How One Computer Bug Almost Ended the World

Summary

The script recounts the global anxiety leading up to Y2K, a computer bug feared to cause catastrophic failures. From government preparations to public panic, businesses cashing in on survival kits, and the eventual anticlimactic resolution, it explores the extensive efforts to avert disaster, highlighting the mix of genuine risk and mass hysteria that characterized the turn of the millennium.

Takeaways

• 😨 The Y2K bug, also known as the Millennium Bug, caused widespread fear and anxiety due to the potential for global computer systems to malfunction when the date changed from December 31, 1999, to January 1, 2000.
• 📅 The issue arose from the use of two-digit years in computer systems, which could lead to confusion between the years 1900 and 2000.
• 🌐 The potential effects of the Y2K bug were thought to be catastrophic, with predictions of planes falling from the sky, banks losing track of money, and the collapse of essential services.
• 🔧 Governments and businesses worldwide spent billions of dollars to fix the Y2K bug, rewriting millions of lines of code and updating systems to handle dates beyond 1999.
• 🏦 Banks and other financial institutions were particularly concerned about the Y2K bug, fearing that it could lead to financial system crashes and the devaluation of money.
• 🛡️ People prepared for the potential disaster in various ways, including buying survival kits, firearms, and building bunkers to protect themselves from the chaos that was predicted.
• 📚 Y2K survival guides became popular, offering advice on how to prepare for and survive the potential post-Y2K world, including tips on building latrines and other survival skills.
• 💼 The Y2K bug led to a surge in the sale of survival products and services, creating a multi-million dollar industry overnight.
• 🚨 Law enforcement and the FBI were concerned about potential violence from doomsday cults and survivalists who believed the Y2K bug would lead to the end of the world.
• 🎉 When the new year arrived, the extensive preparations and fixes worked, and the world did not experience the catastrophic failures that were predicted.
• 🤔 After the new year passed without incident, some people began to question whether the Y2K bug was a scam or if it was a major disaster averted by human effort and preparation.

Q & A

What was the Y2K bug and why was it considered a worldwide crisis?

The Y2K bug, also known as the Millennium bug, was a computer glitch that occurred due to the use of a two-digit code for the year in many computer systems programmed during the 1960s to 1980s. It was considered a worldwide crisis because there was a fear that when the year changed from 1999 to 2000, computers might interpret '00' as 1900, potentially causing systems to malfunction or crash, which could have disastrous effects on various aspects of life that relied on computers.

Why did computer engineers initially use a two-digit code for the year in programming?

Computer engineers used a two-digit code for the year to save on data storage, which was expensive and took up a lot of space during the 1960s through the 1980s. They also did not anticipate that their software would still be in use by the year 2000, so they did not consider the potential issue that would arise from this practice.

What were some of the extreme predictions about the consequences of the Y2K bug?

Some extreme predictions included prison doors opening automatically, freeing inmates; planes falling from the sky due to air traffic control system failures; the use of toilet paper as currency if financial systems crashed; and the accidental activation and detonation of nuclear weapons due to computer code malfunctions, which could have led to a global nuclear war.

How did the media contribute to the Y2K panic?

The media contributed to the Y2K panic by broadcasting numerous shows and news segments that painted nightmarish scenarios of what could happen due to the Y2K bug. Movies like 'Countdown to Chaos' depicted worst-case scenarios, which further fueled public anxiety.

What preparations did people make to survive the Y2K disaster?

People made various preparations, including purchasing Y2K survival kits, stockpiling food and water, buying firearms for protection, building or buying bunkers, attending wilderness survival boot camps, and even adopting dogs for security. Some individuals and groups also prepared mentally and spiritually, with some expecting the end of the world.

What was the Y2K survival kit, and what did it typically include?

The Y2K survival kit was a box of items that people might need if computers stopped working. It typically included a wind-up and solar-powered flashlight, radio, diagnostic software, food samples, and a preparation guide.

How did the firearms industry capitalize on the Y2K panic?

The firearms industry used fear-based marketing to advertise guns, suggesting that people arm themselves in preparation for potential chaos and unrest following the Y2K bug. Sales of firearms and ammunition reached record highs in 1999.

