1 Three, two, one...Happy New Millennium! At midnight next New Year's Eve, millions of people around the world 2 will throw confetti, blow noisemakers and hug their friends and family to welcome the year 2000.

3 But some people are predicting that the new millennium celebrations will not last long. They say that just after the 4 stroke of midnight, computers everywhere will go berserk. Computer-controlled traffic lights will get stuck

5 flashing green. Files stored in computers, such as school report cards, will be wiped out. The computers that 6 regulate the flow of electricity will shut down. Whole cities will be blanketed in darkness. There will be no way to 7 turn on a light, watch television or heat up something to eat.

8 Wait a second! No lights, no TV, no hot food--no report cards?! Is that really going to happen?

9 […]Experts say that some computer systems may suffer glitches, but many will be fine. But that hasn't stopped 10 people from worrying. With the big day less than a year away, more people than ever are afraid they will be 11 bitten by the millennium bug.

13 Why does it matter whether a computer records a year with four digits or just two? Because computers do not 14 understand dates, they understand numbers. Computers know that 99 is greater than 98 and that 98 is greater than 15 97. That's how they keep track of the years moving forward.

16 The millennium bug is expected to hatch from two egg-shaped numbers: 00. When the year switches from 1999 17 to 2000, many computers will read 00 as less than 99, as if time were rolling backward. This can cause some 18 computers to do the wrong thing and stop others from doing anything at all.

20 Some folks have big fears for 2000. They are stockpiling canned food and bottled water in case there are 21 shortages. They are also storing candles and batteries in case the power goes out.

22 Danielle Eckhart's parents have come up with a unique way to store an emergency supply of water: they bought 23 their daughter a 300-gallon water bed! Says Danielle, 11: "I hope we don't end up drinking my bed." The sixth- 24 grader's family has filled its basement in Lisbon, Ohio, with food to last several months, including cans of 25 vegetable juice, chicken, beef and jam. If nothing bad happens, "I don't have to buy groceries for a long time," 26 says Danielle's mom.

27 But most experts say the millennium bug won't sting too badly. Banks, the government, electric companies, 28 airlines and fuel suppliers have all been working to make sure that their computers are ready for Y2K. (The "Y" 29 stands for "year." The "K" stands for "kilo," meaning a thousand. So Y2K means year 2000.)

31 American Electric Power, which owns 22 power plants in seven states, has spent four years and $58 million 32 getting its computers ready for 2000. Although there is still some work to be done, the company believes it will 33 make the deadline. But just in case, American Electric has added emergency phone lines for its customers. Its 34 bosses have also asked many American Electric Power employees to postpone their new-millennium parties and 35 be available to help in case of trouble.

36 Joe Valentine, the company's Y2K project director, is one of many experts around the world ready to swat the 37 millennium bug if it rears its ugly head. "I'm not going to guarantee there will be no problems on January 1, 38 2000," he says, "but we'll be ready."

From TIME FOR KIDS, January 15^th 1999