It takes a page from google with an extremely basic and simple home page. Here's an example of what you'd get using the year 2000. the website counts backwards from the current year and fades to black. Then starts typing the information line by line until you get:
One bit of warning, the screen shot above is just a small portion of the results and it takes quite some time for it to complete since its printing line by line. Here's the whole thing:
In 2000, the world was a different place.
In 2000, the year of your birth, the top selling movie was Mission: Impossible II. People buying the popcorn in the cinema lobby had glazing eyes when looking at the poster.
Do you know who won the Oscars that year? The academy award for the best movie went to Gladiator. The Oscar for best foreign movie that year went to Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. The top actor was Russell Crowe for his role as Maximus Decimus Meridius in Gladiator. The top actress was Julia Roberts for her role as Erin Brockovich in Erin Brockovich. The best director? Steven Soderbergh for Traffic.
In the year 2000, the time when you arrived on this planet, books were still popularly read on paper, not on digital devices. Trees were felled to get the word out. The number one US bestseller of the time was The Brethren by John Grisham. Oh, that's many years ago. Have you read that book? Have you heard of it? Look at the cover!
In 2000... Alan Greenspan is nominated for a fourth term as U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman. The rap-metal band Rage Against the Machine plays in front of Wall Street, prompting an early closing of trading due to the crowds. UNESCO holds the inaugural celebration of International Mother Language Day. After originating in The Philippines, the ILOVEYOU computer virus spreads quickly throughout the world. The Constitution of Finland is rewritten. George W. Bush and Al Gore emerge victorious in the Republican and Democratic caucuses and primaries of the United States presidential election. The U.S. Supreme Court rules that the government lacks authority to regulate tobacco as an addictive drug, throwing out the Bill Clinton administration's main anti-smoking initiative. In United States v. Microsoft, Microsoft is ruled to have violated United States antitrust laws by keeping "an oppressive thumb" on its competitors. Brazil officially celebrates its 500th anniversary, with protests, especially from native and black populations. The State of Vermont passes HB847, legalizing civil unions for same-sex couples. The Tate Modern Gallery opens in London. Venezuela's president Hugo Chávez is reelected with 59% of the vote. A powerful solar flare, later named the Bastille Day event, causes a geomagnetic storm on Earth. The UK fuel protests take place, with refineries blockaded, and supply to the country's network of petrol stations halted. In San Antonio, Texas, computer pioneer Datapoint files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The video game of the day was Diablo II.
That was the world you were born into. Since then, you and others have changed it.
The Nobel prize for Literature that year went to Gao Xingjian. The Nobel Peace prize went to Kim Dae Jung. The Nobel prize for physics went to Zhores Ivanovich Alferov and Herbert Kroemer from Russia and Germany for developing semiconductor heterostructures used in high-speed- and optoelectronics. The sensation this created was big. But it didn't stop the planets from spinning, on and on, year by year. Years in which you would grow bigger, older, smarter, and, if you were lucky, sometimes wiser. Years in which you also lost some things. Possessions got misplaced. Memories faded. Friends parted ways. The best friends, you tried to hold on. This is what counts in life, isn't it?
The 2000s were indeed a special decade. Globalization continues to influence the world. Islamist groups are on the rise. The European Union further integrates and expands in Europe. A global financial crisis occurs. The US leadership declares a "War on Terror". The Arab-Israeli conflict continues. The second Congo War takes place. Kosovo gains independence from Serbia. Google becomes the web's most visited site. Other sites on the rise include YouTube, Facebook and MySpace. VHS collections become replaced with DVD. Touchscreen mobile phones gain popularity. Microsoft releases operating system Windows XP. The Chinese launch their first manned space flight, Shenzhou 5. Climate change and global warming become household words, while the global temperature keeps growing. The best-selling album of the decade is the Beatles compilation album. Michael Jackson dies. The Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings films capture the imagination of audiences across the globe. Michael Schumacher wins five F1 World Championships before he retires. Taipei 101 becomes the tallest building in the world.
6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1... it's 2000. There's TV noise coming from the second floor. Someone turned up the volume way too high. The sun is burning from above. These were different times. The show playing on TV is Dora The Explorer . The sun goes down. Someone switches channels. There's Malcolm in the Middle on now. That's the world you were born in.
Progress, year after year. Do you wonder where the world is heading towards?
Two thousand years
Two thousand years
Two thousand years
Two thousand years
I have waited
To ask if I have loved you
To know if I have served you
To finally find the being
To know if I could trade you
...
That's from the song Two Thousand Years by The Who.
It's 2010.
The world is a different place.
What path have you taken?
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