Aug 23, 2018
Sarah Kader
Aug 23, 2018
Campus and Community
New York

At the stroke of midnight on January 1, 2000, some six billion people collectively breathed a sigh of relief. Despite Y2K fears of global electricity and communications systems coming to a catastrophic halt, the world kept turning. In fact, that very year saw the birth of many students in NYU’s new Class of 2022. As they begin this next chapter, let’s look back at the non-apocalyptic and totally memorable events that occurred at the dawn of the millennium.

  1. The first crew arrived at the International Space Station—which has since been in orbit with a rotating crew of astronauts from around the world. 
  2. The New York Yankees defeated the other New York team to win their 26th World Series championship. 
  3. The last original Peanuts comic strip appeared in newspapers, one day after Charles M. Schulz died. 
  4. President Bill Clinton ordered the U.S. military to stop scrambling satellite signals, allowing consumers to use GPS with the same accuracy.
  5. The 2000 Summer Olympics were held in Sydney, Australia, and the U.S. topped the overall medals count with 93. 
  6. MTV’s Cribs debuted with a look inside the homes of Jewel, Moby, and Ozzy Osbourne. 
  7. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, the fourth book in the series and Hugo Award winner, was released. 
  8. The first-ever inter-Korea summit was held in Pyongyang between North Korea’s Kim Jong-il and South Korea’s Kim Dae Jung.
  9. The dotcom bubble burst. 
  10. Elián González returned to Cuba following an FBI raid on his relatives’ home in Miami. 
  11. Ridley Scott’s Gladiator was released and would go on to win Oscars for Best Picture and Best Actor (Russell Crowe) in 2001.
  12. A decision by the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Republican George W. Bush defeated Democrat Al Gore by a presidential electoral vote count of 271-266. Gore won the popular vote. 
  13. PlayStation 2 was released, and has become the best-selling video game console of all time. 
  14. The Nokia 3310—once dubbed “the funnest phone ever”—dominated the world market. 
  15. Plus, a look back at Billboard’s year-end hot 100 singles.