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Anniversaries

Y2K swept the nation 25 years ago: Historical photos show millennium panic in America

Portrait of Natalie Neysa Alund Natalie Neysa Alund
USA TODAY
Dec. 22, 2024, 7:31 a.m. ET

Bill Clinton was President, glowsticks were popular and anyone who received a message through AOL heard, "You've got mail."

This New Year's marks the 25th anniversary of Y2K, the popularized term referring to a widespread computer programming bug feared to wreak havoc when the year changed from 1999 to 2000. With the new millennium on the horizon, paranoia and excitement swept the country, as the world took guesses about what would happen to computers and the critical infrastructure relying on them.

Even the president of the United States addressed America about the nation's readiness.

"I expect we will experience no major national breakdowns as a result of the year 2000 date change," Clinton told reporters outside The White House on Nov. 10, 1999. "The American people can have full faith that everything from air traffic control systems to social security payment systems will continue to work exactly as they should."

According to the National Museum of American History, research firm Gartner estimated companies spent billions of dollars worldwide on technological upgrades and families prepared for a potential disaster by stockpiling food and other goods.

That all didn't happen of course. But to celebrate the anniversary that drew nostalgia from many alive at the time, USA TODAY is looking back on some of the photos surrounding the historic events leading up to it.

Images of Y2K's bygone era show everything from people wearing gas masks to packing grocery carts full of necessities including water and toilet paper.

Here are photos from USA TODAY's achieve of that night and the days leading up to it.:

This 1975 "Y2K Compliant" Chevrolet Truck on Third Avenue in Franklin, Tenn., on Sept. 21, 1999.
Jodi Didier looks over her Y2K storage area at her home using a wind-up flash light. Didier teaches a course entitled, "How to Prepare for the Y2K" at Rock Valley College in Rockford, Ill.
A saleswoman for American computer firm IBM demonstrates a Y2K compliant computer program to several prospective clients in their display booth at the international conference of the Y2K millennium computer bug in Manila on March 2, 1999. Experts sought to allay doomsday fears over the Y2K millennium bug ruling out global recession and accidental nuclear missile launches, adding however, that there would be problems in some countries that are not yet fully prepared to fight the glitch.
The Department of Defense Logistics Systems were tested for Y2K compliance as the media watched at the TRW building in Fairfax, Va., July 13, 1999. Here, Amanda Miller helps with the tests.
A compound in the back of the building at 5312 S Stone Rd. in South Range, Wis., built by families preparing for Y2K.
U.S. Secretary of of Health and Human Services Donna Shalala (L) and Chairman of the President's Y2K Council John Koskinen present the results of a year-long survey on possible pharmaceutical drug shortages in 2000 during a news conference in Washington, December 28. Shalala stated no significant Y2K-related problems with the nation's drug supplies should be expected next year.
Fuji technician Randy Williams installs a new chip into the Williamson A.M. film processor in Franklin, Tenn., on Jan. 25, 1999, that makes it Y2K compliant.
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Headquarters Emergency Support Team in Washington conducts a teleconference with all FEMA Regional Offices and essential government agencies in preparation for Y2K. FEMA officials say, based on information form the President's Council on Y2K, they anticipate no major national disruptions, but have planned for the possibility of smaller localized disruptions that may occur at about the same time across the country.
A Thai Airways pilot sets the time and date on a computerised clock to 2320 hours, December 31, 1999, in the cockpit of a 747 jet before taking off on a one hour flight from Bangkok airport to test their Y2K readiness on October 8. The plane landed safely at the airport after the flight, showing successful Y2K compliance of its systems.
Employee Michael Smith, of Little and Steele Hardware, examines items that are for sale in the Y2K section of the hardware store on Craighead Street in Nashville, Tenn., April 23, 1999.
Walt Spencer, finance officer with the Henderson County School System works on installing a new server for the system's business office as part of a on going effort to replace older equipment with new Y2K compliant machines, Dec. 22, 1999.
Stock traders, wearing Y2K glass, celebrate at the last trading day 1999, where closed up with the historic record of 17,091 points, in the floor of Sao Paulo's Stock Exchange, December 30. The BOVESPA index has risen 150 percent over the year making it the strongest performers in the Sao Paulo's Stock Exchange Market since 1997.
South-facing exterior at 5312 S Stone Road. The compound in South Range, Wisconsin was built by families preparing for Y2K.
Ready for any Y2K scenarios, Sam and Ria Skemp and their pet Chihuahua, Rattel, are ready to celebrates the New Year on Dec. 31, 1999, at home with a party and all of the things they bought for Y2K, including gas masks.

Natalie Neysa Alund is a senior reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at [email protected] and follow her on X @nataliealund.

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