What was the role of the FBI in monitoring potential threats related to Y2K?

The FBI monitored online forums, websites, and chat rooms for any signs of planned attacks by Y2K-related cults or groups. They were concerned that if the world did not end as some cults believed, they might resort to violence to fulfill their prophecies.

Why did some people believe Y2K was a scam or overhyped?

Some people believed Y2K was a scam or overhyped because, after the extensive preparation and spending of billions of dollars on fixing the issue, nothing catastrophic happened when the year 2000 arrived. This led to the perception that the problem was either exaggerated or not as severe as it was portrayed to be.

What were some of the unexpected incidents that occurred after the Y2K bug was supposed to have caused widespread problems?

Some unexpected incidents included a video store charging a customer a $91,000 late fee due to a computer glitch, a man in Germany becoming an instant millionaire due to a bank error, and a baby in Denmark being registered as 100 years old because of a hospital computer glitch.

Outlines

00:00

😨 The Y2K Bug: A Global Crisis

The script begins with the recount of widespread fear leading up to the year 2000, sparked by the Y2K bug, a computer glitch that threatened to cause catastrophic failures in systems worldwide. Described as a 'worldwide crisis' by a Senate panel and a 'major world-changing threat' by others, the bug was rooted in the two-digit date formatting in early computer programming, which could confuse the year 2000 with 1900. The fear was so pervasive that it reached everyone from Washington officials to Alaskan farmers, with the potential to disrupt healthcare, banking, transportation, and government operations. The narrative is set in the context of 1993's significant events and introduces the Y2K problem, which emerged from the realization that the turn of the millennium could lead to widespread computer malfunctions.

05:02

📰 Media Frenzy and Public Panic

This paragraph delves into the role of media in amplifying the Y2K panic. With the publication of Peter de Jager's 'Doomsday 2000' article in Computer World magazine, the public's fear was ignited. The script outlines various nightmare scenarios that were predicted to occur due to the Y2K bug, including prison breaks, planes falling from the sky, a potential return to barter systems with toilet paper as currency, and the triggering of a nuclear apocalypse due to malfunctioning early warning systems. The media's portrayal of these potential disasters, including TV movies like 'Countdown to Chaos' and news reports, only served to heighten public anxiety, leading to a surge in sales of Y2K survival kits and an increase in firearm purchases for protection.

10:04

🛡️ Survival Strategies and the Y2K Industry

The script describes the various survival strategies people adopted in anticipation of the Y2K bug's impact. Businesses capitalized on the panic, selling survival kits and promoting firearms as a means of protection. The preparedness industry boomed, with companies like Preparedness Resources cashing in on the fear. Individuals also took matters into their own hands, stockpiling food and supplies, and even investing in generators and firearms. The narrative highlights the extent to which people were willing to go to ensure their survival, including adopting wilderness survival skills and joining doomsday cults that saw the Y2K bug as a sign of the apocalypse.

15:07

🔮 Doomsday Cults and Religious Movements

This paragraph explores the rise of doomsday cults and religious movements in response to the Y2K bug. Some individuals and groups interpreted the impending Y2K crisis as a divine judgment or the fulfillment of apocalyptic prophecies, leading to a wave of religious fervor. The script mentions specific examples, such as ...

Keywords

💡Y2K Bug

The Y2K Bug, also known as the Millennium Bug, refers to a class of computer bugs related to the formatting and storage of calendar data for dates beginning in the year 2000. The term is shorthand for 'Year 2000 Bug.' In the video, it is the central theme, illustrating the widespread fear that this bug could cause a global crisis by making computers malfunction or crash, potentially leading to catastrophic failures in infrastructure and services.

💡Global Anxiety

Global Anxiety, as mentioned in the script, describes the widespread concern and panic that arose due to the potential impact of the Y2K Bug. It captures the collective fear that the new millennium could bring about the end of civilization as people worried about the stability of systems reliant on computer technology. The script provides examples such as the anxiety from top officials in Washington DC to farmers in Alaska.

💡Computer Glitch

A 'Computer Glitch' is an unexpected error, malfunction, or fault in a computer system or program. In the context of the video, the Y2K Bug is described as a computer glitch that caused significant global concern because of its potential to disrupt essential services and systems, such as banking and aviation, which could have led to societal collapse.

