The last time the Brood X cicadas invaded the D.C. region, iPhones didn't exist, George W. Bush was president and D.C. did not have a baseball team.
Facebook had just launched in 2004. In this May, 26, 2010 file photo, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg is seen. He was Time’s person of the year at 26.
(AP/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
AP/Marcio Jose Sanchez
D.C. didn’t have the Nats in 2004. In this Dec. 29, 2004 photo, D.C. Anthony A. Williams signs the Ballpark Omnibus Financing and Revenue Act of 2004 that continued the process of returning baseball to the nation’s capital.
(Getty Images/Joe Raedle)
Getty Images/Joe Raedle
Maryland Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr., right, introduces, President Bush at the Maryland Victory 2006 Reception, Wednesday, May 31, 2006, in Baltimore.
(AP/MANUEL BALCE CENETA)
AP/MANUEL BALCE CENETA
U.S. Senator John Kerry, center, watches election results on television with his wife, Teresa Heinz Kerry, and Virginia Gov. Mark Warner on Feb. 10, 2004 in Fairfax, Virginia. Kerry, Democratic presidential candidate, has won the Virginia primary but lost to George W. Bush.
(Getty Images/Chris Hondros)
Getty Images/Chris Hondros
Former U.S. First Lady Nancy Reagan is embraced by Reverend Robert Wenning as they stand by the casket containing the remains of former U.S. President Ronald Reagan at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library June, 7, 2004 in Simi Valley, California. Reagan, 82, wearing a black suit, touched the flag-draped coffin of her husband of 52 years and briefly laid her head on it at a short service held after his body arrived at his presidential library where he will lie in repose for two days ahead of his state funeral on June 11, 2004.
(AFP via Getty Images/AFP/Getty Images)
AFP via Getty Images/AFP/Getty Images
Jeopardy! host Alex Trebek poses contestant Ken Jennings after his earnings from his record breaking streak on the gameshow surpassed $1 million July 14, 2004 in Culver City, California.
(Getty Images/Getty Images)
Getty Images/Getty Images
Britney Spears and other popular music CDs are seen for sale at a Tower Records store in Hollywood, California, in 2004.
(AFP via Getty Images/ROBYN BECK)
AFP via Getty Images/ROBYN BECK
Singers Janet Jackson and surprise guest Justin Timberlake perform during the halftime show at Super Bowl XXXVIII between the New England Patriots and the Carolina Panthers at Reliant Stadium on Feb. 1, 2004 in Houston, Texas. At the end of the performance, Jackson had a wardrobe malfunction.
(Photo by Frank Micelotta/Getty Images)
A lot has changed in the the National Capital region — and world — in the 17 years since Brood X cicadas invaded in 2004.
The first iPhone was still three years away, and you couldn’t take a photo with a Blackberry back then. It was harder to share those photos, since in 2004, Harvard sophomore Mark Zuckerberg had just built and launched what he called The Facebook, as a way for classmates to connect.
It was still two years before the groundbreaking of the Intercounty Connector, providing an alternative to the Capital Beltway between Montgomery and Prince George’s counties.
Robert Ehrlich was the governor in Maryland, and Mark Warner was Virginia governor. Anthony Williams was the mayor of D.C.
In September 2004, Major League Baseball announced that the Montreal Expos would move the Washington, D.C. in 2005. The Boston Red Sox ended the Curse of the Bambino, winning their first World Series since 1918.
The city and county of San Francisco began issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples. And later that year, 11 American states banned gay marriage.
A gallon of gasoline cost $1.88 — a price low enough to facilitate road trips, with music on CDs, including Outkast’s “Hey Ya,” Britney Spears’ “Toxic,” U2’s “Vertigo” and Maroon 5’s “She Will Be Loved.”
After 10 years, the final episode of “Friends,” aired on NBC, drawing an estimated 66 million viewers, the fifth-most watched series finale in U.S. history.
George W. Bush won his second term in the White House, defeating John Kerry. Ronald Reagan, the nation’s 40th president, died at 93. His death was followed by a six-day state funeral.
After 74 consecutive wins on Jeopardy!, Ken Jennings lost to Nancy Zerg, leaving the show with more than $2.5 million.
And though some referred to Super Bowl XXXVIII 32-29 victory by the New England Patriots over the Carolina Panthers as the greatest football championship game of all time, it was overshadowed by Janet Jackson’s “wardrobe malfunction,” during her halftime performance with Justin Timberlake.
Neal Augenstein has been a general assignment reporter with WTOP since 1997. He says he looks forward to coming to work every day, even though that means waking up at 3:30 a.m.
