Every year will have some sort of shift to them. However, some shifts may be bigger than others. In fact, some may be so significant that it is enough to change society for the better or for the worse.

There are three types of shifts - Cultural, political, and technological

Minor shifts

1962: Cultural (rise in surf rock music, death of Marilyn Monroe), Political (Cuban Missile Crisis)

1970: Cultural (hippie age coming to a close), Political (Kent State shooting)

1974: Political (Watergate scandal)

1977: Cultural (Elvis dies, disco becomes big with the release of Saturday Night Fever, punk becomes big), Technological (Atari 2600 debuts)

1983: Cultural (rise of MTV and 80's artists such as Madonna, Cyndi Lauper, and Boy George), Technological (Video game crash of 1983)

1986: Political (Challenger explosion, Chernobyl), Cultural (rise of glam metal and arguably the start of rap's golden age)

1996: Technological (Telecommunications Act passed, Mario 64 ushering in the 3D age for video games, the birth of the DVD)

1999: Cultural (teen pop peaks, debut of Spongebob Squarepants), Political (Columbine shooting)

2000: Cultural (start of the reality TV age), Political (Bush victory, Republicans become red and Democrats become blue)

2003: Cultural (transition year between the Millennial age and the core 2000's - crunk and emo both rise in 2003), Political (start of the Iraq war, start of the 2000's energy crisis)

2007: Technological (iPhone release)

2013: Cultural (the 2010's have a pretty strong identity by this point - 2013 is arguably the start of Gen Z culture)

2014: Political (start of both SJWs and the Alt-right, Ebola outbreak, legal marijuana sales commence in Colorado, rise of ISIS, Michael Brown incident, the Ferguson riots)

Major shifts

1901: Political (the death of Queen Victoria, the assassination of William McKinley)

1903: Technological (the Wright Brothers succeed in inventing the airplane)

1914: Political, this may in fact be the shift that brought us to the 20th century (Duke Franz Ferdinand assassinated, start of World War I)

1917: Political (Wilson’s Fourteen Points and a desire for a League of Nations, Zimmermann Note attempting to form an alliance between Mexico and Germany, US finally gets involved in World War I, Bolshevik Revolution, Russian Civil War)

1918: Political (end of World War I)

1919: Political (Paris conference, Treaty of Versailles, ratification of Prohibition/18th Amendment, Red Scare)

1929: Cultural (end of the roaring 20's), Political (Black Tuesday)

1933: Political (Adolf Hitler rises to power in Germany, Prohibition ends)

1938: Political (Germany and Austria are united, Kristallnacht)

1939: Political (Germany invades Poland, Start of WWII)

1941: Political (Pearl Harbor)

1945: Political (end of WWII)

1950: Political (start of the Korean War)

1964: Cultural (British Invasion - possibly also the birth of hard rock with The Kinks), Political (Civil Rights Act of 1964 passed, Freedom Summer)

1967: Cultural (Summer of Love, absolute start of the psychedelic age), Political (Loving v. Virginia)

1968: Cultural (birth of heavy metal), Political (Tet Offensive, Martin Luther King and Robert Kennedy assassinated)

1975: Cultural (the beginning of disco, release of Jaws), Political (end of the Vietnam War), Technological (some say that this is the beginning of the modern era of technology)

1991: Cultural (start of the grunge age), Political (Rodney King beatings, demise of the USSR/end of Cold War)

1997: Cultural (start of the bubblegum age, arguably also the start of Generation Y culture)

2001: Cultural (the start of many movie series integral to 2000's culture, start of emo), Political (9/11, War on Terror, Anthrax attacks), Technological (The start of Wikipedia, the iPod release, the release of the X-Box)

2008: Cultural (start of the Electropop age), Political (Recession, Obama victory)

2016: Political (Trump victory, SJWs and Alt-right getting more organized and violent)

Unknown

1905: Political (Russo-Japanese War)

1913: Political (Federal Reserve Act)

1920: Political (the start of Prohibition)

1922: Political (start of the Soviet Union)

1924: Political (automobiles become more affordable)

1959: Cultural (Big Bopper, Ritchie Valens, and Buddy Holly all die in a plane crash - some argue that this was the start of the cultural 60's), Political (Alaska and Hawaii finally become states)

1963: Political (JFK assassination, Martin Luther King's "I have a Dream" speech)

1973: Political (Roe v. Wade makes abortion legal)

1979: Cultural (Disco demolition night, release of "Video Killed the Radio Star", start of some movie series popular in the 80's), Political (start of the Soviet-Afghan war), Technological (release of the Walkman)

1980: Cultural (John Lennon's death, rise of new wave), Political (Reagan victory)

1981: Cultural (disco is done for good, start of MTV - arguably the advent of Generation X culture)

