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 the City of Roses? 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: $52,400
- City’s population: 503,637
- Average cost to buy a home: $188,600
- Average cost of a gallon of gasoline in Oregon: $1.44 in the spring/summer of 1999
In the news
- Stumptown Coffee Roasters made its debut on Southeast Division Street.
- The Oregon Zoo and its Asian elephants began the Squish the Squash tradition.
- Blitz-Weinhard Brewing Company, which first started making beer in 1856, ceases operations.
Who was performing
- Shania Twain brought her “Come On Over Tour” to the Rose Garden — now the Moda Center.
- In March, the venue also hosted Alanis Morissette on her Junkie Tour. Garbage tagged along — thankfully, they were “Only Happy When It Rains.”
- Other notable shows included a Lenny Kravitz/Buckcherry/Smash Mouth lineup, Amy Grant, and the All That Music & More Festival, which was headlined by heart throb boy band 98 Degrees.
- Jammin 95.5 FM became the city’s first radio station to play hip-hop and R&B all the time.
