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Friday, July 9, 2021

1991 Trivia

 

  1. In 1991, George H. W. Bush was President of the United States, and Dan Quale was Vice-President.
  2. The U.S. unemployment rate averaged 5.6%.
  3. The rate of inflation was 4.2%.
  4. In 1991, a pound of bacon cost $1.95, a gallon of milk was $2.80, and a dozen eggs were $1.01.
  5. The average price for a gallon of gas was $1.14, down from $1.16 the year before.
  6. A first-class stamp cost 29 cents.
  7. The median household income was $30,126, up from $29,943 in 1990.
  8. Americans paid an average of $15,473 for a new car.

Generally suitable for all age groups, sports questions are a welcome addition to any trivia night quiz.

  1. Kentucky Derby: Strike The Gold
  2. NBA Champions: Chicago Bulls
  3. NCAA Basketball Champions: Duke
  4. NCAA Football Champs: Miami and Washington were the two national champions.
  5. Orange Bowl: Colorado
  6. Rose Bowl: Washington
  7. Stanley Cup Champs: Pittsburgh Penguins
  8. Sugar Bowl: Tennessee

5. Miscellaneous Fun Facts, Trivia, and Pop Culture Trends

PBS.org explains that pop culture is that loose blend of books, music, fashion and other daily ephemera that contributes to the identity of a society at a particular point in time. In the 1990s, radio, film, television, books, and the internet defined the essence of American pop culture.

  1. In 1991, the most popular baby names were Michael, Christopher, Matthew, Joshua, Ashley, Jessica, Brittany, and Amanda.
  2. The average life expectancy at birth in the United States was 75.37 years.
  3. The cost of a 30-second Super Bowl ad was $800,000.
  4. Favorite holiday gifts included the Super Nintendo Entertainment System ($199.95), autographed baseballs ($39.99-$89.99), and the Michelle Doll ($23.99).
  5. Popular Halloween costumes were The Terminator (from the science fiction film with the same name), Freddy Krueger, and Scarlett O’Hara.
  6. Fashion trends in 1991 were crop tops, platform shoes, parachute pants, windbreakers, and denim.
  7. The bowl haircut made a comeback. A bowl cut, also known as a mushroom cut, “is a haircut where the hair is cut short on the sides and back and long on the top. It is named so because it looks as though someone were to place a bowl on the head and cut off or trim all of the hair to a short length.”
  8. Time Magazine’s “Person of the Year” was Ted Turner, who founded the Cable News Network (CNN).
  9. Michael Jordan was named the NBA’s “Most Valuable Player” for the second time.
  10. Whitney Houston remade The Star-Bangled Banner for Super Bowl XXV.
  11. Bounty coined the slogan “quicker picker-upper” in its marketing campaign for paper towels.
  12. In 1991, salsa sales surpassed ketchup sales for the first time.

9. Highest-Grossing Films

This film trivia has been made available courtesy of BoxOfficeMojo.com.

  1. Terminator 2: Judgement Day
  2. Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves
  3. Beauty and the Beast
  4. Silence of the Lambs
  5. City Slickers
  6. Hook
  7. The Addams family
  8. Sleeping With The Enemy
  9. Father of the Bride
  10. The Naked Gun 2 1/2: The Smell of Fear

10. Entries Into the National Film Registry

According to CBSNews.com, the National Film Registry is a “compendium of motion pictures that have been judged to be culturally, aesthetically[,] or historically important and worthy of preservation for future generations. In addition to Hollywood studio classics and box office hits, the Registry also protects independent films, documentaries, experimental works, cartoons, music videos, educational and training films, ads, and even home movies.” Courtesy of the Library of Congress, here are the 1991 additions to the National Film Registry:

  1. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
  2. A Place in the Sun (1951)
  3. Chinatown (1974)
  4. City Lights (1931)
  5. David Holzman’s Diary (1968)
  6. Frankenstein (1931)
  7. Gertie The Dinosaur (1914)
  8. Gigi (1958)
  9. Greed (1924)
  10. High School (1969)
  11. I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang (1932)
  12. King Kong (1933)
  13. Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
  14. My Darling Clementine (1946)
  15. Out of the Past (1947)
  16. Shadow of a Doubt (1943)
  17. Sherlock, Jr. (1924)
  18. Tevye (1939)
  19. The Battle of San Pietro (1945)
  20. The Blood of Jesus (1941)
  21. The Italian (1915)
  22. The Magnificent Ambersons (1942)
  23. The Poor Little Rich Girl (1917)
  24. The Prisoner of Zenda (1937)
  25. Trouble in Paradise (1932)

11. Horror Movies From 1991

Horror films from 1991 included The People Under the Stairs, Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare, Silence of the Lambs, Body Parts, The Pit and the Pendulum, Popcorn, Sometimes They Come Back, Children of the Night, The Resurrected, Silent Night, Deadly Night 5: The Toy Maker, Campfire Tales, The Boneyard, Omen IV: The Awakening, Child of Darkness, Child of Light, Servants of Twilight, Alligator II: The Mutation, and The Borrower.

