Cast your mind’s eye all the way back to the primitive year of 2005. In early July of that year, the world was suddenly introduced to a sarcastic, dyslexic twelve-year old demigod with ADHD. The rest, as they say, is history.

But we often don’t realize we’re living through history until after some time has passed. That’s why we’re celebrating The Lightning Thief’s 17th anniversary with 17 fun facts that will no doubt give you some perspective on the last couple of decades.

And also make you feel very, very old.

• Since the release of The Lightning Thief, Percy Jackson has appeared in, or has been mentioned in over 20 books.

• If The Lightning Thief were a real person living in the US, it would be old enough to drive, but not old enough to vote.

• Don’t think about this too hard, but if Percy Jackson were a real person, he would have been born one or two years before the release of The Lightning Thief.

• Percy Jackson has been around for four different U.S. presidential administrations.

• The Lightning Thief was released two months after the first video YouTube video was uploaded.

• The Lightning Thief was released two months after Star Wars: Episode III.

• The Lightning Thief was released three months before Twilight.

• The Lightning Thief is one year older than the Nintendo Wii.

• The Lightning Thief is two years older than Netflix streaming.

• Just read The Lightning Thief in 2005 and want to gush about it on social media? Why not try this new website, Facebook? But it’s only a year old, so no one is really on there yet. You’ll still need to wait another year until Twitter debuts, five years until Instagram, and six until Snapchat.

• Your posting options are further limited in 2005 because The Lightning Thief was released two years before the first iPhone.

• Need some music to listen to while reading The Lightning Thief? You’ll have to wait six years for Spotify. iTunes is around, but it’s only four years old.

• The Lightning Thief is three years older than the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

• The Lightning Thief is also three years older than The Hunger Games.

• The Lightning Thief is eleven years older than Stranger Things. (If you know, you know.)

• The Lightning Thief is also eleven years older than TikTok.

• Walker Scobell, the actor playing Percy Jackson in the upcoming Disney+ series, is four years younger than The Lightning Thief.

What’s your first memory of The Lightning Thief? Were you there at launch? Let us know!