| This article is about the decade starting at the beginning of 2000 and ending at the
end of 2009. For the century or millennium starting in 2000 (or, technically, 2001), see
the links below.
Millennia: 2nd
millennium - 3rd millennium - 4th millennium
The decade as a whole
- In keeping with naming decades (cf. 1990s "the Nineties", 1980s "the Eighties", etc.), the decade of the 2000s lacks an accepted name. A widely accepted term may not
come about until the decade has ended. However no such term exists for the decades of the 1900s and 1910s. A few suggestions for
the 2000s decade are:
- "the Twenty-O's" (pronounced; twenty-ohs) or "the Oh's". For example, the year 2005 would be pronounced as "twenty-oh-five,"
instead of "two-thousand five."
- "the 0-0s", usually pronounced as "the oh-ohs". This pronunciation sounds like "uh oh", an expression of dismay; this
similarity is no doubt intentional.
- "the 2Ks", a term that is rooted in the slang of the times. K is shorthand for the Greek prefix kilo meaning 1000; hence, 2K means 2000. In popular culture, the years of the decade are already being named according
to this slang. For example, the year 2003 is referred to as 2K3. The "2K" term probably has its popular origins in the
heavily-hyped Y2K bug that began the decade.
- "the Aughts" (or "Oughts"), keeping with the practice of the twentieth century.
- "the Nillies", derived from the term "nil", meaning nothing or zero.
- "the Noughties", referring to the nought, or zero, as the decade indicator; the word-play on "naughty" is intentional.
- "the Twenty Hundreds", though this could be confused with a name for the century.
- "the zeroes",
- "the double-O's"
- "the 0-Hundreds"
- The United Nations General
Assembly declared the (mostly overlapping) decade of 2001-2010 as the "International Decade for a Culture of Peace and
Non-Violence for the Children of the World".
Events and trends
Technology
War, peace and politics
- Major controversy over U.S.
presidential election, 2000
- September 11, 2001
Terrorist Attack on New York's World Trade Center and Washington's Pentagon killing over 3000 people. A resultant change in
stance towards international terrorism (See War on Terror) has ripple
effects on the USA's foreign policy and military strategy.
- 2001 U.S. invasion of Afghanistan to
depose the Taliban regime in response to the September 11, 2001 terrorist
attacks
- December 2001 – July
18, 2003: The Convention on the Future of Europe proposing first European constitution (i.e., of the EU)
- East Timor gains official independence from Indonesia on May 20, 2002
- International Criminal Court exists as
of 1 July 2002, used for judging war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide
- 2003 invasion of Iraq as a step in the American
war on terrorism
- Darfur conflict in Sudan
- Beslan school hostage crisis,where
multinational terrorists took a school in Beslan, Russia hostage and subsequently killed 344 people including children
- United States expands international influence, in particular in the
Middle East, as well as continuing to expand its military might. The US also
hold a number of war games (see wargaming) pertaining to the Strait of Taiwan in preperation for a possible war with the People's
Republic of China over a Taiwanese succession.
- While the US continues to enjoy international political, military and economic dominance, the nation of China in the Orient emerges as a viable power in the region, as well as an industrial powerhouse for numerous
light goods including apparel and appliances.
Economics
Culture and religion
Other
People
World leaders
State leaders by year: 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006...
Entertainers
- Ben Affleck
- Jack Black (High
Fidelity, Shark Tale, The School of Rock, Ice
Age)
- Orlando Bloom (The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (movie), The Two Towers (movie), The Return of the King (movie))
- Emily Browning
- George Clooney
- Matt Damon
- Ellen DeGeneres (Finding Nemo, The Ellen
DeGeneres Show)
- Johnny Depp (Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl,
Finding Neverland, Charlie and the Chocolate
Factory (movie))
- Hilary Duff
- Eminem
- Ricky Gervais
- Tom Hanks (The
Terminal)
- Paris Hilton (The Simple Life, sex tape with Rick Salomon)
- Peter Jackson (The Lord of the Rings trilogy)
- Samuel L. Jackson
- Catherine Zeta Jones
- Nicole Kidman
- Keira Knightley
- Brock Lesnar
- Lindsay Lohan (Confessions of a Teenage Drama
Queen)
- Madonna
- Kylie Minogue
- Moby
- Mike Myers (Austin Powers)
- Keanu Reeves (The
Matrix series)
- Julia Roberts (Erin Brockovich, Ocean's
Eleven)
- The Rock (WWE wrestler, The Scorpion King, Walking Tall,
Be Cool)
- Conan O' Brien
- Gwyneth Paltrow
- Brad Pitt
- Natalie Portman
- Radiohead
- Adam Sandler
- M. Night Shyamalan
- Will Smith (I, Robot film adaptation)
- Britney Spears
- Jon Stewart
- Ben Stiller
- Raven-Symoné
- U2
- Bruce Willis
- Luke Wilson
Sports figures
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