The first YouTube video is posted. The 18-second clip “Me at the zoo” shows co-founder Jawed Karim at San Diego Zoo. It has been viewed more than 13 million times (2014).

Kanellos Kanellopoulos flies across the Aegean Sea in a human-powered aircraft. The Greek Olympic cyclist flew a record-breaking 115 km (71 mi) from Crete to Santorini in the MIT Daedalus aircraft, which was named after the mythological inventor of aviation.

Coca-Cola releases New Coke. The new formula was so unpopular that the original Coke was re-introduced as Coca-Cola Classic soon afterward.

The discovery of the virus causing AIDS is announced. French virologists Luc Montagnier and Françoise Barré-Sinoussi were awarded the Nobel Prize in Medicine for the discovery of the HIV virus.

The Rolling Stones release Sticky Fingers. The album is often considered one of the British rock band's best. It includes hits like “Brown Sugar” and ”Wild Horses”.