March 11th, 2020: The Worst 311 Day Of All Time

As March 2021 rolled in, so did memes reminding Americans that we've been stuck in the COVID-19 Pandemic for a year. While the actual start date of the Covid era varies from person to person, the general consensus has landed on March 11th, 2020 as the day the pandemic began.

That day may well be the new date which will live in infamy for modern Americans. In the course of 24 hours, Tom Hanks contracted COVID-19, the NBA halted its season, and WHO declared COVID-19 to be a global pandemic (my kingdom for the days the COVID entry was simply called "Coronavirus Outbreak").

March 11th, 2020 was also one of the weirdest days in recent memory—no small feat considering the general bizarreness of the Trump era. While COVID-19 surged to the forefront of everyone's brains, stories that could have dominated a news cycle any other day were pushed to the back page: Harvey Weinstein was sentenced to prison for myriad sexual abuses, wrapping up one of the major stories of the #MeToo era. Bernie Sanders' presidential campaign had just taken a tremendous blow in the Democratic Primaries in six states the night prior. Sarah Palin was revealed on The Masked Singer. And to top it all off, it was 311 Day.

This morning, Buzzfeed and Wired both published oral histories of the day, interviewing people connected to all of the incredible news stories from March 11th, 2020 (though they both regrettably did not interview 311).

⚡️ The oral history of March 11, 2020: The day COVID shut down the US https://t.co/rhOJDQddWV

— BuzzFeed News (@BuzzFeedNews) March 11, 2021

On Twitter, many users recounted their own strange experiences from one year ago today.

March 11th 2020 – I went to see Goodfellas with my father at one of those movie theaters with a bar. Turned my phone off for 2 hours and came back to 30 texts about Rudy Gobert and Tom Hanks having the coronavirus.

— brett thousand (@BrettThousand) March 11, 2021

If there's a documentary I would never want to watch its March 11th, 2020

— Anthony J Agiato (@ajagiato) March 11, 2021

March 11th, 2020 is the day "normal" life in the US was put on hold. A day of unprecedented events like the NBA cancelling the season, Tom Hanks contracting COVID, and schools/workplaces shut down.March 11th, 2021, I am getting my first vaccine shot and the end is in sight 🙌

— Ryan Haughee (@RyanHaughee) March 10, 2021

March 11th,2020(The day the world stopped)Rudy Gobert tests positive NBA season gets suspended The last night of live sports for awhile E3 got canceled WHO had officially announced it was a pandemic

— Richard🌴(18-18) (@DBOSZN) March 11, 2021

There's no denying it's been a miserable year with COVID, but with more people getting vaccinated and businesses slowly opening up, the end of the pandemic is in sight. May 311 day 2022 be solely dedicated to "Amber," the color of our energy.