💡Two-Digit Year Representation

Two-Digit Year Representation is a method used in early computer programming where only the last two digits of a year are stored or displayed to save memory space. The script explains that this practice became problematic as it led to the Y2K Bug, where systems might misinterpret '00' as '1900' instead of '2000,' causing potential system failures.

💡Survival Kit

A 'Survival Kit' is a collection of essential items assembled for use in emergencies, designed to help individuals survive in crisis situations. The script discusses the creation and sale of Y2K survival kits, which included items like flashlights, radios, food samples, and preparation guides, reflecting the public's fear and their attempts to prepare for potential disaster.

💡Doomsday Cults

Doomsday Cults are groups with beliefs centered around the end of the world or an impending apocalypse. The video script describes how the Y2K Bug fueled the rise of such cults, with members interpreting the bug as a sign of the last days or divine judgment, leading to various extreme behaviors, including quitting jobs, selling homes, and preparing for the end of the world.

💡Nuclear Apocalypse

A 'Nuclear Apocalypse' refers to a catastrophic event resulting from a widespread nuclear war that could lead to the extinction of human life and the destruction of the planet. The script mentions fears that the Y2K Bug could cause malfunctions in early warning systems or nuclear weapon controls, potentially triggering a nuclear apocalypse.

💡Potassium Iodide

Potassium Iodide is a chemical compound that can protect the thyroid gland from absorbing radioactive iodine in the event of a nuclear accident or attack. The script notes the sale of anti-radiation pills, which were actually potassium iodide tablets, as people sought protection against potential nuclear fallout due to the Y2K Bug.

💡Y2K Survivalists

Y2K Survivalists are individuals who prepared extensively for the potential catastrophes that were predicted to occur due to the Y2K Bug. The script describes how some survivalists moved to rural areas, built bunkers, and stockpiled supplies in anticipation of societal collapse, illustrating the depth of fear and the lengths people went to feel secure.

💡Computer Code

Computer Code refers to the systematic collection of instructions, in a programming language, that a computer can execute. The script emphasizes the importance of rewriting millions of lines of code to fix the Y2K Bug, highlighting the massive effort required to prevent the feared global crisis.

💡Post-Y2K Incidents

Post-Y2K Incidents refer to the unexpected events that occurred after the year 2000, which were attributed to the Y2K Bug. The script shares anecdotes such as a video store charging an exorbitant late fee due to a date error and a baby being mistakenly registered as 100 years old, showing that despite the large-scale preparations, some glitches still occurred.

Highlights

The Y2K bug was a genuine worldwide crisis that caused global anxiety over the potential collapse of civilization due to a simple computer date error.

In the '60s, computer engineers used a two-digit code for the year to save memory space, which later led to the Y2K problem when the year 2000 approached.

The Y2K bug had the potential to cause planes to fall, banks to lose money, and every computer in the world to crash due to misinterpretation of the year '00' as 1900.

The federal government compared Y2K to a natural disaster, emphasizing the scale of the potential catastrophe.

Devices with computer chips, from elevators to medical equipment, were at risk of malfunctioning due to the Y2K bug.

Four particularly scary Y2K predictions included prison doors opening, planes falling from the sky, toilet paper becoming currency, and a possible nuclear apocalypse.

Media coverage and movies like 'Countdown to Chaos' heightened public fear and panic about Y2K.

President Bill Clinton and the government urged businesses and citizens to prepare for potential Y2K problems.

The Y2K survival industry boomed, with companies selling survival kits and services becoming highly profitable.

Fear-based marketing led to record-high sales in firearms and ammunition as people prepared for potential chaos.

Y2K bunkers were built to protect families from anticipated riots, gangs, and food shortages.

Wilderness survival boot camps saw a surge in popularity as people prepared to survive in the wild post-Y2K.

Doomsday cults and religious movements saw Y2K as a sign of the apocalypse and prepared for the end times.

Scammers took advantage of Y2K fears, selling bogus products like anti-radiation pills and credit card strips.

Despite extensive preparation and spending billions on fixing the Y2K bug, some questioned if it was a scam or a disaster averted.

