Act I
The World Stage
World Population
How many people shared the planet
people on Earth when you were born
1.7 billion more people have arrived since
You were born into a world approaching 7 billion. Population growth has begun to slow.
1 in 61 people alive today was born in 2006.
World Leaders
Who was in charge
United States President
George W. Bush
President
UK Prime Minister
Tony Blair
Prime Minister
UN Secretary-General
Ban Ki-moon
United Nations
World Events
Defining moments of 2006
Israel-Lebanon war erupts after Hezbollah captures two Israeli soldiers; 34-day conflict kills over 1,200 Lebanese and 165 Israelis
North Korea conducts its first nuclear weapons test, claiming successful underground detonation and escalating tensions
Saddam Hussein executed by hanging on December 30 in Baghdad for crimes against humanity
FIFA World Cup held in Germany; Italy beats France on penalties in the final after Zidane's infamous headbutt
Montenegro declares independence from Serbia following a referendum, becoming Europe's newest state
Baby Names
Most popular names in 2006 (US)
Boys
Jacob, Michael, Joshua
Girls
Emily, Emma, Madison
Atmosphere
CO₂ in the air you first breathed
CO₂ concentration (Keeling Curve)
+40.6 ppm since your birth
CO₂ has climbed 11% since 2006. It's one of the few numbers that only goes up.
Act II
What Things Cost
Average Annual Salary
What workers took home
$48.2k US median household incomeAdjusted for inflation, that's worth about $75k in today's dollars.
Today: $80kPurchasing Power
Are we actually better off today?
What $48k in 2006 is worth right now
6% 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 2006
life expectancy at birth in 2006
A 32.6-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 5.1x the average annual salary
Median home now costs 5.3x the average annual salary
Housing has gotten 1.0x 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
Bad Day
Daniel Powter
Oscar Best Picture
Crash
Directed by Ang Lee
Grammy Album of the Year
How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb
U2
TV Premieres
Shows born the same year as you
Sports
Champions of the year
World Series
St. Louis Cardinals
Baseball
FIFA World Cup
Italy
Football
F1 Champion
Fernando Alonso
Formula One
Super Bowl
Pittsburgh Steelers
21-10 vs Seattle Seahawks
Screen & Page
What everyone was watching and reading
Most-Watched Show
American Idol
Television
Fiction Bestseller
For One More Day
Mitch Albom
Box Office #1
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest
Film
Act IV
The State of Technology
Technology Milestone
Where technology stood
Twitter launches in July; Nintendo Wii and PlayStation 3 release, revolutionizing motion-control gaming; Google acquires YouTube for $1.65 billion
Notable Tech Releases
What launched that year
Twitter launches in July, with Jack Dorsey posting the first tweet on March 21
Nintendo Wii launches in November, bringing motion controls to mainstream gaming
Google acquires YouTube in October for $1.65 billion in stock
PlayStation 3 launches globally, introducing Blu-ray to consumers
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 205 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
298M
people in United States
GDP per Capita
$45k
per person per year
Your Birth Cohort
135M
babies born worldwide that year
Your birth year is closer to the launch of the iPhone than to today.
Notable Births
Born the same year as you
Xochitl Gomez·Gukesh D·Javon Walton·Shiloh Jolie-Pitt
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
1,024 times more powerfulComputing power has roughly doubled every two years since you were born. That adds up to 1,024×.
10 doublings since 2006Milestone Years
Your milestone birthdays
You turn 40 in 2046 · You turn 65 in 2071 · You turn 100 in 2106
Still Alive
Jonathan the tortoise was already 174 years old
a Seychelles giant tortoise living on Saint Helena island. He was already 174 years old the year you were born. He's still alive today at 194.
You arrived in a world of 6.5 billion people. George W. Bush was in the White House. Bad Day by Daniel Powter was on the radio. You've never known a world without Google. The smartphone arrived in your childhood.
In 2006, recording your voice meant GarageBand or a cheap USB mic.
Today, you can clone your own voice with a few minutes of audio.
Hear what that sounds like →keep exploring