"If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible ... tonight is your answer," says Barack Obama to a huge crowd gathered in Chicago on November 4, 2008 — the night the 47-year-old senator from Illinois is elected the 44th president of the United States, the first African-American to hold the nation's highest office. Obama defeats Arizona senator John McCain, who notes the import of the event in his concession speech: "This is a historic election, and I recognize the significance it has for African-Americans, and the special pride that must be theirs tonight. We both realize that we have come a long way from the injustices that once stained our nation's reputation."

Obama, who shunned the notion of himself as a "black candidate" during his campaign, is a self-described "son of a black man from Kenya and a white woman from Kansas" with "brothers, sisters, nieces, nephews, uncles, and cousins, of every race and every hue, scattered across three continents."

Obama is elected on a message of hope, but reminds his election night audience of the challenges ahead: "The road ahead will be long; our climb will be steep."

Lance Wins His Seventh

In 2005, at age 33, cancer survivor Lance Armstrong becomes the first bicycle racer to win the Tour de France seven times, accomplishing the feat in consecutive years. Armstrong raises the profile of professional bike racing by conquering a sport long dominated by European racers while at the same time leading the Lance Armstrong Foundation.

 

The World at Our Fingertips

In January 2007 Apple introduces what CEO Steve Jobs calls "a revolutionary and magical product that is literally five years ahead of any other mobile phone." The new device combines in one sleek package the ability to make phone calls, send and receive e-mails, play music, browse the Internet, and even watch TV shows and movies. When it goes on sale in June, eager buyers camp outside Apple and AT&T stores to get one. In less than two years, Apple sells 17 million iPhones.

 

Green Highways

Toyota brings the Prius to the U.S. market in July 2000, and the hybrid-powered vehicle becomes the emblem of a growing environmental movement. The five-seat passenger car gets 52 miles per gallon in the city, with emissions up to 90 percent cleaner than the average car. Although the Prius is widely regarded as a curiosity in a country obsessed with sport-utility vehicles, Toyota sells out its first production run of 12,000. By November 2003, the Prius is outselling General Motors' Hummer by a two-to-one margin and has become the darling of environmentally conscious celebrities such as Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Hanks, Tim Robbins, and Susan Sarandon. In 2006, former vice president Al Gore releases An Inconvenient Truth — a feature-length film about the dangers of global warming, brought on in part by carbon emissions from motor vehicles. By then, Prius sales total more than 200,000 annually.

 

The World's A-Twitter

A Nielsen study released in 2009 proclaims that online social networking services like MySpace, Facebook, and Twitter "are creating a potentially transformational change in consumer behavior" and have surpassed e-mail in online popularity.

Slow Food Heats Up

Slow-food activism begins to take root in a fast-food nation 15 years after its beginnings in Italy. Chef Alice Waters of Berkeley, Calif., becomes one of the keenest American boosters of the movement, which promotes unprocessed cuisine that can be time-consuming to prepare. She advocates fresh, organic cuisine as an antidote to industrial agriculture, childhood obesity, and declining family values. "The way children are eating now is teaching them about fast, cheap, and easy," she tells the New York Times in 2004. "We're losing the values we learned from our parents when we sat around our family table, when we lived closer to the land and communicated."

 

Come On Down!

At age 83, Bob Barker hosts his final broadcast of The Price Is Right on June 15, 2007. After 35 years on the program and 50-plus years of hosting game shows, the white-maned host says, "I've decided to retire while I am still young."

 

Scoot!

Inventor Dean Kamen appears on Good Morning America in 2001 to introduce a two-wheeled, battery-operated scooter that he declares "will be to the car what the car was to the horse and buggy." The Segway Personal Transporter runs 24 miles on a six-hour charge that costs about a dime.

Other Memorable Moments

2000 Hillary Rodham Clinton becomes the first First Lady elected to the U.S. Senate.

2000 A "reality show" called Survivor is filmed in Borneo and debuts on television. Richard Hatch is the first winner.

2001 Apple's new iPod "puts a thousand songs in your pocket," according to CEO Steve Jobs.

2005 YouTube debuts, with the slogan "Broadcast yourself."

2006 The oldest baby boomers turn 60, including former presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton.

2006 The population of the United States reaches 300 million.

2006 Pluto, which is smaller than the Earth's moon, is reclassified as a "dwarf planet" by the International Astronomical Union.

2007 Nancy Pelosi is sworn in as the first female speaker of the House of Representatives.

2008 Swimmer Michael Phelps wins eight gold medals at the Olympic Games in Beijing.

2009 Jay Leno ends his 17-year reign as host of The Tonight Show.