Starting off on a busy Friday, the year 1999 started to showcase a multitude of noteworthy events from the very beginning.With the grand launch of the Euro currency in 11 European countries on the first day of the year, the world witnessed the ever-increasing powers of the European Central Bank. This year was also marked as the International Year of Older Persons by the United Nations General Assembly.The 639 lb (290 Kg) robotic spacecraft, Mars Polar Lander, was launched by NASA on January 3, 1999. NASA’s satellite observations reveal that polar ice caps are melting at a rate of 13% per decade due to the increase in global warming since 1999.The 1999 economic plan that was put forth by U.S. President Bill Clinton helped in the revolutionary increase in the economy at a rate of 4% annually. He strategically increased the tax rate for higher-income taxpayers, which eventually led to the surplus budget for the first time after 1969. However, under his administration, the Glass Steagall Act was repealed in 1999. This decision is considered to be one of the main causes of the 2008 recession, which was the worst U.S. economic downfall.April 20, 1999, was a horrifying day in the U.S. when the Columbine High School massacre took place. 12th-grade seniors Eric David Harris and Dylan Klebold of the same school were the mass murderers who killed a teacher and 12 students. After committing these crimes, the duo took their own life in the school library. This dreadful event inspired several murderers and serial killers across the world who committed even more dangerous crimes.The year 1999 was also popular because of the Y2K scare. People at that time thought that computer errors would take place as soon as the calendar date hits the year 2000. Computer programmers also called it the ‘The Year 2000 problem’ or the ‘Millenium Bug’.The billion-dollar brand PayPal was voted as one of the worst business ideas in the year 1999. Tangerine and Blueberry colored Macbooks were launched at that time by Apple, which they named ‘iMac to go’. The price of the 1997 -launched DVD players swooped down rapidly, and they were sold at a $200 price point in 1999, thereby attracting tons of customers.‘Smooth’ was the top song of this year, which was sung by Rob Thomas and Santana. The most popular movies at that time were ‘The Sixth Sense’, ‘Fight Club’, ‘Tarzan’, and ‘Stuart Little’.The world mourned over Dana Plato in 1999. The TV child star death occurred at the age of 34 due to a drug overdose. The death of the pro golfer Payne Stewart shocked people from all over the world. He died in an airplane crash in South Dakota. Several other notable events of this year included the stabbing of George Harrison by a schizophrenic man who broke into his house. The fall of Joan Murray from 14500 ft (4419.6 m) while skydiving captured an ample amount of attention. Apparently, she landed on a fire ant mound, whose venomous stings caused an upsurge of adrenaline rush in her body, which eventually kept her alive.An interesting event of 1999 was that any Hotmail account was easily hacked using the password ’eh’. This event was marked as the largest incident of the security flaw in history and was brought to light by a group called Hackers Unite.Keep reading to learn more fascinating facts of the year 1999.Are you enjoying the read? Then don’t forget to check out the 1988 facts and 1963 facts here on Kidadl.Horror Movies From 1999The year 1999 was amazing for the film buffs, especially those who loved horror movies. Numerous thriller and horror movies were launched this year, which gathered a significant fan following globally. ‘The Astronaut’s Wife’, directed by Rand Ravich, ‘The Blair Witch Project’ by Daniel Myrick, and Eduardo Sanchez, ‘Camp Blood’ by Brad Sykes were the most frequently watched U.S. movies of the year.Apart from these, other horror and thriller movies launched in the U.S. were ‘Apocalypse II: Revelation’, ‘Bats’, ‘Deep Blue Sea’, ‘Candyman: Day of the Dead’, and ‘End of Days’. The famous Canadian director Kari Skogland achieved immense fame after the release of her supernatural horror slasher movie, ‘Children of the Corn 666: Issac’s Return’, which starred Stacy Keach and Nancy Allen.Japan also launched some of the well-known horror and thriller films that are watched even today. The famous Japanese filmmaker Takashi Miike directed the horror film ‘Audition’, which is based on the popular novel of 1997 by Ryu Murakami. ‘Gemini’, ‘The Hypnotist’, ‘Ring 2’, and ‘Red Room’ were other Japanese thriller films released in 1999, which still give us goosebumps.Other binge-worthy movies of 1999 include ‘Toy Story’, ‘The Mummy’, ‘The Sixth Sense’, ‘Fight Club’, and ‘Star Wars Episode I’. The renowned international movies that were selected for the National Film Registry in 1999 were the ‘Wild Bunch’, ‘Kiss Me Deadly, ‘Gunga Din’, ‘The Docks of New York’, ‘In the Land of Head Hunters’, and ‘Emperor Jones’ among others.Retail Prices In the Year 1999Although the retail prices in the year 1999 increased slightly, the core inflation remained low. The overall consumer price increased to 2.7% than the previous year. The cost of energy and fuel increased to 13.4%, while the price of food, including chicken, got decreased this year.The retail price of in the market for fruits and vegetables in 1999 did not increase from the previous year. Banana imports enhanced in the U.S. with the huge supply of tomatoes from Mexico and Florida. In terms of apparel, womens’ clothing cost was lower than that of mens’. The cost of prescription drugs was slightly on the higher side, and so were the hospital service charges. The average movie ticket price was about $5. Between 1999 and today, the inflation rate of $1 was about 2.29% per year, thus leading to a cumulative price increment of 64.65%.1999 Pop Culture HistoryThe pop-culture history of 1999 involved the great influence of the Western culture that showed its first advancements in the year 1996. Apart from the movie ‘The Sixth Sense’, people were engrossed in other movies as well, for example, ‘The Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace’ released on May 19, 1999, captured the mind of millions from all over the world. It is believed that more than 2.2 million employees were hooked to this film and thus, missed work. Apparently, this resulted in the loss of $293 million dollars in U.S. markets due to the decreased productivity of the employees.The pop culture at that time reached its peak with the launch of the music videos of Britney Spears, which included the all-time favorite ‘Baby One More Time’, released on January 12, 1999. Other songs of Britney Spears that were launched in the same year were ‘Sometimes’, ‘Born to make you happy’, ‘You drive me crazy’, and ‘From the bottom of my broken heart’, all of which became massive hits.