Webster’s Dictionary defines the word “savage” as “of an animal or force of nature; fierce, violent, and uncontrolled”. Urbandictionary.com, however, defines savage as “bad ass, cool, violent”. Whichever definition you adhere to, it is clear that 2017 has already been shaping up to be a savage year. A lot of things have changed drastically in the global environment in 2017. While this list will have an inevitable political flair, I have attempted to throw in entries which cover a variety of fields. As such, you will find in this article the most savage moments of 2017 in technology, sports, entertainment, and even history. With more than 3 months left in the year, it’s possible that a whole additional list could be created with what remains of the year. As of now, however, this article should serve as comprehensive list of 2017’s most savage moments up to date. If you think of some savage moments that didn’t make our list, feel free to leave a comment about what you feel was the most savage event of 2017 so far.

15. Massive Cyberware Attack

In the early 1990’s, it was in vogue for news programs to warn the everyday citizen about the dangers of cyber-attacks. These attacks, pundits warned, could steal your personal information and devastate your financial holdings. Several Fortune 500 companies must not have gotten this warning, as 2017 marked a series of impressive cyber-attacks against several large corporations. Not only did these hackers gain access to much of the companies’ information, they also acquired the personal information of thousands of their customers. On May 12th alone, a large-scale ransomware attack affected at least 150 countries. In response to this savage event, several companies have totally revamped their Internet security, forcing them to hire dozens of additional IT specialists. Only time will tell if cyber-attacks will become a recurring theme of 2017.

14. Death of Chester Bennington

It seems like it always comes as a shock to the general public when a celebrity dies. We as fans continue to view this person as they were at the height of their popularity, and don’t always understand that these performers grow old just as we do. These deaths are especially shocking, however, when the celebrity is very young. Such was the case in 2017 with the death of Linkin Park front man, Chester Bennington. Linkin Park was such a huge part of growing up for people my age, and many of my friends were shocked by the abrupt end of the life of a man who defined much of our adolescent years. Bennington’s wife has since tried to use her husband as an example of the dangers of suicide and depression.

13. Hurricane Season

One way in which an event’s savageness can be measured is in the intensity of the videos and pictures that accompany the coverage. When looking at it this way, easily one of the most savage moments of 2017 so far has been the destructive hurricane season. This event began (at least in the continental United States) with the total destruction of Houston, Texas by Hurricane Harvey. While the country (especially the southern infrastructure) was still recovering from this blow, Hurricane Irma threatened to ravage much of the Florida coastline. This has caused issues for not only the areas affected, but has created a nationwide shortage of certain foods and gasoline. Luckily, federal and charitable response to the disaster was timely, mitigating many of the problems caused by the storms.

12. Finding Amelia Earhart

As a history major, I can personally attest that there usually aren’t groundbreaking advances made within a single year. As such, the monumental historical event which occurred just a few weeks ago is not only one of the most savage moments of 2017, it was one of the most savage historical moments in recent memory. I am, of course, referring to the discovery of certain photos supposedly depicting Amelia Earhart after she was supposedly lost flying over the Atlantic. The pictures show a woman who resembles Earhart alongside a man with a striking resemblance to her navigator Fred Noonan. Some individual organizations have testified to the photos’ authenticity, something that could have huge ramifications on how we study Earhart moving forward.

11. Wonder Woman Success

A huge story of 2017 has been the monumental success of the Wonder Woman film. Aside from this being just another example of superhero flicks dominating the blockbuster scene, this film was notable in that it centered around a female superhero. Movies like Haille Berry’s Catwoman have flopped in the past, so there was reportedly some hesitancy among movie executives to produce a movie so heavily reliant on a female character. The absolute domination of Wonder Woman in 2017 should alleviate many of these fears, thus opening the door for other female heroes to debut on the big screen. The fact that Gal Gadot is an Israeli woman (not to mention one who was pregnant during most of the filming for Wonder Woman) adds another layer to this savage story.

10. Ed Sheeran Becomes A Household Name

During this past summer, I traveled to Ireland for a couple of weeks. While there, I noticed that every bar we went to seemed to be playing a series of Ed Sheeran songs. Sheeran has been popular in the States for a number of years, but he certainly wasn’t a mainstay of the bar jukebox. I assumed that Sheeran’s popularity in Ireland was the result of his heritage (Sheeran is actually British, but his music has a noticeable Irish tint), however, when I returned to the States I realized that almost overnight he had become a global star. The debut of Sheeran’s ÷ album in 2017 has put him into the upper echelon of global pop stars. From what I‘ve heard (I‘m not that big of a fan myself), Sheeran is a pretty nice guy, so hopefully he doesn’t lose his cool like some of the giant pop stars of the past (cough cough Justin Bieber).

9. North Korean Missile Crisis

As we discussed in the introduction, not every savage moment of 2017 has been a good thing. In fact, the next entry on our list is not only bad, it’s downright alarming. I am talking about North Korea’s repeated insistence that they are able to go forward with their nuclear missile testing. Without providing an in-depth political science lesson, the current state of North Korea is led by an absolute autocratic leader. This fact (along with several humanitarian concerns), gives the Western world serious reservations about North Korea becoming a nuclear power. The fact that one man (with virtually no oversight) could start a nuclear war on a whim is one that should be troubling for everyone. Both the United States and the United Nations have repeatedly attempted to pressure Korea to abandon its program, but in frankly savage fashion, the small nation has refused to back down.

