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What Happened in 2000 Major Events, Popular Culture, Prices

Sony releases the Playstation 2 Gaming Console in Japan

More Information for the Playstation 2.

During March of 2000, the newest Sony gaming console, the Playstation 2, was released for sale in Japan. The Playstation 2 went on to become the best selling gaming console in history, selling over 155 million units worldwide. Part of its success relied on the system’s backwards compatibility, allowing users to play games on the console from the previous model. The Playstation 2 was sold and manufactured around the world until January of 2013 when it was discontinued prior to the release of the Playstation 4, making it one of the longest sold systems.

First International Space Station Crew

The first crew to live on the International Space Station (ISS) arrives in space during November. The mission, called Expedition 1, was the first long-term stay totaling 136 days. Three astronauts including Bill Shepherd, Yuri Gidzenko, and Sergei Krikalev made up the crew of Expedition 1, and they stayed on the ISS for several months before being replaced by the crew of Expedition 2. Since the arrival of the first crew the International Space Station has been continuously occupied by astronauts from around the world.

United States -- Bush v. Gore

1. In December of 2000, the U.S. Supreme Court rules to end the vote recount in Florida in the Bush v. Gore case, giving the presidency to George W. Bush after a prolonged legal battle following the election.

2. The results in Florida were so close that it triggered an automatic machine count of votes under Florida law, the results tightened the race showing that less than 600 votes separated the two candidates.

3. Gore pursued the option to have a manual recount in 4 counties.

4. They were not able to complete the manual recount in the days required by the law which led to a legal battle between Gore and the state of Florida which eventually made it to the U.S. Supreme Court.

5. The court ruled that the methods in the recount violated the 14th amendment and also ruled to end the recount.

Vermont passes HB847

The State of Vermont passes HB847, legalizing Civil Unions for same-sex couples.

The Tate Modern

The Tate Modern opens in London.

The Euro

The Euro falls to record low against the US dollar

Millennium Bridge

The new Millennium Bridge across the Thames is opens on June 10th and is closed on June 12th due to safety fears for modifications.

Concorde Crash

Concorde Air France Flight 4590 crashes just after takeoff from Paris killing all 109 aboard and 5 on the ground.

Australia - Summer Olympics

The Summer Olympics are held in Sydney, Australia.

More Information for Sydney Olympics

1. The XXVII Summer Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia began during September of 2000.

2. A total of 10,651 athletes from 199 different countries participated in 300 events at the Millennium Olympic Games.

3. These were the first games to feature events in taekwondo and the triathlon, and the first to allow female athletes to compete in the modern pentathlon and weightlifting.

4. The XXVII Olympiad ended in October and the United States took home the most medals with 93 in total, ahead of Russia with 89, and China and Australia in third and fourth with 58 each.

Microsoft Bill Gates

Founder of Microsoft Bill Gates leaves his position as CEO.

More Information for Bill Gates at Microsoft

Microsoft co-founder and creator of the modern PC Bill Gates left his position as the Chief Executive Officer of his company during January of 2000. Gates left his position in order to spend more time doing charity work with the “Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation” a private charity foundation that he and his wife created. Gates remained in his position as Chairman of Microsoft until 2014 and also became the Chief Software Architect until 2008. Steve Ballmer took over as CEO in 2000 and was then replaced by Satya Nadella in 2014.

United States - Final Peanuts Comic

The final new Peanuts comic strip was published during February. The first Peanuts comic strip was published on October 2, 1950 and it was initially shown in seven different newspapers. The comic was created by Charles Schulz and featured the classic character Charlie Brown. The comics became a huge hit, spawning TV shows, cartoon films, books, and merchandise, all featuring the beloved characters. The comics became a pop culture fixture and ran in the U.S. newspapers until the last Peanuts comic strip hit the presses a day after Charles Schulz’s death.

Worldwide - Solar Flare Event

1. A huge solar flare, known as the Bastille Day Event, occurs on July 14th.

2. It was an X5 level eruption and originated in the large sunspot group 9077 as recorded by the NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration).

3. It was the largest solar flare recorded since 1989 and it triggered an S3 radiation storm and geomagnetic superstorm.

4. The radiation began reaching Earth within 15 minutes, causing disruptions to satellites and exposing air travelers to radiation that was equal to that of a chest x-ray.

5. It also caused a coronal mass ejection which can create stronger and farther-reaching Northern Lights and Southern Lights.

UK fuel protests

The UK fuel protests take place, with refineries blockaded, and supply to the country's network of petrol stations halted

Alexandria Discovered

Divers discover the ancient port of Alexandria the home of Cleopatra and Mark Anthony

Mississippi River

300 gallons of black sludge is released into the Mississippi River causing an environmental disaster

USS Cole

In Aden, Yemen, the USS Cole is badly damaged by two suicide bombers on October 12th

Cost of Living 2000

How Much things cost in 2000

Average Cost of new house $134,150.00

Average Income per year $40,343.00

Average Monthly Rent $675.00

Cost of a gallon of Gas $1.26

Average cost of new car $24,750.00

US Postage Stamp 33 cents

1 LB of Bacon $2.97

Ground Coffee per IB $3.44

Loaf of Bread $1.72

Dozen Eggs 89 cents

Barrel Of Oil Tops $30.00 per barrel

Popular Culture 2000

The popular show Big Brother is broadcast on German private channel RTLH and captures worldwide media interest

The Latest Harry Potter Book Is Published "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire"

51 million viewers watch the first season finale of the reality show "Survivor"

The last of the original Mini's rolls off the production lines

Popular Films

How the Grinch Stole Christmas!

