Fans line up at the Ziegfeld Theatre in New York 06 May 1999 to be the first to see the movie, "Star Wars: Episode 1- The Phantom Menace" that is scheduled to open 19 May 1999.

The Dow Jones industrial average is inching closer to 20,000 for the very first time in its history. It's a noteworthy milestone. The first time it hit 10,000, on Mar. 29, 1999, the world was a very different place. (It crossed a number of times after, including, the last time, in 2009 after the financial crisis.) iPhones did not exist yet. Donald Trump was in the midst of divorcing his second wife Marla Maples. Listening to CDs was not, yet, ironic. Dow points can start to feel meaningless. But the full rundown of what we were watching, the songs we were singing, and the phones we were using when the Dow cracked five-digits for the first time, gives you a good sense of how long it has taken the Dow to trek the last 10,000 points, and how long it could take to do the next 10K.

Sports

1999年5月6日，纽约齐格菲剧院门口排队的影迷。他们希望成为第一批观看《星战前传1——幽灵的威胁》的观众，该片定于1999年5月19日上线。

最近，道琼斯工业平均指数在历史上首次接近20,000点大关，这是非常值得关注的一个里程碑。道指首次突破10,000点关口是在1999年3月29日，当时的世界与现在相比完全是另一番模样。（在此之后，道指曾经多次跌破又重返10,000点大关，最近一次是在2009年的金融危机爆发后。）这一年iPhone还没有被发明出来，特朗普正在与第二个老婆闹离婚，听CD还是一件很潮的事儿。也许很多人感受不到道指突破2万点的重大意义，不过如果回顾一下当年道指首次突破1万点时，我们那时在看什么电影、听什么音乐、用什么手机，你就能明白道指究竟花了多久才走完了从1万点到2万点的征途，以及它还需要多少年才能到达3万点。

体育

Michael Jordan during the 1998 NBA All-Star Game.

Michael Jordan announced he was retiring from basketball for the second time, seven years after his first retirement. He was just shy of 36.

In January, the Denver Broncos defeated the Atlanta Falcons in Super Bowl XXXIII. This was the Broncos' second consecutive Super Bowl win. The Miami game featured Gloria Estefan, Stevie Wonder, and Big Bad Voodoo Daddy for the halftime show.

The world had just lost Yankee baseball legend Joe Dimaggio to lung cancer.

Music

1998年NBA全明星赛上的迈克尔·乔丹。

1999年，迈克尔·乔丹第二次宣布告别篮坛，此时距离他第一次退役已隔7年。而这一年他还不满36岁。

1999年1月，丹佛野马队在第33届超级碗决赛中击败了亚特兰大猎鹰队，这也是丹佛野马队连续第二年捧得超级碗。迈阿密决赛的中场表演中还出现了格洛里亚·埃斯特芬、史提夫·汪达和知名乐队Big Bad Voodoo Daddy等演艺明星。

同年，纽约扬基队的传奇棒球明星狄马乔刚刚因肺癌谢世。

音乐

The Backstreet Boys in 1999.

Of all the athletes and musicians popular in 1999, the Backstreet Boys were the highest paid at $60 million.

Three of the most popular songs of 1999 were Britney Spears' ...Baby One More Time and Ricky Martin's Livin La Vida Loca. And let's not forget about Smooth, the hit from Santana and Rob Thomas.

Television

1999年的“后街男孩”。

在1999年的所有体育明星和音乐人中，“后街男孩”6000万美元的收入是最高的。

1999年最热门的三首单曲，分别是小甜甜布兰妮·斯皮尔斯的《Baby One More Time》、瑞奇·马丁的《Livin La Vida Loca》，以及桑塔纳和罗伯·托马斯的大热歌曲《Smooth》。

电视剧

From left: Seth Rogen, Jason Segel, Linda Cardellini, and James Franco from 'Freaks and Geeks' NBC

Way before the days of high definition channels, the now-cult classic Freaks and Geeks was first being released. It was only on the air until 2000, but remains popular to this day, thanks to Netflix.

Aaron Sorkin's drama The West Wing was in its first season in 1999. It went on to run for seven seasons and win two Golden Globes.

Movies

NBC电视台热播电视剧《怪胎与书呆》的主演。左起：西斯·罗根、杰森·希格尔、琳达·卡德里尼、詹姆斯·弗兰科。

在高清频道还得等上好几年才能出现的日子里，被无数美剧迷奉为经典的《怪胎与书呆》（Freaks and Geeks）第一季正式播出了。虽然这部剧只播到2000年就结束了，但它的热度直至今日仍然不减——当然，这主要是视频网站Netflix的功劳。

阿伦·索尔金的电视剧《西部世界》也于1999年播出了第一季，此后又相继推出7季，并两次荣获金球奖。

电影

Actor Tim Allen, Buzz Lightyear, actor Tom Hanks and Woody attend the "Toy Story 2" Themed NASCAR Racing Cars Unveiling on October 23, 1999 at the El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood, California.

The top three grossing movies of 1999 were Star Wars: Episode I, The Sixth Sense, and Toy Story 2.

Steven Spielberg won the Oscar for best director for the film Saving Private Ryan, starring Tom Hanks and a 28-year-old Matt Damon.

Shakespeare in Love took home the trophy for best picture.

Celebrities

1999年10月23日，加州好莱坞埃尔卡皮坦剧院，演员蒂姆·艾伦、巴斯光年、汤姆·汉克斯和伍迪共同参加《玩具总动员2》的主题纳斯卡赛车揭幕式活动。

1999年的“票房三巨头”分别是《星战前传1》、《灵异第六感》和《玩具总动员2》。

这一年，史蒂芬·斯皮尔伯格凭借电影《拯救大兵瑞恩》夺得了奥斯卡最佳导演奖。此片的主演是汤姆·汉克斯和当时年仅28岁的马特·达蒙。

《莎翁情史》则夺得了奥斯卡最佳影片奖。

明星

Renee Zellweger and Jim Carrey in 2000.

Actors Jim Carrey and Renee Zellweger were engaged in 1999, but called it quits the following year.

Tennis star Andre Agassi and actress Brooke Shields ended their two-year marriage the same year. But 1999 wasn't all bad for Agassi, won both the French Open and U.S. Open that year.

Tech

2000年的蕾妮·齐薇格和金·凯瑞。

演员金·凯瑞和蕾妮·齐薇格于1999年宣布订婚，但这对璧人次年便宣告分手。

这一年，网球明星阿加西和女演员波姬小丝仅仅持续两年的婚姻也走到了尽头。但情场失意的阿加斯在球场上却甚是意气风发，接连赢得了法国公开赛和美国公开赛的冠军。

科技

The Nokia 3210 cell phone.

One of the most popular cell phones in 1999 was the Nokia 3210, which featured the beloved game Snake.

Steve Jobs demonstrated an amazing new laptop technology, Wi-Fi, in 1999. To show an onlooking crowd that wires were really not necessary, he looped a hula hoop around the laptop. The crowd was thrilled.

诺基亚3210手机。

1999年最热门的手机之一便是这款后来烂大街的诺基亚3210了，它搭载的一款经典游戏更是陪伴人们度过了无数个漫漫长夜——《贪吃蛇》。

1999年，史蒂夫·乔布斯展示了一项惊人的笔记本电脑技术——它就是日后人们生活中不可或缺的Wi-Fi。为了向广大观众证明电脑真的不需要网线也能上网，他用一撂呼啦圈将一台笔记本电脑围得严严实实。观众们都被震惊了。（财富中文网）

译者：朴成奎