Raye's History House

A lot has been written about Baby Boomers, and even Gen X and Millennials get quite a bit of love. But what about the world’s youngest generation? Where are their timelines and nostalgia articles?

Born between 1997 and the late 2010s, Gen Z is the generation defined by the War on Terror, social media, and climate change.

Yet, as with every generation, the big events only tell half the story of what guides an age group to maturity.

So, from hit songs and top TV shows and movies to pivotal pop culture events and toys, this list looks at everything that characterized the childhoods of today’s youth.

Also, for each year, I’ve added the average US prices for commodities such as a gallon of milk and a home. For comparison, I’ve listed the prices in 2023 dollars below.

2023

Median Salary: $54,132

Minimum Wage: $7.25

Price of:

• A Home: $385,800
• A Gallon of Milk: $4.38
• A Gallon of Gas: $3.49
• Harvard Tuition: $52,650

Color coding for timeline events:

• Pink – TV Shows
• Yellow – Major Events
• Green – Movies
• Blue – Music
• Dark Gray – Other

• 1997

  Median Salary: $24,000 (2023: $45,100)

  Minimum Wage: $4.75 (2023: $8.93)

  Price of:

  -A Home: $115,900 (2023: $217,900)

  -A Gallon of Milk: $2.61 (2023: $4.91)

  -A Gallon of Gas: $1.23 (2023: $2.31)

  -Harvard Tuition: $19,770 (2023: $37,180)

  Best Selling Car: Toyota Camry

  

• January 12 1997: “King of the Hill” premiers on Fox. The last episode airs on May 6 2010.

• Jan 20 1997: Bill Clinton starts his second term as US president

  

• March 9 1997: The Notorious B.I.G. is killed in Los Angeles, California

• March 10 1997: “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” premieres on The WB. The final episode airs on May 20 2003.

• March 18 1997: “Liar Liar” premieres, starring Jim Carrey

• March 24-26 1997: 39 members of the Heaven’s Gate cult commit suicide in San Diego, California

• April 15 1997: Hanson releases “MMMBop”

• May 1 1997: Tony Blair becomes Prime Minister of the United Kingdom

• May 11 1997: IBM’s Deep Blue defeats world chess champion, Garry Kasparov – the first time a computer has done so

• May 20 1997: The final episode of “Roseanne” airs on ABC.

• June 26 1997: J.K. Rowling “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone” is published in London

• July 2 1997: “Men in Black” premieres, starring Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones

• July 15 1997: The Notorious B.I.G. releases “Mo Money Mo Problems”

• August 13 1997: “South Park” debuts on Comedy Central

• August 29 1997: Netflix is founded in Scotts Valley, California. Initially, a service that sent DVDs by mail, in 2007, Netflix began streaming media.

• August 31 1997: Diana, Princess of Wales dies in a car accident in Paris. The funeral took place on September 6th at Westminster Abbey and was watched by more than two billion people.

  

• September 13 1997: Elton John releases “Candle in the Wind 1997”

• October 6 1997: A color photograph appears on the front page of the The New York Times for the first time

• November 24 1997: Celine Dion releases “My Heart Will Go On”

• December 6 1997: The final episode of “The Magic School Bus” airs on PBS.

• December 19 1997: James Cameron’s “Titanic” premieres and goes on to become the highest-grossing movie of all time

• 1998

  Median Salary: $25,300 (2023: $46,800)

  

  Minimum Wage: $5.15 (2023: $9.53)

  Price of:

  -A Home: $118,600 (2023: $219,600)

  -A Gallon of Milk: $2.71 (2023: $5.02)

  -A Gallon of Gas: $1.06 (2023: $1.96)

  -Harvard Tuition: $20,600 (2023: $38,140)

  Best Selling Car: Toyota Camry

• February 28 1998: A study in the Lancet suggest a link between vaccinations and autism, beginning the modern anti-vax movement

• April 27 1998: Harvey Danger releases “Flagpole Sitta”

• May 11 1998: The first Euros are minted in France

• May 14 1998: The last episode of “Seinfeld” airs on NBC.

• June 6 1998: “Sex and the City” premiers on HBO. The last episode airs on February 22 2004.

