, prophets, mystics, rishis have been predicting several incidents in human life and world events. They had the power to foresee future centuries ahead, which have come true on many occasions.

One of the greatest prophets of history, Nostradamus, belonging to the 16th century, has made several predictions that have seen the light of the day. A peep into some of them could be fascinating and astonishing!

He predicted that the human race could end much before than expected. A biological weapon virus created by a Russian scientist would turn people into zombies.

Surprisingly, he predicted the coronavirus pandemic almost four centuries ago, which indeed became a catastrophe affecting millions of lives. He said this would mark the beginning of adverse events like epidemics, diseases, hunger, earthquakes, and the likes.

One of his predictions is that California would be struck with a disastrous massive earthquake in 2021 that could potentially destroy it. His prediction about fire in the sky can be interpreted as an asteroid coming close to the Earth and heating the Earth's atmosphere. In fact, NASA has also announced about this asteroid, 2009 KF1.

He mentioned solar storms where the water levels rise and the Earth hides under it, indicating the seawater level increase. The low fertility rate of Europe would lead Muslims to occupy their space and flood the same with a large number of refugees.

American soldiers are heading towards implants in their heads to get digital powers to save humanity! Nostradamus predicted this is an age when the word 'digital' had no existence!

He gave paramount importance to Pope Francis, who led the catholic church and was predicted to light up millions of lives into the church's legacy. Are you awestruck by his prophecies and predictions?

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