Act I
The World Stage
World Population
How many people shared the planet
people on Earth when you were born
2.5 billion more people have arrived since
The world crossed 6 billion around the time you were born. It will likely never reach 12.
1 in 59 people alive today was born in 1994.
World Leaders
Who was in charge
United States President
Bill Clinton
President
UK Prime Minister
John Major
Prime Minister
UN Secretary-General
Boutros Boutros-Ghali
United Nations
World Events
Defining moments of 1994
Rwandan Genocide begins - approximately 800,000 Tutsi and moderate Hutu are killed over 100 days
Nelson Mandela inaugurated as South Africa's first Black president following the country's first fully democratic election
The Channel Tunnel officially opens, linking the UK and France beneath the English Channel for the first time
O. J. Simpson murder case begins with low-speed Bronco chase watched by 95 million Americans on live TV
First Chechen War begins as Russian forces invade Chechnya, starting a brutal conflict that lasts nearly two years
Baby Names
Most popular names in 1994 (US)
Boys
Michael, Joshua, Christopher
Girls
Jessica, Ashley, Emily
Atmosphere
CO₂ in the air you first breathed
CO₂ concentration (Keeling Curve)
+63.7 ppm since your birth
CO₂ has climbed 18% since 1994. It's one of the few numbers that only goes up.
Act II
What Things Cost
Average Annual Salary
What workers took home
$32.3k US median household incomeAdjusted for inflation, that's worth about $68k in today's dollars.
Today: $80kPurchasing Power
Are we actually better off today?
What $32k in 1994 is worth right now
14% 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 1994
life expectancy at birth in 1994
A 33.9-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 3.3x 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. Your parents weren't exaggerating about how cheap houses were.
Act III
What Was Playing
Billboard Year-End #1
The Sign
Ace of Base
Oscar Best Picture
Schindler's List
Directed by Steven Spielberg
Grammy Album of the Year
The Bodyguard (soundtrack)
Whitney Houston
TV Premieres
Shows born the same year as you
Sports
Champions of the year
FIFA World Cup
Brazil
Football
F1 Champion
Michael Schumacher
Formula One
Super Bowl
Dallas Cowboys
30-13 vs Buffalo Bills
Screen & Page
What everyone was watching and reading
Most-Watched Show
Home Improvement
Television
Fiction Bestseller
The Celestine Prophecy
James Redfield
Box Office #1
The Lion King
Film
Act IV
The State of Technology
Technology Milestone
Where technology stood
Netscape Navigator released; the first commercial web browser brings the internet to mainstream users
Notable Tech Releases
What launched that year
Netscape Navigator 1.0 released, making the World Wide Web accessible to everyday users
Amazon.com founded by Jeff Bezos in a Bellevue, Washington garage
PlayStation released in Japan by Sony, launching the PlayStation era of gaming
Apple Newton MessagePad 110 launched; Yahoo! founded by Jerry Yang and David Filo
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 4 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
260M
people in United States
GDP per Capita
$28k
per person per year
Your Birth Cohort
139M
babies born worldwide that year
Your birth year is closer to Nelson Mandela becoming South Africa's president than to today.
Notable Births
Born the same year as you
Justin Bieber·Harry Styles·Halsey·Ansel Elgort
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
65,536 times more powerfulComputing power has roughly doubled every two years since you were born. That adds up to 65,536×.
16 doublings since 1994Milestone Years
Your milestone birthdays
You turn 40 in 2034 · You turn 65 in 2059 · You turn 100 in 2094
Language
Words that didn't exist when you were born
Still Alive
Jonathan the tortoise was already 162 years old
a Seychelles giant tortoise living on Saint Helena island. He was already 162 years old the year you were born. He's still alive today at 194.
You arrived in a world of 5.7 billion people. Bill Clinton was in the White House. The Sign by Ace of Base was on the radio. You came of age as the internet rewired everything - and you were young enough to adapt.
In 1994, 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