After Y2K, some unexpected incidents occurred due to minor glitches, but the world did not end as feared.

The aftermath of Y2K left many with unsold survival books and kits, but it also highlighted the effectiveness of global preparation.

Transcripts

people were terrified the world was

going to end this is not one of the

summer movies where you can close your

eyes during the scary parts a senate

panel describes y 2K the year 2000

computer bug as a worldwide crisis the

president called me one night and said

here's an office and an assistant and

don't let the world

stop some called it the Panic of the

century While others described it as a

major world changing threat and they

weren't exaggerating in the late '90s a

tiny mistake in a computer code caused

Global anxiety from Top officials in

Washington DC to Farmers in Alaska

everyone was worried that this computer

glitch would end civilization I'm visual

Venture and this is the story of how one

computer bug almost ended the world hope

you guys have a beautiful day ahead the

beginning of the end the year was 1993

and it was an exciting year in January

Bill Clinton became the 42nd president

of the United States in June a movie

called Jurassic Park hit theaters in

August Mighty Morphin Power Rangers

first debuted on TV however in September

1993 the excitement suddenly turned into

anxiety that month Canadian software

specialist Peter diager published an

article in the computer World magazine

titled doomsday 2000 the article

described a mysterious computer glitch

that was so terrible it could cause

planes to fall from the sky make Banks

lose track of their money and crash

every computer in the world it was

called the Y2K buug and it had the power

to collapse

civilization everything ain't fine we we

are this close to just going crazy going

to hell it's going to explode Computer

World was the largest IT magazine at the

time so millions of people read the

article and they were horrified but what

exactly caused this computer problem and

why did they name it the Y 2K bug why is

short for year two of course means two

and K is the scientific symbol for

thousands so y 2K is simply short for

year 2000 in other words the Y2K bug was

a computer glitch that would happen in

the year 2000 to understand why the bug

was so dangerous we need to go back to

the early days of the computer in the

1960s every computer is programmed to be

able to display the date however when

computer programs were being written

during the 1960s through the 1980s

computer Engineers used a two-digit code

to identify a year for example instead

of writing 1983 the computer would

simply write 83 1995 would be 95 and

1998 would be 98 Engineers shortened the

date because data storage in computers

was expensive and took a lot of space

programmers only use two digits for two

reasons one they didn't have a lot of

memory space for their programs and

secondly they never imagined their

software would last as long as it did so

millions of computers in Banks offices

and schools wrote the date using two

digits for the year the system worked

just fine for decades until the late

'90s when it profess professionals

foresaw a huge problem they realized

that is December 31st 1999 turned into

January 1st 2000 and the year changed

from 99 to 00 computers might think that

the year is 1900 instead of 2000 because

both 1900 and 2000 could be interpreted

as 00 by a computer why use four numbers

when you only need two and then they

recognize what date is a computer going

to think it is when we get to 2000 this

would confuse computers because they

wouldn't know the correct date and

although this seemed like a simple date

error it had devastating consequences

many computers and computer chips around

the world will think it's 1900 not 2000

because of this many computers will

behave unpredictably malfunction or

simply crash by the 1990s every aspect

of life relied on computers computers

were used to manage healthc care banking

transportation and even government if

every computer in the world got confused

and crashed at the same time it would

disrupt every aspect of human life now

the federal government is comparing Y2K

to a huge natural disaster like an

earthquake a hurricane or a tornado but

computers weren't the only devices that

could crash all devices containing

computer chips ranging from elevators to

heating systems to medical equipment

were at risk around the globe there were

about 40 billion computer chips in

operation working in all kinds of

machines from microwaves to power plants

to life support machines and on January

1st 2000 this date glitch would make

them all crash at the same time to many

this was the end of the world as we know

it but out of all the issues that could

arise from the Y2K bug four predictions

were particularly scary one Y2K

prediction was that prison doors would

automatically open freeing violent

criminals people believed this could

happen because most prison doors were

controlled by computers the anxiety went

from bad to worse when in 1998 an

article TI that prisoners await Y2K day

was published one part of the article

