Most members of 2016’s incoming class were born in 1998 or thereabouts – the year of Furby, DVDs and Pokemon. As #Stirling2020 begin the next chapter of their lives, we’re looking back 18 years for some other significant events that year.
The Millennium Dome
A marvel of modern architecture or another white elephant? Loved by some, loathed by many, the Millennium Dome’s construction began in March 1998 in London.
The Big Lebowski
The best film of all time (in our humble opinion, of course). A case of mistaken identity leads professional slacker ‘The Dude’ on a heavy trip. A tip for our freshers: don’t ever be out of your element – that’s just, like, our opinion, man.
Pokemon Red & Blue
Quite possibly the defining game of our childhood, Pokemon Red and Blue were technically released in 1999 in the UK – although some of us managed to get North American imports in 1998. Red and Blue were the first in a series of Poke-things that took over the world, culminating in 2016’s Pokemon GO.
Dawson’s Creek
The original teen drama that spawned a slew of incredibly similar teen dramas.
The Good Friday Agreement
On 10th April 1998, the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland signed the Good Friday Agreement in Belfast in what was a major development in the Northern Ireland peace process.
£2 coins
More than a quid, less than a fiver – the first £2 coin came into circulation in the UK on 15th June 1998.
Half-Life
Widely considered one of the greatest video games of all time, Half-Life told the tale of Gordon Freeman – an ordinary guy who arrived late for work one morning and ended up fighting off aliens, soldiers, helicopters etc. with the help of his trusty crowbar. It spawned a sequel and multiple expansions, though people are still waiting for Half-Life 3 (praise Gaben).
Few could have predicted the incredible growth of the search engine giant when it was founded back in 1998. They now pretty much rule the world.
Saving Private Ryan
One of the first film epics of the modern day, Saving Private Ryan featured an all-star cast and one of the most harrowing depictions of war we’ve ever witnessed. Tom Hanks took to Omaha Beach in July 1998.
Windows 98
Described as ‘the ultimate version of Windows’ (we’re not sure why), Windows 98 contained 13 million lines of code and one of the most annoying sounds. Ever.
Robot Wars
The victim/beneficiary of a recent comeback, Robot Wars first aired in February 1998 and brought robotic death and destruction to homes across the land.
Portable MP3 players
Long before phones played music, there were MP3 players. The first one launched in the summer of 1998 and marked the coming of the digital age.
Furby
Pure evil.
DVDs
The UK’s first DVDs arrived in June 1998 – although only 6,000 had been sold by the end of the year. Now they’re probably facing extinction 18 years later.
Armageddon
Described as a ‘1998 science fiction’ movie on Wikipedia – loose on the science, heavy on the fiction – Armageddon featured Bruce and Ben taking on an evil asteroid determined to wreck Earth, as well as THAT song.
This.
Right in the childhood.
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