Y2K

Ah yes, Y2K, a.k.a. the year 2000, a.k.a. the year everyone (okay, not everyone) thought that the world was gonna end. While there are lots of theories, strange and not-so-strange, that lend themselves to Y2K, there’s one you should actually know about.

Some people believed computer programming was going to crap its own pants, because many programs were designed like 19xx, where you can plug in whatever you want for xx for the year. So when 2000 came, either the program would blow its own mind, or it would turn the dial to 1900 instead of 2000. This caused some panic, since we’re so dependent on technology. That was decades ago now though, and most of us survived.