the summer of

What it was like to be 15 in 1994 in America

To be fifteen in America in 1994 was to have “Basket Case” by Green Day everywhere, The Lion King on every screen, and Seinfeld on after school. That year, gas cost $1.11 and the TV show Friends was the new thing. Born in 1979? You turned 15 in 1994 — a teenager from 1992 to 1998, 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 1994 reel with sounda 30-second video of your year — the song, the screen, the turn.

the mixtape of 1994

Basket Case — Green Day

  1. Basket Case — Green DayGreen Day's snotty anxiety anthem was pure suburban restlessness, played until the CD nearly skipped.
  2. Loser — BeckThe junk-folk oddity you screamed in the car, half-joke, half-manifesto for doing nothing at all.
  3. Self Esteem — The OffspringThe Offspring turned doormat heartbreak into a mosh-pit singalong at every skate-park summer.
  4. Buddy Holly — WeezerWeezer's nerdy, buzzing love song made being uncool feel unexpectedly, gloriously triumphant.
  5. Zombie — The CranberriesDolores's fierce wail made a distant war feel personal in your headphones at fifteen.

▶ Play your 1994 reel

why this one mattered

Dookie made pop-punk the soundtrack of ninth grade in 1994, and 'Basket Case' — anxiety turned into a hooky shout-along — was the one every 15-year-old learned on guitar and screamed in the car. It was fast, funny, and self-aware about teenage neurosis, the perfect bratty anthem for that exact age and year.

the year-end #1 was The Sign — Ace of Base.

the movies you are watching in 1994

  • The Lion King
  • Forrest Gump
  • Pulp Fiction
  • True Lies
  • The Mask

the tv shows you are binging in 1994

  • Seinfeld
  • Friends
  • ER
  • Home Improvement
  • The X-Files

the games you are playing in 1994

  • Donkey Kong Country
  • Super Metroid
  • Sonic the Hedgehog 3
  • Super Mario All-Stars
  • Earthworm Jim
  • Super Street Fighter II

what things cost in 1994

What things cost in 1994
a gallon of gas$1.11
a movie ticket$4.18
the federal minimum wage$4.25/hr
a first-class stamp$0.29
the average income$32,264

trending this year

Sony PlayStation
Photo by Niklas Sobieski Larsson (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Playstation_Comparison_(SCPH-1002_and_SCPH-9002).jpg · Public domain
Sony PlayStation
Friends
ProtoKiwi (Melonbob), via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0
Friends
The Lion King
Gaurav P (Flickr: eismcsquare), via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0
The Lion King
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers
MartialArts4WP, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers
Forrest Gump
Scott Van Daalen (CC0 / public domain); no attribution required
Forrest Gump

the gadgets you just got

Sony PlayStation
Photo by Niklas Sobieski Larsson (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Playstation_Comparison_(SCPH-1002_and_SCPH-9002).jpg · Public domain
Sony PlayStation
Sega Saturn
Public domain (photo by Samuel Skanberg); no attribution legally required
Sega Saturn
Game Boy (Nintendo)
Bultro, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Game Boy (Nintendo)
Motorola MicroTAC flip phone
Photo by Ross Padluck (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Motorola_MicroTAC_9800x.jpg · Public domain
Motorola MicroTAC flip phone
Apple Newton MessagePad
Photo by Felix Winkelnkemper (Winfel), CC BY-SA 4.0
Apple Newton MessagePad

what everyone is snacking on

SnackWell's (fat-free cookies)
Glane23 (Wikimedia Commons), CC BY-SA 3.0
SnackWell's (fat-free cookies)
Gushers (Fruit Gushers)
Thomson200, via Wikimedia Commons (File:Betty Crocker Fruit Gushers pieces.jpg) · CC0 1.0 (Public Domain Dedication)
Gushers (Fruit Gushers)
Dunkaroos
taylorhatmaker (Flickr), CC BY 2.0
Dunkaroos
Warheads (sour candy)
Petar Milosevic (User:PetarM), via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Warheads (sour candy)
Lunchables (Oscar Mayer)
Loozrboy (via Flickr) · CC BY-SA 2.0
Lunchables (Oscar Mayer)

what everyone is drinking

Crystal Pepsi
Farside268, via Wikimedia Commons (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Crystal_Pepsi_Cristal_Canada.jpg) · CC BY-SA 4.0
Crystal Pepsi
Clearly Canadian
Arkpafisto, via Wikimedia Commons (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Clearly_Canadian_Orchard_Peach.jpg) · CC0
Clearly Canadian
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
OK Soda
TeemPlayer at the English Wikipedia — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:OK_Soda_Original_4.jpg · CC BY-SA 3.0 (also GFDL)
OK Soda
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

what made the news in 1994

  • Nelson Mandela elected South Africa's first Black president as apartheid ends
  • O.J. Simpson's white Bronco chase grips millions watching live on TV
  • Major League Baseball strike cancels the World Series for the first time in 90 years
  • Kurt Cobain found dead, shocking a generation of Nirvana fans
Nelson Mandela elected President of South Africa
Minnekon (Wikimedia Commons); ballot design by Veejay Archary · CC BY-SA 4.0
Nelson Mandela elected President of South Africa
O.J. Simpson white Bronco freeway chase
Kriddl (Wikimedia Commons) · CC BY-SA 4.0
O.J. Simpson white Bronco freeway chase
Northridge earthquake devastates Los Angeles
Gary B. Edstrom (released into the public domain by the author) · Public Domain (author-released)
Northridge earthquake devastates Los Angeles
Kurt Cobain found dead
Photo by Embassy of the United States, Bern (U.S. Dept. of State) (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Photo_of_Kurt_Cobain_from_US_Embassy_in_Bern.jpg · Public domain
Kurt Cobain found dead
Major League Baseball strike cancels World Series
Tyler Lahti (via Flickr / Wikimedia Commons) · CC BY 2.0
Major League Baseball strike cancels World Series

what everyone is saying

  • "Whatever."Gen-X dismissive slang, ubiquitous after 'Reality Bites' and grunge culture
  • "As if!"Valley-girl dismissal rising in early-'90s teen culture (peaked with Clueless 1995)
  • "Not!"Sarcastic negation popularized by Wayne's World, still everywhere in 1994
  • "Talk to the hand"Dismissive '90s catchphrase brushing someone off
  • "All that and a bag of chips"'90s slang meaning something extra special or impressive

top-performing stocks in 1994

Top-performing stocks in 1994
CompanyTickerPriceChange
Micron TechnologyMU$44+120%
Intel CorporationINTC$32+30%
MicrosoftMSFT$61+52%
Texas InstrumentsTXN$74+45%
Compaq ComputerCPQ$40+40%

worst-performing stocks in 1994

Worst-performing stocks in 1994
CompanyTickerPriceChange
Borland InternationalBORL$13-55%
USAir GroupU$5-50%
Salomon Inc.SB$38-25%
Kmart CorporationKM$13-37%
Bankers Trust New YorkBT$56-20%

the summer of 1994.

you can't wait to be older.

…and then it cools. Play the reel to feel where 1994 goes.

Turn 1994 into a 30-second reel →

▶ Play your 1994 reel with sound