• July 24 1998: “Saving Private Ryan” premieres, starring Tom Hanks

• July 29 1998: “Parent Trap” premieres, starring Lindsay Lohan

• August 15 1998: Apple releases the iMac

• September 4 1998: Google Inc is founded in Menlo Park, California

• September 26 1998: “Dance Dance Revolution” is released in Japan. It comes to North America and Europe in March 1999.

  

• September 28 1998: Britney Spears releases “…Baby One More Time”

• November 18 1998: “The Powerpuff Girls” premiers. on Cartoon Network. The final episode airs on March 25 2005.

• December 19 1998: President Clinton is impeached by the US House of Representatives. He is acquitted on February 12 1999.

• 1999

  Median Salary: $25,900 (2023: $47,200)

  Minimum Wage: $5.15 (2023: $9.38)

  Price of:

  -A Home: $127,900 (2023: $232,900)

  -A Gallon of Milk: $2.84 (2023: $5.17)

  -A Gallon of Gas: $1.17 (2023: $2.13)

  -Harvard Tuition: $21,340 (2023: $38,860)

  Best Selling Car: Toyota Camry

• January 31 1999: “Family Guy” premiers on Fox.

• February 1 1999: Stephen Chbosky’s “The Perks of Being a Wallflower” is published. It will be made into a movie in 2012.

• February 2 1999: TLC releases “No Scrubs”

• April 12 1999: Backstreet Boys releases “I Want It That Way”

• April 20 1999: Thirteen people are killed during the Columbine High School massacre in Colorado.

• May 1 1999: “SpongeBob SquarePants” premieres on Nickelodeon.

  

• June 1 1999: Napster is launched.

• July 1999: Beyblades are released in Japan. Hasbro begins selling them internationally in 2002.

• July 16 1999: John F. Kennedy Jr. dies in a plane crash near Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts

• August 6 1999: “The Sixth Sense” premieres, starring Bruce Willis

• September 14 1999: Santana releases “Maria Maria”

• October 14 1999: Destiny’s Child releases “Say My Name”

• December 31 1999: Vladimir Putin becomes president of Russia

  

  The US returns the Panama Canal to Panama 85 years after its completion.

• 2000

  

  Median Salary: $26,900 (2023: $47,700)

  Minimum Wage: $5.15 (2023: $9.13)

  Price of:

  -A Home: $138,200 (2023: $244,900)

  -A Gallon of Milk: $2.78 (2023: $4.93)

  

  -A Gallon of Gas: $1.51 (2023: $2.68)

  -Harvard Tuition: $22,050 (2023: $39,080)

  Best Selling Car: Toyota Camry

• By 2000, half of all Americans say they use the internet.

• February 4 2000: “The Sims” is released for Microsoft Windows.

• February 13 2000: The “Peanuts” comic strip ends after 49 years

• February 23 2000: Jennifer Lopez wears her now famous green Versace dress to the 42nd Grammy Awards

• October 5 2000: Slobodan Milošević resigns as president of Yugoslavia

  

• November 2 2000: A resident crew enters the International Space Station for the first time

  

• November 8 2000: “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” premieres, starring Jim Carrey

• November 20 2000: Eminem releases “Stan”

• 2001

  Median Salary: $28,300 (2023: $48,400)

  Minimum Wage: $5.15 (2023: $8.80)

  Price of:

  -A Home: $142,300 (2023: $243,100)

  -A Gallon of Milk: $2.88 (2023: $4.92)

  -A Gallon of Gas: $1.46 (2023: $2.49)

  -Harvard Tuition: $22,690 (2023: $38,770)

  Best Selling Car: Honda Accord

• January 9 2001: Apple launches iTunes.

• January 12 2001: “Lizzie McGuire” premiers on Disney Channel. The last episode airs on February 14 2004.

• January 15 2001: Wikipedia is launched.

• January 20 2001: George W. Bush becomes president of the United States.

• February 18 2001: Dale Earnhardt dies due to a crash in the 2001 Daytona 500.

  

• April 14 2001: “Animal Crossing” is released for the Nintendo 64.

  

• March 5 2001: Gorillaz release “Clint Eastwood.”

• March 13 2001: Missy Elliott releases “Get Ur Freak On.”

• April 1 2001: Netherlands becomes the first modern country to legalize gay marriage.

