the summer of

What it was like to be 15 in 1991 in America

To be fifteen in America in 1991 was to have “Smells Like Teen Spirit” by Nirvana everywhere, Terminator 2: Judgment Day on every screen, and Cheers on after school. That year, gas cost $1.14 and the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (North American launch) was the new thing. Born in 1976? You turned 15 in 1991 — a teenager from 1989 to 1995, right in the window a soundtrack bonds to you for life.

Compiled by the Original Lore archive from period charts, box-office and price records. How we build these · sources noted throughout.

▶ Play your 1991 reel with sounda 30-second video of your year — the song, the screen, the turn.

the mixtape of 1991

Smells Like Teen Spirit — Nirvana

  1. Smells Like Teen Spirit — NirvanaThe riff that split the decade open and told bored kids their rage finally had a sound.
  2. Losing My Religion — R.E.M.That trembling mandolin filled late-night bedrooms where you rehearsed things you'd never say out loud.
  3. Enter Sandman — MetallicaMetallica's monster riff thundered from garages and headphones, the pure soundtrack of teenage defiance.
  4. Under the Bridge — Red Hot Chili PeppersKiedis's lonely LA confession made isolation feel almost beautiful on the long ride home.
  5. Jeremy — Pearl JamVedder's howl turned the ache of being invisible in high school into something vast and unforgettable.

▶ Play your 1991 reel

why this one mattered

This is the cleanest reminiscence-bump anchor in the whole spine: in fall 1991 it detonated and instantly made hair metal feel embarrassing. For a 15-year-old it was a generational permission slip — flannel, distortion, alienation made anthemic. Nothing else from that year competes for how hard it still hits the people who were exactly that age.

the year-end #1 was (Everything I Do) I Do It for You — Bryan Adams.

the movies you are watching in 1991

  • Terminator 2: Judgment Day
  • Beauty and the Beast
  • Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves
  • The Silence of the Lambs
  • Home Alone

the tv shows you are binging in 1991

  • Cheers
  • Roseanne
  • The Simpsons
  • Seinfeld
  • Home Improvement

the games you are playing in 1991

  • Super Mario World
  • The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
  • Sonic the Hedgehog
  • Mega Man 4
  • Battletoads
  • Street Fighter II

what things cost in 1991

What things cost in 1991
a first-class stamp29¢
a gallon of gas$1.14
the federal minimum wage$4.25/hr
a movie ticket$4.21
the average income$30,126

trending this year

Super Nintendo (SNES)
Evan-Amos (Vanamo Media), via Wikimedia Commons · Public Domain (released to public domain worldwide)
Super Nintendo (SNES)
Sonic the Hedgehog
Hrald, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
Sonic the Hedgehog
Nirvana - Nevermind
Steven Lek (Tukka), via Wikimedia Commons, Public Domain · Public Domain (released by author Steven Lek / Tukka)
Nirvana - Nevermind
Terminator 2: Judgment Day
U.S. Department of Defense, via Wikimedia Commons, Public Domain · Public Domain (US Government / DoD work)
Terminator 2: Judgment Day
Beauty and the Beast
Peggy Greb, USDA, via Wikimedia Commons, Public Domain · Public Domain (US Government / USDA work)
Beauty and the Beast

the gadgets you just got

Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES)
Photo by Evan-Amos (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Nintendo-Super-NES-Console-FL.jpg · Public domain
Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES)
Sega Genesis (with Sonic the Hedgehog)
Photo by Hrald, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Sega Genesis (with Sonic the Hedgehog)
Nintendo Game Boy
Evan-Amos (Vanamo Media), via Wikimedia Commons · Public Domain (CC0 / released to public domain worldwide)
Nintendo Game Boy
Apple PowerBook 100
Photo by Danamania (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Powerbook_100_pose.jpg · CC0
Apple PowerBook 100
Sony Walkman (portable cassette player)
Photo by Anna Gerdén (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Walkman_TPS-L2.jpg · CC BY-SA 3.0
Sony Walkman (portable cassette player)

