Inventions & Breakthroughs of September 2002
Gadgets, lab surprises, odd bets, and future-shocks from this slice of the calendar.
1 
Robotic Vacuum Cleaner
2 
Smartphone with Touch Interface
3 
Web Services APIs
4 
Social Networking Platform (Friendster)
5 
Online Payment Expansion
6 
Wi-Fi Security Standard (WPA)
7 
Digital Audio Streaming
8 
Medical Robotic Surgery Expansion
9 
High-Definition Digital Television
10 
Location-Based Mobile Services
The Sounds of
Popular recordings and roots/country selections associated with the year
HEADLINES ON September 15, 2002
Full News Archive
- Headline: Montgomery Breaks 100m Record at Grand Prix. Impact: Montgomery's record-breaking run not only set a new standard in athletics but also inadvertently paved the way for future athletes to have more endorsement deals than they know what to do with—thank you, capitalism!. Fact: Did you know that for every second Montgomery shaved off the record, a shoe company made a new billion-dollar ad campaign? Now that’s a fast track to riches!.
- Headline: In This 'Superman' Story, the Executives Do the Fighting. Impact: The clash of visions for the 'Superman' movie reveals the ongoing struggle in Hollywood: do we cater to the audience's joy or their inner darkness? Spoiler alert: they usually pick the darkness and then wonder why people aren't smiling.. Fact: Did you know that Superman was originally created as a response to the struggles of the Great Depression? Fast forward to today, and now he’s just another superhero with a complicated backstory and questionable moral choices..
Wall Street Time Machine
The Right Call: If you'd invested $1,000 in any one of these companies in 2002, here's what the stored 2025 dataset estimates.
Rank #1
NFLX
Netflix
Price in 2002
$0.12
2025 dataset value
$785,671
Netflix - If you invested $1,000 in 2002, it would be worth $785,671 today (785.7x return)
Rank #2
AAPL
Apple
Price in 2002
$0.35
2025 dataset value
$779,032
Apple - If you invested $1,000 in 2002, it would be worth $779,032 today (779.0x return)
🦸 Top 5 Comics
The Ultimates #1
$25
Y: The Last Man #1
$300
New X-Men #128
$50.00
The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen Volume 2 #1
$30
Spider-Man: Blue #1
$200
🧸 Top 5 Toys
Beyblade (Metal Series)
$250.00
Yu-Gi-Oh! Trading Card Game
$150.00
LEGO Bionicle
$150.00
Bratz Dolls
$150.00
RoboSapien
$200.00
🎮 Top 5 Video Games
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City
$400.00
Metroid Prime
$22.98
The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind
$100.00
Kingdom Hearts
$120.00
Battlefield 1942
$50.47
⚾ Top 5 Trading Cards
Yu-Gi-Oh! Legend of Blue Eyes White Dragon 1st Edition Blue-Eyes White Dragon
$10,000
2002 Pokémon Neo Destiny Shining Charizard
$250,000
2002 Topps Chrome Tom Brady Refractor
$200,000
2002 Magic: The Gathering Set Foil Charmed Griffin
$20
2002 FIFA World Cup Ronaldo Panini Sticker
$28,800