8. Chargers Move To Los Angeles

An important aspect of a savage moment is the raw emotion which accompanies it. No aspect of American culture invokes emotion quite like sports, and nothing in sports inspires more emotion than when a fanbase loses something that they think they deserve. As such, easily one of the most savage moments of 2017 so far was when the NFL Chargers left the city of San Diego and agreed to become the second team in the Los Angeles area. This move was not only savage in it’s pure ballsiness (cities cannot usually maintain two clubs from the same league, and LA has notoriously been inhospitable to sports franchises), it was also savage because of the enormously negative feedback from the San Diego fanbase.

7. Death of Chris Cornell

The sudden suicide of Chris Cornell is easily one of the most savage moments of 2017 so far. Suicides almost always seem to occur abruptly, however, the death of Cornell was especially sudden given the circumstances on the night of his death. According to reports, the Soundgarden front man had a normal conversation with his wife only moments before his death. When she asked his security personnel to check on him mere moments after this conversation, Cornell had already committed suicide in his Detroit hotel room. The fact that such a talented musician could be taken so suddenly has been one of the most tragic moments of 2017 so far.

6. Chris Brown and Soulja Boy Beef

I usually find celebrities beefs to be little more than comical. The feud between rappers Chris Brown and Soulja Boy, however, has some some merit to it which makes it worthy of being featured on this list. This beef resulted from Soulja Boy liking an unfavorable photo about Chris Brown on Instagram, and has steadily escalated over the course of 2017. As of September, this conflict has taken an outrageous turn with both men having agreed (though not officially) to a legitimate physical fight. To make this middle school drama even more grandiose, boxing legends Mike Tyson and Floyd Mayweather will reportedly be training the two rappers. It is easy to assume that boxing has become too reliant on these types of spectacle fights, but I for one am willing to tune in and see what these entertainers can bring to the boxing ring.

5. Russian Hacking

It is well known that Russia (then called the Soviet Union) did some pretty savage things during the Cold War. Whether it was their censoring of the Dyatlov Pass Incident or aggressive posturing by their military, the Soviets clearly did not care what the global community thought of them. Russia’s current Premier, Vladimir Putin, is clearly trying to invoke the memory of these savage Soviets, and our next entry is a perfect example of this fact. In 2017, it was revealed (though hotly contested by certain American politicians) that Russian operatives had purposefully tampered with the results of the United States election. Given the fact that the American model of democracy is entirely dependent on the integrity of their electoral process, this act could have huge ramifications for the U.S. moving forward.

4. Drone Medicine Runs

While it may not be clear from the majority of this list, not every savage event from 2017 has been negative. One enormously positive development this year has been that medicinal drones are becoming prevalent in much of Africa. While drones have been around for a number of years, in 2017 several humanitarian groups began using these small flyers to deliver medical goods throughout rural areas of several African countries. Due to their sparse population and undeveloped infrastructure, it has previously been almost impossible for medical supplies to travel from urban hospital centers to those that need them. Some health organizations have remedies this by having drones deliver the supplies for them. Due to a lack of zoning restrictions on the African continent, the drone controllers have the freedom to navigate the countryside, making them the perfect method of dispensing small, necessary goods.

3. Despacito

No song has been bigger in 2017 than Luis Fonsi’s Despacito. But being the biggest song of the year isn’t enough to make it on our list of savage moments, the reason Despacito is deserving of its own entry is the surprising multiculturalism it brought to the American music scene. Despite having a large Spanish speaking population, music producers in the U.S. aren’t very keen on producing albums in any non-English songs. Therefore, having a huge star like Bieber be featured in the (mostly) Spanish song is huge for the Hispanic music industry. Despacito has been insanely popular this year, so don’t be surprised to see other artists attempt to mimic its success. Any time a single song can significantly change a whole industry is reason to take note.

2. Falcons Lose Super Bowl

I made a concerted effort to ensure that this list featured aspects of various points of culture, thus making it representative of what 2017 has been so far as a whole. I couldn’t help but include the Atlanta Falcons’ improbable loss at Super Bowl LI. In a game against the New England Patriots, the Falcons had a 28-3 lead late in the game, all but ensuring that Matt Ryan and company were about to bring Atlanta its first ever NFL championship. One should never count out the incomparable Tom Brady, however, as he led the Patriots to one of the most amazing comebacks in Super Bowl history. The Atlanta Falcons have been off to a good start this season, so hopefully they can overcome the ghosts of their memorable (and savage) Super Bowl performance.

1. The US Election

When I started compiling this list it would have been incredibly easy to have it consist solely of moments related to the US election. In the name of diversity, however, I have crunched the year of Donald Trump into a single entry. When he defeated Hilary Clinton in the 2016 Presidential Election, he changed from a quirky campaign story into one of the most important news events occurring in the world. Those expecting Trump to settle down once he assumed the presidency have been sorely disappointed, as he has been more than comfortable bringing the bluster that was so successful on the campaign trail to the Oval Office. There is widespread debate over the success of the Trump presidency so far, but it is hard to deny that his rise to power has been the most savage event of 2017 to date.