History is prevailing with predictions about the ending of the cosmos . In modern times , however , few have been acquire as seriously as theY2Kfiasco . As the nineties drew to a near , technology experts and doomsayers expressed varying levels of concern about electronic computer getting confused by the twelvemonth 2000 . Two digit were used to refer the year , which meant some software system might interpret “ 00 ” as 1900 . Would that glitch cause civilisation ’s collapse ?
Thankfully , it turned out to be not such a big deal : technical school experts made the necessary updates and world ’s final stage was prorogue . But that did n’t blockade a number of expert ( both accredited and not ) from making some dire foretelling about what was about to happen on New Year ’s mean solar day 2000 .
1. Prediction: Prisons doors will fling open, freeing violent criminals.
Many Y2 K fears revolve around the crash of banking institutions and a resulting exit of accession to monetary resources . But for the truly paranoid , it was the thought of prisons get hiccups that kept them up at night . According toa 1998WIREDarticle , the thinking was that because prison door are often electronically monitor and operated , any computer dysfunction could conceivably cause them to stay open , thereby letting trigger-happy offenders loose on the population .
“ You could n’t establish a modernistic prison house today without computers … it pee-pee them very vulnerable [ to Y2 K ] , ” entropy technology manager Dr. Michael Harden told the outlet in 1998 . “ The more modern the prison , the more likely it is to be reliant on computer chips or computer systems for control of all their surety use . ”
One even more outre theory : That normal citizens cut off from basic resources as well as the electric grid might in reality lay siege to the skinny prison to take reward of their food for thought and amenities .
Naturally , none of this transpired . As a caution , province prison house systems like the one in Colorado obtain back - up source andinvited staffersto celebrate with non - alcoholic beverages in case they were needed .
2. Prediction: Planes will fall out of the sky.
A personal computer registering the year 2000 as the twelvemonth 1900 might make games to crash or curriculum to sputter . But in a bad case scenario , a computergetting confusedwith passengers 30,000 foundation in the atmosphere seemed catastrophic . Even a fugitive bug in air traffic control condition operation or cockpit could spell disaster . People wondered whether aeroplane would crash as a final result of the dollar volume to the new millennium .
So did airline : American Airlines vice President of the United States of information engineering Scott Nathan severalise press that “ I do n’t believe everything will sour utterly ” and that he was unsure whether the electronic computer problem would be “ a nuisance or something more serious . ” Airbus , meanwhile , flew a test flight in early 1999 where pilot set the clocks onwards to see what might happen . ( Since you ’ve never try of the “ Airbus Y2 K disaster , ” the answer was , thankfully , nothing . )
The publication with planes was of sufficient grandness that then - president Bill Clinton ’s Y2 K “ czar , ” John Koskinen , made a point toboard a planeheaded for New York City that would have him in the atmosphere when the clock walk out midnight . The idea was to reassure an anxious world that everything was ok , and sure enough , Koskinen made a dependable landing .
3. Prediction: 911 could cease operating.
Imagine : It ’s January 1 , 2000 and your wassailer has catch flaming because — well , because of Y2K. You endeavor to put it out and sting yourself in the process . Then your house catches fire . You call 911 . You get a busy signaling .
Incapacitated emergency job were one scenario floated by expert , as 911 call substance run on estimator plugboard . Digital database also bring up data about the company , which is then forwarded to personal radios of parking brake responders . Even one gap along the chain could delay or forbid pressing intervention .
All of it seemed like a recipe for tragedy , as per a Bell Atlantic spokespersonwho spoke to the FCCabout possible Y2 G problems in November 1998 . Local regime were urged to address any problems with systems , while wireless hardware companies like Ericsson were forced to provide reassurance their equipment would still bring .
Still , by August 1999 , onlyan forecast 37 percentof 911 call centers were Y2K - compliant , as reported by the President ’s Council on the Year 2000 Conversion . Some smaller municipalities urged house physician to call flame department or police straight .
While it ’s potential there were isolated issues , by December virtually all call centersproclaimedthey were Y2K - ready . Any issues on New Year ’s , public safety functionary said , would likely be the effect of too many mass exam - dial 911 to ensure the scheme was working .
4. Prediction: People will be using toilet paper as currency.
One of the biggest reverence environ Y2 K was a collapse of base : utilities , stores , and ATMs might go offline , form dealings difficult . Y2 K fantast Gary Northrecommendedpeople reserve stool report — not only in eccentric of personal need , but on the opportunity they could use it as a swap item . No reports of any toilet paper - related transactions occurred .
5. Prediction: GPS satellites could fail, leaving people stranded.
Before smartphones were threadbare , consumers used GPS gimmick in car , gravy holder , and in portable form to navigate . The U.S. Department of the Interiorwarned that GPS satellitesmight malfunction , rendering the receivers useless — and campers lose in the woods .
“ If you ’re out on the desert and you ’re not paying too much attention to nautical navigation , there could be a problem , " Interior Department representative Steve King toldThe Deseret News . “ If we lose just one somebody it ’s one soul too many . ”
The means urge masses to discipline with their machine ’s manufacturer to check that it was Y2 K ready .
6. Prediction: Elevators will stop working.
One station Y2K - phobes did n’t want to be on New Year ’s Eve : in an elevator . Across New York City , several building managersceased elevator operationsout of business organization that blackout might prompt them to stop working . Residential buildings stopped the elevators at approximately 11:50 p.m. and held them , capable , on the solid ground story for about 30 bit .
7. Prediction: We’re toast as a result of nuclear annihilation.
Like a scene out ofThe Day After(orThreads , for British viewing audience ) , some Y2 K forecasters worried that computer problems might influence atomic defense organisation , leading to the accidental launching of weapons and mutually assure destruction . gratefully , this was demand extremely seriously by nuclear superpowers the U.S. and Russia , who agreed to set up a joint endeavour to quench any atomic misunderstandings .
“ We are less than affirmative that Russian early warning system will function [ in good order ] , ” Deputy Secretary of Defense John Hamresaid in a House subcommittee hearingin 1999 . “ It is possible that Russian information processing system screens could go blank . ”
It was n’t quite what you ’d wish to hear from a reputable source . But thanks to DoD travail , there was picayune chance for things to go haywire … mostly : There was a account butunspecified glitchat a nuclear weapons industrial plant in Oak Ridge , Tennessee , then the nation ’s primary uranium storage site .
