That Is So Five Minutes Ago... Quiz

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. Between 1997 and 2000, the value of the world's major stock markets rose steadily due primarily to the meteroic rise of the internet and the information technology sector. Although it all 'burst' spectacularly in the early 2000s, what was the name coined to described the boom time?

Answer: Dot-Com Bubble

The internet was still new and exciting in the 1990s. The first Mosaic web browser was invented towards the end of the decade, and the World Wide Web had started to be used for commerce and business. Such was the popularity of the new information technology available, that companies were able to increase their value by just venturing onto the internet.

The value of stock markets such as the NASDAQ soared, but the whole thing was unsustainable and the bubble burst in 2000, sending many businesses into insolvency and spawning "saviour mergers" such as that between AOL and Time Warner.

2. Which Eurasian Marxist-Leninist state was dissolved in 1991, marking a final end to the Cold War?

Answer: USSR

The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was dissolved immediately following the resignation of its last President, Mikhail Gorbachev, in December 1991. The USSR was split into 3 Baltic States and 12 Republics, and the Russian flag was raised over the Kremlin that very day.

3. On 31 August 1997, two British boys named William and Harry lost their mother in a highly-publicised car accident in the Pont de l'Alma tunnel in Paris. Who was their mother?

Answer: Diana, Princess of Wales

Although blame for the deaths of the popular Princess Diana and her boyfriend, Dodi Fayed, was primarily pinned on the paparazzi, inquiries since have shown that varying portions of blame may lie with Henri Paul, the inebriated chauffeur driving them that night.

4. In April 1990, the space shuttle "Discovery" launched a space telescope into low earth orbit. After which astronomer was it named?

Answer: Edwin Hubble

Designed by astronomer Edwin Hubble, the Hubble Telescope was one of the largest space telescopes by both versatility and size from the time of its launch until well into the 2010s. The telescope uses gyroscopes to stay in orbit and to move its point towards specific phenomena.

It orbits just outside the Earth's atmosphere, allowing it to take very high resolution photographs with no background light.

5. A Central European communist country dissolved in 1993, just a few years after the government of that country had been deposed in the Velvet Revolution. Which country was this?

Answer: Czechoslovakia

The Velvet Revolution of 1989 served to end communism in Czecholslovakia. It also led to political tensions, which eventually culminated in the dissolution of the country in 1990 into the two new states of Slovakia and the Czech Republic.

6. In 1994, the Hutu government of a civil-war ravaged central African country committed genocide against hundreds of thousands of Tutsis and political dissenters and moderates in the space of a few months. In which African country did this occur?

Answer: Rwanda

The Rwandan Civil War had started in 1990, but by 1994 had become a genocide, with the Hutu government ordering mass killings of both the Tutsi population of the country, and also Hutus who were differently or more moderately politically inclined. Around 20% of Rwanda's population was wiped out in the genocide, making it one of the worst in history.

Following the genocide, many Western countries were criticised for inaction. This was one of the prime catalysts for the creation of the International Criminal Court, which was set up to deal with future crimes against humanity and war crimes such as genocide. In Rwanda, however, many trials of those involved were dealt with via local "Gacaca Courts", which employed a participatory justice system in local areas. The Gacaca Courts were closed down in 2012 following criticism, and so many people were involved in the genocide that it was calculated at that time that it would take over 200 years to conclude all trials.

7. In 1997, a film directed by James Cameron was released, garnering 14 Academy Award nominations and winning eleven including Best Picture. Which romantic disaster movie, the most expensive ever made at the time, was this?

Answer: Titanic

Starring Kate Winslet and Leonardo Di Caprio in the lead roles, "Titanic" (1997) became the first film to gross over $1 billion at the box office. Aside from the Academy Award for Best Picture, it also won the Academy Award for Best Original Song "My Heart Will Go On", which itself went to number 1 in charts all over the world.

8. In 1999, English football team Manchester United "did the treble", winning the Premier League, the FA Cup and finally the Champions League. Which manager led them to glory in all of these competitions?

Answer: Alex Ferguson

Sir Alex Ferguson managed Manchester United for over 26 years between 1986 and 2013. Prior to this he had played as a striker for and managed various Scottish teams, including Aberdeen. He was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in her 1999 birthday honours list for his services to football.

9. In 1997, the first in a seven book series about a boy wizard was published by Bloomsbury in the UK after being rejected by 8 other publishers. Who authored this series of books, eventually making her the very first billionaire author?

Answer: J. K. Rowling

Joanne Rowling was asked to adopt a gender-neutral pen name by her publishers, as they feared that her name might put off male readers. She chose her grandmother's name, "Kathleen", to provide the initial "K" in her pen name.

The "Harry Potter" series of books proved so popular that all-night vigils were held by fans on the nights of release of the last four books in the series, and films, video games and spin off books have all subsequently been released with huge success.

10. Which former professional football star was tried for double-murder in 1995 in what the media dubbed "the trial of the century"?

Answer: O. J. Simpson

In the case named "People of the State of California v. Orenthal James Simpson", O. J. Simpson was tried for the brutal murders of his ex-wife Nicole Brown and her friend Ronald Goldman.

Although he was found not guilty in October 1995, it was widely speculated by the media that this was a reflection on the persuasive skills of his excellent defence team, led by high-profile lawyers Robert Shapiro and (later) Johnnie Cochran rather than his actual innocence. The heavy media coverage of the case made it the most publicised trial in American history at that time.

Source: Author suzidunc

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor bloomsby before going online.
Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.

For many of us, the 1990s seems too recent to be history, but it is. This quiz looks at some of the most important defining events of the nineties!

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