In 1991, SpaghettiOs were all the rage.

12. Biggest Pop Music Artists

This information has been made available courtesy of Billboard.com.

Favorite musical artists in 1991 were Amy Grant, Bryan Adams, Bryan Adams, C&C Music Factory, Cathy Dennis, Color Me Badd, En Vogue, Extreme, Freddie Jackson, Janet Jackson, Karyn White, Keith Sweat, Keith Washington, Luther Vandross, Mariah Carey, Michael Bolton, Paula Abdul, Peabo Bryson, Phil Perry, Ralph Tresvant, Snoop Dogg, Tevin Campbell, Tracie Spencer, Whitney Houston, and Vanessa Williams.

13. Top 40 Songs for the Year

This pop music trivia has been made available courtesy of MusicOutfitters.com. How many of these songs do you remember?

1. (Everything I Do) I Do It for You: Bryan Adams

2. I Wanna Sex You Up: Color Me Badd

3. Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now): C+C Music Factory

4. Rush, Rush: Paula Abdul

5. One More Try: Timmy T

6. Unbelievable: EMF

7. More Than Words: Extreme

8. I Like the Way (The Kissing Game): Hi-Five

9. The First Time: Surface

10. Baby, Baby: Amy Grant

11. Motownphilly: Boyz II Men

12. Because I Love You (The Postman Song): Stevie B

13. Someday: Mariah Carey

14. High Enough: Damn Yankees

15. From a Distance: Bette Midler

16. All the Man That I Need: Whitney Houston

17. Right Here Right Now: Jesus Jones

18. I Adore Mi Amor: Color Me Badd

19. Love Will Never Do (Without You): Janet Jackson

20. Good Vibrations: Marky Mark and The Funky Bunch featuring Loleatta Holloway

21. Justify My Love: Madonna

22. Emotions: Mariah Carey

23. Joyride: Roxette

24. Romantic: Karyn Whit

25. I Don't Wanna Cry: Mariah Carey

26. Hold You Tight: Tara Kemp

27. You're In Love: Wilson Phillips

28. Every Heartbeat: Amy Grant

29. Sensitivity: Ralph Tresvant

30. Touch Me (All Night Long): Cathy Dennis

31. I've Been Thinking About You: Londonbeat

32. Do Anything: Natural Selection

33. Losing My Religion: R.E.M.

34. Coming Out of the Dark: Gloria Estefan

35. Here We Go, Let's Rock & Roll: C+C Music Factory

36. It Ain't Over Til It's Over: Lenny Kravitz

37. Where Does My Heart Beat Now: Celine Dion

38. Summertime: D.J. Jazzy Jeff and The Fresh Prince

39. Wind of Change: Scorpions

40. P.A.S.S.I.O.N.: Rhythm Syndicate

Bryan Adams: (Everything I Do) I Do It for You

14. Favorite Video Games

Popular video games in 1991 included Street Fighter II: The World Warrior, Sonic the Hedgehog, A Link to the Past, Final Fantasy IV, Lemmings, Mega Man 4, Another World, Alien Breed, The Simpsons, Captain Commando, Super Ghouls 'n Ghosts, Civilization, Sunset Riders, Home Alone, Joe and Mac, Back to the Future Part III, Streets of Rage, Road Rash, The Little Mermaid, and Bill and Ted's Excellent Video Game Adventure.

15. Food and Beverage Trivia

Here are some foods and beverages that were popular in 1991:

  1. Arizona Ice Tea
  2. Bagel Bites
  3. Beefaroni
  4. Betty Crocker Dunk-a-Roos (snack food)
  5. Bologna
  6. Capri Sun
  7. Chicken Caesar salad
  8. Clearly Canadian (sparkling water beverage)
  9. Creme brûlée
  10. Ellio’s Pizza
  11. Fla-Vor-Ice (A freezie that was eaten out of a plastic tube.)
  12. Frozen corn dogs
  13. General Mills French Toast Crunch Cereal
  14. Gorton’s Fish Sticks
  15. Gushers (fruit candy snacks)
  16. Hawaiian Punch
  17. Hi-C fruit drinks (for example, Blazin' Blueberry, Boppin’ Strawberry, Strawberry Kiwi Kraze, Orange Lavaburst, and Wild Cherry)
  18. Hot Pockets (A hot pocket is a microwaveable turnover and a pocket burrito that contains one or more types of cheese, meat, or vegetables.)
  19. Keebler Fudge Stripes
  20. Lunchables
  21. Molten chocolate cake (Paula Kashtan tells us that “Known for its warm, runny center, this dessert started popping up on restaurant menus all over the country throughout the '90s.”)
  22. Pillsbury Toaster Strudel
  23. Pizza bagels
  24. Planters Cheez Balls
  25. SlimFast
  26. SpaghettiOs
  27. Sunny Delite
  28. Totino's Stuffed Nachos
  29. Totino’s Pizza Rolls
  30. Viennetta (This British ice cream product is made from layers of vanilla ice cream that are topped by layers of compound chocolate.)

