The World in 2010 the year the iPad arrived
2BInternet users
500MFacebook users
9.6%US unemployment rate
$2.79Gallon of gas (US)
44ยขUS postage stamp
50KUS troops still in Iraq
โฌ110BFirst rescue loan for Greece
1stUK coalition since 1945
73MShanghai Expo visitors
Facebook passed 500 million users in July. If it had been a country, only China and India would have been bigger.
Life back then

Smartphones were spreading fast, but most people still typed texts on number pads. FarmVille requests filled Facebook feeds, and Netflix still mailed most of its movies out on DVD. All summer, plastic vuvuzela horns buzzed through every World Cup broadcast from South Africa. When Apple showed off the iPad, plenty of people asked who would ever need one. Millions bought one anyway.
The year in 8 events
- ๐ฏ๏ธJan 12 A magnitude 7.0 earthquake devastates Haiti. More than 100,000 people die.
- ๐
Feb 12 The Winter Olympics open in Vancouver, Canada.
- ๐ฑApr 3 The first iPad goes on sale in the United States. Apple sells 300,000 on day one.
- ๐Apr 14 A volcano erupts under an Icelandic glacier. Its ash cloud grounds flights across Europe for days.
- ๐ข๏ธApr 20 The Deepwater Horizon oil rig explodes off the coast of Louisiana. Oil leaks into the sea for 87 days.
- โฝJul 11 Spain beats the Netherlands 1-0 in the World Cup final, with a goal deep in extra time. It is Spain's first title.
- ๐ทOct 6 A San Francisco startup launches a photo app called Instagram on the iPhone.
- โ๏ธOct 13 All 33 Chilean miners are lifted to safety after 69 days underground. About a billion people watch.