Bill Clinton was President, glowsticks were popular and anyone who received a message through AOL heard, “You’ve got mail.”
This New Year’s marks the 25th anniversary of Y2K, the popularized term referring to a widespread computer programming bug feared to wreak havoc when the year changed from 1999 to 2000. With the new millennium on the horizon, paranoia and excitement swept the country, as the world took guesses about what would happen to computers and the critical infrastructure relying on them.
Even the president of the United States addressed America about the nation’s readiness.
“I expect we will experience no major national breakdowns as a result of the year 2000 date change,” Clinton told reporters outside The White House on Nov. 10, 1999. “The American people can have full faith that everything from air traffic control systems to social security payment systems will continue to work exactly as they should.”
According to the National Museum of American History, research firm Gartner estimated companies spent billions of dollars worldwide on technological upgrades and families prepared for a potential disaster by stockpiling food and other goods.
That all didn’t happen of course. But to celebrate the anniversary that drew nostalgia from many alive at the time, USA TODAY is looking back on some of the photos surrounding the historic events leading up to it.
Images of Y2K’s bygone era show everything from people wearing gas masks to packing grocery carts full of necessities including water and toilet paper.
Here are photos from USA TODAY’s achieve of that night and the days leading up to it.:
Natalie Neysa Alund is a senior reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at nalund@usatoday.com and follow her on X @nataliealund.
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Publish date : 2024-12-21 22:31:00
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