49 Pop Culture Moments Turning 30 In 2025 That Will Make You Feel VERY Ancient

1.The first Michael Keaton-less Batman movie, Batman Forever, was the year’s highest-grossing film.

2.Toy Story (the first fully computer-animated film), Apollo 13, and Pocahontas were among the top five highest-grossing movies of the year.

3.We had a new James Bond movie as Pierce Brosnan took over the role and relaunched the franchise with GoldenEye.

4.Clueless premiered and became an instant classic ’90s movie. It also revolutionized fashion trends among teens.

5.Waterworld was the biggest box office bomb* of the year.

6.Windows 1995 was released and famously used the Rolling Stones’ “Start Me Up” as part of their commercials.

7.Microsoft also released a Windows 95 VHS guide starring Matthew Perry and Jennifer Aniston.

8.Yahoo! incorporated and launched its website.

9.eBay launched, and its founder, Pierre Omidyar, sold the first item, a broken laser printer on it.

10.Amazon launched as an online bookseller.

11.Sony released its revolutionary PlayStation in North America.

12.Sky Dancers were among the most popular toys of the year.

13.As were Pogs, which reached peak popularity.

14.The Duracell “The Puttermans” commercials terrorized kids every time they aired.

15.Sun-dried tomatoes were a super trendy food ingredient (and they literally were in EVERYTHING).

16.Starbucks introduced Frappuccinos.

17.Mariah Carey released “Fantasy” as the lead single to her fifth album, Daydream. It would not only go on to be her ninth No. 1 single but it would also be credited for introducing pop songs with hip-hop collabs.

18.Oasis released their timeless classic “Wonderwall” as a single off their second album, (What’s the Story) Morning Glory?

19.Michael and Janet Jackson released their duet “Scream.” The music video for it was a whopping $7 million, which was the most expensive music video at the time.

20.TLC had the song of the summer with “Waterfalls.”

21.Other songs of the summer of ’95 included The Notorious B.I.G.’s “One More Chance” and Seal’s “Kiss From A Rose.”

Bad Boy / Via youtube.com, WMG / Via youtube.com

22.While Coolio’s “Gangsta’s Paradise” (feat. L.V.) was the year’s biggest song.

23.Hootie & the Blowfish’s Cracked Rear View was the year’s biggest-selling album.

24.Alanis Morissette released her seminal album Jagged Little Pill.

25.No Doubt quietly dropped their third album, Tragic Kingdom. Though it would become a huge hit the following year.

26.Chanel’s Vamp (which was meant to look like the color of dried blood) was the hottest and biggest-selling nail polish.

27.Tom Ford saved Gucci with his iconic and groundbreaking Fall 1995 collection. The impact of the collection would be felt throughout the rest of the ’90s.

Guy Marineau / Conde Nast via Getty Images

28.CK One continued to be a popular fragrance among Gen X’ers and millennials. It also launched its classic black-and-white commercial featuring Kate Moss and a bunch of models.

29.Calvin Klein also faced controversy for its kinda creepy CK Jeans ads that featured half-naked young models photographed in a set dressed like a 1970s wood-paneled basement.

30.Hugh Grant (who was dating Elizabeth Hurley at the time) got caught up in a tabloid controversy after he was arrested for lewd conduct after being caught getting oral sex from sex worker Divine Brown in the back of his car in Los Angeles.

31.Selena was tragically killed by her friend and fan club president, Yolanda Saldívar.

32.People were hooked on the O.J. Simpson trial, which aired live on TV from January through October. An estimated 100 million people watched the verdict/equital on October 3.

33.Princess Diana gave her bombshell interview with the BBC, in which she was very candid and made shocking revelations. She also said the infamous line, “There were three of us in this marriage, so it was a bit crowded.”

34.Michael Jordan came out of retirement with two words: “I’m back.” He rejoined the Bulls, and now with a new number, 45, since his old number, 23, had been retired.

35.Brad Pitt was named People’s Sexiest Man Alive. He and Gwyneth Paltrow were also Hollywood’s “it” couple.

36.Drew Barrymore had everyone talking after she flashed David Letterman while being interviewed on The Late Show.

37.“The Rachel” was the trendy haircut that women everywhere wanted and were getting.

38.While George Clooney popularized the Caeser haircut among men.

39.Speaking of George, he starred in the biggest show on TV that year, ER, which was in its second season.

40.While Seinfeld (which was in its seventh season) was the second biggest show on TV, and Friends (in its second season) was the third.

Columbia Tristar / ©Columbia Tristar/Courtesy Everett Collection, Nbc / NBCUniversal via Getty Images

41.The Simpsons blew everyone’s minds when they aired its “Treehouse of Horror VI” episode, which featured the “Homer³” segment that had Homer Simpson drawn in then-impressive 3D computer animation.

42.The Drew Carey Show premiered.

43.As did Goosebumps — with its terrifying intro that featured the Golden Retriever with the evil yellow eyes.

44.While Full House aired its final episode after eight seasons.

45.Camp classics The Brady Bunch Movie, To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar, and Showgirls were released into theaters.

Paramount / ©Paramount/Courtesy Everett Collection, / ph: Lorey Sebastian/ Universal / courtesy Everett Collection /United Artists/ Courtesy Everett Collection.

46.The fantastic and adorable movie Babe also hit theaters.

47.David Letterman hosted the Oscars and completely bombed. Infamously doing his awkward “Oprah? Uma. Uma? Oprah” joke that got no laughs.

48.Courtney Love infamously crashed Madonna’s post-VMA interview with Kurt Loder after she threw her MAC compact towards Madonna’s head. And the whole thing was chaos.

49.And lastly, Bayside Boys’ remix of “Macarena” by Los Del Río was released, and it would slowly start taking over the world!