  

• May 18 2001: “Shrek” premieres, starring Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, and Cameron Diaz.

• May 21 2001: The original Bratz dolls (Cloe, Jade, Sasha, and Yasmin) are released.

• September 11 2001: Al-Qaeda terrorists attack the World Trade Center Towers in New York City and the Pentagon building in Arlington, Virginia. A fourth plane crashes in Pennsylvania.

  

• September 20 2001: US President George W. Bush declares the Global War on Terrorism.

• October 7 2001: The United States invades Afghanistan.

• October 23 2001: Apple launches the iPod. The original device cost $399 (2023: $671).

  

• November 2 2001: “Monsters, Inc.” premieres

• November 10 2001: “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone” premieres

• November 15 2001: Microsoft launches the first Xbox. It originally costs $299 (2023: $503).

  

  The first “Halo” is released for the Xbox.

• 2002

  

  Median Salary: $29,400 (2023: $49,700)

  Minimum Wage: $5.15 (2023: $8.70)

  Price of:

  -A Home: $156,100 (2023: $263,700)

  -A Gallon of Milk: $2.76 (2023: $4.66)

  -A Gallon of Gas: $1.36 (2023: $2.30)

  -Harvard Tuition: $23,450 (2023: $39,610)

  Best Selling Car: Toyota Camry

• May 7 2002: Nelly releases “Hot in Herre”

• June 2 2002: “The Wire” premieres on HBO. The final episode airs on March 9 2008.

• June 11 2002: “American Idol” premieres on Fox and creates stars, such as Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood, and Jordin Sparks.

  

• October 22 2002: R. Kelly releases “Ignition (Remix)”

• October 28 2002: Eminem releases “Lose Yourself”

• November 8 2002: “8 Mile” premieres, starring Eminem

• November 25 2002: George W. Bush establishes the Department of Homeland Security

  Justin Timberlake releases “Cry Me a River”

• 2003

  Median Salary: $31,400 (2023:$51,700)

  Minimum Wage: $5.15 (2023: $8.48)

  Price of:

  -A Home: $166,200 (2023: $273,600)

  -A Gallon of Milk: $2.76 (2023: $4.54)

  -A Gallon of Gas: $1.59 (2023: $2.62)

  -Harvard Tuition: $24,630 (2023: $40,550)

  Best Selling Car: Toyota Camry

• January 7 2003: 50 Cent releases “In da Club”

• January 17 2003: “That’s So Raven” premieres on Disney Channel. The final episode airs on November 10 2007.

• February 17 2003: The White Stripes release “Seven Nation Army”

• March 2003: Johnny Cash releases “Hurt”

• March 20 2003: The Iraq War begins when the United States and its allies invade Iraq. The US seizes Baghdad on April 9.

• April 2003: “The Da Vinci Code” is published. The film adaptation is released May 19 2006.

• April 14 2003: The Human Genome Project is completed. However, the final chromosome sequence isn’t published until May 2006.

• May 14 2003: Beyoncé releases “Crazy in Love”

• May 29 2003: Khaled Hosseini’s “Kite Runner” is published. The movie adaptation is released on December 14 2007.

• May 30 2003: “Finding Nemo” premieres

• August 1 2003: Myspace is launched

• August 25 2003: Kelis releases “Milkshake”

  Outkast releases “Hey Ya!”

• September 29 2003: The Killers release “Mr. Brightside”

• October 1 2003: 4chan is launched

• October 29 2003: “Call of Duty” is released

• December 2003: Motorola releases the RAZR cell phone

  

• December 13 2003: US troops capture Saddam Hussein in Ad-Dawr, Iraq

• 2004

  

  Median Salary: $33,600 (2023: $54,300)

  Minimum Wage: $5.15 (2023: $8.32)

  Price of:

  -A Home: $187,900 (2023: $303,500)

  -A Gallon of Milk: $3.16 (2023: $5.10)

  -A Gallon of Gas: $1.88 (2023: $3.04)

  -Harvard Tuition: $26,060 (2023: $42,100)

  Best Selling Car: Toyota Camry

• January 6 2004: Construction of the Burj Khalifa begins in Dubai, UAE. When finished in 2010, it will stand at 2,717 feet, making it the world’s tallest building.

