Do you remember 1999? Ricky Martin’s “Livin La Vida Loca” topped the charts, we were scared of the Blair Witch, and Google officially launched.
To celebrate, Google Trends opened its time capsule to see which fads were titanic in 1999. According to the report, adults were watching “The Matrix” and “The Sopranos” while kids were into “Toy Story 2” and “Teletubbies.” People also used the search engine to learn about David Beckham or evaluate their Pokémon cards, and searches for hot sauce set the web ablaze.
Livin La Vida Local
Want to know what life was like in Derby City? We dug up some data to help us remember the final year of the 20th century — thanks to some help from a 25-year-old search engine.
- Median family income: $48,400
- City’s population: 253,128
- Estimated cost to buy a home: $131,066 (prices have increased 138.3%)
- Average cost of a gallon of gasoline in Kentucky: $0.763
In the news
- Waterfront Park began its phased — and still ongoing — expansion, and Louisville adopted the Fairness Ordinance, which added LGBTQ+ protections.
- On January 25, two Louisville doctors successfully completed the world’s first hand transplant. The surgery lasted 14 hours.
- On the first Saturday in May at Churchill Downs, 151,051 were in attendance to see Charismatic take home the garland of roses in the 125th Kentucky Derby.
- Louisville hosted the 1999 X Trials, building up to the X Games in San Francisco. Trick bikers took to a downtown parking lot, showing off their skills.
Who was performing
- Kid Rock and Limp Bizkit teamed up to co-headline a show at Louisville Gardens.
- George Strait hosted a country music festival at old Cardinal Stadium, which featured performances by a young Tim McGraw + Kenny Chesney.
- Dave Matthews + Tim Reynolds played a two-hour show at the Louisville Palace.