1989: Political (Berlin Wall fall, Ceaseau assassination), Technological (birth of the World Wide Web)

1992: Cultural (Grunge, Eurodance, black metal, alternative metal, and gangsta rap all become popular; start of Beavis and Butthead - it actually started in '92, not '93), Political (Los Angeles riots, Clinton victory)

1995: Political (Oklahoma City Bombing), Technological (Internet Explorer release, Windows 95 release, Toy Story ushering in the age of CGI animation)

2004: Cultural (the end of a lot of 90’s shows, Mean Girls becomes one of the noughties’ most defining films, Nickelodeon and Cartoon Network both have big shifts)

2012: Political (Trayvon Martin incident possibly starting the increase of racial tensions in this decade, the rise of mass shootings)

2018: Cultural (XXXTentacion death, Toys R Us no longer in existence, many shows integral to 2010's culture such as Adventure Time and Portlandia ending), Political (Parkland shooting, March for Lives, Traditionalist Worker Party no longer in existence, actual alt-righters like Arthur Jones and Paul Nehlen trying to get power)

Please let me know your thoughts regarding the shifts.

If there are any corrections that need to be made, please let me know. Feel free to add and remove things if it is necessary.

You forgot the late 2006 shift that changed absolutely everything. ;D

Certainly this list needs to include the Wright Brothers making the first successful powered heavier-than-air flight at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina in 1903. This began the amazingly rapid evolution of aviation that culminated in the Apollo 11 moon landing in 1969, a mere 66 years later.

You forgot the late 2006 shift that changed absolutely everything. ;D


I think when all is said and done, we are going to get a new calendar that starts on September 1, 2006.  The shift was that important and completely divides time.  The world hasn't been the same since and never will again.

Certainly this list needs to include the Wright Brothers making the first successful powered heavier-than-air flight at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina in 1903. This began the amazingly rapid evolution of aviation that culminated in the Apollo 11 moon landing in 1969, a mere 66 years later.


1969 also had Woodstock (cultural), the Manson Family murders (political), and the Altamont Festival incident (political)

Another shift was around 2012/2013 when people started saying "Millennials" a lot and it exploded into this huge wacky meme we know today, whereas before then, it was a seldom-used term.

I think when all is said and done, we are going to get a new calendar that starts on September 1, 2006.  The shift was that important and completely divides time.  The world hasn't been the same since and never will again.


August 31, 2006 at 11:59 PM -  :)

September 1, 2006 at 12:00 AM -  >:(

not enough 2006 on that list 😤

Every year will have some sort of shift to them. However, some shifts may be bigger than others. In fact, some may be so significant that it is enough to change society for the better or for the worse.

There are three types of shifts - Cultural, political, and technological

Minor shifts

1962: Cultural (rise in surf rock music, death of Marilyn Monroe), Political (Cuban Missile Crisis)

1970: Cultural (hippie age coming to a close), Political (Kent State shooting)

1974: Political (Watergate scandal)

1977: Cultural (Elvis dies, disco becomes big with the release of Saturday Night Fever, punk becomes big), Technological (Atari 2600 debuts)

1983: Cultural (rise of MTV and 80's artists such as Madonna, Cyndi Lauper, and Boy George), Technological (Video game crash of 1983)

1986: Political (Challenger explosion, Chernobyl), Cultural (rise of glam metal and arguably the start of rap's golden age)

1996: Technological (Telecommunications Act passed, Mario 64 ushering in the 3D age for video games, the birth of the DVD)

1999: Cultural (teen pop peaks, debut of Spongebob Squarepants), Political (Columbine shooting)

2000: Cultural (start of the reality TV age), Political (Bush victory, Republicans become red and Democrats become blue)

2003: Cultural (transition year between the Millennial age and the core 2000's - crunk and emo both rise in 2003), Political (start of the Iraq war, start of the 2000's energy crisis)

2007: Technological (iPhone release)

2013: Cultural (the 2010's have a pretty strong identity by this point - 2013 is arguably the start of Gen Z culture)

2014: Political (start of both SJWs and the Alt-right, Ebola outbreak, legal marijuana sales commence in Colorado, rise of ISIS, Michael Brown incident, the Ferguson riots)

Major shifts

1901: Political (the death of Queen Victoria, the assassination of William McKinley)

1914: Political, this may in fact be the shift that brought us to the 20th century (Duke Franz Ferdinand assassinated, start of World War I)

1917: Political (Wilson’s Fourteen Points and a desire for a League of Nations, Zimmermann Note attempting to form an alliance between Mexico and Germany, US finally gets involved in World War I, Bolshevik Revolution, Russian Civil War)

1918: Political (end of World War I)

1919: Political (Paris conference, Treaty of Versailles, ratification of Prohibition/18th Amendment, Red Scare)

1929: Cultural (end of the roaring 20's), Political (Black Tuesday)

