15 Things That Happened 20 Years Ago And Changed Life As We Knew It

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1999 was huge year for lots of people, for various reasons. Most Americans were losing their s***, figuratively and literally, over the idea that the world would end in the year 2000. Either that or robots would take over and we would be their servants — which is kind of true when you think about our addictions to cell phones these days.

It’s still hard to believe that ’99 was 20 years ago though. The hashtag #ItsBeen20YearsSince proves that time is flying by and things are changing, quickly.

Millennials we’re getting old guys.  In the spirit of nostalgia, hit the flip to check out things that happened in 1999 that changed life as we knew it.

Spongebob

#ItsBeen20YearsSince SpongeBob entered our lives.

Blackberry

The first ever Blackberry, Blackberry 850, was released. It was introduced as a two-way pager with email and limited HTML browsing. It featured a monochrome screen and was powered by two AA batteries.

NBA 2K

The first installment of the NBA 2K series was initially released for Dreamcast in 1999. The world of sports, endorsements and video gaming haven’t been the same since this fateful day.

Family Guy

The first episode of Family Guy premiered after Super Bowl XXXIII on Jan. 31, 1999 and was cancelled shortly after, only to return in 2003.

Bluetooth

The first Bluetooth, Bluetooth 1.0, hit the market in 1999.

Bill Clinton Aquitted

On february 12, 1999, President Bill Clinton of perjury and obstruction of justice ending his five week long impeachment trial.

Original MacBooks

Before Apple switched over to the Macbooks we know and love today, they released a practice model in 1999 called the iBook, a.k.a. one of the first consumer friendly laptops.

Napster

Before streaming became a thing in the mainstream, Napster took over the Internet as one of the first sites where you could purchase music online.

The Matrix

Before sci-fi thrillers like Black Mirror and Get Out, there was the Matrix. The classic film made it’s debut in the U.S. on March 31, 1999 and changed the way we viewed the meaning of life ever since.

Super Smash Bros.

The first Super Smash Bros. game was released in North America in 1999.

World Population

In 1999, the world reached a milestone of having 6 Billion people on the planet.

The Best Man 

Black films were booming in the 90’s, and in 1999, the Best Man hit theaters starring almost every Black actor and actress we knew and loved at the time

Dasani

Coca Cola introduced their brand of bottled water after seeing the success that Pepsi had with Aquafina.

Emojis

Could you imagine life without being able to send a tiny image that perfectly reflects how you feel? Thank god for emojis. In 1999 Shigetaka Kurita created the first widely-used set of emoji.

Wi-Fi

The concept of radio wireless technology used for local area networking of devices was first introduced in the early 90’s. But it wasn’t until 1999 that the Wi-Fi Alliance formed as a trade association to hold the Wi-Fi trademark under which most products are sold.