Act I
The World Stage
World Population
How many people shared the planet
people on Earth when you were born
4.0 billion more people have arrived since
You are part of the last generation born into a world under 5 billion.
1 in 63 people alive today was born in 1977.
World Leaders
Who was in charge
United States President
Jimmy Carter
President
UK Prime Minister
James Callaghan
Prime Minister
UN Secretary-General
Kurt Waldheim
United Nations
World Events
Defining moments of 1977
Jimmy Carter inaugurated as US President, beginning his administration with a pardon for Vietnam War draft evaders
Roots miniseries airs on ABC, watched by 130 million Americans, reshaping public understanding of slavery
Star Wars released in cinemas, transforming popular culture and cinema and becoming a global phenomenon
Elvis Presley dies at Graceland at age 42, triggering worldwide mourning
Egyptian President Anwar Sadat makes a historic visit to Israel, the first Arab leader to do so, beginning peace negotiations
Baby Names
Most popular names in 1977 (US)
Boys
Michael, Jason, Christopher
Girls
Jennifer, Melissa, Amy
Atmosphere
CO₂ in the air you first breathed
CO₂ concentration (Keeling Curve)
+88.7 ppm since your birth
CO₂ has climbed 27% since 1977. It's one of the few numbers that only goes up.
Act II
What Things Cost
Average Annual Salary
What workers took home
$13.6k US median household incomeAdjusted for inflation, that's worth about $70k in today's dollars.
Today: $80kPurchasing Power
Are we actually better off today?
What $14k in 1977 is worth right now
12% less purchasing power than today's median
Wages have grown, but housing, healthcare, and education have grown faster. The math isn't in your favor.
The Birth Lottery
Same year. Different world.
life expectancy at birth in 1977
life expectancy at birth in 1977
A 31.4-year gap, decided entirely by where you happened to be born. Same year, different world.
Everyday Prices
What things cost
Housing
Homes vs. salaries - then and now
Median home cost 3.2x the average annual salary
Median home now costs 5.3x the average annual salary
Housing has gotten 1.7x harder to afford relative to income. Your parents weren't exaggerating about how cheap houses were.
Act III
What Was Playing
Billboard Year-End #1
Tonight's the Night (Gonna Be Alright)
Rod Stewart
Oscar Best Picture
Rocky
Directed by John G. Avildsen
Grammy Album of the Year
Songs in the Key of Life
Stevie Wonder
TV Premieres
Shows born the same year as you
Sports
Champions of the year
World Series
New York Yankees
Baseball
F1 Champion
Niki Lauda
Formula One
Super Bowl
Oakland Raiders
32-14 vs Minnesota Vikings
NBA Champion
Portland Trail Blazers
Basketball
Screen & Page
What everyone was watching and reading
Most-Watched Show
Happy Days
Television
Fiction Bestseller
The Silmarillion
J.R.R. Tolkien
Box Office #1
Star Wars
Film
Act IV
The State of Technology
Technology Milestone
Where technology stood
Apple II computer introduced, the first mass-market personal computer; Voyager 1 and 2 launched toward the outer planets
Notable Tech Releases
What launched that year
Apple II launched, one of the first successful mass-market personal computers
Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 spacecraft launched on grand tours of the outer solar system
Atari 2600 video game console released, bringing arcade gaming into homes
The TRS-80, sold at Radio Shack, brings affordable personal computing to America
Social Media Timeline
How old were you when these launched?
The Universe
Worlds discovered beyond our solar system
No exoplanets confirmed yet
confirmed and counting
When you were born, humanity had no proof that planets existed outside our solar system. Now we know they're everywhere.
Act V
Your Place in Time
🇺🇸 United States
Your country the year you arrived
Population
220M
people in United States
GDP per Capita
$9,451
per person per year
Your Birth Cohort
131M
babies born worldwide that year
Your birth year is closer to the moon landing than to today.
Notable Births
Born the same year as you
Kanye West·Liv Tyler·Orlando Bloom·Shakira·Diddy (Sean Combs)
Life Expectancy
Have we made progress?
United States life expectancy at birth
United States life expectancy today
5 years of progress. Steady gains from better medicine, nutrition, and public health.
Computing Power
How much faster the machines have gotten
33.6 million times more powerfulComputing power has roughly doubled every two years since you were born. That adds up to 33.6 million×.
25 doublings since 1977Milestone Years
Your milestone birthdays
You turn 65 in 2042 · You turn 100 in 2077
Language
Words that didn't exist when you were born
Still Alive
Jonathan the tortoise was already 145 years old
a Seychelles giant tortoise living on Saint Helena island. He was already 145 years old the year you were born. He's still alive today at 194.
You arrived in a world of 4.2 billion people. Jimmy Carter was in the White House. Tonight's the Night (Gonna Be Alright) by Rod Stewart was on the radio. You grew up in the last decade where being unreachable was normal. No pagers, no cell phones, just the world right in front of you.
In 1977, recording your voice meant pressing play+record on a cassette.
Today, you can clone your own voice with a few minutes of audio.
Hear what that sounds like →keep exploring