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 Cowtown? 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:
- 1999 | $55,300
- 2024 | $67,927
City’s population:
- 1999 | 502,369
- 2024 | 978,500
Average cost to buy a home:
- 1999 | $136,800
- 2024 | $316,000
Average cost of a gallon of gasoline in Texas:
- 1999 | $0.718
- 2024 | $3.036
In the news
- The Fort Worth Herd made its debut in the Stockyards, commemorating Cowtown history with the twice-daily cattle drive that still runs today.
- The Red Goose Shoe Company reopened with its iconic neon sign as the Red Goose Saloon downtown.
- The Texas Rangers finished first in the American League West with a record of 95 wins and 67 losses. The .586 winning percentage was the best in franchise history at that time.
Who was performing
- Brad Paisley performed his debut album at Billy Bob’s Texas.
- The world’s largest honky-tonk also hosted Hank Williams III, singing hits from his “Risin’ Outlaw” album.
- Meanwhile, James Taylor was crooning “Hard Times” at the Fort Worth Convention Center.
