Back in time

As the school year comes to an end, WSS takes a look at some of the memorable events from the years the Class of 2025 was born.

Grace Bartlett, Print Profiles Co-Editor

May 30, 2025

Back in time

“High School Musical”

January 24, 2006

“High School Musical” debuts, starring Vanessa Hudgens and Zac Efron. The movie, about two teens who fall in love and perform in the school musical together despite objections from their peers, generated about $250 million globally.

Winter Olympics

February 10, 2006 — February 26, 2006

The Winter Olympics are held in Turin, Italy, making it the largest city to host the Olympic Winter Games at the time. It was the first time viewers across the world could watch the games from mobile phones, and the Olympic.org site was streamed over 32 million times.

Tornadoes

April 13, 2006

Tornadoes break out in the Central and Southern parts of the United States. In Iowa City, an F2 tornado touches down near Walmart and Menards and continues its 4.2-mile path through residential areas and the University of Iowa campus.

Pluto

August 24, 2006

The International Astronomical Union votes to demote Pluto from the ninth planet in our solar system to a dwarf planet after new guidelines defining the term “planet” are set. This sparks controversy within the scientific community, and protests break out in favor of Pluto.

Nintendo’s Wii

November 19, 2006

Nintendo releases the WiiII, its fifth major video game console, in North America. This new console was designed to be more fun and accessible for all users. In its first year on the market, Nintendo sold 3.2 million units and cemented itself as a key video game company.

iPhone

January 9, 2007

Apple CEO Steve Jobs introduces the original iPhone at the Macworld Convention in San Francisco, California. Deeming the gadget a “revolutionary product,” Jobs and Apple released iPhones on June 29 of the same year, selling 270,000 domestically in the first week on the market.

Pixar’s “Ratatouille”

June 29, 2007

Pixar Animation Studios releases its eighth feature film “Ratatouille.” The film follows a rat named Remy, who has a passion for cooking, as he finds unlikely friendship with a human cook in a Parisian kitchen. The film received widespread acclaim and box office success and grossed $623.7 million worldwide.

“Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows”

July 21, 2007

The seventh and final book in the Harry Potter series, “The Deathly Hallows” written by J.K. Rowling, is released to the public worldwide. The book series gained immense popularity in the late 90s and early 2000s, making the release of the final book highly anticipated. Copies fly off the shelves with 11 million selling in the first 24 hours.

Financial crisis

October 9, 2007

The Dow Jones Industrial Average, a metric for the stock market’s overall direction, hits a historic all-time high of 14,164, officially marking the peak before an unsteady housing market causes a financial crisis. This occurred a few months before the start of the Great Recession.

“High School Musical”

Winter Olympics

Tornadoes

Pluto

Nintendo’s Wii

iPhone

Pixar’s “Ratatouille”

“Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows”

Financial crisis

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TimelineJS

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About the Contributor

Grace Bartlett, Print Profiles Co-Editor

Grace Bartlett is a senior at West High. This is her second year on staff and she is one of the Profiles Editors. Outside of the news room, Grace enjoys choir, theater and reading.