What were you doing when the clock struck midnight during new years 2000?

Is that New Years Eve or New Years Day 2000?

I was at a party with all of my relatives.

I was with my mom at church at what they call a watch meeting, where you basically pray in the new year.  :) I remember I was scared because I believed the Y2K hype and literally thought the world was gonna explode or something.

I'll never forget, there was enough people there to completely circle the inside of the church as we prayed and I remember thinking, if the world did end, I was happy to be with my mom in a holy place like the church. It was wonderful. You know my mom talked of that night for years to come. Its one of my favorite memories of time shared with her.  :)

I think we were at home that night. We knew the world wasn't gonna end, the thought never entered our minds. Not sure if I stayed up until midnight or not. I think we were taking a break from New year's parties that year, as the year before we had about 30 people over.

I think I was drinking fake champagne and watching the ball drop on TV.  I remember when people were panicking that a new century was coming.  But they were more worried about computers crashing than an asteroid.  Water bottles and can goods being bought up. 

  Water bottles and can goods being bought up.


Yes, shopping at the stores a few weeks before the year 2000 was crazy. The stores were just insane. 
We didn't buy into that. Some people were so surprised we still had water the next day and all the planes didn't crash.
Our company spent so much time and money backing up computer files "Y2K backup files", they hired extra workers to do all that.

Is that New Years Eve or New Years Day 2000?
New years day

I wonder what made people buy into the Y2K hype?

I wonder what made people buy into the Y2K hype?

A lot of them were worried that their computer would recognize "00" as 1900 (i.e., wouldn't recognize dates past 1999).

On 1/1/00 shortly after 12 PM I was switching on my PC to check if it's still working. I had Windows 98 during that time.

On 1/1/00 shortly after 12 PM I was switching on my PC to check if it's still working. I had Windows 98 during that time.
So did I. Windows 98 looks really retro now.


A lot of them were worried that their computer would recognize "00" as 1900 (i.e., wouldn't recognize dates past 1999).
Ohhh. So the computers during that time weren't advanced?

Ohhh. So the computers during that time weren't advanced?

Yeah, a lot of them displayed only the last two digits of the year. They might have stored the whole year internally, though (only a computer pro might know for certain). That said, I'm not sure how far into the current century they might have recognized dates.

One thing I am certain of, though, is that the VCR we had at the time was only displaying two-digits for the year... and it did appropriately recognize dates in the year 2000. (Sometime in late 1999, I went into the settings, tried out "01-01-00" and it correctly recognized it as a Saturday. I then set it back to the then-current date.) Not sure when the "cutoff" year was, although I suppose I could have read the owner's manual to find out the date range.

Yeah, a lot of them displayed only the last two digits of the year. They might have stored the whole year internally, though (only a computer pro might know for certain). That said, I'm not sure how far into the current century they might have recognized dates.

One thing I am certain of, though, is that the VCR we had at the time was only displaying two-digits for the year... and it did appropriately recognize dates in the year 2000. (Sometime in late 1999, I went into the settings, tried out "01-01-00" and it correctly recognized it as a Saturday. I then set it back to the then-current date.) Not sure when the "cutoff" year was, although I suppose I could have read the owner's manual to find out the date range.


What nally said, and most computers used in the business world back then, when you wanted to enter a year, the "19" part was already set  (the first 2 digits of the year), so one concern was that if your bank account has "X" amount of dollars in it, what would happen when the year 1999 went to the year 1900.  Lots of work had to be put in so that the computer would recognize it as the year "2000", and not "1900"

Let's say you purchased a 5 year guaranteed term investment on September 18, 1997. It would mature on Sept 18, 2002. However there was a concern the computer might read it as Sept 18, 1902 when it matured... So...you just lost 95 years of interest  ;D  (not really, but you can see the problem here)  Just think of how many millions of guaranteed investments were just like that, back then. Huge headache.

That was just one of the problems. I'm sure if you looked up "Y2K problems" on the net, you might learn some more


On 1/1/00 shortly after 12 PM I was switching on my PC to check if it's still working. I had Windows 98 during that time.


We had Windows 95 until the year 2001.

I wonder what made people buy into the Y2K hype?


Some people just thought it was going to be "the end of the world" so to speak. And they believed the hype.

On 1/1/00 shortly after 12 PM I was switching on my PC to check if it's still working. I had Windows 98 during that time.


I had Windows 2000, I was worried that my computer would start acting funny.

I was afraid at the time that my computer the next day would be acting funny and all the stupid hype like Christ or Jesus would come down and save the world or something like that. Or like massive Earthquakes, floods or something like that would disrupt normalcy. But lo and behold, nothing happened.

