So, you know how there's that meme where someone makes a timeline of events, and it ends with something that ties it to a fictional universe? I was thinking it would be fun to do one of those for Fallout. Not many ideas, though. This is what I have so far.

• September, 2012; End-of-the-world panic rises to unprecedented levels. An agitated U.S. population begins to chafe under laws posed to protect national security due to abnormally high levels of stress.
  
• November, 2012; Pressured by their increasingly agitated populations, several State Governments make the decision to secede from the union. Additional states follow shortly.
  
• ????, 2012; Citizens in Russia, hearing of the events in North America, begin to rise against their government.
  
• March, 2013; Dissident states are finally brought under control as the panic created by "2012" predictions proves unfounded, and federal troops begin to restore order. A major restructuring of the government occurs in order to help prevent future revolutions.
  
• April, 2013; Stability returns to the U.S. The government charges the Department of Homeland Security with developing a program to promote increased patriotism and loyalty in American citizens.
  
• ???, 20??; Russian uprising is successful, and becomes known as the Great People's Rebellion. A new USSR is born, and begins to expand, reclaiming lost territory.
  
• ???, 20??; U.S. schools begin to teach a revised history, under the initiative of the Department of Homeland Security's propaganda agents. Seminars are held encouraging parents to help their children to embrace the new history. Rather than censor conflicting versions, a campaign of active denial and discrediting is engaged in. Protesters speaking out against the program find themselves detained on "suspicion of terrorism".
  
• ???, 20??; After clandestine meetings with Washington policy makers, the Department of Homeland Security enacts the second stage of their program. Several popular snack food and beverage manufacturers are contacted and offered Government compensation to add mood-altering drugs to their products. Companies that refuse come under investigation on exaggerated charges.
  
• ???, 20??; Coca-Cola launches a major rebranding campaign as a part of its cooperation with the "Civic Enrichment Initiative". The campaign introduces a new retro-styled mascot, advertising their new product (flavored to mask the government provided additives) as "A timeless taste for the nuclear age."
  
• ???, 20??; Following the success of the Coca-Cola campaign, many other companies follow suit, mimicking the classic styling and technological puns with slogans like, "An American classic for your nuclear family." As a result, their is a mass revival of older musical and aesthetic styles. Many companies introduce "retro futuristic" product designs.
  
• ???, 20??; As a side effect of revised history and advertising trends, popular opinion about atomic energy changes to a more positive one. The use of nuclear power begins to become widespread.
  
• ??? - Profit
  
• ???, 2160/61; Vault 13's water chip breaks down.