  

• January 13 2004: Britney Spears releases “Toxic”

• January 27 2004: Usher releases “Yeah!”

• February 4 2004: Mark Zuckerberg launches Facebook

• February 25 2004: “The Passion of the Christ” premieres

• March 19 2004: “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” premieres, starring Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet

• April 27 2004: Jay-Z releases “99 Problems”

• May 6 2004: The final episode of “Friends” airs on NBC.

• June 4 2004: Marvin Heemeyer drives his “Killdozer” through Granby, Colorado, causing $7 million (2023: $11 million) in damages

• June 8 2004: The final episode of “Hey Arnold!” airs on Nickelodeon.

• August 1 2004: The final episode of “Rugrats” airs on Nickelodeon.

• August 6 2004: Green Day releases “American Idiot”

• August 22 2004: Thieves steal Edvard Munch’s The Scream from the Munch Museum in Oslo, Norway

• November 5 2004: “The Incredibles” premieres in the US

• November 16 2004: Kelly Clarkson releases “Since U Been Gone”

• November 21 2004: The Nintendo DS comes out in North America. It originally costs $149.99 (2023: $237).

  

• December 26 2004: An earthquake and tsunami in the Indian Ocean kills about 228,000 people in 14 countries, making it one of the worst natural disasters in history

  

• 2005

  Median Salary: $36,100 (2023: $56,600)

  Minimum Wage: $5.15 (2023: $8.08)

  Price of:

  -A Home: $208,600 (2023: $327,300)

  -A Gallon of Milk: $3.19 (2023: $5.00)

  -A Gallon of Gas: $2.30 (2023: $3.61)

  -Harvard Tuition: $27,440 (2023: $43,050)

  Best Selling Car: Toyota Camry

• January 9 2005: Daniel Powter releases “Bad Day”

• February 10 2005: North Korea announces it has nuclear weapons

• February 14 2005: YouTube’s domain name is registered. The first video is uploaded on April 23.

• February 21 2005: “Avatar: The Last Airbender” premieres on Nickelodeon

• March 15 2005: Mariah Carey releases “We Belong Together”

• March 22 2005: Gwen Stefani releases “Hollaback Girl”

  

• March 24 2005: “The Office” (US) premieres on NBC. The final episode airs on May 16 2013.

• July 5 2005: Kanye West releases “Gold Digger”

• August 4 2005: “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” premieres on FX.

• August 29 2005: Hurricane Katrina strikes the US’s Gulf Coast, killing around 1,400 people and causing more than $108 billion in damages.

  

• September 2 2005: “Brokeback Mountain” premieres, starring Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal

• September 13 2005: “Supernatural” premieres on The WB. The final episode air on November 19 2020.

• September 19 2005: “How I Met Your Mother” premieres on CBS. The final episode airs on March 31 2004.

• October 5 2005: Stephenie Meyer’s “Twilight” is published. The film adaptation is released November 21 2008.

• November 8 2005: “Guitar Hero” is released for Playstation 2

  

• November 22 2005: Microsoft releases the Xbox 360 . It originally cost $299 (2023: $460).

  Angela Merkel becomes Chancellor of Germany

  

• 2006

  Median Salary: $37,400 (2023: $56,400)

  Minimum Wage: $5.15 (2023: $7.77)

  Price of:

  -A Home: $213,800 (2023: $322,600)

  -A Gallon of Milk: $3.08 (2023: $4.65)

  -A Gallon of Gas: $2.59 (2023: $3.91)

  -Harvard Tuition: $28,750 (2023: $43,370)

  Best Selling Car: Toyota Camry

• January 20 2006: “High School Musical” is released on Disney Channel

• March 13 2006: Gnarls Barkley releases “Crazy”

• March 21 2006: Twitter is launched

  

• April 25 2006: Nelly Furtado releases “Promiscuous”

• June 9 2006: “Cars” premieres, starring Owen Wilson, Paul Newman, Bonnie Hunt, and Larry the Cable Guy

• August 24 2006: The International Astronomical Union announces it will no longer consider Pluto a planet.

• November 5 2006: Saddam Hussein is sentenced to death. The death sentence is carried out on December 30.

• November 19 2006: Nintendo releases the Wii. The game console retails at US$249.99 (2023: $369).

