Act I
The World Stage
World Population
How many people shared the planet
people on Earth when you were born
2.7 billion more people have arrived since
You arrived in a world with fewer than 6 billion. Population growth was beginning to slow.
1 in 59 people alive today was born in 1992.
World Leaders
Who was in charge
United States President
George H. W. Bush
President
UK Prime Minister
John Major
Prime Minister
UN Secretary-General
Boutros Boutros-Ghali
United Nations
World Events
Defining moments of 1992
Soviet Union formally dissolved - 15 independent republics emerge from the former superpower, ending the Cold War era
Los Angeles riots erupt after the acquittal of officers who beat Rodney King, killing 63 and causing $1 billion in damage
Earth Summit held in Rio de Janeiro - 172 countries attend the largest environmental conference in history
Hurricane Andrew devastates South Florida and Louisiana, causing $27 billion in damage and killing 65
Bill Clinton defeats George H. W. Bush in the US presidential election, ending 12 years of Republican presidency
Baby Names
Most popular names in 1992 (US)
Boys
Michael, Christopher, Joshua
Girls
Ashley, Jessica, Amanda
Atmosphere
CO₂ in the air you first breathed
CO₂ concentration (Keeling Curve)
+66.1 ppm since your birth
CO₂ has climbed 19% since 1992. It's one of the few numbers that only goes up.
Act II
What Things Cost
Average Annual Salary (US)
What workers took home
$30.6k US median household incomeAdjusted for inflation, that's worth about $69k in today's dollars.
Today: $80kPurchasing Power
Are we actually better off today?
What $31k in 1992 is worth right now
14% less purchasing power than today's median
Wages have grown, but housing, healthcare, and education have grown faster.
The Birth Lottery
Same year. Different world.
life expectancy at birth in 1992
life expectancy at birth in 1992
A 33.6-year gap, decided entirely by where you happened to be born. Same year, different world.
Everyday Prices
What things cost
Housing Affordability (US)
Homes vs. salaries - then and now
Median home cost 3.4x the average annual salary
Median home now costs 5.3x the average annual salary
Housing has gotten 1.6x harder to afford relative to income.
Act III
What Was Playing
Billboard Year-End #1
End of the Road
Boyz II Men
Oscar Best Picture
The Silence of the Lambs
Directed by Jonathan Demme
Grammy Album of the Year
Unforgettable... with Love
Natalie Cole
TV Premieres
Shows born the same year as you
Sports
Champions of the year
World Series
Toronto Blue Jays
Baseball
F1 Champion
Nigel Mansell
Formula One
Super Bowl
Washington Redskins
37-24 vs Buffalo Bills
NBA Champion
Chicago Bulls
Basketball
Screen & Page
What everyone was watching and reading
Most-Watched Show
60 Minutes
Television
Fiction Bestseller
Dolores Claiborne
Stephen King
Box Office #1
Aladdin
Film
Act IV
The State of Technology
Technology Milestone
Where technology stood
The first SMS text message sent; Windows 3.1 launches; the term 'World Wide Web' enters public vocabulary
Notable Tech Releases
What launched that year
Windows 3.1 released by Microsoft, selling 3 million copies in the first two months
First SMS text message sent on December 3 by Neil Papworth to Richard Jarvis
Apple Newton MessagePad announced, pioneering the PDA category
CD-ROM drives become standard on new personal computers
Social Media Timeline
How old were you when these launched?
The Universe
Worlds discovered beyond our solar system
confirmed exoplanets
confirmed and counting
We've gone from 2 to 5,800. Most of these worlds were found by a single space telescope called Kepler.
Act V
Your Place in Time
🇺🇸 United States
Your country the year you arrived
Population
255M
people in United States
GDP per Capita
$25k
per person per year
Your Birth Cohort
140M
babies born worldwide that year
Your birth year is closer to The Assassination of JFK than to today.
Notable Births
Born the same year as you
Miley Cyrus·Demi Lovato·Selena Gomez·Nick Jonas·Cara Delevingne
Life Expectancy
Have we made progress?
United States life expectancy at birth
United States life expectancy today
A small gain, but every year counts.
Computing Power
How much faster the machines have gotten
131,072 times more powerfulComputing power has roughly doubled every two years since you were born. That adds up to 131,072×.
17 doublings since 1992Milestone Years
Your milestone birthdays
You turn 40 in 2032 · You turn 65 in 2057 · You turn 100 in 2092
Language
Words that didn't exist when you were born
Still Alive
Jonathan the tortoise was already 160 years old
a Seychelles giant tortoise living on Saint Helena island. He was already 160 years old the year you were born. He's still alive today at 194.
You arrived in a world of 5.5 billion people. George H. W. Bush was in the White House. End of the Road by Boyz II Men was on the radio. You came of age as the internet rewired everything - and you were young enough to adapt.
In 1992, capturing your voice meant a voicemail or a camcorder.
Today, you can clone your own voice with a few minutes of audio.
Hear what that sounds like →keep exploring