In 2003, 17-year-old Mike Rowe registered MikeRoweSoft dot com for his web design business. Microsoft claimed it infringed on its trademark and offered him $10 for the domain. Rowe countered with $10,000, prompting Microsoft to send a 25-page cease-and-desist letter accusing him of extortion. The dispute between Mike Rowe and Microsoft became a modern-day David versus Goliath story. In 2003, the Canadian teenager registered MikeRoweSoft dot com as a phonetic play on his own name for his small web design business. Microsoft argued that the domain was too similar to its trademark and asked him to give it up. Microsoft initially offered Rowe $10 to cover the cost of registering the domain. Feeling the offer was unfair, he responded with a $10,000 counteroffer. Microsoft viewed the demand as an attempt to profit from its trademark and accused him of cybersquatting. After the dispute gained international attention in 2004, Rowe received widespread online support, with his website reportedly attracting hundreds of thousands of visitors and supporters donating money toward a possible legal defense. The case never went to court. Rowe agreed to transfer the domain to Microsoft in exchange for an Xbox, games, Microsoft training, a developer network subscription, a trip to Microsoft’s headquarters, and help creating a new website. He later donated $5,250 of the roughly $6,000 raised for his defense to Canuck Place, a children’s hospice.

In October 2003, just one year after founding SpaceX, Elon Musk spoke at Stanford about why he entered the rocket business. At the time, almost no one believed a private company could succeed in orbital launch. He later said he gave SpaceX less than a 10% chance of succeeding — but felt it was still worth trying, because without a new entrant, humanity might never become multiplanetary. 20+ years later, SpaceX became the dominant launch provider and the first private company to fly astronauts to the ISS. Source: Stanford Entrepreneurial Thought Leaders lecture, Oct 8, 2003

SCARY MOVIE 3 (2003) almost went full THE MATRIX. A deleted scene had Cindy battling hordes of Samaras before discovering she was the Chosen One. Anna Faris loved the leather outfit so much that she kept it after filming.