Act I
The World Stage
World Population
How many people shared the planet
people on Earth when you were born
3.3 billion more people have arrived since
You are part of the last generation born into a world under 5 billion.
1 in 64 people alive today was born in 1986.
World Leaders
Who was in charge
United States President
Ronald Reagan
President
UK Prime Minister
Margaret Thatcher
Prime Minister
UN Secretary-General
Javier Pérez de Cuéllar
United Nations
World Events
Defining moments of 1986
Space Shuttle Challenger explodes 73 seconds after launch, killing all seven crew members including teacher Christa McAuliffe
Chernobyl nuclear plant reactor 4 explodes in Ukraine, releasing radiation across Europe in worst nuclear accident in history
Diego Maradona scores 'Hand of God' goal and then 'Goal of the Century' against England in the World Cup quarter-finals
Reagan and Gorbachev meet in Reykjavik; talks collapse over Reagan's refusal to abandon Star Wars SDI
Iran-Contra affair revealed: Reagan administration secretly sold weapons to Iran and funneled proceeds to Nicaraguan rebels
Baby Names
Most popular names in 1986 (US)
Boys
Michael, Christopher, Matthew
Girls
Jessica, Ashley, Amanda
Atmosphere
CO₂ in the air you first breathed
CO₂ concentration (Keeling Curve)
+75.1 ppm since your birth
CO₂ has climbed 22% since 1986. It's one of the few numbers that only goes up.
Act II
What Things Cost
Average Annual Salary
What workers took home
$24.9k US median household incomeAdjusted for inflation, that's worth about $71k in today's dollars.
Today: $80kPurchasing Power
Are we actually better off today?
What $25k in 1986 is worth right now
11% 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 1986
life expectancy at birth in 1986
A 32.2-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
That's What Friends Are For
Dionne & Friends
Oscar Best Picture
Out of Africa
Directed by Sydney Pollack
Grammy Album of the Year
No Jacket Required
Phil Collins
TV Premieres
Shows born the same year as you
Sports
Champions of the year
World Series
New York Mets
Baseball
FIFA World Cup
Argentina
Football
F1 Champion
Alain Prost
Formula One
Super Bowl
Chicago Bears
46-10 vs New England Patriots
Screen & Page
What everyone was watching and reading
Most-Watched Show
The Cosby Show
Television
Fiction Bestseller
It
Stephen King
Box Office #1
Top Gun
Film
Act IV
The State of Technology
Technology Milestone
Where technology stood
Chernobyl nuclear disaster; Compaq introduces the first 386-based PC; Internet grows as NSFNET backbone expands
Notable Tech Releases
What launched that year
Chernobyl nuclear reactor 4 explodes in the worst nuclear accident in history
Compaq introduces first PC with Intel 386 processor, beating IBM to market
NSFNET backbone network expanded, accelerating internet connectivity across US universities
Pixar Animation Studios founded after George Lucas sells computer division to Steve Jobs
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
240M
people in United States
GDP per Capita
$19k
per person per year
Your Birth Cohort
129M
babies born worldwide that year
Your birth year is closer to the fall of the Berlin Wall than to today.
Notable Births
Born the same year as you
Usain Bolt·Lady Gaga·Megan Fox·Drake·Rafael Nadal
Life Expectancy
Have we made progress?
United States life expectancy at birth
United States life expectancy today
4 years of progress. Steady gains from better medicine, nutrition, and public health.
Computing Power
How much faster the machines have gotten
1 million times more powerfulComputing power has roughly doubled every two years since you were born. That adds up to 1 million×.
20 doublings since 1986Milestone Years
Your milestone birthdays
You turn 40 in 2026 · You turn 65 in 2051 · You turn 100 in 2086
Language
Words that didn't exist when you were born
Still Alive
Jonathan the tortoise was already 154 years old
a Seychelles giant tortoise living on Saint Helena island. He was already 154 years old the year you were born. He's still alive today at 194.
You arrived in a world of 4.9 billion people. Ronald Reagan was in the White House. That's What Friends Are For by Dionne & Friends was on the radio. You're part of the last generation that remembers a world without the internet.
In 1986, your voice lived on answering machines and camcorder tapes.
Today, you can clone your own voice with a few minutes of audio.
Hear what that sounds like →keep exploring