Act I
The World Stage
World Population
How many people shared the planet
people on Earth when you were born
2.3 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 60 people alive today was born in 1997.
World Leaders
Who was in charge
United States President
Bill Clinton
President
UK Prime Minister
John Major (to May), then Tony Blair
Prime Minister
UN Secretary-General
Kofi Annan
United Nations
World Events
Defining moments of 1997
Scientists in Scotland announce Dolly the sheep, the world's first cloned mammal from an adult cell, raising ethical questions globally
Hong Kong transferred from British to Chinese sovereignty after 156 years as a colony, in a ceremony watched worldwide
Princess Diana killed in a car crash in Paris; her death triggers an unprecedented global outpouring of grief
Mother Teresa dies in Calcutta just days after Princess Diana, closing a remarkable chapter in 20th century history
Asian financial crisis spreads from Thailand across Southeast Asia, wiping out trillions in market value
Baby Names
Most popular names in 1997 (US)
Boys
Michael, Tyler, Matthew
Girls
Emily, Jessica, Sarah
Atmosphere
CO₂ in the air you first breathed
CO₂ concentration (Keeling Curve)
+58.8 ppm since your birth
CO₂ has climbed 16% since 1997. It's one of the few numbers that only goes up.
Act II
What Things Cost
Average Annual Salary
What workers took home
$37.0k US median household incomeAdjusted for inflation, that's worth about $72k in today's dollars.
Today: $80kPurchasing Power
Are we actually better off today?
What $37k in 1997 is worth right now
10% 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 1997
life expectancy at birth in 1997
A 34.7-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 3.4x 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. Your parents weren't exaggerating about how cheap houses were.
Act III
What Was Playing
Billboard Year-End #1
Candle in the Wind 1997 / Something About the Way You Look Tonight
Elton John
Oscar Best Picture
The English Patient
Directed by Anthony Minghella
Grammy Album of the Year
Falling into You
Celine Dion
TV Premieres
Shows born the same year as you
Sports
Champions of the year
World Series
Florida Marlins
Baseball
F1 Champion
Michael Schumacher
Formula One
Super Bowl
Green Bay Packers
35-21 vs New England Patriots
NBA Champion
Chicago Bulls
Basketball
Screen & Page
What everyone was watching and reading
Most-Watched Show
ER
Television
Fiction Bestseller
The Partner
John Grisham
Box Office #1
Titanic
Film
Act IV
The State of Technology
Technology Milestone
Where technology stood
Deep Blue defeats Garry Kasparov at chess; Dolly the sheep cloned; DVD format launches; Netflix founded
Notable Tech Releases
What launched that year
Deep Blue defeats world chess champion Garry Kasparov 3.5-2.5, first computer to beat a reigning champion
Dolly the sheep announced as first mammal cloned from an adult somatic cell
DVD format launched commercially, rapidly replacing VHS
Netflix founded by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph as a DVD rental service
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 22 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
273M
people in United States
GDP per Capita
$30k
per person per year
Your Birth Cohort
136M
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
Simone Biles·Chloe Grace Moretz·Malala Yousafzai·Zara Larsson·Maisie Williams
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
32,768 times more powerfulComputing power has roughly doubled every two years since you were born. That adds up to 32,768×.
15 doublings since 1997Milestone Years
Your milestone birthdays
You turn 40 in 2037 · You turn 65 in 2062 · You turn 100 in 2097
Language
Words that didn't exist when you were born
Still Alive
Jonathan the tortoise was already 165 years old
a Seychelles giant tortoise living on Saint Helena island. He was already 165 years old the year you were born. He's still alive today at 194.
You arrived in a world of 5.9 billion people. Bill Clinton was in the White House. Candle in the Wind 1997 / Something About the Way You Look Tonight by Elton John was on the radio. You came of age as the internet rewired everything - and you were young enough to adapt.
In 1997, 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