Top 10 Worst Things that Happened in 2023
After last year's list set a record of most items, time can only tell if this list will beat it. But with Damar Hamlin nearly dying, an even more contagious form of COVID, and others, this may very well give 2022 a run for its money.
I've been monitoring my monthly top 10 list before releasing it this December, and now with this event, it could very well be the #2 event (Russia vs. Ukraine is still top for obvious reasons). However, Hamas, not wanting to be outdone by their last attack a year ago, does something abhorrent, surprising Israel and slaughtering civilians. Videos of the incident have surfaced quickly, and these incidents have spread even to Alexandria, Egypt, where tourists were killed. I definitely stand with Israel in their soon-to-be retaliation, but we'll be seeing just how crazy this is going. Many people on social media say that what is happening right now is leading humanity closer to World War III more than ever.
It is the new beginning of Russian fascism. It is the beginning of the end of peace since the dissolution of the USSR, and the Third World War is drawing near.
Ukraine is in such a terrible crisis because of Russia. There's no way we can see this end right on time.
On February 3, 2023, a train carrying hazardous chemicals derailed in East Palestine, Ohio. The chemicals that spilled and were later burned include vinyl chloride, butyl acrylate and isobutylene. The burning of some chemicals was done to avoid an explosion. Residents have been told it’s safe to return home, but there are concerns about lingering exposure in the air, water and soil. This made us rethink the use of many of our products.
The main chemical released in this accident was vinyl chloride (VC), the same substance that makes up polyvinyl chloride (PVC). PVC is what vinyl records, water pipes, beach balls, exercise balls, shower curtains, yoga mats, and many of our childhood toys like rubber ducks and our favorite dolls are made of.
Vinyl chloride is a beauty and a beast: a sweet-smelling gas that poses a cancer risk, and is highly flammable and toxic to our environment.
When you smell your vinyl items, you're smelling the gas coming out, which puts you at risk of cancers. My dad once brought home an exercise ball. He was fuming and asked me if he was going to blow it up when I told him he was putting both himself and me at risk of cancers, like he didn't care about either of us getting it when the concentration of the gas was high, emitting a strong smell.
Thankfully, no one was killed, but it dumped 100,000 gallons of toxic materials including VC.
Hawaii's historic cities are on fire, including Lahaina in Maui. Yet these are worsened by Hurricane Dora. The death toll is historic for Hawaii. This is believed to be Hawaii's deadliest natural disaster ever recorded.
Wow, first Canada and now Hawaii had some horrific wildfires this year! I was there last year and it was such a beautiful place, and it's super sad to see this paradise go up in flames!
On February 6, 2023, a 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck southeast Turkey near the Syrian border. The quake killed tens of thousands of people and flattened wide areas of cities in both Turkey and Syria. Never have we thought something this bad would happen at such a rate so early in 2023. Turkey and Syria were struck by an earthquake of magnitude 7.8. This was tied with the 1939 earthquake in Erzincan as Turkey's most violent in modern history. It was also its deadliest since 526 in Antioch, as well as Syria's deadliest since 1822 in Aleppo. A magnitude 7.7 aftershock followed.
The damage was historic, and a fault fracture stretching over 190 miles formed. It was deadlier than anything else in the 2020s, besides COVID-19 and the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Many other earthquakes of this magnitude weren't nearly this bad. However, Turkey and Syria lack proper infrastructure to withstand such magnitudes and were not prepared at all. Rest in peace to all the lives lost, and prayers to their families and all the people suffering. This is definitely going to be remembered.
Heavy rainfall caused by multiple atmospheric rivers in California between December 31, 2022 and January 25, 2023 resulted in floods. A levee failure on the Pajaro River in Monterey County triggered massive flooding and prompted hundreds of evacuations and water rescues. This has been happening since late 2022. Storms are hitting California and flooding its cities. Prayers to all the people and their families.
Hundreds of years of Brazilian history, ever since Brazil was an empire in the 19th century, have been ruined by a bunch of mentally ill "patriotic" lunatics who worship a demon that ruined the image of Brazil around the world. The fact that the damage done to some historical items in Congress is irreparable is just unbelievable. It's gotten so bad that it's considered a "terrorist attack" by various news sources. Not even Trump supporters went that far.
The worst part is that there are millions here in Brazil who support this brainless and unnecessary terrorist attack. And no, this isn't a joke. The lunatics are getting praised for this attack, and many people are asking to free them from prison because they did not deserve it.
The U.S. is also being blamed by Russia for this. If you didn't think we were this close to a World War III moment, this has to be the closest, considering this was a failed attack on Putin. And with Russia eyeing both Ukraine and the U.S. for this, who's to say they won't retaliate?
First of all, there's the Russian-Ukraine war, then Chinese spy balloons over the US, and now the US is suspected of a drone strike over the Kremlin. Is it just me who is seeing the signs, or is World War III just around the corner?
This is just unbelievably crazy. Yet, the U.S. is being blamed by Russia, which means World War III is apparently closer than ever. Ukraine deserves justice and peace.
