Are you sitting down? If not, you may need to pause and plop on a chair, because this news might knock you over. Netflix turned 20 years old on Tuesday, Aug. 29, and the streaming service has plenty to celebrate. What began as a way to rent DVDs transitioned into everyone's go-to weekend activity. And though it's hard to believe, there are plenty of things younger than Netflix that will blow your mind.
Of course, Netflix didn't truly pick up streaming steam until recent years, but that doesn't mean it wasn't in the background, chugging along and moving toward becoming the behemoth it is today. Even so, it's pretty mind-boggling that it's has been around for two whole decades. If Netflix was a human (sometimes some of us forget it's not), it'd be one year away from the legal drinking age.
And in case you just want to keep surprising yourself and feel even older than you already do, then this is the roundup for you. Here are a whole bunch of aspects of pop culture that haven't been around as long as your beloved Netflix. Just confirm again, you're sitting down, right? OK, let's dive in.
1. The iPhone
Yes, it was in June 2007 that Apple released the original iPhone. While the device is practically glued to people's hands nowadays, Netflix was around a whole decade prior.
2. Starbucks' Pumpkin Spice Latte
The iconic fall drink debuted back in 2003, but it feels like it's been here a lifetime.
3. Game Of Thrones
To clarify, this is the TV series, not the books. HBO premiered Game of Thrones in 2011.
4. Jacob Tremblay
The undeniably talented actor is half of Netflix's age.
5. Harry Potter & The Sorcerer's Stone
Well, technically the first Harry Potter book came out in the U.K. in June 1997 (same year as Netflix), but it didn't hit the states 'til the following September.
6. Dawson's Creek
The world got introduced to Dawson Leery and Joey Potter in 1998.
7. Elle Fanning
The critically acclaimed actor is currently 19.
8. Seamless
According to Mashable, the go-to delivery service debuted in 1998 as SeamlessWeb.
9. Keeping Up With The Kardashians
The famous family is a staple in pop culture today, but their E! series began only 10 years ago.
10. MacBook
Before streaming on a laptop was even a thought, Netflix was here. Apple released the MacBook in 2006.
11. Beyoncé's Solo Career
Queen Bey dropped her first solo album (yes, without Destiny's Child) in 2003.
12. Britney Spears' "Oops! I Did It Again"
The memorable track was released in 2000.
13. The Parent Trap
This Lindsay Lohan classic hit theaters in '98.
14. Disney's Tarzan
Can you feel the nostalgia tonight?
15. Sex And The City
Yup, fans didn't get introduced to Carrie Bradshaw and the gang until 1998.
16. Spice World
Fans got to spice up their lives in the winter of 1997.
17. Amazon Prime
While many people now rely on the service for their instant shipping needs, Amazon Prime began back in 2005.
18. Game Boy Color
This handheld game system was on every kid's Christmas list in 1998.
19. Pokémon: The First Movie
It was a full year after Netflix came out that Ash Ketchum and the gang starred in the first Pokémon movie installment. Now you're probably catching all the feelings.
20. Facebook
It wasn't until 2004 that Mark Zuckerberg launched the now-gigantic Facebook. If you've seen The Social Network, you know the gist.
21. North West
Kimye's daughter is currently 4, even though she already acts way older. (For reference, check out North's way-too-relatable Interview mag interview.)
22. Kanye West's First Single
"Through The Wire" was released in 2003, sparking the career Kanye has today.
23. Baby Bottle Pops
This '90s snack debuted in '98.
24. The Fast & The Furious Franchise
Yes, the entire thing. The first installment premiered in 2001.
25. The Rock's Acting Career In General
Besides wrestling, The Rock's first acting stint was That '70s Show in 1999, according to IMDb.
26. The Friends Finale
That fateful Friends episode aired years after Netflix came into existence.
27. Twitter
It's hard to imagine a world without Netflix or Twitter, but the latter launched in 2006.
28. Billboard Dad
The best Mary-Kate and Ashley movie of all time came to VHS in 1998, yet stayed in fans' hearts forever.
29. "Sk8er Boi"
This 2002 Avril Lavigne track is five years younger than Netflix.
30. The Bachelor
Also in '02, the very first season of The Bachelor aired.
31. The i-Zone Camera
The what? These sticky film cameras all the rage in the late '90s, early '00s.
32. Finding Nemo
Just keep swimming, just keep swimming through this list.
33. Taco Bell's Crunchwrap Supreme
This staple was added to the Taco Bell menu in 2005.
34. American Idol
The Ryan Seacrest-led show premiered, went off the air, and announced a comeback — all while Netflix was doing its thing.
35. iTunes
This music store first came to computers in 2003.
36. The Real Housewives Franchise
Real Housewives of Orange County made its debut in 2006, nearly a decade after Netflix existed.
37. Google
Yup, that Google. The search engine launched in 1998, but feels like it's been around our whole lives.
38. Mario Party
The very first installment of the Nintendo 64 game came out in 1998.
39. YouTube
Though it's hard to believe, YouTube did start out small back in 2005.
40. MySpace
Chances are you don't still use MySpace, but the social network was a hit when it came out in 2003.
41. Malia Obama
The Harvard freshman just turned 19 in July.
42. Crispy M&Ms
The tasty snack came out in 1999 and made a comeback in 2014.
43. Camera Phones
Samsung's first phone with a camera came out in 2000.
So there you have it, Netflix has been around for quite a while — no complaints about that.
