Lessons from 2021: 7 times we learnt life is full of surprises

We never know what we're going to get

Published: Fri 31 Dec 2021, 9:05 AM

By
Kirstin Bernabe

Some things in our 2021 lives remained constant — like wearing a face mask and rubbing our hands with sanitiser every chance we get. We mostly went with the flow. But never assume today will be just like any other day.

Remember that day a giant ship jammed the Suez Canal? Every day, there’s a chance something incredible is happening somewhere in the world.

Sometimes, it can be as big as an HIV-positive patient getting cured without stem cell therapy, which happened in November — or a heartwarming moment when a cat fell safely into a flag laid out by football-fans-turned-rescuers.

Life has all sorts of surprises in store for us. We’ll never know what we’re going to get, will we?

Like a dream

Photo Courtesy: Emirates Mars  Mission

As the UAE’s Hope Probe was on its duty of mapping out the Red Planet’s atmosphere, it came across a ‘divine cosmic phenomenon’: It captured a discrete aurora. Hope’s snapshots of the aurora on the nightside of Mars were the first-ever actual images of the cosmic spectacle.

‘Crescent moon’ discovered in the desert

Photo by M. Sajjad

Just in time for the holy month of Ramadan, residents discovered a moon-shaped lake in the middle of Al Qudra desert. Many wouldn’t have known it exists, had it not been for a video that went viral on social media.

Four strangers and a falling cat

Screengrab from  Twitter video

Four Dubai residents were going about their day when they saw a cat that was about to fall off a balcony. In a matter of seconds, three of them grabbed a blanket to catch the cat, while the other caught the moment on camera. It was an act of kindness that earned praise - and reward - from no less than the Ruler of Dubai.

Help! Giant ship stuck

Photo: Reuters

The Ever Green became the ship that launched a thousand memes when it got stuck in the Suez Canal. Who could've imagined a single ship could plunge an entire industry into crisis? After nearly a week, it was finally freed — a moment that called for a celebration.

Look, a baby dinosaur

Photo: AFP

Yes, this is a dinosaur in its egg. No, it won’t hatch. Scientists recently announced the discovery of a ‘perfectly preserved’ embryo of an oviraptorosaur. The fossil was unearthed in Ganzhou, southern China.

The mummies return

Photo: AFP

This is not a movie. Twenty-two ancient Egyptian royal mummies, in special capsules, were paraded across Cairo, Egypt, as they were moved to a new museum home in April.

900-year-old sword fished out  of seabed

Photo: Reuters

A sword, believed to have belonged to a crusader who sailed to the Holy Land almost a millennium ago, was recovered from the Mediterranean seabed - all thanks to an eagle-eyed amateur diver, said the Israel Antiquities Authority.

Kirstin Bernabe

Kirstin Bernabe-Santos is Senior Editor who brings out the 'so what?' in articles that come her way. There's gold in every story, and her mission? Find it - and give you the bling.

kirstin@khaleejtimes.com