Cast Away

Mission: Impossible II

Gladiator

What Women Want

The Perfect Storm

Meet the Parents

X-Men

Scary Movie

What Lies Beneath

Gladiator

Erin Brockovich

Billy Elliot

Popular Musicians

Lenny Kravitz

Blink-182

U2

All Saints

N Sync

Red Hot Chili Peppers

Madonna

Faith Hill

Dandy Warhols

Oasis

Bon Jovi

Robbie Williams

Kylie Minogue

Ronan Keating

Santana

Manic Street Preachers

Britney Spears

Robbie Williams

Craig David

The Eurythmics

R.E.M.

Pink

Coldplay

Pope John Paul II visits Israel

Pope John Paul II visits Israel prayed for forgiveness of the sins of those involved in the Holocaust

Rolling Blackouts California

California suffers the first of two years of Rolling Blackouts

Mobile Phones Growth

The use of mobile phones continues to grow as mobile phones move from the percieved "Yuppie Device" to an essential consumer product.

Robert Mugabe Zimbabwe

President Robert Mugabe pressed on with his plan to remove Zimbabwe's farms from white ownership.

Mexico Vicente Fox

Mexican voters vote for Vicente Fox as president

Childers Palace Backpackers Hostel

A fire at the Childers Palace Backpackers Hostel on June 23rd in the town of Childers, in Queensland, Australia leaves 15 backpackers dead

UK snow storms

The UK is hit by one of the worst snow storms in the last 50 years bringing public transport to a halt

U.S. Lifespan

The Lifespan in US is now 77.5 years

Mad Cow Disease

Mad Cow Disease causes alarm in Europe due to it's growth

AOL

America Online and Time Warner Combine

Formula One

Grand Prix Formula One returns to US after nine years to Indianapolis Motor Speedway

Austria cable car fire

A cable car taking skiers up to a glacier in Austria catches fire in a mountain tunnel killing 156

Hillary Clinton

Hillary Clinton is elected to the US Senate representing New York

Panama Canal

Control of the Panama Canal joining the Pacific and Atlantic oceans is handed over to Panama after 75 years of US control

Indonesia earthquake

An earthquake measuring 7.9 on the Richter scale strikes the western island of Sumatra, Indonesia on June 5th

Azerbaijan earthquake

An earthquake measuring 7.0 on the Richter scale strikes Baku the capital of Azerbaijan

U.S. brush fires

Over 5 million acres destroyed by brush fires in Western US worst in 50 years

Tiger Woods

Tiger Woods becomes the youngest player to win a Grand Slam in Golf

Ken Livingstone

Ken Livingstone is elected as London's first elected mayor

U.S. presidential election

U.S. presidential election, 2000 Republican challenger George W. Bush defeats Democrat Vice President Al Gore, but the final outcome is not known for over a month because of disputed votes in Florida.

Jeffrey Schilling

Jeffrey Schilling Taken Hostage By Abu Sayyaf Terrorist Group in Philippines

World - Website "DeviantART" Launched

The popular website "DeviantART" is launched.

More Information for DeviantART

The popular online community DeviantART is launched during August of 2000 by creators by Scott Jarkoff, Matt Stephens, and Angelo Sotira. The site, created to help users share and discuss their own artwork and the creations of others. Typically, the art featured on the site is non-traditional, and they showcase a variety of styles including photography, Flash animation, digital art, and much more. Over the years the website grew and boasts over 65 million visitors per month, over 38 million registered users, and over 160,000 uploads per day.

2000 Calendar

Technology 2000

The Concerns over Y2K passes without the serious, widespread computer failures and malfunctions that had been predicted

Microsoft releases Windows 2000.

AOL and Time Warner Merge

The Dot Com Bubble Bursts and thousands of DotComs go bust

Faulty Bridgestone/Firestone tyres on the Ford Explorer range blamed for nearly 100 fatalities.

One American astronaut and two Russian cosmonauts prepare for 4 month stay on the international space station,

The Worlds largest Ferris Wheel or Observation Wheel ( The London Eye ) is opened

According to NASA the hole in the Ozone layer over Antarctica has increased by .62 sq miles to 17 square miles in just 12 months

The NASDAQ peaks at 5132.52 just before the dot com bubble bursts.

It is agreed by European Airbus Consortium to go ahead with plans to build the worlds largest passenger plane the Airbus A3xx , it will accommodate up to 656 passengers.

A destructive computer virus ILOVEYOU spread by e-mail shuts down computers world wide

First Draft of Human Genome handed over to society on June 26th

Major World Political Leaders 2000

Australia Prime Minister John Howard

Brazil President Fernando Henrique Cardoso

Canada Prime Minister Jean Chrétien

France President Jacques Chirac

Germany Chancellor Gerhard Schröder

India Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee

Italy Prime Minister Massimo D'Alema Till 25 April

Italy Prime Minister Of Italy Giuliano Amato From 25 April

Japan Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi Till 5 April

Japan Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori From 5 April

Mexico President Ernesto Zedillo Till 30 November

Mexico President Vicente Fox From This Day In History November 30th

Russia / Soviet Union

General Secretary of the CPSU Vladimir Putin

South Africa State President Thabo Mbeki

United States President Bill Clinton

United Kingdom Prime Minister Tony Blair