'Y2K Seems Like a Joke Now, But in 1999 People Were Freaking Out'
Published on December 30, 2024 at 01:27AM
NPR remembers when the world "prepared for the impending global meltdown" that might've been, on December 31, 1999 — and the possible bug known as Y2K: The Clinton administration said that preparing the U.S. for Y2K was probably "the single largest technology management challenge in history." The bug threatened a cascade of potential disruptions — blackouts, medical equipment failures, banks shutting down, travel screeching to a halt — if the systems and software that helped keep society functioning no longer knew what year it was... Computer specialist and grassroots organizer Paloma O'Riley compared the scale and urgency of Y2K prep to telling somebody to change out a rivet on the Golden Gate Bridge. Changing out just one rivet is simple, but "if you suddenly tell this person he now has to change out all the rivets on the bridge and he has only 24 hours to do it in — that's a problem," O'Riley told reporter Jason Beaubien in 1998.... The date switchover rattled a swath of vital tech, including Wall Street trading systems, power plants and tools used in air traffic control. The Federal Aviation Administration put its systems through stress tests and mock scenarios as 2000 drew closer. "Twenty-three million lines of code in the air traffic control system did seem a little more daunting, I will say, than I had probably anticipated," FAA Administrator Jane Garvey told NPR in 1998. Ultimately there were no systemwide aviation breakdowns, but airlines were put on a Y2K alert.... Some financial analysts remained skeptical Y2K would come and go with minimal disruption. But by November 1999 the Federal Reserve said it was confident the U.S. economy would weather the big switch. "Federal banking agencies have been visited and inspected. Every bank in the United States, which includes probably 9,000 to 10,000 institutions, over 99% received a satisfactory rating," Fed Board Governor Edward Kelley said at the time. The article also remembers a California programmer who bought a mobile home, a propane generator, and a year's supply of dehydrated food. (They were also considering buying a handgun — and converting his bank savings into gold, silver, and cash.) And "Dozens of communities across the U.S. formed Y2K preparedness groups to stave off unnecessary panic..." But the article concludes that "the aggressive planning and recalibration paid off. Humanity passed into the year 2000 without pandemonium..." And "People like Jack Pentes of Charlotte, N.C., were left to figure out what to do with their emergency stockpiles."
Published on December 30, 2024 at 01:27AM
NPR remembers when the world "prepared for the impending global meltdown" that might've been, on December 31, 1999 — and the possible bug known as Y2K: The Clinton administration said that preparing the U.S. for Y2K was probably "the single largest technology management challenge in history." The bug threatened a cascade of potential disruptions — blackouts, medical equipment failures, banks shutting down, travel screeching to a halt — if the systems and software that helped keep society functioning no longer knew what year it was... Computer specialist and grassroots organizer Paloma O'Riley compared the scale and urgency of Y2K prep to telling somebody to change out a rivet on the Golden Gate Bridge. Changing out just one rivet is simple, but "if you suddenly tell this person he now has to change out all the rivets on the bridge and he has only 24 hours to do it in — that's a problem," O'Riley told reporter Jason Beaubien in 1998.... The date switchover rattled a swath of vital tech, including Wall Street trading systems, power plants and tools used in air traffic control. The Federal Aviation Administration put its systems through stress tests and mock scenarios as 2000 drew closer. "Twenty-three million lines of code in the air traffic control system did seem a little more daunting, I will say, than I had probably anticipated," FAA Administrator Jane Garvey told NPR in 1998. Ultimately there were no systemwide aviation breakdowns, but airlines were put on a Y2K alert.... Some financial analysts remained skeptical Y2K would come and go with minimal disruption. But by November 1999 the Federal Reserve said it was confident the U.S. economy would weather the big switch. "Federal banking agencies have been visited and inspected. Every bank in the United States, which includes probably 9,000 to 10,000 institutions, over 99% received a satisfactory rating," Fed Board Governor Edward Kelley said at the time. The article also remembers a California programmer who bought a mobile home, a propane generator, and a year's supply of dehydrated food. (They were also considering buying a handgun — and converting his bank savings into gold, silver, and cash.) And "Dozens of communities across the U.S. formed Y2K preparedness groups to stave off unnecessary panic..." But the article concludes that "the aggressive planning and recalibration paid off. Humanity passed into the year 2000 without pandemonium..." And "People like Jack Pentes of Charlotte, N.C., were left to figure out what to do with their emergency stockpiles."
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