In 2010, "Tik Tok" topped the charts, Toy Story 3 packed theaters, a stamp cost 44¢, the average home went for about $221,800.
🎵 Top songs of 2010
"Tik Tok" — Kesha
"Need You Now" — Lady Antebellum
"Hey, Soul Sister" — Train
🎬 In theaters
Toy Story 3
Alice in Wonderland
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1
What things cost in 2010
$2.79
Gallon of gas
44¢
Postage stamp
$7.89
Movie ticket
$3.32
Gallon of milk
$221,800
Average home
$24,900
New car
$49,300
Household income
The $2.79 gallon of gas from 2010 works out to about $4.15 in today's dollars, and the $7.89 movie ticket to roughly $11.75, with 3-D showings costing several dollars more. The 44-cent stamp converts to about 65 cents.
The biggest moments of 2010
Instagram launched in October.
The iPad arrived in April, redefining tablets.
The Deepwater Horizon oil spill occurred in the Gulf of Mexico.
The world watched live in October as all 33 Chilean miners were lifted to safety one by one after 69 days trapped a half-mile underground.
Sidney Crosby's overtime "golden goal" won Olympic hockey gold for Canada on home ice in Vancouver, setting off a nationwide street party.
An 88-year-old Betty White hosted Saturday Night Live in May after a fan campaign on Facebook demanded it, and the episode won her an Emmy.
Toys, TV & trends of 2010
Apple released the very first iPad in April 2010, and tablets suddenly seemed like the future.
Silly Bandz — colorful rubber bracelets shaped like animals — took over school hallways everywhere.
Microsoft's Kinect for Xbox 360 let players control games using only their bodies.
Fruit Ninja turned every phone and iPad into a dojo of flying watermelons, and finger-swiped fruit became a universal pastime.
"Double Rainbow" and the Old Spice Guy ruled the summer, the year viral videos officially became watercooler conversation.
Squinkies, squishy pencil-topper-sized collectibles sold in bubble capsules, were the surprise stocking-stuffer hit of the holidays.
The music scene
Bieber Fever hit its peak as "Baby" became the most-viewed video in YouTube history, and screaming-crowd footage led the evening news. Eminem completed his comeback with Recovery, the best-selling album of the year. Katy Perry released Teenage Dream in August and began an astonishing run of chart-toppers from a single album that would soon put her in the record books.
At the movies
Toy Story 3 became the first animated movie ever to cross $1 billion worldwide, and its toy-box farewell left entire theaters of grown-ups in tears. Post-Avatar 3-D fever was at full blaze, carrying Alice in Wonderland past the billion-dollar mark too, with 3-D surcharges padding ticket prices everywhere. Yet the year's biggest conversation piece was Inception, an original brain-bender, while the stately King's Speech took Best Picture.
Cartoons kids loved
Adventure Time
Phineas and Ferb
SpongeBob SquarePants
Adventure Time began life as a strange little 2007 short that went viral online before Cartoon Network took a chance on a full series in 2010; together with Regular Show, which debuted that fall, it launched a surreal, indie-flavored era of kids' TV. These shows trusted young viewers to enjoy weirdness, heart, and long-running lore all at once.
The world in 2010
World population: about 6.95 billion
U.S. President: Barack Obama
A massive earthquake devastated Haiti in January
Spain won its first World Cup at the first tournament ever held in Africa, while a "psychic" octopus named Paul correctly predicted match winners and became a global celebrity.
The Burj Khalifa opened in Dubai in January, more than half a mile tall and still the tallest building on Earth.
An Icelandic volcano with the tongue-twisting name Eyjafjallajokull erupted in April, grounding flights across Europe for nearly a week.
2010 birthday questions
How old is someone born in 2010?
Someone born in 2010 turns 16 in 2026 (15 if their birthday has not come round yet).
What was the number one song in 2010?
"Tik Tok" by Kesha was among the biggest hits of 2010.
What movie came out in 2010?
Toy Story 3 was one of the films packing theaters in 2010.
How much did gas cost in 2010?
A gallon of gas ran about $2.79 in 2010, and a postage stamp cost 44¢.
How much did a house cost in 2010?
The average home went for roughly $221,800 in 2010, against a typical household income of about $49,300.