Y2K: 4 things people thought would happen on New Year’s 25 years ago

When the clock struck midnight to ring in the year 2000, the turn of the century had begun - though many were fearful the world would be in chaos. 

Here is a look back, 25 years later, at Y2K and how the U.S. transitioned into the new millennium:

What was Y2K?

Also known as "the millennium bug," Y2K stood for the Year 2000 bug and encompassed all the ways a computer could malfunction when the year changed from 1999 to 2000.

The concern was that computers wouldn’t know how to process the date correctly, since the machines functioned using two digits for the year. Experts weren’t sure if the computer would read "00" as 1900 or 2000, or get confused and shut down altogether. 

For several years leading up, corporations - as well as the federal and local governments - spent millions to help programmers figure out what would happen to computers once the new year hit.

For example, Wall Street did a first-of-its-kind test run in summer of 1998 for two weeks to see if its computers would cope or crash. 

Here are some new year’s worst-case scenarios that were predicted:

Power would go out

People were fearful that computer glitches could trip traffic signals or elevators, and, at the least, were preparing for major power outages. 

News reports from the end of December that year showed long lines at supermarkets, and empty shelves where emergency items were bought out. Generators also were completely sold or rented out. 

Y2K preparedness conventions also ramped up, selling supplies such as hunting traps and nonperishable foods, and offering survivalist courses.  

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Money would disappear

Before the turn of the century even hit, people were reporting problems with ATM cards and credit cards that were issued with a double zero expiration date. ATMs were updated and retailers upgraded their machines, but that left many to wonder what other digital banking aspects could be affected. 

For example, some theories included interest from certificates of deposit could be wiped away, retirement accounts would disappear or pension or social security checks may not be disbursed. 

There were reports of some people withdrawing large sums of money from their bank ahead of the holiday.

Planes would fall out of the sky

Other theories affected air travel, and some were afraid planes might fall from the sky or would crash because air traffic control was failing. 

People avoided travel, and many airlines canceled flights around the holiday because seats weren’t selling. Several news outlets reported from major airports on New Year’s Eve, which were calm and empty. 

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Nuclear bombs would detonate

A more extreme theory that, of course, proved untrue, was that electronics controlling nuclear bombs would fail, resulting in detonations across the world. 

Y2K reported problems

So, what did happen as the clock struck midnight around the world on New Year’s Eve 1999? Not a whole lot. 

A handful of minor problems were reported in various countries, mostly technological glitches that involved dates and record-keeping. 

In the U.S., the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives could not register new firearms dealers for five days because their computers failed to recognize dates on applications, according to an archived Los Angeles Times report. But overall, the massive effort to prepare seemed to pay off.