United States in 1990
You were born in 1990 — The Simpsons launched, TMNT ruled the toy aisle, and Home Alone made Kevin McCallister a legend.
💰 How much things cost in 1990
| Item | Price | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Petrol | 1.15 USD/gallon | verified (U.S. EIA) |
| Cinema ticket | 4.22 USD | verified (NATO) |
| Coffee | ~0.70 USD | estimate |
| Ice cream | ~0.85 USD (scoop) | estimate |
Currency: USD
🎵 The music of 1990
The song of the year: Wilson Phillips – Hold On (Billboard Year-End Hot 100 #1)
Other songs people listened to in 1990:
- Roxette – It Must Have Been Love
- Sinéad O'Connor – Nothing Compares 2 U
- Madonna – Vogue
- Mariah Carey – Vision of Love
- MC Hammer – U Can't Touch This
- Snap! – The Power
- En Vogue – Hold On
- Bell Biv DeVoe – Poison
- George Michael – Praying for Time
📺 TV, cinema and pop culture
Cartoons: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles / The Simpsons (premiere Dec 1989, first full season 1990) (on Syndicated / Fox). The Simpsons premiered properly in 1990. Adults watching a cartoon. The world would never be the same.
TV series: Twin Peaks (ABC, April 8, 1990) — 'Who killed Laura Palmer?' TV was never this strange.
At the cinema: Home Alone — Kevin McCallister vs two burglars. The most quoted movie of the decade.
Person of the moment: Kevin McCallister (Macaulay Culkin) — hands on cheeks, scream. Still iconic.
The cult toy: TMNT figures / Super Soaker / Nintendo Game Boy. The Super Soaker was the toy of summer 1990. Wars were declared. Alliances formed. Betrayals committed.
👗 Fashion and snacks
Fashion: Grunge arriving from Seattle. Flannel shirts, Doc Martens, ripped jeans. Anti-80s reaction.
Snacks: Dunkaroos (launched 1990!), Gushers (launched 1991), Ring Pops, Fun Dip, Capri Sun
📰 What happened in 1990
Event of the year: Operation Desert Shield begins in Gulf. German reunification. Hubble Space Telescope launched.
Sport: Super Bowl XXIV: San Francisco 49ers beat Denver Broncos 55-10. Joe Montana's last Super Bowl MVP.
💻 Technology and everyday life
Tech news: Hubble Space Telescope launched. Windows 3.0 released. The Web's first server goes live.
The gadget to have: Nintendo Game Boy / Super Soaker (Larami Corp.) / Sega Game Gear
How people communicated: The Gulf War started in 1990. CNN covered it 24/7. Cable news became a thing.
How people listened to music: MC Hammer's 'U Can't Touch This.' Vanilla Ice. New Kids on the Block. It was... a time.
The weekend: Home Alone and Ghost at the movies. TMNT movie was huge. Kevin McCallister was everyone's hero.
📵 What didn't exist yet in 1990
- World Wide Web (1991)
- cell phones for teens
- internet for all
- DVD
- Nirvana's Nevermind (1991)
🎯 Guess the year — Every day a new mystery year from United States. You have 5 guesses: every miss reveals another clue.
More years from the 1990s
Main sources: EIA, Billboard, NATO