A submersible created by OceanGate in the name of Titan was attempting to dive 2.5 miles deep to find the Titanic. It disappeared and was found to have imploded at the depths from the extreme underwater pressure. This is a serious tragedy that impacted the way we view tourism. There were five rich tourists onboard, including a person over 19 years old. There are no further words to say this. Rest in peace to all the five passengers onboard, including the co-founder of OceanGate.
This was a really sad event. The submersible wasn't safe and there were 5 people, which included a 19-year-old who had his entire life ahead of him. May they rest in peace.
Buffalo Bills player Damar Hamlin suffered a cardiac arrest during a game. He likely experienced a rare complication called commotio cordis where a blow to the chest disrupts the heart’s rhythm. It was a very scary situation for the entire NFL. This situation was completely unprecedented. The entire football world just stopped when this happened.
The game itself was postponed and then canceled. Thankfully, he is recovering well, and a silver lining for this moment is that his charity GoFundMe raised over 8 million dollars.
The Newcomers
This was just over a year after Aaron Carter's death. The whole family has problems, after all. Only 41? Rest in peace (1982-2023).
Rest in peace to this actor who was in movies like Batman Begins and The Full Monty. He was 75.
Prayers to the families of all the people involved.
70% of people in a recent NBC poll say they do not want Joe Biden. However, if you were to poll a good chunk of the nation, including some of his former voters, they don't want him either. Many people believe that he has no idea what he's doing or going to do. Additionally, many people also want fresh, new, young blood in the White House.
If this is really the best Democrats have to offer, then it shows they are outdated. Or, they genuinely want a man who has a high chance of collapsing to actually collapse the nation intentionally. Do better, Democrats.
After Turkey, Syria, and Morocco, Afghanistan falls victim to earthquakes. Four of them, and they were all magnitude 6.3. The first two occurred around 31 minutes apart on October 7th, and the third quake struck on the 11th, while the fourth quake hit on the 15th. It shows you how poor Afghanistan's infrastructure is, leaving them unprepared for earthquakes that aren't seriously strong in their terms. Thousands of people lost their lives. Yet, these were Afghanistan's deadliest since May 30th, 1998. Yet, this was during the Hamas attacks in Israel. Prayers for everybody and their families.
I have to admit I've long lost track of the many Covid variants. Fortunately, although most of them become even more contagious and hard to defend against, the newer variants at least mostly aren't more severe when you get them. In fact, some of them are less likely to cause serious harm. I'm not trying to dismiss the threat, by the way. I still think we need to remain careful.
Too bad China's isolation didn't help resolve this but made it spread more. Viruses must have something or someone to approach. Yet it's said to be the most transmissible and immune-evading variant yet. Sounds scary, right?
How sick are these people? They had problems and didn't get the help they needed. Violence is wrong, and bullying only makes problems worse.
We're at that point in time:
The two frontrunners for 2024 are two old men with so much corruption to them. Ron DeSantis has a relatively bad position so far and has a fanbase full of annoying social media grifters that are ironically ruining his image and campaign. The rest of the Republican candidates are people with no hope anyway. RFK Jr. seems like the best choice possible, but you can bet they want to keep trudging Biden instead of him.
If only Harambe didn't die in 2016...
Accused? Why would anyone accuse Joe of such a thing? We all know that Joe would never do anything like that. VOTE FOR TRUMP.
Last month, Bill Gates warned all governments that a new man-made virus, worse than COVID-19, will take over the world in around 20 years. The chances of this happening are around 50%.
This man is making people turn into either conspiracy theorists or conspiracy debunkers. He's an absolute madman.
Bill Gates invented the Blue Screen of Death. Keep that in mind.
A Neo-Nazi shot and killed 9 people, including a 5-year-old. How much more carnage has to be spilled before the government wakes up and starts cracking down on gun enthusiasts?
This was the deadliest train accident for the world since 2004 and for India since 1999. As many as 296 people were reportedly killed and around 1,200 were hurt. Three trains in Odisha, India, collided on June 2nd. A signal error was originally believed to be the cause, but they found no evidence and eventually blamed it on human error. A seriously devastating day for India. Prayers to the families of all the victims. May they rest in peace.
Babies should live and grow old and have more babies. Jesus is crying over this hateful crime perpetrated by a sick, hateful person who had no grasp on who they were or who God intended them to be.
At what point are more people going to see the unbelievable number of mass shootings in America and think, "Hmm, maybe we should have better gun restrictions?"
Why the hell are these school shootings still happening in the USA? There should be stricter gun laws in the future. I can't believe these are still occurring nowhere but in the US. Rest in peace to the victims killed in the shooting.
On January 13, 2023, a gas pipeline connecting Lithuania and Latvia exploded in northern Lithuania. There was no evidence of an attack. The supply of gas was cut off but was later restored using an unaffected parallel pipeline. A pipe at the Lithuania-Latvia factory exploded. Thankfully, no fatalities are known. It was a truly scary day for the countries.
Everyone agreed this was a national security risk. The U.S. military could have shot it down sooner, but Biden gave the order on Wednesday, and they didn't act until days later. Well, China has some information on us all now, thanks to the military.
It's a crime against parents and taxpayers, and they really failed everyone in the name of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. Love is not complicated.
Sadly, people aren't learning well enough. Work harder, people.