I didn't have a computer at the time, but for 2 weeks before the new millenium, there was a massive computer exodus, as every single computer in Willie Ray Smith Middle school (in Texas we name school after ball players) was taken out to be made Y2K-compliant. My teachers and things were freaking out without the computers they were so used to them. But everything got back normal after a while. And thank God nothing bad did happen. I was expecting the Second Coming and I don't think up to that point I had ever prayed like that in my life. Save me. Save my parents. Save my best friend at the time, Shelly....

I was afraid at the time that my computer the next day would be acting funny and all the stupid hype like Christ or Jesus would come down and save the world or something like that. Or like massive Earthquakes, floods or something like that would disrupt normalcy. But lo and behold, nothing happened.

And December 21, 2012 we were supposed have these things happen but they didn't.  I never bought into this that day or in 1999.

And December 21, 2012 we were supposed have these things happen but they didn't.  I never bought into this that day or in 1999.


I did buy into that 2012 hype, and prayed hard and asked God to send my mother for me to carry me to Heaven. (Cause I like to beleive when a person dies, a loved one comes and helps them cross over.I'm into paranormal stuff.)

::) Still here.

What nally said, and most computers used in the business world back then, when you wanted to enter a year, the "19" part was already set  (the first 2 digits of the year), so one concern was that if your bank account has "X" amount of dollars in it, what would happen when the year 1999 went to the year 1900.  Lots of work had to be put in so that the computer would recognize it as the year "2000", and not "1900"

Let's say you purchased a 5 year guaranteed term investment on September 18, 1997. It would mature on Sept 18, 2002. However there was a concern the computer might read it as Sept 18, 1902 when it matured... So...you just lost 95 years of interest  ;D  (not really, but you can see the problem here)  Just think of how many millions of guaranteed investments were just like that, back then. Huge headache.

That was just one of the problems. I'm sure if you looked up "Y2K problems" on the net, you might learn some more


Yeah, a lot of them displayed only the last two digits of the year. They might have stored the whole year internally, though (only a computer pro might know for certain). That said, I'm not sure how far into the current century they might have recognized dates.

One thing I am certain of, though, is that the VCR we had at the time was only displaying two-digits for the year... and it did appropriately recognize dates in the year 2000. (Sometime in late 1999, I went into the settings, tried out "01-01-00" and it correctly recognized it as a Saturday. I then set it back to the then-current date.) Not sure when the "cutoff" year was, although I suppose I could have read the owner's manual to find out the date range.



Some people just thought it was going to be "the end of the world" so to speak. And they believed the hype.
I understand now and I have read some of it. Its crazy how the Y2K hype scared lots of people into thinking the world was going to end, when it really wasnt ending.The only things that were ending were the century and millennium.

And December 21, 2012 we were supposed have these things happen but they didn't.  I never bought into this that day or in 1999.
Same here. I didnt buy into it either


I did buy into that 2012 hype, and prayed hard and asked God to send my mother for me to carry me to Heaven. (Cause I like to beleive when a person dies, a loved one comes and helps them cross over.I'm into paranormal stuff.)

::) Still here.
did you watch the 2012 movie?

I liked the 2012 movie because it was fun to watch, but I don't even think Roland Emmerich really believed in the end date.

And December 21, 2012 we were supposed have these things happen but they didn't.  I never bought into this that day or in 1999.


It was all a hoax.

It was all a hoax.

I don't think it was a hoax per say.  Someone just read up about the Mayans and got freaked and paranoid enough to believe something was going to happen.  So whoever it was told someone and it spread rapidly.  At least for the 2012 one anyway.

I had Windows 2000, I was worried that my computer would start acting funny.


Did you really have Windows 2000? It was not released before February 2000.

And December 21, 2012 we were supposed have these things happen but they didn't.  I never bought into this that day or in 1999.



and I'm still waiting for something to come out the sky.

I did buy into that 2012 hype, and prayed hard and asked God to send my mother for me to carry me to Heaven. (Cause I like to believe when a person dies, a loved one comes and helps them cross over.I'm into paranormal stuff.)

::) Still here.


Why couldn't you ask God for something else?

did you watch the 2012 movie?

I did and boy was that film crazy, it had huge floods and earthquakes, everybody went absolutely insane. :o

Did you really have Windows 2000? It was not released before February 2000.


Sorry, it must've been Windows 98.

I did and boy was that film crazy, it had huge floods and earthquakes, everybody went absolutely insane. :o
So did I.  It was scary how the world was breaking into pieces.

So did I.  It was scary how the world was breaking into pieces.


I hope new York doesn't end like the film. :o

I hope new York doesn't end like the film. :o
I hope the world doesn't end like that.

