American Girl Theory: Why are Isabel and Nicki from 1999?

I was talking to my sister and her friends about Isabel and Nicki, the new historical characters, last night, and my sister (who was born in 2001) said "1999 isn't historical! Why then?" All of a sudden, I came up with an unhinged explanation for their year:

• In 1999, new technologies were rising, such as computers, and AmericanGirl.com launched. However, there was something called Y2K, which was a fear that once the clock hit 2000, all these new technologies would stop working. Obviously these fears didn't manifest, but according to my parents, who were in their 20s in 1999, this was a big deal.

• Now for the unhinged part of my theory. In 2001, the 9/11 attacks occurred, when terrorists hijacked an airplane and destroyed the Twin Towers in New York. The effects of 9/11 are still controversial, especially regarding surveillance and the treatment of Muslims. The long-term ramifications of 9/11 are still ongoing today (not historical!), so it would be extremely hard to create a doll from 2001 while keeping that in mind. Therefore, Nicki and Isabel are from 1999 in order to bypass 9/11.

Either way, "historical" or not, I am psyched to see the dolls debut on Wednesday!