  

• October 1 2006: “Dexter” premieres on Showtime. The last episode airs September 22 2013.

• October 23 2006: Amy Winehouse releases “Rehab”

  

  Beyoncé releases “Irreplaceable”

• December 11 2006: The Mexican military begins to combat the country’s drug cartels, leading to the Mexican Drug War.

• 2007

  Median Salary: $38,000 (2023: $56,200)

  Minimum Wage: $5.15 (2023: $7.61)

  Price of:

  -A Home: $216,400 (2023: $319,800)

  -A Gallon of Milk: $3.50 (2023: $5.17)

  -A Gallon of Gas: $2.80 (2023: $4.14)

  -Harvard Tuition: $30,270 (2023: $44,740)

  Best Selling Car: Toyota Camry

• January 9 2007: Steve Jobs announces the Apple iPhone. It is released in the US on June 29 and in major European markets in November.

  

• January 25 2007: “Skins” (UK) premiers on E4. The final episode airs on August 5 2013.

• February 19 2007: Tumblr is launched

• March 29 2007: Rihanna releases “Umbrella”

• April 1 2007: Jeff Kinney’s “Diary of a Wimpy Kid” is published. The film adaptation premiered on March 19 2010.

• April 16 2007: Seung-Hui Cho kills 32 people at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia

  

• July 19 2007: “Mad Men” premieres on AMC. The final episode airs on May 17 2015.

• July 21 2007: The final Harry Potter book, Deathly Hallows, hits shelves

• September 16 2007: Leona Lewis releases “Bleeding Love”

  

• September 24 2007: “The Big Bang Theory” premieres on CBS. The final episode airs on May 16 2019.

• October 9 2007: Flo Rida releases “Low”

  

• October 29 2007: Hulu is launched

• November 19 2007: Amazon releases the Kindle, which sold out in less than 6 hours. The starting price was $399 (2023: $590).

• December 2007: The Great Recession begins in the US, quickly leading to economic problems across much of the world

• 2008

  Median Salary: $39,000 (2023: $55,300)

  Minimum Wage: $5.85 (2023: $8.09)

  Price of:

  -A Home: $191,000 (2023: $270,700)

  -A Gallon of Milk: $3.80 (2023: $5.39)

  -A Gallon of Gas: $3.27 (2023: $4.63)

  -Harvard Tuition: $31,450 (2023: $44,580)

  Best Selling Car: Toyota Camry

• January 2008: Stieg Larsson’s “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” is published in English. The English language film adaptation is released December 21 2011.

• January 20 2008: “Breaking Bad” premieres on AMC. The last episode aired September 29 2013.

• February 11 2008: M.I.A. releases “Paper Planes”

• September 14 2008: “The Hunger Games” is published. It is later turned into a movie, released on March 23 2012.

• September 23 2008: Lady Gaga releases “Poker Face”

• October 13 2008: Beyoncé releases “Single Ladies”

  

• November 2008: The first Silly Bandz are sold online. They were first sold in stores in 2009 in a specialty toy store in Birmingham, Alabama.

• 2009

  Median Salary: $39,500 (2023: $56,000)

  Minimum Wage: $6.55 (2023: $9.28)

  Price of:

  -A Home: $185,000 (2023: $262,100)

  -A Gallon of Milk: $3.11 (2023: $4.41)

  -A Gallon of Gas: $2.35 (2023: $3.33)

  -Harvard Tuition: $32,550 (2023: $46,100)

  Best Selling Car: Toyota Camry

• January 3 2009: Satoshi Nakamoto begins creating Bitcoin

• January 20 2009: Barack Obama becomes the first African American president of the United States

• March 2 2009: Black Eyed Peas release “Boom Boom Pow”

• April 9 2009: “Parks and Recreation” premieres on NBC. The final episode airs on February 24 2015.

• May 17 2009: Minecraft is made public

• May 19 2009: “Glee” premieres on Fox. The final episode airs on March 20 2015.

• May 29 2009: “Up” premieres

• June 11 2009: H1N1 (swine flu) is deemed a global pandemic. The WHO declares the end of the pandemic on August 10 2010.

• June 25 2009: Michael Jackson dies in Los Angeles, California. 2.5 billion people watch his memorial service.

