The movie Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind dealt with a company that could delete bad moments from your memories. Were that option to actually exist, a new survey shows the year 2020 would be a major selling point.
The non-scientific survey of 2,000 Americans shows that the average person would pay nearly $2,000 if they could wipe the cursed year from their minds.
The survey, commissioned on behalf of CBDistillery, also asked respondents what the most stressful elements of 2020 were for them. Not surprisingly, the COVID-19 pandemic topped the list.
Other stressful elements of 2020 respondents said they’d like to delete include the deaths of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, LA Lakers star Kobe Bryant, actor Chadwick Boseman and George Floyd, plus murder hornets and the controversy surrounding the presidential election.
All the stress of the year-that-shall-not-be-named caused the average respondent to gain 13 pounds and lose an average of five hours of sleep a week. Also, 64% say they drank more in 2020 not just from stress, but because of the easy access to alcohol, thanks to working at home.
The 20 Most Stressful Events of 2020, according to CBDistiller’s survey
- The COVID-19 pandemic — 50%
- The U.S.’ response to the COVID-19 pandemic — 37%
- The death of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg — 36%
- The confirmation hearings of Amy Coney Barrett for the Supreme Court — 32%
- The death of Kobe Bryant — 30%
- The presidential election — 28%
- President Trump (overall) — 27%
- Australian bushfires — 27%
- The death of Chadwick Boseman — 24%
- Economic instability in the U.S. — 23%
- Police brutality (overall) — 22%
- The killing of George Floyd — 22%
- Unemployment rates in the U.S. — 22%
- Protests in Hong Kong — 21%
- The impeachment trial of President Trump — 18%
- The explosion in Beirut — 12%
- Murder hornets — 10%
- Prince Harry and Meghan Markle leaving the Royal Family — 9%
- Brexit — 7%
- Harvey Weinstein’s trial — 4%