In 2018, "God's Plan" topped the charts, Black Panther packed theaters, a stamp cost 50¢, the average home went for about $259,000.
🎵 Top songs of 2018
"God's Plan" — Drake
"Perfect" — Ed Sheeran
"Meant to Be" — Bebe Rexha and Florida Georgia Line
🎬 In theaters
Black Panther
Avengers: Infinity War
Incredibles 2
What things cost in 2018
$2.72
Gallon of gas
50¢
Postage stamp
$9.11
Movie ticket
$2.90
Gallon of milk
$259,000
Average home
$36,300
New car
$63,200
Household income
Adjusted to today's dollars, 2018's $2.72 gas equals about $3.50 and its $9.11 movie ticket about $11.65 — nearly identical to what you'd pay at the box office now.
The biggest moments of 2018
Teen snowboarder Chloe Kim won gold at the Winter Olympics in PyeongChang.
Prince Harry married American actress Meghan Markle in a fairy-tale royal wedding.
France won the FIFA World Cup in Russia.
The world held its breath as twelve Thai soccer boys and their coach were rescued from a flooded cave.
The Philadelphia Eagles won their first Super Bowl on the trick play known as the "Philly Special."
NASA launched the Parker Solar Probe, a spacecraft built to "touch the Sun."
Toys, TV & trends of 2018
Fortnite dances like the Floss broke out at every school in the country.
Kids unwrapped layer after layer of L.O.L. Surprise! dolls.
The internet split in two over an audio clip: did it say "Yanny" or "Laurel"?
Mason Ramsey, the yodeling Walmart kid, went from viral video to the Grand Ole Opry.
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate became the fastest-selling Nintendo game ever that December.
The music scene
Drake gave away nearly $1 million of the "God's Plan" video budget to strangers in Miami, creating one of YouTube's most heartwarming hits. BTS became the first K-pop act to top the Billboard 200 album chart — then did it twice in one year. Childish Gambino's "This Is America" debuted at No. 1 while the whole country debated its imagery, and "Shallow" from A Star Is Born began its march to the Oscars.
At the movies
The Shape of Water won Best Picture in March. Black Panther became a full-blown cultural moment — "Wakanda Forever" salutes swept schools, and it went on to become the first superhero film ever nominated for Best Picture. In December, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse reinvented what an animated movie could look like.
Cartoons kids loved
Teen Titans Go!
PAW Patrol
Adventure Time
Adventure Time ended in September 2018 after ten years and 283 episodes, closing the show that had kicked off a decade of artist-driven cartoons. Meanwhile PAW Patrol's pups quietly became a billion-dollar merchandise empire, and Netflix's She-Ra reboot showed streaming was serious about original kids' animation.
The world in 2018
World population: about 7.6 billion
U.S. President: Donald Trump
NASA's InSight lander touched down on Mars to study the planet's interior.
The leaders of North and South Korea met and stepped together across the border line.
Hawaii's Kilauea volcano erupted for months, reshaping part of the Big Island.
Sudan, the last male northern white rhino on Earth, died — and his caretakers' photos moved the world.
2018 birthday questions
How old is someone born in 2018?
Someone born in 2018 turns 8 in 2026 (7 if their birthday has not come round yet).
What was the number one song in 2018?
"God's Plan" by Drake was among the biggest hits of 2018.
What movie came out in 2018?
Black Panther was one of the films packing theaters in 2018.
How much did gas cost in 2018?
A gallon of gas ran about $2.72 in 2018, and a postage stamp cost 50¢.
How much did a house cost in 2018?
The average home went for roughly $259,000 in 2018, against a typical household income of about $63,200.