suggested that prisoners were aware of

the Y2K bug and were waiting for January

1st 2000 when prison doors would open

allowing them to storm the streets

however this problem wasn't as bad as

the next one planes falling out of the

sky if air traffic control systems and

plane computers malfunctioned it could

lead to midair collisions or planes even

getting lost over the ocean since there

are so many planes up in the sky at any

given time people pictured a scenario

where planes would be dropping and

exploding all over the world while

planes falling is scary the next

prediction is more bizarre after Y2K

people will be using toilet paper as

currency this made sense because

computers ran the bank and the stock

market so if banks and financial systems

crash money might become worthless if

that happened people would have to

barter with essential items like toilet

paper one Y2K experts suggested people

stockpile toilet paper in case they need

to trade it like money in each of these

Y 2 case scenarios the world continues

to exist but there was one outcome that

could literally destroy the planet by

the late '90s many countries had nuclear

weapons for instance Russia and America

had 4,400 nuclear weapons more than

enough to destroy the world ready to be

launched at a moment's notice these

countries also set up computerized early

Warning Systems to detect if another

country fires a missile at them one

major fear was that the Y2K buug would

make these early Warning Systems Mal

function which could trigger a false

alarm that one country had launched a

missile at another in confusion

countries might shoot nuclear missiles

back and forth leading to a nuclear

apocalypse but even if early Warning

Systems didn't malfunction there was

another problem every nuclear weapon

contained thousands of chips and

millions of lines of computer code

making it extremely vulnerable to the

bug if Y2K messed up any aspect of the

code nuclear weapons would accidentally

activate and explode obliterating the

planet and this wasn't a far-fetched

idea a nuclear security report claimed

the defense department will be unable to

stop the Y2K buug from infesting

thousands of nuclear weapons all over

the world once the media picked up on

all of these Y2K predictions people went

mad in the late 9s TV networks pumped

out dozens of shows on the Y2K situation

painting nightmarish scenarios of what

might happen these Shows Were Meant to

educate viewers about Y2K however all

they did was make people panic NBC aired

a movie depicting the worst case Y2K

scenario it was called countdown to

chaos or Y2K the movie and it was 1 hour

33 minutes of non-stop disaster and

tragedy the movie showed planes crashing

power grids failing and people running

all over the place it was so

over-the-top that the banking industry

asked TV stations not to air the film

because it would scare off customers

however NBC decided to show the movie

regardless news reports were another

source of anxiety news channels ran

special segments on Y2K almost every

night interviewing experts who described

the worst case

scenarios why because Y2K is the first

end of the world prophecy in history

where something will definitely happen

on the predicted date and you don't have

to have religion to believe the news

showed crowded grocery stores full of

people buying large amounts of water

food and supplies Time Magazine

highlighted the Panic with a dramatic

headline end of the world even the

president got involved throughout 199 99

President Bill Clinton made several

speeches about Y2K urging businesses and

citizens to prepare for potential

problems this is not one of the summer

movies where you can close your eyes

during the scary parts now the question

is what did people do when they thought

the world was about to end how to

survive the apocalypse with Millions

worried they started to think about how

to survive the Y 2K disaster this need

to survive led to the creation of

businesses selling Y2K survival products

and services before long helping people

survive Y2K became a multi-million doll

industry in 1999 a new commercial

appeared on TV screens Across America

except this ad looked more like a horror

movie with dramatic music ambulance

sirens and a lot of

Darkness it's 2: a.m. January 1st year

2000 Po's out it's pitch black you need

light if you plan ahead you'll have one

of these they were advertising a new

product called the Y2K survival kit

which was basically a box of items

people might need if computer stopped

working call now and order your ultimate

Y2K survival kit you get the wind up and

solar powered flashlight radio video

diagnostic software food samples and

preparation guide a $90 value all for

only

$49.95 from well-known Brands to smaller

companies looking to make a quick profit

it seemed like everyone was making Y2K

survival kits and since almost everyone

on the planet was worried the kits were

flying off the shelves a company called

preparedness resources was one of the

biggest manufacturers of survival kits

and they made a killing in barely 12

months preparedness resources sold $16

Million worth of survival kits