• August 7 2009: Kesha releases “Tik Tok”

• August 11 2009: Lady Antebellum releases “Need You Now”

• September 13 2009: Kanye West interrupts Taylor Swift’s acceptance speech for Best Female Video during the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards

• December 3 2009: “Jersey Shore” premieres on MTV. The final episode airs on December 20 2012.

• December 18 2009: James Cameron’s “Avatar” premieres and makes $2.9 billion at the box office

• 2010

  Median Salary: $41,000 (2023: $56,600)

  Minimum Wage: $7.25 (2023: $10.01)

  Price of:

  -A Home: $180,600 (2023: $249,300)

  -A Gallon of Milk: $3.26 (2023: $4.50)

  -A Gallon of Gas: $2.79 (2023: $3.85)

  -Harvard Tuition: $33,690 (2023: $46,510)

  Best Selling Car: Toyota Camry

• January 12 2010: An earthquake in Haiti leaves 316,000 dead

  

• April 3 2010: Apple releases the iPad. It originally costs $499 (2023: $685).

• April 20 2010: Deepwater Horizon’s oil drilling platform explodes in the Gulf of Mexico, leading to one of the largest oil spills in history

  

• May 18 2010: “Read Dead Redemption” is released for Xbox 360 and Playstation 3.

• July 23 2010: One Direction forms

  Katy Perry releases “Teenage Dream”

  

• July 25 2010: WikiLeaks exposes more than 90,000 documents concerning the War in Afghanistan. On October 22, WikiLeaks posts more than 390,000 documents about civilian casualties during the Iraq War.

• September 12 2010: Lady Gaga wears a meat dress to the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards

• September 23 2010: Blockbuster closes the last of its stores. However, some were bought by Dish Network and remained open.

• October 6 2010: Instagram launches

• October 26 2010: Katy Perry releases “Firework”

• October 31 2010: “The Walking Dead” premieres on AMC. The last episode airs on November 20 2022.

• November 29 2010: Adele releases “Rolling in the Deep”

• December 17 2010: The suicide of Mohamed Bouazizi leads to the Arab Spring

• 2011

  

  Median Salary: $43,000 (2023: $58,400)

  Minimum Wage: $7.25 (2023: $9.85)

  Price of:

  -A Home: $172,200 (2023: $233,900)

  -A Gallon of Milk: $3.57 (2023: $4.85)

  -A Gallon of Gas: $3.53 (2023: $4.80)

  -Harvard Tuition: $34,970 (2023: $47,510)

  Best Selling Car: Toyota Camry

• January 9 2011: “Bob’s Burgers” premieres on Fox.

• January 25 2011: LMFAO releases “Party Rock Anthem”

• March 11 2011: An earthquake and tsunami in Japan kills at least 15,000 people. Afterward, the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant melted down.

  

• March 15 2011: Protests for democracy in Syria lead to the start of the Syrian Civil War.

• April 17 2011: “Game of Thrones” premieres on HBO. The last episode airs on May 19 2019.

• April 29 2011: Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, marries Kate Middleton at Westminster Abbey in London. They have their first child, Prince George, on July 22 2013

• May 1 2011: Seal Team 6 kills Osama bin Laden in Pakistan

  

• May 25 2011: The final episode of the “Oprah Winfrey Show” airs after 24 years on TV

  

• June 20 2011: E.L. James’ “Fifty Shades of Grey” is published. The film adaptation is released on February 13 2015.

• July 5 2011: Gotye releases “Somebody That I Used to Know”

• September 17 2011: Occupy Wall Street protests begin in the US. Similar demonstrations take place in 82 other countries.

• September 20 2011: Carly Rae Jepsen releases “Call Me Maybe”

  Fun. releases “We Are Young”

• September 22 2011: Rihanna releases “We Found Love”

  

• October 4 2011: Apple releases Siri

• October 20 2011: Muammar Gaddafi is killed after ruling Libya for more than 40 years.

  

• October 31 2011: The global population reaches 7 billion

• December 15 2011: The US declares the end of the Iraq War

• December 17 2011: North Korea’s Supreme Leader Kim Jong-il dies. Soon afterward, his son Kim Jong-un replaces him.

