25 Things That Turn 25 in 2014 (Including the World Wide Web!)
Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday dear WWW, happy birthday to you! The World Wide Web was born 25 years ago on this very day. And you know what else was born 25 years ago? These 24 other things, from The Simpsons to The Right Stuff. Now, let’s hop right into our DIY time machine, courtesy of the magic of the birthday girl/boy/entity itself, the WEB!!
The World Wide Web
Naturally, we’ll kick things off with a sweet and ridiculous illustration of the power of the WEB. Related: When’s the last time you watched The Net? (image via European CEO)
2. Saved by the Bell: What? Yes. Saved the Bell as you know it debuted in 1989, complete with Screech, Slater, Lisa, Jessie, Kelly, Zack and, of course, Mr. Belding!
3. Nintendo Gameboy: Gamers better take note — the original handheld gaming system is about to go through a quarter life crisis.
4. “Paradise City” by Guns N’ Roses: Confession: My favorite band in kindergarten was Guns N’ Roses. And my favorite song was Paradise City. Technically this song was released in 1987 but it hit the charts in ’89.
5. Taylor Swift: Music darling T-Swift turns 25 in December of this year. I think we smell a new coming-of-age chart-topper!
Seinfeld
It’s a show. About. Nothing.
8. “Pump Up The Jam” by Technotronic: Put on your headphones and turn that music dial to 11. Oh, and be sure to find yourself a music dial.
9. The Simpsons: These four icons hit boob tubes all over the country 25 years ago, and the cartoon-sitcom-world was forever changed.
10. The Little Mermaid: And all of a sudden we feel really, really old. We still want to be part of your world though.
11. Microsoft Office: That’s right. This word-processing suite is also a child of the late ’80s.
12. “Like a Prayer” by Madonna: Remember how everyone freaked out about this video being inappropriate? What would those newscasters think of twerking?
13. Daniel Radcliffe: Harry Potter is about to be in his mid-20s. For real.
14. Honey! I Shrunk the Kids: You should probably watch this… NOW. Or this weekend?
15. The Cranberries: Channel your inner angsty teen and rock out to Zombie.
Girl You Know It’s True Album by Milli Vanilli
The most famous lip sync stars in all the land made their European debut a quarter century ago. (image via Curtis Collects Vinyl)
17. When Harry Met Sally: They just don’t make rom coms like they used to ;)
Mallory and the Trouble with Twins
The question is: Were you a Babysitter’s Club girl or a Sweet Valley Twins fan?
20. “Stand” by R.E.M.: Coming of age in the late ’80s was the real deal.
21. Family Matters: Or more importantly, the creation of Steve Urkel.
22. Joe Jonas: Did you know that your imaginary not-so-tweenage-anymore boyfriend was turning 25 this year?
Doogie Howser M.D.
Close your eyes and listen to this theme song. And give a round of applause for the longevity of Neil Patrick Harris.
24. Batman: The OG of Batman movies featured Michael Keaton and Jack Nicholson, and is still the best one.
25. Baywatch: Finally, the original babes of Baywatch, including one of the sisters from Charles in Charge!
