In 2023, "Last Night" topped the charts, Barbie packed theaters, a stamp cost 63¢, the average home went for about $390,000.
🎵 Top songs of 2023
"Last Night" — Morgan Wallen
"Flowers" — Miley Cyrus
"Kill Bill" — SZA
🎬 In theaters
Barbie
The Super Mario Bros. Movie
Oppenheimer
What things cost in 2023
$3.51
Gallon of gas
63¢
Postage stamp
$10.53
Movie ticket
$4.03
Gallon of milk
$390,000
Average home
$48,200
New car
$80,610
Household income
2023's prices need only a small nudge — about 6 percent — to reach today's dollars: that $3.51 gas equals roughly $3.70 now, while the stamp's jump from 63¢ then to 78¢ today has far outpaced inflation.
The biggest moments of 2023
Taylor Swift's Eras Tour became the first concert tour ever to earn one billion dollars.
The "Barbenheimer" double feature of Barbie and Oppenheimer made going to the movies an event again.
King Charles III was crowned in Britain's first coronation in 70 years.
Lionel Messi shocked soccer by joining Inter Miami — and pink jerseys sold out everywhere.
India's Chandrayaan-3 made the first-ever landing near the Moon's south pole.
Shohei Ohtani signed a record $700 million deal with the Dodgers in December.
Toys, TV & trends of 2023
Fans traded handmade friendship bracelets at every Eras Tour stop.
Everything turned Barbie pink, from clothes to lunchboxes.
AI chatbots like ChatGPT became the year's most talked-about new technology.
McDonald's purple Grimace Shake spawned a bizarre (and very messy) TikTok trend.
Everyone suddenly needed to know how often the men in their lives thought about the Roman Empire.
"Girl dinner" turned snack plates into a national conversation.
The music scene
Country music staged a historic takeover: in August, country songs held the Hot 100's entire top three for the first time ever, with Luke Combs' cover of "Fast Car" introducing Tracy Chapman's classic to a new generation. "Flowers" broke Spotify's single-week streaming record on its way to song-of-the-year status. And BTS's Jung Kook went solo with "Seven," debuting at No. 1 as K-pop's stars spread their wings.
At the movies
Everything Everywhere All at Once swept the March Oscars with seven wins, including Best Picture. The Super Mario Bros. Movie became the biggest video-game movie ever at $1.36 billion worldwide. But behind the scenes, Hollywood ground to a halt as writers and actors went on strike together for the first time since 1960.
Cartoons kids loved
Bluey
PAW Patrol
SpongeBob SquarePants
Preschool franchises flexed real box-office muscle as PAW Patrol: The Mighty Movie opened at No. 1 in theaters. Bluey, meanwhile, was on its way to becoming the most-streamed show in America across all ages — a first for a preschool cartoon — while families packed arenas for its live stage show.
The world in 2023
World population: about 8.0 billion
U.S. President: Joe Biden
India passed China to become the world's most populous country.
The World Health Organization declared an official end to the COVID-19 global health emergency in May.
Smoke from Canadian wildfires turned skies orange across the eastern United States.
A devastating earthquake struck Turkey and Syria in February, prompting a massive international rescue effort.
2023 birthday questions
How old is someone born in 2023?
Someone born in 2023 turns 3 in 2026 (2 if their birthday has not come round yet).
What was the number one song in 2023?
"Last Night" by Morgan Wallen was among the biggest hits of 2023.
What movie came out in 2023?
Barbie was one of the films packing theaters in 2023.
How much did gas cost in 2023?
A gallon of gas ran about $3.51 in 2023, and a postage stamp cost 63¢.
How much did a house cost in 2023?
The average home went for roughly $390,000 in 2023, against a typical household income of about $80,610.