• 2012

  

  Median Salary: $45,300 (2023: $59,800)

  Minimum Wage: $7.25 (2023: $9.57)

  Price of:

  -A Home: $180,400 (2023: $238,100)

  -A Gallon of Milk: $3.49 (2023: $4.61)

  -A Gallon of Gas: $3.64 (2023: $4.80)

  -Harvard Tuition: $36,300 (2023: $47,910)

  Best Selling Car: Toyota Camry

• January 10 2012: John Green’s “The Fault in Our Stars” is published. The film adaptation is released June 6 2014.

• February 11 2012: Whitney Houston dies in Beverly Hills, California

• February 26 2012: George Zimmerman kills Trayvon Martin in Florida. Zimmerman’s acquittal on July 14 2013 leads to the founding of the Black Lives Matter movement.

  

• May 29 2012: Nicki Minaj releases “Beez in the Trap”

• August 27 2012: Macklemore and Ryan Lewis release “Thrift Shop”

• October 29 2012: Imagine Dragons releases “Radioactive”

• December 6 2012: The US state of Washington becomes the world’s first jurisdiction to legalize recreational marijuana use.

• December 14 2012: 28 people are killed in a shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut

• December 21 2012: The end of the Mayan calendar leads to panic that the world will end

• 2013

  Median Salary: $46,000 (2023: $59,800)

  Minimum Wage: $7.25 (2023: $9.42)

  Price of:

  -A Home: $187,200 (2023: $243,200)

  -A Gallon of Milk: $3.46 (2023: $4.50)

  -A Gallon of Gas: $3.53 (2023: $4.59)

  -Harvard Tuition: $37,570 (2023: $48,810)

  Best Selling Car: Toyota Camry

• June 3 2013: Lorde releases “Royals”

• July 11 2013: “Orange Is the New Black” is released on Netflix. The final episode becomes available on July 26 2019.

• September 17 2013: Rockstar Games releases Grand Theft Auto V

• November 4 2013: “Steven Universe” premieres on Cartoon Network. The final episode airs on January 21 2019.

• November 27 2013: “Frozen” premieres

• December 17 2013: Beyoncé releases “Drunk in Love”

  Katy Perry releases “Dark Horse”

• December 18 2013: DJ Snake and Lil Jon release “Turn Down for What”

• 2014

  Median Salary: $49,300 (2023: $63,100)

  Minimum Wage: $7.25 (2023: $9.27)

  Price of:

  -A Home: $201,800 (2023: $258,100)

  -A Gallon of Milk: $3.69 (2023: $4.72)

  -A Gallon of Gas: $3.37 (2023: $4.31)

  -Harvard Tuition: $37,570 (2023: $48,050)

  Best Selling Car: Toyota Camry

• February 2014: The Ebola outbreak begins in West Africa. The epidemic will end up killing at least 11,000 people.

• March 17 2014: Sia releases “Chandelier”

• June 5 2014: ISIS begins its attempted takeover of Iraq

• July-August 2014: The Ice Bucket Challenge goes viral to raise awareness for ALS

• August 1 2014: “Guardians of the Galaxy” premieres, starring Chris Pratt

• November 6 2014: Amazon releases the first Alexa

• December 15 2014: Little Big Town releases “Girl Crush”

• 2015

  Median Salary: $51,600 (2023: $66,100)

  Minimum Wage: $7.25 (2023: $9.28)

  Price of:

  -A Home: $212,200 (2023: $271,600)

  -A Gallon of Milk: $3.42 (2023: $4.38)

  -A Gallon of Gas: $2.45 (2023: $3.14)

  -Harvard Tuition: $40,410 (2023: $51,730)

  Best Selling Car: Toyota Camry

• January 20 2015: “Hamilton” premieres at the Public Theater in Lower Manhattan

• April 2015: Bruce Jenner comes out as transgender during a 20/20 interview with Diane Sawyer. In July, Jenner holds a renaming ceremony and adopts the name “Caitlyn.”

• June 26 2015: The United States becomes the 22nd country to legalize gay marriage

• July 14 2015: NASA’s New Horizons becomes the first spacecraft to visit Pluto

• July 31 2015: Drake releases “Hotline Bling”

• September 28 2015: NASA announces that it has found water on Mars

• November 13 2015: ISIS terrorists attack a stadium, cafes, restaurants, and a theater in Paris, killing 130 people.