Why did kids start liking books? Because J.K. Rowling convinced an entire generation that their mid-tier suburban life was just a mistake and an owl… Read More »1997 Vintage: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone

 Why was it so depressing? Because Thom Yorke predicted that we’d all become “paranoid androids” trapped in a digital cage—and we all bought the CD… Read More »1997 Classic: Radiohead’s “OK Computer”

 Why was the chess world in mourning? Because a giant IBM computer finally beat the world champion, officially starting the era where humans realized we… Read More »1997 Archive: Deep Blue Beats Kasparov

 Why was he walking so aggressively? Because the music video taught us that if you have a good enough string section, you don’t have to… Read More »1997 Archive: The Verve’s “Bitter Sweet Symphony”

 Why did Lara Croft have a triangular torso? Because polygons were expensive in 1996, but our imaginations were free. Part of the 35 Miscellaneous Jokes:… Read More »1996 Classic: Tomb Raider

 Why was the “Banana Phone” the dream? Because The Matrix hadn’t even come out yet, but we already knew that sliding a plastic cover down was the… Read More »1996 Vintage: Nokia 8110

 Why was the “Uh-oh!” sound so iconic? Because it meant your friend had finally connected to the web, and you had about 10 minutes to… Read More »1996 Vintage: ICQ

 Why did we start fearing toys? Because 1996 saw the start of the Furby project—a robot designed to learn love, which ended up waking us… Read More »1996 Legacy: Furbies (In Development)

 Why did we feel like explorers? Because the logo was a ship’s wheel, which fit the speed—you felt like you were actually rowing through an… Read More »1996 Archive: Netscape Navigator 3.0

 Why did everyone look at the sky with suspicion? Because Will Smith showed us that the best way to stop an intergalactic invasion was to… Read More »1996 Legacy: Independence Day (The Movie)