preparedness resources had been in

business for 25 years but thanks to the

Y2K Panic 1999 was the most profitable

year they have ever had the company also

insinuated a no return policy on all the

kids sold however those who didn't want

to buy pre-made survival kits chose to

assemble their own collection of

survival items for instance a Tennessee

man bought food items for his family

worth $1 million and an engineer in

Wisconsin paid

$113,000 on a large generator and $4,000

to $5,000 on food here's where we have

everything we've got a lot of stuff in

here it's for Y2K we have about a year

supply of food here from soup to meat

the freezer is nearly overflowing Let's

see we got your 2K beef tenderloin but

while survival kits provided food and

sustenance there was another item people

were buying for protection as the year

2000 Drew closer the Firearms industry

used fear-based marketing to advertise

guns and it paid off in 1999 sales

across the US were at a record high

several manufacturers released special

edition Y2K Firearms folks who had never

owned one before decided to buy them in

preparation for Y2K stores offered

special deals and promotions for people

arming themselves I'm going to opt for

protecting my family ammo sales also

soared during this period with one store

owner selling 9,000 cases or 9 million

rounds in 2 days magazines urged readers

to buy at least two firearms for Y2K

with so many new owners there was also

an increase in people taking training

classes however more people buying

weapons was bad news for law enforcement

agencies in December 1999 alone the FBI

conducted over 1 million background

checks for prospective buyers law

enforcement was worried that on New

Year's Eve Millions will be hiding

behind their doors ready so I believe

that there might be ring gangs there

might be um just total unrest on the

street while some people relied on

firearms for protection others plann to

stay safe by hiding in underground

bunkers Y2K bunkers were designed to

protect families from chaotic situations

like rioting gangs and food shortages

most bunkers were built under

underground with reinforced concrete to

withstand extreme conditions inside they

were stocked with essential supplies

like food water and medical kits people

who owned land in rural areas built

their bunkers on their own property some

families also set up emergency bunkers

in their basements basic bunkers could

cost a few thousand dollar while more

elaborate ones with luxury features

could run into the hundreds of thousands

however because not everyone could build

a bunker some people prepared to face

the apocalypse head on according to Time

magazine in 1999 Wilderness survival

boot camps saw a surge in popularity in

the US these boot camps prepared people

to survive in the wild by teaching them

practical skills like building shelters

and finding food the set an increase in

people signing up for these boot camp

suggested that they expected the world

to become a jungle after Y2K there was

also an increase in dog adoptions Y2K

survivalists advised folks to get a big

dog that barks loudly and has a strong

sense of territory reality when

civilization collapses these dogs would

act as an animated Burglar Alarm if

anyone comes onto your property apart

from the physical preparation a lot of

people were preparing themselves

mentally for some time in the late 1990s

Y2K survival guides were the most

popular books in the world they had

scary titles like Time Bomb 2000 and the

Millennium meltdown most of the books

pretty much said the same thing the Y2K

bug could lead to a decade or more of

Calamity some went as far as providing

tips on building a latrine which is a

typee of toilet or ouse in case the

sewage system stopped working and lastly

we have the Y2K conmen scammers made

easy money selling terrible Y2K products

there was a case of Dr Robert Courtney

who bought a

$133,000 computer in 1997 expecting it

to last 10 years A year later the

computer makers said his PC wasn't Y2K

compliant and that it would cost

$25,000 to fix Robert refused to pay and

sued theany for extortion other conmen

sold bogus magnetic strips that could

supposedly make your credit cards immune

to the Y2K problems there was also the

issue of anti-radiation pills as news

spread the Y2K could cause a nuclear war

people searched for a way to protect

themselves if that happened this led to

the sale of anti-radiation pills which

were actually potassium iodide tablets

since 1982 workers in nuclear power

plants had used potassium iodide to

prevent radiation poison poisoning when

they accidentally got exposed to

radioactive materials in the last

quarter of 1999 one small company sold

$200,000 worth of potassium iodide pills

however there were also reports of fake

potassium iodide tablets being sold

around this period too but out of

everyone getting ready for Y2K the most

radical were the Doomsday believers who

were excited that the world was ending

because of our immorality and our

downslide that God is frowning on us we

have many years of

tribulation and misery to go through

Dooms Day is almost here as the

