This century is almost gone, yet I still haven't figured it out. In fact, I'm still struggling to understand the 19th. Besides, I was born in World War II, right at the end of the battle of Stalingrad. Old timers like me are not so eager to rush into the impending oblivion Century 21 will inexorably bring. The 20th was a pretty awful century, but I still like it a lot.
Humans get strange at century's ends, and really weird before millennia.
In 1899, people earnestly believed the 20th century would be a golden age of human rights, beneficial technology, glorious culture, worldwide peace and prosperity. In 999 AD, Europeans were gripped by terror and panic. The faithful saw visions of the Virgin Mary, saints, fiends and talking animals. Some are praying Elvis will return in 1999. As the Roman Empire crumbled, its degenerate high society took up eastern cults.