the summer of
What it was like to be 15 in 2010 in America
To be fifteen in America in 2010 was to have “Love the Way You Lie” by Eminem ft. Rihanna everywhere, Inception on every screen, and American Idol on after school. That year, gas cost $2.79 and the Apple iPad was the new thing. Born in 1995? You turned 15 in 2010 — a teenager from 2008 to 2014, 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 2010 reel with sounda 30-second video of your year — the song, the screen, the turn.
the mixtape of 2010
Love the Way You Lie — Eminem ft. Rihanna
- Love the Way You Lie — Eminem ft. RihannaHayley's soaring hook over Eminem's rage was the fight you loved and never wanted to win.
- Tik Tok — KeshaBrushing your teeth with a bottle of Jack felt like glitter-drunk permission to be gloriously reckless.
- Dynamite — Taio CruzAy-oh, hands up, no reason needed; the whole cafeteria detonated the second that chorus hit.
- Airplanes — B.o.B ft. Hayley WilliamsYou wished on airplanes like shooting stars, aching for something you couldn't yet name.
- Bad Romance — Lady GagaGaga's monster of a hook made being weird feel like a costume you could finally wear proudly.
why this one mattered
The towering comeback duet of 2010 — 7 weeks at #1 off 'Recovery,' the year's biggest album. Rihanna's 'Just gonna stand there and watch me burn' chorus over Eminem's machine-gun verses was the emotionally enormous, sing-every-word anthem for a 15-year-old that summer. Bigger and more bonded-to than the novelty year-end #1.
the year-end #1 was Tik Tok — Kesha.
the movies you are watching in 2010
- Inception
- Toy Story 3
- Avatar
- Despicable Me
- Iron Man 2
the tv shows you are binging in 2010
- American Idol
- Modern Family
- Glee
- NCIS
- The Big Bang Theory
the games you are playing in 2010
- New Super Mario Bros. Wii
- Super Mario Galaxy 2
- Just Dance 2
- Pokemon Black and White
- Kirby's Epic Yarn
- Call of Duty: Black Ops
what things cost in 2010
| a gallon of gas | $2.79 |
|---|---|
| a movie ticket | $7.89 |
| the federal minimum wage | $7.25/hr |
| a first-class stamp | $0.44 |
| the average income | $49,445 |
trending this year
the gadgets you just got
what everyone is snacking on
what everyone is drinking
what made the news in 2010
- A BP deepwater oil rig explodes in the Gulf of Mexico, unleashing a months-long spill
- A catastrophic earthquake devastates Haiti, killing well over two hundred thousand
- Obama signs the Affordable Care Act, overhauling American health insurance
- Thirty-three trapped Chilean miners are pulled to safety after sixty-nine days underground
what everyone is saying
top-performing stocks in 2010
| Company | Ticker | Price | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Netflix | NFLX | $176 | +219% |
| Ford Motor Company | F | $16.79 | +68% |
| Cummins | CMI | $110 | +150% |
| Salesforce | CRM | $132 | +100% |
| F5 Networks | FFIV | $130 | +143% |
worst-performing stocks in 2010
| Company | Ticker | Price | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| H&R Block | HRB | $11.92 | -47% |
| Hewlett-Packard | HPQ | $42.10 | -18% |
| First Solar | FSLR | $130 | -39% |
| Apollo Group (University of Phoenix) | APOL | $39.50 | -41% |
| Cisco Systems | CSCO | $20.23 | -16% |
the summer of 2010.
you think you've got all the time in the world.