1997 Gas was $1.22 a gallon in the US and 2 Pounds 70 pence in the UK , Great Britain handed back Hong Kong to China and the Dow was at less than 8000 . The first signs of the dreaded Bird Flu in China where the first documented case of the jump to humans causes Hong Kong to kill 1.25 million chickens. In the UK Tony Blair is the prime minister and Princess Diana dies in a car accident.

Cost of Living 1997

How Much things cost in 1997
Yearly Inflation Rate USA 2.34 %
Year End Close Dow Jones Industrial Average 7908
Interest Rates Year End Federal Reserve 8.50%
Average Cost of new house $124,100.00
Average Income per year $37,006.00
Average Monthly Rent $576.00
Cost of a gallon of Gas $1.22
Average cost of new car $16,900.00
Loaf of Bread $1.17
Movie Ticket $4.59
1 LB Hamburger Meat $1.38


What Events Happened in 1997

• Hong Kong returned to Chinese rule from UK rule
• Israelis pull out of Hebron on West bank
• 70 people including 60 foreign tourists are gunned down by Islamic extremists in Egypt's Valley of The Kings
• Princess Diana calls for an immediate international ban on land mines
• Diana Princess of Wales is killed in a car crash in Paris
• Kyoto Protocol Agreed when 150 countries sign up at a global warming conference in Kyoto, Japan
• Microsoft becomes the worlds most valuable company valued at $261 billion dollars
• Heavens Gate Cult Commits Mass Suicides in California
• The Dow Jones Industrial Average closes above 7,000 for the first time
• Tony Blair becomes Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
• Mother Teresa Dies in Calcutta
• UN FAO announces that 18 million people die annually in the third world from hunger and undernourishment
• Tornado hits in Jarrell, Texas killing 27 people
• Luxemburg is the richest country in the world with an average per capita income of $41,210 followed by Switzerland and Japan
• Scotland votes to create its own Parliament after 290 years of union with England
• Wales votes in favour of devolution and the formation of a National Assembly
• El Nino forms in the oceans between Australia causing unstable weather conditions including Hurricanes and drought in the Southern Hemisphere and colder temperatures in the North
• Stock markets around the world crash because of a global economic crisis scare and in response to a 554.26 point free fall, New York Stock Exchange officials invoked the "circuit breaker" rule and put a halt to trading
• Mike Tyson Bites Evander Holyfield's ear during a match and is suspended from boxing
• Woolworths closes its remaining discount stores after more than 100 years of trading
• A civil jury panel finds OJ Simpson Guilty
• Hemophiliacs / Aids US Cases From 80's infected blood products Settled
• Siege of the Japanese embassy ends in Peru when troops storm the embassy and free all but one of 72 hostages held inside
• A series of settlements between tobacco companies and US states is agreed to cover tobacco-related health costs
• Terrorists Attack A tourist bus in Luxor
• Due to torrential rains many rivers flood in Europe causing mass flooding to villages and towns in many parts of Europe.
• Tiger Woods at 21 years old became the youngest ever golfer to win the Masters
• Carlos the Jackal, is caught and sentenced by a French court to life in prison
• Andrew Cunanan Commits Suicide after murdering 4 people including fashion designer Gianni Versace
• Hong Kong kills all the chickens within its territory (1.25 million) to stop the spread of a potentially deadly influenza strain known as Avian Flu. Bird flu was thought only to infect birds until the first human cases were seen in Hong Kong in 1997

Popular Culture 1997

• The Simpsons becomes the longest-running prime-time animated series.
• Notorious B.I.G. Shot killed in drive by shooting
• The first book in the award winning Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling is published "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone" released in US in 1998 as "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone"

Popular Films

• Titanic
  
• The Lost World: Jurassic Park
  
• Men in Black
  
• Tomorrow Never Dies
  
• Air Force One
  
• As Good as It Gets
  
• Liar Liar
  
• My Best Friend's Wedding
  
• The Fifth Element
  
• The Full Monty
  
• Batman & Robin
  
• The Rainmaker
  

Popular Musicians

• Mariah Carey
  
• Smashing Pumpkins
  
• Foo Fighters
  
• Nine Inch Nails
  
• The Verve
  
• Counting Crows
  
• Lenny Kravitz
  
• Céline Dion
  
• Daft Punk
  
• Sneaker Pimps
  
• Fleetwood Mac
  
• Spice Girls
  
• Radiohead
  
• Garth Brooks
  
• Hanson
  
• The Offspring
  
• Bryan Adams
  
• Aerosmith
  

Technology 1997

• Scientists in Scotland reveal the first successful cloning of an adult mammal a sheep named Dolly
• Microsoft becomes the worlds most valuable company valued at $261 billion dollars
• Internet Explorer version 4 released
• The comet Hale-Bopp has its closest approach to earth
• Microsoft buys minority stake in Apple Computers for $150 million
• ThrustSSC sets the first supersonic land speed record at Black Rock Desert, Nevada at an average speed of 1,227.985 km/h (763.035 mph).
• Mars Pathfinder lands on the surface of Mars
• Alaska sees more ground ice breaking off due to the greenhouse effect