Millennium approached fears of Y2K

ignited a wave of Doomsday cults and

religious movements these groups saw Y2K

as a sign that the last days had arrived

everything's in the internet

everything's in computers and we're

going to lose it all and Jesus is coming

back some religious people believed that

Y2K was God's judgment on this evil

world it was a fulfillment of Prophecy a

part of God's divine plan hail is a

devout Mormon she firmly believes y 2K

could fulfill apocalyptic Prophecy in

the Bible's Book of Revelations which

she thinks wouldn't be so bad believing

they would be taken to Heaven they

prepared for the afterlife thousands

quit their jobs and sold their homes

others donated money to the church

during that time of

tribulation the

Antichrist will come to great

power and wickedness and Terror will be

increased PR in the world but it wasn't

only radical Mormons acting this way in

the late '90s many Cults based their

endof thee World theories on Y2K for

example a Taiwanese cult moved to

Garland Texas wearing white outfits and

cowboy hats to await the end the 160

members of The Cult reportedly moved to

Garland because the name sounded like

godland then there were the survivalists

who expected a Calamity on December 31st

they quit their jobs and moved from the

cities to the woods long before the year

ended the survivalists formed

communities and built large shelters

underground the leader of the

survivalists was Ed your Dawn a computer

consultant and author of Time Bomb 2000

Ed moved his family from New York to

rural New Mexico because he believed the

cities would resemble a war zone when

the New Year arrived however as more

doomsday groups popped up the FBI

started to worry for most Cults Y2K

wasn't just a computer glitch it was a

Divine Cosmic event the world was

supposed to end in the year 2000 the

FBI's fear was that if the world didn't

end like these Cults believed they might

resort to violence to fulfill their

prophecies we need to to be able to

separate the uh uh moralistic religious

fervor involved with the Millennium

change from what's happening on this

technological stage the FBI has seen

Cults turn violent before and with

hundreds of these groups springing up

the fear was that even one violent act

could set off a chain reaction as the

end of the year approached the FBI

received reports that several groups

were mapping plans to attack around the

New Year the USC professor says

Prophecies of Doom attract people who

feel alienated from our technological

civilization what it promises is a

reversal uh an overturning of the

worldly order law enforcement agencies

were on high alert the NYPD announced

that 19,000 officers would be on duty on

December 31st while the FBI monitored

online forums web sites and chat rooms

for any sign of planned attacks however

as the New Year grew closer not everyone

was preparing on the contrary some

people were laughing at those getting

ready for Y2K they believed it was a

hoax right across the street the only

preparing going on is the preparing to

play outside not worried at all Keith

and Kathy vandery don't think anything

will happen when the New Year rolls

around one Y2K skeptic started a website

called the year 2000 computer bug hoax

and posted it on the domain just aum.com

on the blog he published dozens of

Articles explaining why Y2K was

overhyped but instead of making people

doubt Y2K the website just made them mad

soon the Blogger was receiving dozens of

angry emails from Y2K Believers one

doomsday preacher from South Carolina

even cursed him as the day approached

tensions were higher than ever it was

just a few weeks to the end of the year

and minor glitches were already popping

up in systems around the world for

instance the compter computers at a

cosmetic Factory rejected a batch of

chemicals because they took it to be

more than 100 years old then an old

woman in Minnesota who was born in 1888

suddenly received an automated

invitation to enroll in kindergarten

these were early signs of the whu kbug

the stories convinced people their worst

fears might actually come true finally

the dreaded day arrived December 31st

1999 everyone was on edge what would

happen when the clock strikes midnight

time up as the final day of 1999 came to

a close people scrambled to make last

minute preparations bottled water was

nearly impossible to find most stores

had almost nothing left on their shelves

one of the major concerns of Y2K was

when the computers crashed at midnight

planes would be no longer able to fly

because of this one family booked a

week-long vacation to Hawaii hoping they

would get stuck in a Hawaiian vacation

resort but it wasn't just individuals

who were preparing governments were too

Japan put 96,000 troops on Millennium

alert just in case something happened

the US government established a 50

million war room to Monitor and manage

any problems as the date changed behind

me you've got representatives of all the

government departments here and they're

waiting anxiously the Department of

Health the DTI the treasury all that

kind of thing now it's 1 hour before

midnight by 11:00 p.m. millions of

