the summer of

What it was like to be 15 in 1999 in America

To be fifteen in America in 1999 was to have “...Baby One More Time” by Britney Spears everywhere, Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace on every screen, and Friends on after school. That year, gas cost $1.17 and TiVo (the first DVR) was the new thing. Born in 1984? You turned 15 in 1999 — a teenager from 1997 to 2003, 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 1999 reel with sounda 30-second video of your year — the song, the screen, the turn.

the mixtape of 1999

...Baby One More Time — Britney Spears

  1. ...Baby One More Time — Britney SpearsBritney owned the hallways and the radio, the bright, doomed dawn of a whole new pop era.
  2. Genie in a Bottle — Christina AguileraChristina's slinky debut had every teenager blushing and singing along in the very same breath.
  3. No Scrubs — TLCThe girl-group kiss-off that became gospel, blasted from every car full of laughing friends.
  4. Livin' la Vida Loca — Ricky MartinRicky's horn-blast frenzy made the whole summer feel like one long, reckless, sweat-soaked dance.
  5. All Star — Smash MouthThe goofy, unkillable anthem of millennium optimism, right before everything got complicated.

▶ Play your 1999 reel

why this one mattered

The teen-pop big bang. Released the week of the new school year and inescapable on TRL, the Catholic-schoolgirl video and that 'Oh baby, baby' hook were the cultural detonation that DEFINED being 15 in 1999. Decades later the first three piano notes still drop a millennial straight back into middle school.

the year-end #1 was Believe — Cher.

the movies you are watching in 1999

  • Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace
  • The Matrix
  • The Sixth Sense
  • Toy Story 2
  • The Blair Witch Project

the tv shows you are binging in 1999

  • Friends
  • ER
  • Who Wants to Be a Millionaire
  • The Sopranos
  • The Simpsons

the games you are playing in 1999

  • Super Smash Bros.
  • Pokémon Yellow
  • Donkey Kong 64
  • Crash Team Racing
  • Tony Hawk's Pro Skater
  • Counter-Strike

what things cost in 1999

What things cost in 1999
a first-class stamp33¢
a gallon of gas$1.17
a movie ticket$5.08
minimum wage$5.15/hr
the average income$40,816

trending this year

The Matrix
Jahobr, cropped by ויקיג'אנקי, via Wikimedia Commons, CC0 (no attribution legally required) · CC0 1.0
The Matrix
SpongeBob SquarePants
Dlloyd, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
SpongeBob SquarePants
Napster
Marcus-richardson, via Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 4.0
Napster
Star Wars: The Phantom Menace
DancingPhilosopher, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
Star Wars: The Phantom Menace
Pokemon
Alex Pascual Guardia, Barcelona, via Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 2.0
Pokemon

the gadgets you just got

Nokia 3210
J.Dncsn, via Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 3.0
Nokia 3210
Sega Dreamcast
Photo by Evan-Amos (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sega-Dreamcast-Console-FL.jpg · Public domain
Sega Dreamcast
Sony VAIO laptop
Towel401, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Sony VAIO laptop
Diamond Rio PMP300 MP3 player
nrkbeta, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0
Diamond Rio PMP300 MP3 player
Nintendo Game Boy Color
Evan-Amos (Vanamo Online Game Museum), Public Domain
Nintendo Game Boy Color

what everyone is snacking on

Gushers
Wikimedia Commons, source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Betty_Crocker_Fruit_Gushers_pieces.jpg · CC0
Gushers
Dunkaroos
taylorhatmaker (Flickr), CC BY 2.0
Dunkaroos
Hot Pockets
Tony Branston, originally on Flickr, via Wikimedia Commons (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hot_Pocket_Cooked.jpg) · CC BY-SA 2.0
Hot Pockets
Cheetos
annulla, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Cheetos
Pop-Tarts
Evan-Amos, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)
Pop-Tarts

what everyone is drinking

Surge soda
Pauloleong2002 / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Surge soda
Red Bull
VincentLR, Wikimedia Commons (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Lattina_di_Red_Bull.jpg) · CC BY-SA 4.0
Red Bull
Mountain Dew
Genoist, Wikimedia Commons (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mountain_Dew.jpg) · CC BY-SA 3.0
Mountain Dew
Sunny Delight
WestportWiki, via Wikimedia Commons (File:SunnyD Nutrition Facts 01.jpg) · CC BY-SA 3.0
Sunny Delight
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 1999

  • The US Senate acquits President Clinton on both articles of impeachment
  • Two teen gunmen kill thirteen at Columbine High School in Colorado
  • Y2K fears mount as the world braces for the millennium rollover
  • The US women win the World Cup as Brandi Chastain celebrates her decisive penalty
Columbine High School massacre shocks the nation
Seraphimblade (Wikimedia Commons), CC BY-SA, via Wikimedia Commons · CC-BY-SA (multi-licensed: GFDL 1.2+ / CC-BY-SA 1.0,2.0,2.5,3.0,4.0)
Columbine High School massacre shocks the nation
President Clinton acquitted in impeachment trial
White House Photograph Office (Clinton Administration) / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons · Public Domain (US federal government work, 17 U.S.C. 105)
President Clinton acquitted in impeachment trial
NATO bombs Yugoslavia over Kosovo conflict
Senior Airman Jeffrey Allen, U.S. Air Force / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons · Public Domain (US Air Force work, 17 U.S.C. 105)
NATO bombs Yugoslavia over Kosovo conflict
Euro currency introduced for the first time
Avij (Wikimedia Commons) — released to public domain · Public Domain (CC0-equivalent release by author; ECB reproduction guidelines apply)
Euro currency introduced for the first time
World prepares for Y2K millennium rollover
Seoul Metropolitan Government / Seoul Photo Archive (밀레니엄 행사, 1 Jan 2000), via Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 4.0
World prepares for Y2K millennium rollover

what everyone is saying

  • "Whassup?!"Budweiser TV ad campaign that debuted in December 1999
  • "Talk to the hand"Dismissive late-90s slang popularized on TV
  • "All your base are belong to us"Mistranslated line from the game Zero Wing, became early internet meme
  • "Y2K"Shorthand for the Year 2000 computer bug panic
  • "Show me the money!"Catchphrase from Jerry Maguire still widely quoted in 1999

top-performing stocks in 1999

Top-performing stocks in 1999
CompanyTickerPriceChange
QualcommQCOM$176+2600%
Amazon.comAMZN$76+40%
Yahoo!YHOO$216+265%
BroadcomBRCM$272+450%
JDS UniphaseJDSU$161+800%

worst-performing stocks in 1999

Worst-performing stocks in 1999
CompanyTickerPriceChange
Coca-ColaKO$58-30%
Service Corporation IntlSRV$7-80%
Rite AidRAD$11-70%
GilletteG$41-25%
Goodyear TireGT$28-45%

the summer of 1999.

the best of it still feels like it's coming.

…and then it cools. Play the reel to feel where 1999 goes.

Turn 1999 into a 30-second reel →

▶ Play your 1999 reel with sound