50 Fun Facts About Y2K and 2000s Pop Culture

What did the 'K' in Y2K stand for?

Y for year, 2, and K for 1000: 2K meant 2000. It was also called the millennium bug.

The Y2K bug arose because many programs stored years as how many digits?

1985 became '85', so 2000 was indistinguishable from 1900; fixes included expanding to four digits or 'windowing' the century.

Which programmer first publicly flagged the year-2000 problem after noticing it in 1958?

He spent twenty years failing to get IBM, the US government and standards bodies to take it seriously.

Under the Gregorian calendar, 2000 was a leap year but 1900 was not, tripping up some Y2K-era code. Why?

Programmers who coded only 'divisible by four' were fine by luck; those who added the 100 rule but forgot the 400 rule broke.

Which peer-to-peer service, launched by Shawn Fanning and Sean Parker in 1999, defined the MP3 era?

It peaked at about 80 million users; a leaked Metallica demo of 'I Disappear' helped bring the lawsuits.

Which 'indestructible' phone, launched in 2000 with Snake II built in, sold over 100 million units?

It replaced the 3210 and became the subject of endless internet durability jokes.

Which ultra-thin flip phone, introduced in 2004, became the must-have handset of the mid-2000s?

Upgrades like the V3x and V3i followed, and the Razr2 arrived in 2007, months after the iPhone.

Wikipedia launched on which date, celebrated annually as Wikipedia Day?

It began as a side project to Nupedia, an expert-written encyclopedia founded by Jimmy Wales and Larry Sanger.

In which month did the first iPhone actually go on sale in the US?

Apple built it in secret with Cingular, later AT&T, at an estimated development cost of $150 million.

Which Fox singing contest debuted in June 2002 with judges Jackson, Abdul and Cowell?

Kelly Clarkson won the first season; a rival executive called it 'the most impactful show in the history of television'.

Who won the first season of the Fox singing contest in 2002?

Studdard won season two, Fantasia three and Underwood four.

Tina Fey based the 2004 film Mean Girls on which non-fiction self-help book?

Rosalind Wiseman's book had no plot, so Fey wrote one from scratch and named characters after friends; 3 October is now 'Mean Girls Day'.

Which Fox teen drama, created by Josh Schwartz, ran from 2003 to 2007 and gave the world 'Chrismukkah'?

Ryan Atwood is taken in by the Cohens of Newport Beach; the title stands for Orange County.

Which ABC series began on 22 September 2004 with a plane crash and ran 121 episodes over six seasons?

Oceanic Flight 815's survivors met the Others, the Dharma Initiative and a smoke monster; the finale aired in May 2010.

Which Disney Channel movie premiered on 20 January 2006 to a then-record audience for the network?

Kenny Ortega directed; Troy the basketball star and Gabriella the maths whiz audition for the school show.

Which 2001 film won the first-ever Academy Award for Best Animated Feature?

It was also the first animated film in AFI's year-end top ten and competed for the Palme d'Or at Cannes.

Which 2002 song became the first hip-hop track to win the Oscar for Best Original Song?

Eminem's 8 Mile anthem was also his first Hot 100 number one, staying there twelve weeks.

Beyoncé's 2003 solo breakthrough 'Crazy in Love' samples which 1970 Chi-Lites song?

Jay-Z guests and co-wrote; the video won three MTV VMAs.

Which OutKast member wrote, produced and performed 'Hey Ya!'?

He began recording it in December 2002 at Stankonia Studios; Big Boi's 'The Way You Move' was released alongside it.

Rihanna's 'Umbrella' spent how many consecutive weeks at UK number one in 2007?

Jay-Z guests; the beat began with a GarageBand hi-hat that producer Tricky Stewart was 'messing around with'.

Shakira's 2006 hit 'Hips Don't Lie' features which Haitian rapper?

It hit number one in 18 countries and won an MTV VMA.

Which 2008 Danny Boyle film about a Mumbai game-show contestant won eight Oscars?

Dev Patel made his film debut; it was loosely based on Vikas Swarup's novel Q & A.

Heath Ledger's Joker in The Dark Knight (2008) earned him a posthumous award in which Oscar category?

He died of an accidental overdose in January 2008; the film's viral campaign had begun by defending his casting.

Which peripheral-maker, fresh from Konami's GuitarFreaks hardware, teamed with Harmonix in 2005 on Guitar Hero?

The plastic-guitar franchise grew to 25 releases including DJ Hero and Band Hero.

Wii Sports, bundled with the 2006 console, sold roughly how many copies?

That makes it the best-selling Nintendo game and the fourth-best-selling game ever; Katsuya Eguchi produced it to reach non-gamers.

World of Warcraft, launched in 2004, peaked at how many subscribers in 2010?

Blizzard's MMORPG on the planet Azeroth had over 100 million registered accounts by 2014.

Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (2004) caused a scandal over which hidden mini-game?

The state of San Andreas contained Los Santos, San Fierro and Las Venturas, based on LA, San Francisco and Las Vegas.

The Tamagotchi name combines the Japanese word for 'egg' with which English word?

Bandai released it in 1996 and worldwide in 1997; a 2004 relaunch kept the fad alive through the 2000s.

Beyblade battling tops, first released in Japan in 1999 by Takara, were inspired by which traditional toy?

Battles take place in a bowl-shaped Beystadium; the first Beyblade was called Spin Dragoon.

Which foam clog brand was founded in 2002 by three Colorado friends as a boating shoe?

Scott Seamans, Lyndon Hanson and George Boedecker Jr. saw the potential of the Croslite material.

The trucker-hat brand Von Dutch was named after which Kustom Kulture pinstriping artist?

His daughters licensed the name after his 1992 death; art collector Ed Boswell started selling the patches at LA art shows.

Which brand's velour tracksuits, founded by Skaist-Levy and Nash-Taylor, were the 2000s luxury uniform?

The pair had started in 1989 with a maternity-jeans label called Travis Jeans; Nash later married Duran Duran's John Taylor.

Heelys, the 2000s playground craze, were shoes with what hidden in the sole?

Shift your weight to your heels and roll; the maker recommends protective gear that almost nobody wore.

Which social network, launched in 2003, dominated before Facebook and had a customisable 'Top 8'?

Launched on 1 August 2003, it was bought by News Corp for $580 million in 2005 and peaked at 115 million monthly visitors in 2008.

Which 2001 gadget's click wheel changed how people carried music, sold as '1,000 songs in your pocket'?

Apple's player launched in November 2001; the iTunes Store followed in 2003.

Which HBO mob drama, which ran from 1999 to 2007, was the first cable series to win the Outstanding Drama Emmy?

It won in 2004 and again in 2007, after it had finished airing; Tony's fate in the final diner scene is still argued about.

Which 2003 reality show sent Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie to live on an Arkansas farm?

The Hills, its MTV cousin, followed Lauren Conrad from 2006; MTV also gave the decade Cribs, Pimp My Ride and Punk'd.

Which MTV show, hosted by Ashton Kutcher from 2003, played hidden-camera pranks on celebrities?

Xzibit hosted Pimp My Ride; Cribs toured celebrity homes; a Chance the Rapper reboot came in 2020.

Which Peter Jackson trilogy closed in 2003 with a film that won every one of its 11 Oscar nominations?

The Return of the King's clean sweep set the record; its 11 wins tie Ben-Hur and Titanic.

Which 2003 Pixar clownfish film was directed by Andrew Stanton, inspired partly by his dentist's fish tank?

Ellen DeGeneres voiced Dory and Albert Brooks the anxious father Marlin.

Which 2003 swashbuckler based on a Disneyland ride earned Johnny Depp his first Oscar nomination?

Depp based Captain Jack Sparrow on Keith Richards after deciding 18th-century pirates were the rock stars of their day.

Which 2008 Stephenie Meyer adaptation made Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart famous?

Team Edward versus Team Jacob became a late-decade schoolyard divide; Summit picked up the rights after MTV Films let them stagnate.

Which 2007 Diablo Cody comedy about a pregnant teenager won the Best Original Screenplay Oscar?

Elliot Page starred; the soundtrack of Kimya Dawson songs was a surprise hit.

Which Canadian band's 2000s ubiquity ("How You Remind Me", "Photograph") made it the decade's most mocked act?

Chad Kroeger's group broke through in 2002 with a US and Canadian number one; Silver Side Up went eight-times platinum in Canada.

Which Beyoncé-fronted Houston group released 'Survivor' and 'Bootylicious'?

Formed in Houston in 1990 as Girl's Tyme, the group signed to Columbia in 1996; Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams completed the final trio.

Justin Timberlake's 2002 solo album Justified followed his exit from which boy band?

He met bandmate JC Chasez on The All New Mickey Mouse Club; the 2004 Super Bowl 'wardrobe malfunction' with Janet Jackson followed.

Which Britney Spears album of 2000 followed her debut ...Baby One More Time and became a global hit?

Her 2007 head-shaving and 2008 conservatorship bookended the decade's tabloid obsession with her.

What did T-Mobile call the swivel-screen Danger Hiptop keyboard phone of 2002?

Danger was co-founded by Andy Rubin, later the father of Android; the first Hiptop shipped on 1 October 2002.

Which yellow silicone bracelet, launched in May 2004, started the cause-wristband craze?

It was Lance Armstrong's foundation's signature; the charity later rebranded to show it was 'more than a wristband'.

Which Computerworld writer's 1993 article 'Doomsday 2000' was likened to Paul Revere's midnight ride?

The acronym Y2K itself is attributed to Massachusetts programmer David Eddy in a June 1995 e-mail.