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Back Then

Your time capsule is ready

In your 28 years you’ve been around for…

  • 8 Prime Ministers
  • 2 monarchs
  • 7 World Cups
  • +2.2 billion people on Earth

1998

The world you arrived into

1998

The Good Friday Agreement

On 10 April 1998, Northern Ireland’s parties signed the agreement that largely ended the Troubles.

1998

Titanic won 11 Oscars

In March 1998, the story of the 1912 disaster sailed off with a record-tying haul.

1998

What people were listening to

Now playing in 1998

  • Britney’s "...Baby One More Time"

    Released in late 1998, it made Britney Spears the biggest pop star on earth within months.

  • Cher’s "Believe"

    The Auto-Tuned single arrived late in 1998 and gave Cher a number one 35 years into her career.

  • "My Heart Will Go On" ruled the year

    Céline Dion’s Titanic ballad was everywhere in the first months of 1998.

1998

At the cinema and on television

movies

Saving Private Ryan

Spielberg’s D-Day opening redefined war films in the summer of 1998.

1998

Technology looked very different

  1. Google was founded

    Larry Page and Sergey Brin registered their company in September 1998. The internet changed forever.

  2. The iMac arrived

    In August 1998, Apple’s translucent all-in-one began the company’s comeback.

1998

What things cost

  • An average UK house about £70,000
  • A pint of beer about £1.80
  • A litre of petrol about 66p

Indicative UK averages from sample data — being verified and expanded.

When these arrived

You were only…

  • 3 Wikipedia launched 2001
  • 6 Facebook was founded 2004
  • 7 YouTube was founded 2005
  • 9 The iPhone 2007
  • 10 Spotify launched 2008
  • 12 Instagram 2010

A gentle reality check

Things that are younger than you

  • 1999 The euro launched
  • 1999 The Matrix was released
  • 2000 Big Brother came to the UK
  • 2001 Wikipedia launched
  • 2001 The iPod
  • 2003 The human genome was mapped
  • 2004 Facebook was founded
  • 2005 YouTube was founded
See all 18 things younger than you →

1998 vs today

A few things have changed since you arrived

A few things 1998 Today
  • An average UK house about £70,000 about £290,000
  • A pint about £1.80 about £4.60
  • Petrol about 66p about £1.40 a litre
  • Everyone on Earth about 6.0 billion about 8.2 billion

Indicative sample data — being verified and expanded.

See the full Then vs Now →

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My year

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