‘Millenium’ by the Backstreet Boys, which was launched on May 18, 1999, took the world on a musical spree with their pop-rock songs. The Billboard number one songs of the year were ‘Bills, Bills, Bills’ by Destiny’s Child, ‘Bailamos’ by Enrique Iglesias, and ‘If You Had My Love’ by Jennifer Lopez. ‘Oh, My God’ by Guns n Roses was added as a soundtrack in the film ‘End of Days’. ‘Genie In A Bottle’ by Christina Aguilera was a massive hit teen pop. Christina was nominated at the 42nd Annual Grammy Awards for the Best Female Pop Vocal Performace after the release of this song.A blockbuster movie released this year was ‘Wild Wild West’ starring Will Smith and other famous screen actors like Kevin Kline, Robert Conrad, and Kenneth Branagh. The fashion icons of 1999 were Angelina Jolie, Claudia Schiffer, Rebecca Romijn, and Salma Hayek, whose enthralling beauty captivated the heart of countless men. The Hollywood hunks of 1999 were no less. David Beckham, Justin Timberlake, Christian Bale, and many others blew several minds with their enchanting looks. Nicole Johnson became Miss America in 1999, while Kimberly Pressler from New York won the title of Miss USA.Phil Collins sang all the songs of the Disney-released Tarzan of 1999 in several languages, including German, Spanish, Italian, and French. Popular cartoons, ‘Bob The Builder’ as well as ‘SpongeBob Squarepants’ were aired for the first time this year. The Pokemon series became the most-watched cartoon that year. The amazing musical ‘Mamma Mia’ was launched on April 6, 1999, along with the launch of the musical ‘Lion King’ on October 19. The first Daytime Emmy Award was won by Susan Lucci after being nominated 19 times.Owing to a pay raise dispute, actress Maggie Roswell quit ‘The Simpsons’ show in 1999. She voiced the popular ghost character of the show, Maude Flanders. The renowned reality show, ‘Who wants to be a Millionaire?’ was aired for the first time this year.Children loved to play with toys like Barbie, Monopoly, Frisbee, Crayola Crayon, Roller skates, Hula Hoop, and many more. The cost of the Crayola Crayons 64 pack was about $1.79, and a postage stamp was available at only 33 cents.Apart from movies, the pop culture of 1999 included the entire album of Harry Potter. After receiving immense love and praise for the first two books in the album, J.K Rowling published her third book, ‘Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban’. Other popular books of the year were ‘Black Notice’ by Patricia Cornwell, ‘From Hell’ by Alan Moore and Eddie Campbell, ‘Hannibal’ by Thomas Harris, ‘Disgrace’ by J.M. Coetzee, and ‘The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon’ by Stephen King.The search engine of Google was tested in 1999, which brought 16 students to conduct the test. The launch of a new phone, Kyocera VP-210, enabled people to take up to 20 pictures.In terms of sports entertainment, the Superbowl XXXIII Champions were the Denver Broncos, who defeated the Falcons. The New York Yankees handed the Atlanta Braves team the loss and became the World Series Champion in 1999. The NBA Championship of that year was won by the San Antonio Spurs after they crushed the New York Knicks. The Tour de France was won for the first time by Lance Armstrong. The Buffalo Sabres were defeated by the Dallas Stars in the Stanley Cups Championship of 1999.1999 NigeriaOn February 10, 1999, the Nigerian military leader, Olusegun Obasanjo, became the President of Nigeria. From 1976 to 1979, he served as the Head of the State. Again on May 29, 1999, he was elected as the second executive President of Nigeria in the current Nigerian Fourth Republic. He ordered his military forces to raid down the town of Odi in the Niger Delta on December 19. 12 policemen were murdered in the town of Odi by the local militia.The Constitution of Nigeria was adopted on May 29, 1999. Prior to the rule of President Olusegun Obasanjo, Nigeria was under the democratic rule of the Nigerian army general, Abdulsalami Abubakar, who started his tenure after the death of General Sani Abacha in 1998. At that time, the Nigerian Constitution followed the pattern of the Second Republic.October 12, 1999The date October 12, 1999, is a significant date in Pakistan. The federal government of Pakistan, which was run by the publicly elected Prime Minister, Nawaz Shariff, was forcefully taken over by the Pakistani politician Pervez Musharraf.As a result, the country witnessed huge unrest, and a large number of arrests were made. Later, Nawaz Shariff was also arrested. The Constitutional writ was suspended, and new reforms were made to run the state affairs. A nationwide protest was observed. Nine senior justices, along with the Chief Justice of Pakistan, resigned from their positions after refusing to take an oath. Pakistan was also suspended from the Commonwealth of Nations.This date was also historical for the NHL fans, as Pat LaFontaine officially retired on this day due to his severe concussion issues.Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly facts for everyone to enjoy! If you liked our suggestions for 1999 fun facts then why not take a look at 1978 facts, or 1980 fun facts.
Starting off on a busy Friday, the year 1999 started to showcase a multitude of noteworthy events from the very beginning.