I hope the world doesn't end like that.


If it did, all of us wouldn't survive.

I hope the world doesn't end like that.
In "2012", the world did not end!

In "2012", the world did not end!
It did. the only thing that stayed was Africa.


If it did, all of us wouldn't survive.
And that would be super awful :\'(

I was a long-distance trucker in 1999, and on the occasions when I had to drive late at night I listened to Coast-To-Coast With (then) Art Bell whenever I could. One of his repeat guests was a guy named Gary North, who was a self-proclaimed "expert" on the Y2K bug, and he was so convinced that the 2000 changeover would have such a catastrophic effect on all electronic systems worldwide that he was telling anyone who would listen that they should sell their houses, buy some land out in the boonies, build an underground bunker, and fill it with enough food, water, guns and ammo to last 10 years; and that anyone who didn't believe him was completely mad.

Well, when you listen to something long enough, no matter how crazy, you begin to wonder if there might be some truth to it. By December 1999 I started getting a little anxious so I bought an extra week's supply of food and water just to be on the safe side.

I was at home on New Year's Eve. I was living in a duplex in Lincoln, Nebraska with my older brother Rob, and that night he told me and my younger brother Chad, who was visiting, that a friend of his was having a party and we should come over and ring in the new year (and century and millennium). Well, somehow we had forgotten the address and were still out wandering around trying to find the place at about 11:45 (this was long before cell phones were commonplace) when we said screw it and walked back to my duplex.

Chad and I got back to my place at about 11:55 and I turned on one of the New Year's specials so we could at least mark the occasion and then go back out later. We watched as the Central Time Zone counted down. 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.

At the exact moment the clock struck midnight the TV suddenly went out and all the lights went dark.

Oh, sh!t. It was really happening.

About 10 seconds later the lights and the TV came back on, and I looked over at Chad. He was standing next to the light switch with a huge grin on his face. For you see, the only lights on in the house was the lamp in the living room and the TV, and that particular switch just happened to control both of them.

For a moment I was furious. "YOU ASSHOLE!" I yelled at him. But only for a moment. When I realized that Chad did this prank (completely unplanned and off-the-cuff) at the only exact instant in human history that it could have been done, I began to laugh hysterically and I said something to the effect of "Well played."

I can't remember exactly what we did after that but I imagine it involved having a beer or two.

I went downtown, I was 11 years old. A lot of people honked their horns at midnight. It was fun!

A woman had confetti in her car.

In "2012", the world did not end!


I was referring to the near future.

Sounds to me some of you had crazy new years in 2000.

Sounds to me some of you had crazy new years in 2000.


Yes it was, cause back then I never knew what was going to happen after the clock struck midnight.

It did. the only thing that stayed was Africa.
The world had changed.

Yes it was, cause back then I never knew what was going to happen after the clock struck midnight.
Yep, that was a scary moment for you and everyone.


The world had changed.
It did, but like I said, the only thing that didnt fall was Africa.

Yep, that was a scary moment for you and everyone.
It did, but like I said, the only thing that didnt fall was Africa.


I thought something or somebody was going to come down from the skies.

I thought something or somebody was going to come down from the skies.
That can scare some people when something other than rain or snow is coming down.

I was 16 and went to a party with my family and other assorted friends of the family. If not for the momentous occasion I suppose I'd be with friends having a beer and a joint (as I did the year before and after ;)

It was a fun little time. Everybody pretty much knew that most of the Y2K bugs had been ironed out and nothing apocalyptic would happen.

This was the first year you had those big 2OOO glasses that people would wear in Times Square.

The ball dropped and everybody kissed. Except me of course. Didn't have a girlfriend at the time

New years day
Celebrating with the family

That can scare some people when something other than rain or snow is coming down.


Back then, I thought Christ or Jesus was going to come down from the skies.

I was in Snowdonia (North Wales) with a crowd of friends.  On New Year's Eve we had a great meal, played some party games, lit a bonfire and set off lots of fireworks.

Back at work a couple of days later and I had some equipment that was affected by the Y2K bug.  All our dataloggers decided it was now January 1980!

Back then, I thought Christ or Jesus was going to come down from the skies.
would that surprise lots of people if that did happen?

For some of the others, at least you had a good new years.

would that surprise lots of people if that did happen?

For some of the others, at least you had a good new years.


It sure would.

It sure would.
They would ask Jesus lots of questions.

I had a New Year's celebration with my mom, sister, and dad. I was almost ten at the time.

They allowed us to try some of their champagne and we watched the celebration in times square on the television.

I laughed about the Y2K hysteria and mocked the news coverage speculating about the outcome.