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Born in 2002? Here's the world you arrived into

In 2002, "How You Remind Me" topped the charts, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers packed theaters, a stamp cost 37¢, the average home went for about $187,600.

What things cost in 2002

Gas actually dipped to about $1.35 a gallon in 2002, which is only about $2.45 in today's dollars, a price that sounds like a misprint now. The $5.80 movie ticket converts to roughly $10.50, and that 37-cent stamp to about 67 cents.

The biggest moments of 2002

• The Winter Olympics came to Salt Lake City, Utah, with the whole country watching.
• American Idol premiered on TV, and Kelly Clarkson became its very first winner.
• Spider-Man became the first movie ever to earn more than $100 million in a single opening weekend.

• The Osbournes premiered on MTV in March, turning heavy-metal legend Ozzy's family life into television's first great celebrity reality show.
• Halle Berry and Denzel Washington won the top acting Oscars on the same historic night in March, a first for Black performers in both lead categories together.
• The Bachelor handed out its first roses on ABC, launching a reality-romance formula still going strong today.

Toys, TV & trends of 2002

• Beyblade spinning tops battled in playgrounds and living rooms across the country.
• Kingdom Hearts arrived on the PlayStation 2, mixing Disney characters with video-game adventure.
• SpongeBob SquarePants merchandise was everywhere, from backpacks to birthday cakes.

• Xbox Live launched in November, and suddenly kids could play against friends across town through a headset instead of on the same couch.
• Neopets mania peaked as millions of kids rushed home to feed virtual pets and earn Neopoints on the family computer.
• LeapFrog's LeapPad learning system was the best-selling toy in America, disguising reading practice as pure fun.

The music scene

Eminem's The Eminem Show was the best-selling album of the year, while 17-year-old Avril Lavigne's "Complicated" put skate shops and neckties on the pop charts. Kids traded songs on burned CD-Rs at the peak of the mix-CD era, and a soft-spoken jazz singer named Norah Jones released Come Away with Me, a sleeper hit that would sweep the Grammys the following February.

At the movies

My Big Fat Greek Wedding became the little movie that could, turning a $5 million budget into more than $240 million and the highest-grossing romantic comedy ever. Star Wars: Episode II broke ground as the first major blockbuster shot entirely on digital cameras instead of film, and the razzle-dazzle musical Chicago danced off with Best Picture at the following spring's Oscars.

Cartoons kids loved

• SpongeBob SquarePants
• The Fairly OddParents
• Kim Possible (debuted in 2002)

Anime officially conquered American afternoons, with Dragon Ball Z ruling Cartoon Network's Toonami block and Yu-Gi-Oh! dominating Saturday mornings on Kids' WB. Disney Channel joined the original-animation race too, betting that a crime-fighting cheerleader could headline a show, and Kim Possible proved them right almost overnight.

The world in 2002

• World population: about 6.3 billion
• U.S. President: George W. Bush
• Euro banknotes and coins entered circulation across 12 European countries in January 2002.

• Brazil won a record fifth World Cup title in the first tournament ever held in Asia, co-hosted by Japan and South Korea, with Ronaldo scoring both goals in the final.
• East Timor became the first new nation of the 21st century when it gained independence in May.
• Britain celebrated Queen Elizabeth II's Golden Jubilee, marking 50 years on the throne with concerts at Buckingham Palace.

2002 birthday questions

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