1933: Political (Adolf Hitler rises to power in Germany, Prohibition ends)

1938: Political (Germany and Austria are united, Kristallnacht)

1941: Political (Pearl Harbor)

1945: Political (end of WWII)

1950: Political (start of the Korean War)

1964: Cultural (British Invasion - possibly also the birth of hard rock with The Kinks), Political (Civil Rights Act of 1964 passed, Freedom Summer)

1967: Cultural (Summer of Love, absolute start of the psychedelic age), Political (Loving v. Virginia)

1968: Cultural (birth of heavy metal), Political (Tet Offensive, Martin Luther King and Robert Kennedy assassinated)

1975: Cultural (the beginning of disco, release of Jaws), Political (end of the Vietnam War), Technological (some say that this is the beginning of the modern era of technology)

1991: Cultural (start of the grunge age), Political (Rodney King beatings, demise of the USSR/end of Cold War)

1997: Cultural (start of the bubblegum age, arguably also the start of Generation Y culture)

2001: Cultural (the start of many movie series integral to 2000's culture, start of emo), Political (9/11, War on Terror, Anthrax attacks), Technological (The start of Wikipedia, the iPod release, the release of the X-Box)

2008: Cultural (start of the Electropop age), Political (Recession, Obama victory)

2016: Political (Trump victory, SJWs and Alt-right getting more organized and violent)

Unknown

1905: Political (Russo-Japanese War)

1913: Political (Federal Reserve Act)

1920: Political (the start of Prohibition)

1922: Political (start of the Soviet Union)

1924: Political (automobiles become more affordable)

1959: Cultural (Big Bopper, Ritchie Valens, and Buddy Holly all die in a plane crash - some argue that this was the start of the cultural 60's), Political (Alaska and Hawaii finally become states)

1963: Political (JFK assassination, Martin Luther King's "I have a Dream" speech)

1973: Political (Roe v. Wade makes abortion legal)

1979: Cultural (Disco demolition night, release of "Video Killed the Radio Star", start of some movie series popular in the 80's), Political (start of the Soviet-Afghan war), Technological (release of the Walkman)

1980: Cultural (John Lennon's death, rise of new wave), Political (Reagan victory)

1981: Cultural (disco is done for good, start of MTV - arguably the advent of Generation X culture)

1989: Political (Berlin Wall fall, Ceaseau assassination), Technological (birth of the World Wide Web)

1992: Cultural (Grunge, Eurodance, black metal, alternative metal, and gangsta rap all become popular; start of Beavis and Butthead - it actually started in '92, not '93), Political (Los Angeles riots, Clinton victory)

1995: Political (Oklahoma City Bombing), Technological (Internet Explorer release, Windows 95 release, Toy Story ushering in the age of CGI animation)

2004: Cultural (the end of a lot of 90’s shows, Mean Girls becomes one of the noughties’ most defining films, Nickelodeon and Cartoon Network both have big shifts)

2012: Political (Trayvon Martin incident possibly starting the increase of racial tensions in this decade, the rise of mass shootings)

2018: Cultural (XXXTentacion death, Toys R Us no longer in existence, many shows integral to 2010's culture such as Adventure Time and Portlandia ending), Political (Parkland shooting, March for Lives, Traditionalist Worker Party no longer in existence, actual alt-righters like Arthur Jones and Paul Nehlen trying to get power)

Please let me know your thoughts regarding the shifts.

If there are any corrections that need to be made, please let me know. Feel free to add and remove things if it is necessary.


Pretty subjective. For example, if Anschluss (annexation of Austria into Nazi Germany) in 1938 is so important to history, then why on earth isn't the beginning of WWII the following year? Also, why is the premiere of Spongebob Squarepants in 1999 alone so significant when several other famous TV shows (Edd Ed N Eddy, Family Guy, The Sopranos, Who Wants To Be A Millionaire USA etc.) aren't?

Also, a few corrections;
-Disco began underground in the late 60's, not 1975
-New Wave had already become standardized by 1979
-Eurodance didn't become mainstream until 1993, not 1992

Pretty subjective. For example, if Anschluss (annexation of Austria into Nazi Germany) in 1938 is so important to history, then why on earth isn't the beginning of WWII the following year? Also, why is the premiere of Spongebob Squarepants in 1999 alone so significant when several other famous TV shows (Edd Ed N Eddy, Family Guy, The Sopranos, Who Wants To Be A Millionaire USA etc.) aren't?

Also, a few corrections;
-Disco began underground in the late 60's, not 1975
-New Wave had already become standardized by 1979
-Eurodance didn't become mainstream until 1993, not 1992


Not to start a flame war, but didn't you help me with some of this stuff?

I'm probably done with all of this talk about shifts.

It's controversial, and it will get people nowhere.