2015

In February, a simple photograph of a dress split the internet into two camps—those who saw blue and black, and those who saw white and gold—showcasing the bizarre power of viral social media algorithms.

If you look at your smartphone today, the core features were either born or normalized in . This was the year technology stopped being "cool" and started being "invisible."

: On June 26, 2015, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 5-4 in the historic Obergefell v. Hodges case. The landmark decision legalized same-sex marriage across all 50 states, declaring it a fundamental right protected under the Fourteenth Amendment. In February, a simple photograph of a dress

: In July, NASA's New Horizons spacecraft completed its historic flyby of Pluto. It transmitted the first high-resolution, close-up images of the dwarf planet's icy plains and heart-shaped nitrogen glacier.

If you didn’t have a smartphone in , you were essentially a ghost. But it wasn't just about having one; it was about what you did with it. Supreme Court ruled 5-4 in the historic Obergefell v

In sports, gave us the "Phantom Point" in the Cricket World Cup, the rise of the Golden State Warriors (winning the NBA Finals and beginning the "small ball" revolution), and the Rugby World Cup victory for New Zealand's All Blacks.

In December, SpaceX successfully landed a Falcon 9 first-stage rocket back on Earth after orbital launch, revolutionizing reusable spaceflight. : In July, NASA's New Horizons spacecraft completed

In 2015, the consumer technology sector shifted from iteration to true evolution, introducing platforms and standards that remain foundational today.

It was a year of contradictions: the most optimistic legal victory for LGBTQ+ rights coincided with the rise of right-wing nationalism. The highest-grossing movies were reboots of 70s and 80s franchises. The biggest hit song was a 70s funk pastiche.

That was 2015. A strange, beautiful, slightly caffeinated year.

Domestically and culturally, institutional shifts altered the landscape of civil rights and corporate accountability.