1997—GIGAPET
Modern culture’s quest for emotional connection through technology starts with “animal” pals like the Gigapet. People protest the following year when the toys break.

1998—SQUIRREL
Chicago’s silk-screen warrior Jay Ryan draws rabid squirrels on rock posters. A craze is born.

1999—HAMSTER
When Diedre LeCarte uploads an animated GIF tribute to her pet, Hampton, the “Hampster Dance” becomes the first of many annoying viral hits.

2000—HELLO KITTY
The Japanese brand moves into Times Square just in time for a new millennium—and to stunt Generation Y’s transition into adulthood en masse.

2001—DOG
Maira Kalman’s What Pete Ate from A to Z becomes an artsy bookstore favorite; dogs take over book jackets soon after.

2002—SPARROW
With its silhouetted sparrows, Mike Mills’s iconic cover of The Ganzfeld #2 jumpstarts the “birds on everything” movement (ongoing).

2003—DEER
The antler chandelier, along with lots of real taxidermy and bracelets made to look like twigs, exemplifies the woodland look.

2004—UNICORNS
Chris Bishop’s “Afternoon Delight,” featuring two unicorns lost in ecstasy, sells out on Threadless. Kitschy unicorn album art starts popping up.

2005—PENGUIN
March of the Penguins unexpectedly captures the world’s heart, closely followed by the animated Happy Feet. The “cute animal” trend, however, starts to lose its footing.

2006—GIANT SQUID
Dave Eggers pens the faux encyclopedia volume Animals of the Ocean, Particularly the Giant Squid. Scientists catch the 24-foot beast on film for the first time.

2007—BIG FOOT
The mythic creature emerges from the wilderness to star in commercials for lite beer, beef jerky, and ice cream. But not insurance.

2008—BEAR
We can’t tell the future, so we’ll go with the conventional wisdom—the stock market—and predict a bear year. Tigers could be a close second, though.