2010 in history
Here are some light-hearted facts about 2010, designed to serve as a prep sheet for a radio feature on 2010.
I created this page because when I needed some notes to create a few talking points about 2010 in Ireland I couldn't find any suitable sources, so I thought I'd share what I did find. It applies to 2010 in Britain too.
You can also look at years other than 2010:
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2010
A general election saw Gordon Brown resign and David Cameron and Nick Clegg announce a coalition. Gordon Brown had been caught on microphone complaining about a member of the public who was "a bigoted woman"; the press gladly told her the news and followed him as he went to her house to apologise.
The eruption of a volcano in Iceland caused flights across Europe to be cancelled, leaving millions of people stranded.
Andy Powell was banned from driving for 15 months after his 45 minute drive to a service station in a golf buggy.
Currys merged with PC World.
The first-round men's singles match between John Isner and Nicolas Mahut ran for three days.
In Chile, 33 miners were trapped 2300 feet below ground level. They were rescued after 17 days.
Cadbury was sold to Kraft Foods. There were real fears that the Americans would change the traditional British/Irish recipe.
A mystery man became an internet sensation when he slipped on ice on RTÉ News and banged his head on a wall, forming an iconic meme.
2010 Launches
The iPad was launched.
Instagram was released.
The first Black Friday sales happened in the UK. They had been an entirely American idea until then.
A standard emoji system was created, meaning it was now easy to send the little faces to each other.
The Burj Khalifa became the world's tallest building, with 160 floors.
Tayto Park opened.
2010 in Film
Avatar was the biggest film of the year.
Other big films include Toy Story 3, Alice in Wonderland, Iron Man 2, The Twilight Saga: Eclipse, Inception, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1, Despicable Me, Shrek Forever After, How to Train Your Dragon and The Karate Kid.
Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel was released.
2010 in TV
Big TV shows of the year (not premiers): Strictly Come Dancing, Britain's Got Talent, Come Fly With Me, I'm a Celebrity and Doctor Who.
The X Factor was huge this year, with One Direction being formed on the show.
During the British election period, the first TV debates were held.
Come Fly With Me, Downton Abbey, The Great British Bake Off and Take Me Out were new on TV.
Long-running series Last Of The Summer Wine came to a close.
GMTV relaunched as Daybreak, with Adrian Chiles and Christine Bleakley. It was widely criticised.
The UK's first TV election debates were held, spawning the "I agree with Nick" meme.
Thomas and Friends relaunches with CGI animation.
Christina Aguilera's X Factor performance attracted nearly 3,000 complaints for being "too explicit".
In Coronation Street, a dramatic tram crash took place. A tweet went viral when one viewer asked Manchester's tram operator if their services would be impacted by this. A following episode was recorded live to celebrate the show's 50th anniversary.
Saorview was launched.
While these facts about 2010 have been checked against third-party sources (and have been used on air before!), they are provided in good faith to inspire your research and no guarantee is made about their accuracy or their uniqueness. You can use the facts however you wish: most people just take a couple of points they remember and talk around then.
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