what everyone is snacking on

Doritos
Bananasoldier, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
Doritos
Dunkaroos
taylorhatmaker (Flickr), CC BY 2.0
Dunkaroos
Fruit Gushers
Thomson200, Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Betty_Crocker_Fruit_Gushers_pieces.jpg · CC0 1.0 (Public Domain Dedication)
Fruit Gushers
Teddy Grahams
Jellocube27, English Wikipedia — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Chocolate_teddy_graham_closeup.png · Public Domain (author release, worldwide)
Teddy Grahams
Pop-Tarts
Evan-Amos, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)
Pop-Tarts

what everyone is drinking

Hi-C Ecto Cooler
Masashi Yanagiya · CC BY-SA 2.0
Hi-C Ecto Cooler
Snapple Iced Tea
Mark Guim, via Wikimedia Commons (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Macro_test._Snapple_-nokia_n97_(3654284015).jpg) · CC BY 2.0
Snapple Iced Tea
Capri Sun
Photo by Tamzin Hadasa Kelly (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Capri_Sun_pouch_standing.jpg · CC BY-SA 4.0
Capri Sun
Kool-Aid
Missouri State Archives, via Wikimedia Commons (File:Historic Trademarks - Kool-Aid.jpg) · Public Domain (US, published 1931-1977 without copyright notice; Flickr Commons 'No known copyright restrictions')
Kool-Aid
Sunny Delight (Sunny D)
Lombroso, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Sunny Delight (Sunny D)

what made the news in 1991

  • Allied forces launch Operation Desert Storm, driving Iraqi troops out of Kuwait
  • The Soviet Union collapses and dissolves into fifteen independent nations
  • Bystander video of the Rodney King beating ignites national outrage
  • Magic Johnson stuns the world, announcing he is HIV-positive and retiring from the NBA
Operation Desert Storm: Gulf War begins
U.S. Army (via Wikimedia Commons); public domain, no attribution legally required · Public Domain (PD-USGov-Military-Army; work of a U.S. Army employee in official duties)
Operation Desert Storm: Gulf War begins
Soviet Union dissolved, Cold War ends
Photo by Alx0yago, CC BY-SA 4.0
Soviet Union dissolved, Cold War ends
Rodney King beating filmed by a bystander in Los Angeles
Photo by Darian Hildebrand (Dhscommtech at English Wikipedia), CC BY-SA 3.0 · CC BY-SA 3.0 (and GFDL 1.2+)
Rodney King beating filmed by a bystander in Los Angeles
August coup attempt; Boris Yeltsin defies tanks in Moscow
Kremlin.ru, CC BY 4.0 · CC-BY-4.0 (also dual-licensed CC-BY-3.0)
August coup attempt; Boris Yeltsin defies tanks in Moscow
Magic Johnson announces he is HIV-positive
Lori Shepler, Los Angeles Times (Los Angeles Times Photographic Collection, UCLA Library), CC BY 4.0
Magic Johnson announces he is HIV-positive

what everyone is saying

  • "Not!"Sarcastic tag popularized by the Wayne's World sketches on Saturday Night Live
  • "Schwing!"Wayne's World catchphrase that swept pop culture in 1991-92
  • "Da bomb"Slang for something excellent in early-90s youth culture
  • "Read my lips: no new taxes"George H.W. Bush 1988 pledge revisited as taxes rose in 1990-91
  • "Talk to the hand"Dismissive catchphrase rising in early-90s pop culture

top-performing stocks in 1991

Top-performing stocks in 1991
CompanyTickerPriceChange
AmgenAMGN$57+260%
MicrosoftMSFT$93+85%
Cisco SystemsCSCO$8+150%
The Home DepotHD$67+160%
Wal-Mart StoresWMT$58+90%

worst-performing stocks in 1991

Worst-performing stocks in 1991
CompanyTickerPriceChange
Pan Am CorporationPA$0.50-95%
Wang LaboratoriesWANG$2-65%
CiticorpCCI$11-40%
UnisysUIS$4-55%
Salomon Inc.SB$24-25%

the summer of 1991.

you can't wait to be older.

…and then it cools. Play the reel to feel where 1991 goes.

Turn 1991 into a 30-second reel →

▶ Play your 1991 reel with sound