families were in their basements playing

board games and waiting fears of the Y2K

buger keeping many people grounded and

most say they'll settle for being close

to home with family and friends soon it

was 1 minute to midnight as the Clock

Struck midnight on January 1st 2000 the

world braced for Total Computer failure

New Zealand was one of the first

countries to enter the year 2000 because

of its time zone the world watched

closely and what happened when the Clock

Struck midnight on January 1st

2000 everything actually turned out to

be just fine

to everyone's relief there were no major

issues the power stayed on and computers

continued to function normally the world

didn't end they gave the rest of the

world some relief but they weren't out

of the woods yet they watched other

countries enter the new year as midnight

passed without problems in each time

zone people began to celebrate fireworks

lit up the sky and people hugged each

other and then you started to see New

Zealand and Tokyo all have their

celebrations on TV and you eventually

saw Time Square the ball dropped the

blackout that we all thought was going

to happen didn't happen to be clear the

Y2K bug was a real problem but why

didn't it have the effect that everyone

thought it would the world wasn't saved

by chance it turns out the governments

and businesses spent billions of dollars

upgrading computers so they could accept

dates Beyond 1999 the United States

spent at least $1 100 billion on fixes

during the two years leading up to Y2K

it professionals averaged 70 hours a

week working around the clock millions

of of lines of code were Rewritten

spurred by federal regulations and good

business sense banks have been working

on the Y2K bug for

years Airlines spent two years preparing

for this day knowing most of what they

do relies on computers Silicon Valley

Executives convinced the government to

double the number of skilled worker

Visas so they would have enough

programmers to work on the bug to speed

up the process President Bill Clinton

brought elderly computer programmers out

of retirement one I professional

described how hard they worked stating

that in the second half of 1999 they

were literally locked down no one could

have time off from Banks to hospitals

every business that depended on

computers worked tirelessly to fix the

bug it reportedly cost an estimated 300

billion to 600 billion to fix potential

problems before the year 2000 but it

paid off people were hung over on New

Year's Day the lights were still on

banks reopened on January second and of

course computers stayed online for most

people life returned to normal after Y2K

however others weren't that lucky

instead of an apocalypse the New Year

greeted us with bizarre and unexpected

incidents life after Y2K this video

store near Albany New York that

presented a customer with a $91,000 late

fee after a computer showed a movie was

returned 100 years late in the UK a

computer mistake caused 154 pregnant

prant women to get the wrong Down

syndrome test results because of this

two women ended up having abortions in

Germany a Man became an instant

millionaire in January 2000 his bank

account was randomly credited with about

$6 million he didn't get to keep the

money because Bank officials fixed the

error the next day in Denmark a baby

born on January 1st was registered as

100 years old because of the Y2K glitch

in the hospital computers but not all

issues were computer related in Kansas

City a couple experienced one of the

first Crimes of the New Millennium when

criminals discovered they were keeping

their life savings at home so they took

all their money as well as thousands in

stocks and bonds and put them into a

home safe which turned out not to be

such a great idea since the 5-ft Vault

was stolen from the couple's home

luckily for them they received a New

Year's Miracle the safe was found

abandoned in a field with all the

contents intact the thieves evidently

couldn't get it open with the world

still intact booksto were left with

stacks of unsold Y2K survival books many

people were stuck with survival kits and

bunkers they no longer needed one family

had so much canned soup that it took

them 15 years to use it all in the

aftermath a surprising sentiment emerged

many people began to think Y2K was a

scam they figured because nothing really

happened nothing was ever going to

happen in the first place there were

very few problems was that because of

the billions in dollars and manh hours

poured into the fix or because there was

was not much of a problem to begin with

some CEOs even wondered if it was just a

way for IT staff to make extra money as

one executive complained I signed off on

$20 million and didn't hear one thing

one writer said it best Y2K was either

the biggest scam that's ever been pulled

on mankind or it's the most colossal

disaster ever averted by mankind as the

New Year began the disaster didn't

happen thanks to the preparation that

went on behind the scenes the hard work

of many made it so that one computer bug

almost ended the world but didn't visual

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