In 1991, molten chocolate cake was a popular American dessert.

16. Famous Weddings

This information has been made available courtesy of OnThisDay.com.

  1. On February 9, composer Andrew Lloyd Webber married equestrian Madeleine Gurdon.
  2. On February 14, actress Meg Ryan wed actor Dennis Quaid.
  3. On February 15, MLB legend George Brett married Leslie Davenport.
  4. On February 22, actor Bill Bixby wed Laura Michael.
  5. On March 18, Apple co-founder Steve Jobs married Laurene Powell.
  6. On June 1, actress Roseanne Barr and actor Tom Arnold remarried.
  7. On June 9, singer and songwriter Bruce Springsteen wed his backup singer Patty Scialfa.
  8. On June 28, scientist and oceanographer Jacques Cousteau married Francine Triplet.
  9. On September 5, actor John Travolta wed actress Kelly Preston.
  10. On September 15, NBA legend Magic Johnson married Earletha "Cookie" Kelly.
  11. On September 16, country singer Willie Nelson wed Annie D'Angelo.
  12. On September 29, actress Kate Jackson married entrepreneur Tom Hart.
  13. On October 6, actress Elizabeth Taylor wed Larry Fortensky.
  14. On October 12, director Steven Spielberg married Kate Capshaw.
  15. On October 19, documentary filmmaker Michael Moore wed movie producer Kathleen Glynn.
  16. On December 12, actor Richard Gere married supermodel Cindy Crawford.
  17. On December 21, actress Jane Fonda wed CNN founder Ted Turner.

17. Well-Known People Who Died in 1991

  1. January 11: Carl David Anderson (American physicist)
  2. January 28: Harold "Red" Grange (football's galloping ghost)
  3. January 30: John Bardeen (American physicist, electrical engineer, and the co-inventor of the transistor)
  4. March 1: Edwin Land (American inventor of instant photography and the co-founder of the Polaroid Corporation)
  5. March 7: James "Cool Papa" Bell (American baseball player)
  6. April 3: Graham Greene (British author)
  7. April 16: David Lean (film director who directed Doctor Zhivago and Lawrence of Arabia)
  8. August 5: Paul Brown (NFL Hall of Fame coach)
  9. August 6: Harry Reasoner (American newscaster)
  10. September 3: Frank Capra (American film director who directed It's a Wonderful Life)
  11. September 24: Dr. Seuss (American children's author)
  12. September 28: Miles Davis (jazz trumpeter)
  13. October 7: Leo Durocher (American baseball legend)
  14. November 6: Gene Tierney (American actress)
  15. December 11: Robert Q. Lewis (American TV host)

In 1991, the New York Giants won the Super Bowl.

18. America’s Largest Corporations

This corporate trivia has been made available courtesy of Fortune.com.

  1. General Motors
  2. Exxon Mobil
  3. Ford Motor
  4. IBM
  5. Mobil
  6. General Electric
  7. Altria Group
  8. Texaco
  9. DuPont
  10. ChevronTexaco

19. American Companies That Were Launched

  1. Ashley Stewart: Women’s plus-size clothing company
  2. Bob’s Discount Furniture: Furniture retailer
  3. Calera Capital: Private equity firm
  4. Citizens First Bank: Community bank
  5. Consol Energy: Energy company
  6. Corner Bakery Cafe: Coffeehouse chain
  7. Delta Shuttle: Delta Airlines’ air shuttle service in the northeastern U.S.
  8. Dollar Tree: Discount variety-store chain
  9. Epic Games: Video game developer
  10. Holiday Inn Express: Mid-priced hotel chain
  11. Hotels.com: Website for booking hotel rooms online
  12. J. G. Wentworth: Financial services company
  13. Joe’s Crab Shack: Beach-themed restaurant chain
  14. Renaissance Capital: Capital market company
  15. Sony Pictures: Entertainment company
  16. Southpole: Wholesale clothing
  17. TeamQuest Corporation: Software company
  18. Turner Pictures: Multimedia company founded by Ted Turner
  19. ULTRA Diamonds: Seller of fine jewelry in factory outlet centers
  20. United Talent Agency
  21. Vision Source: Vision care network
  22. Warner Bros. Studio Store: Retail chain that sells merchandise based on Warner Bros. films, and similar to the Disney Store.
  23. Warner Music Vision: Music video company
  24. Western Heritage Furniture: Manufacturer of custom furniture
  25. Yankee Bicycle Company: Bicycle manufacturer

16. Famous Weddings

This information has been made available courtesy of OnThisDay.com.

