2021 Computing & Technology Events — Verified Historical Highlights
2021 Computing & Technology Events — Verified Historical Highlights | TakeMeBack.to
- 29 Jan General Motors Commits to All-Electric Vehicle Future: General Motors announced an ambitious plan to transition to selling only electric vehicles by 2035, signaling a major shift in the automotive industry towards sustainable transportation.
- 03 Feb MIT Engineers Create Email-Sending Spinach: Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have developed a groundbreaking plant nanobionic technology that enables spinach plants to detect explosive materials in groundwater and automatically send email alerts. This innovative research demonstrates the potential of engineering plants as sophisticated environmental sensors, using nanotechnology to transform plant biology into a communication and monitoring system.
- 04 Jun United Airlines Orders Supersonic Jets: United Airlines made a strategic investment in future aviation technology by ordering 15 supersonic jets from Boom Technology, signaling potential revolutionary changes in commercial air travel with planned service commencement in 2029.
- 08 Jun Global Internet Outage Caused by Fastly: A significant global internet disruption occurred due to an internal issue at content delivery network Fastly, affecting thousands of websites, including the UK Government's official site and BBC.
- 10 Jun Annular Solar Eclipse Observed Across Multiple Regions: An annular solar eclipse lasting up to 3 minutes and 51 seconds was visible from central and eastern Canada, parts of the Arctic, and the Russian Far East. Partial eclipse views were also available in northeastern North America, Europe, and Africa.
- 14 Jun U.S. Investigates Taishan Power Plant Leak: The United States launched an investigation into a potential leak at the Taishan Power Plant in Guangdong, China. EDF, a partial owner, stated that radiation levels remained within acceptable limits and ruled out the possibility of an accident.
- 21 Jun Emergency Shutdown of Iranian Nuclear Plant: Iran's sole nuclear power plant in Bushehr underwent an unexpected emergency shutdown, with state television reporting the interruption would last three to four days. The incident raised questions about the facility's operational stability.
- 23 Jul Widespread Internet Service Disruption: A brief but significant internet outage temporarily disrupted online services, highlighting the vulnerability of digital infrastructure and potential systemic communication risks.
- 14 Aug First Rainfall at Greenland Ice Sheet Summit: In a historic meteorological event, rain was recorded for the first time at the Summit Station research facility on Greenland's ice sheets. Above-freezing conditions led to melting across approximately 337,000 square miles of ice, signaling significant climate change implications.
- 16 Sep Kew Gardens Sets World Record for Plant Collection: Britain's Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, officially set a Guinness World Record for hosting the largest living plant collection on a single site, with an impressive 16,900 unique plant species documented.
What happened in 2021?
Discover what the world looked like in 2021: