Y2K Bug

        The Y2K bug, also known as the Millennium Bug, was a massive problem in the coding of computerized systems that was projected to create havoc in computers and computer networks and was a big reason for the expansion of the dotcom bubble that I have talked about in other blogs. The bugg took more than a year to fix leading to einternational alarm and major program corrections to make sure a major failure such as the Y2K bug would never happen again.
Until the 1990s, many computer programs (especially those written in the early days of computers) were designed to abbreviate four-digit years as two digits in order to save memory space. These computers could recognize “98” as “1998” but would be unable to recognize “00” as “2000,” perhaps interpreting it to mean 1900. Many feared that when the clocks struck midnight on January 1, 2000, many affected computers would be using an incorrect date and thus fail to operate properly unless the computers’ software was repaired or replaced before that date. The government, freaked out by the implications, set out to try to update all computerized systems out of the faulty software
The reason for such government urgency may not be apparent at first, but the bug had greater implications then just busting your  personal computer. Banks, which calculate interest rates on a daily basis, faced real problems. Interest rates are the amount of money a lender, such as a bank, charges a customer, such as an individual or business, for a loan. Instead of the rate of interest for one day, the computer would calculate a rate of interest for minus almost 100 years! Centers of technology, such as power plants, were also threatened by the Y2K bug. Power plants depend on routine computer maintenance for safety checks, such as water pressure or radiation levels. Not having the correct date would throw off these calculations and possibly put nearby residents at risk.
In the end, there were very few problems. A nuclear energy facility in Ishikawa, Japan, had some of its radiation equipment fail, but backup facilities ensured there was no threat to the public. The U.S. detected missile launches in Russia and attributed that to the Y2K bug. But the missile launches were planned ahead of time as part of Russia's conflict in its republic of Chechnya. There was no computer malfunction. Countries such as Italy, Russia, and South Korea had done little to prepare for Y2K. They had no more technological problems than those countries, like the U.S., that spent millions of dollars to combat the problem. Due to the lack of results, many people dismissed the Y2K bug as a hoax or an end-of-the-world cult.

Sources:
https://www.nationalgeographic.org/encyclopedia/Y2K-bug/
https://www.britannica.com/technology/Y2K-bug
https://www.newscientist.com/article/2229238-a-lazy-fix-20-years-ago-means-the-y2k-bug-is-taking-down-computers-now/