For boomers, it’s The Beatles declaring there were eight days a week. For Gen X, it’s Jenny’s number. But for millennials, there are more than a few songs, movies, and more that have seared certain digits into the base of their brains. From Britney Spears to the book fair, let’s talk about all the numbers in pop culture that are forever ingrained into the millennial mindset.
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Spice Girls' “2 Become 1”
Fitzroy Barrett /Landov/MCT
Spice Girls were teaching mathematical equations (and sex ed) when “2 Become 1” became a hit in the US in 1997.
Shutterstock
The level of stress that came with arranging one’s top 8 on MySpace probably led to a couple of ulcers in the ‘00s.
©2002 Universal Studios and Dreamworks LLC.
8 Mile and mom’s spaghetti go hand in hand in the millennial memory bank.
Ron Elkman/USA TODAY NETWORK/Sipa USA
Whether it’s the name of the band or just how important they made the idea of three in the morning feel, Matchbox Twenty has always been about the numerics.
5 of 24
5 p.m. for ‘Mighty Morphin Power Rangers’
Saban Entertainment
One of the first instances of scheduled viewing for millennials was 5 p.m. because that was when Mighty Morphin Power Rangers aired every afternoon.
Warner Bros.
Millennials love a good ensemble cast like in Ocean’s Eleven.
Shutterstock
Britney Spears did what needed to be done with her debut single.
The WB
The Camdens’ wholesome drama satisfied many back in the day. Watching back, though, it’s more comical than anything!
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Disney adults are largely made up of millennials, and this is in part due to the movies they grew up attached to, like 101 Dalmatians.
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Ciara's “1, 2 Step”
Ron Adar / SOPA Images/Sipa USA
There wasn’t a school dance in the 2000s that didn’t have this hit from Ciara in the mix.
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Michael Jordan’s 23
Rob Schumacher/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK
Michael Jordan was the epitome of sports when it came to the ‘90s kid experience, not only because of his time with the Chicago Bulls but also because of his role in Space Jam.
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‘10 Things I Hate About You’
Touchstone Pictures
Teen movies at the tail end of the ‘90s ate and left no crumbs, especially 10 Things I Hate About You.
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Lou Bega's “Mambo No. 5 (A Little Bit Of…)”
Felix Hörhager/dpa/Sipa USA/picture alliance
Just ask Stephen King how great this song is.
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10-10-321 commercial
Shutterstock
Before everyone had a phone in their pocket, one couldn’t just call their family who lived across the country that easily. People had to use specific phone numbers, like 10-10-321, to make a long-distance call.
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‘21 Jump Street’
Columbia Pictures/Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Sony Pictures
Millennials were well into adulthood watching Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill take an ‘80s TV show and make it a thousand times better.
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Vanessa Carlton's “A Thousand Miles"
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The opening of “A Thousand Miles" by Vanessa Carlton might have the power to instantly wake up anyone aged 30-to-44.
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Top 10 on ‘Total Request Live’
Shutterstock
MTV changed music when it debuted in the ‘80s, but it got a second golden age when the network started dedicating an hour every afternoon to the top 10 music videos on Total Request Live, also known as TRL. For a few solid years, TRL was the epicenter of pop culture, not just musically speaking but for TV, movies, and fashion, too.
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‘13 Going on 30’
Columbia Pictures
There are plenty of romantic comedies that are dear to millennials' hearts, but the top three include 13 Going on 30.
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Taylor Swift's “22”
Charles Guerin/Abaca/Sipa USA
So what if “22” came out long after many millennials were actually 22? It still made them feel like it!
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Six from ‘Blossom’
NBC
Millennials hear “six,” and their minds instantly go to Blossom’s speed-talking bestie.
Shutterstock
Every generation has had their era of wrestling, those defining sports entertainers, but was there anything bigger than the Austin 3:16 wave in the ‘90s?
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‘The 40 Year Old Virgin’
Universal Studios
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$2.95, the original price of ‘Goosebumps’ books
Shutterstock
All millennials needed back in the day was $5 and a dream at the Scholastic Book Fair to score a new Goosebumps book and maybe a cool eraser.
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Titanic set sail in 1912
Paramount Pictures/Twentieth Century Fox
When Titanic came out, kids became maniacally obsessed with knowing every single detail about the real-life tragedy. So, if there is one question a millennial will get right on Jeopardy, it’s the year Titanic set sail and never made it to its destination.
Kendra Beltran is a pop culture obsessed writer who spent her youth tirelessly jotting down ‘Total Request Live’ data after school. She took that obsession and a useless college degree, and spun it into enough to pay her rent by writing for MTV Geek, Collider, Popverse, and more. Over the years her interest in pop culture has only grown, and today she finds herself baking while streaming ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race,’ running (slowly) while listening to podcasts about the ‘90s, and hanging out with her dog while taking in emo playlists. Kendra also hosts a podcast dedicated to all the crushes people have had in life from Disney to real-life called Crushgasm.