Act I
The World Stage
World Population
How many people shared the planet
people on Earth when you were born
1.6 billion more people have arrived since
You were born into a world approaching 7 billion. Population growth has begun to slow.
1 in 60 people alive today was born in 2007.
World Leaders
Who was in charge
United States President
George W. Bush
President
UK Prime Minister
Gordon Brown
Prime Minister
UN Secretary-General
Ban Ki-moon
United Nations
World Events
Defining moments of 2007
Apple iPhone unveiled and launched by Steve Jobs, transforming the mobile phone industry and creating the modern smartphone era
US subprime mortgage crisis deepens as major banks report billions in losses, signaling the coming global financial meltdown
Virginia Tech massacre - gunman kills 32 students and faculty in the deadliest mass shooting in US history at the time
Southern California wildfires force evacuation of 500,000 people in San Diego area, the largest US evacuation since Hurricane Katrina
Pakistan opposition leader Benazir Bhutto assassinated at a campaign rally in Rawalpindi, two months after returning from exile
Baby Names
Most popular names in 2007 (US)
Boys
Jacob, Michael, Ethan
Girls
Emily, Isabella, Emma
Atmosphere
CO₂ in the air you first breathed
CO₂ concentration (Keeling Curve)
+38.7 ppm since your birth
CO₂ has climbed 10% since 2007. It's one of the few numbers that only goes up.
Act II
What Things Cost
Average Annual Salary
What workers took home
$50.2k US median household incomeAdjusted for inflation, that's worth about $76k in today's dollars.
Today: $80kPurchasing Power
Are we actually better off today?
What $50k in 2007 is worth right now
5% 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 2007
life expectancy at birth in 2007
A 32.3-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 4.9x the average annual salary
Median home now costs 5.3x the average annual salary
Housing has gotten 1.1x 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
Irreplaceable
Beyoncé
Oscar Best Picture
The Departed
Directed by Martin Scorsese
Grammy Album of the Year
Taking the Long Way
Dixie Chicks
TV Premieres
Shows born the same year as you
Sports
Champions of the year
World Series
Boston Red Sox
Baseball
F1 Champion
Kimi Raikkonen
Formula One
Super Bowl
Indianapolis Colts
29-17 vs Chicago Bears
NBA Champion
San Antonio Spurs
Basketball
Screen & Page
What everyone was watching and reading
Most-Watched Show
American Idol
Television
Fiction Bestseller
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
J.K. Rowling
Box Office #1
Spider-Man 3
Film
Act IV
The State of Technology
Technology Milestone
Where technology stood
Apple launches the original iPhone on June 29, fundamentally changing the smartphone and tech industry forever
Notable Tech Releases
What launched that year
Apple iPhone launches June 29 - the original touchscreen smartphone that changed everything
Amazon Kindle launches in November, selling out in 5.5 hours
Android announced by Google/Open Handset Alliance in November
Netflix begins streaming video online, starting the shift from physical DVDs
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 236 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
301M
people in United States
GDP per Capita
$48k
per person per year
Your Birth Cohort
136M
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
Lamine Yamal·Ariana Greenblatt·Mason Thames
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 2007Milestone Years
Your milestone birthdays
You turn 40 in 2047 · You turn 65 in 2072 · You turn 100 in 2107
Still Alive
Jonathan the tortoise was already 175 years old
a Seychelles giant tortoise living on Saint Helena island. He was already 175 years old the year you were born. He's still alive today at 194.
You arrived in a world of 6.6 billion people. George W. Bush was in the White House. Irreplaceable by Beyoncé was on the radio. You've never known a world without Google. The smartphone arrived in your childhood.
In 2007, 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