  1. On February 9, composer Andrew Lloyd Webber married equestrian Madeleine Gurdon.
  2. On February 14, actress Meg Ryan wed actor Dennis Quaid.
  3. On February 15, MLB legend George Brett married Leslie Davenport.
  4. On February 22, actor Bill Bixby wed Laura Michael.
  5. On March 18, Apple co-founder Steve Jobs married Laurene Powell.
  6. On June 1, actress Roseanne Barr and actor Tom Arnold remarried.

The Quotes"

"Hello Clarice"
"A census taker once tried to test me. I ate his liver with some fava beans and a nice Chianti."
- Anthony Hopkins as Hannibal Lecter in Silence of the Lambs

"I crap bigger than you"
- Jack Palance in City Slickers

"The few, the proud, the Marines"
- United States Marines ad

"The quicker picker-upper"
-Bounty paper towels

"Hasta La Vista Baby"
- Arnold Schwarzenegger, in Terminator 2: Judgement Day

Diff'rent Strokes star Dana Plato was arrested for robbing a video store in 1991. The store clerk recognized her and told the 911 operator "I've just been robbed by the girl who played Kimberly on Diff'rent Strokes."

The saying in the stained glass at the beginning of the Beauty and the Beast, "vincit qui se vincit" translates to "he conquers who conquers himself".

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1991 Pop Culture History

In 1991, Bill Gates borrowed a business book, Business Adventures by John Brooks, from Warren Buffett. He never returned it.

In 1990, the high school dropout rate in Sevierville, Dolly Parton’s hometown in Sevier County, TN, was over 30%. In 1991, she launched The Buddy Program, offering 7th and 8th graders $500 if they graduated. The dropout rate for those classes dropped to 6%, and has generally retained that average to this day.

A high profile court case forced the British Government to clearly define the difference between a cake a biscuit. In the end the Government published an official ruling that a cake is defined by its propensity to harden over time, whereas a biscuit has a propensity to soften.

It was Freddie Mercury's dying wish for Bohemian Rhapsody to be reissued in order to raise money for AIDS charities. When the song was rereleased in late 1991, it topped the charts, staying at #1 for five weeks for the first time since its debut in 1975.

"Teen Spirit" was a real deodorant - one of Kurt Cobain's friends spray painted "Kurt Smells Like Teen Spirit" on his wall because Kurt's then-girlfriend wore Teen Spirit, which led to the title of the 1991 Nirvana hit song. Rolling Stone Magazine originally gave Nirvana's Nevermind a 3-star rating. They now give it 5 stars and rank it as the 17th greatest album of all time.

It was Super Bowl XXV (1991) with New Kids On The Block that the halftime show switched from marching bands to pop/rock music performances.

When Whitney Houston's version of the Star Apangled Banner became a hit in 1991, she donated all of the proceeds to the Red Cross Gulf Crisis Fund. When it charted again after 9/11, the proceeds were donated to the New York Firefighters 9/11 Disaster Relief Fund and the New York Fraternal Order of Police

20 paintings were stolen from the Amsterdam Van Gogh Museum and were then recovered 35 minutes later because the robbers got a flat tire.

Marshall Ledbetter blockaded himself in the Florida State Capitol building and demanded, among other things, a large Gumby's pizza, weed, 666 donuts, $100 worth of chinese food, and a phone call with Ice Cube. He was caught with none of his demands met.

A man found a first printing of the Declaration of Independence, inside the frame of a $4 painting he'd bought at a flea market in Adamstown, PA. It sold at auction for $2.4 million.

A time capsule was buried in Sir Frederick Banting Square, on the scientist's 100th birthday, Nov. 14, 1991. Banting was part of a team that received the 1923 Nobel Prize in Medicine for the isolation of insulin. The time capsule will be opened once a cure for diabetes has been found.

The main villains of Psycho (1960), The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974), and The Silence of the Lambs (1991) were all loosely based on the same person: Wisconsin serial killer Ed Gein. 'Silence Of The Lambs' won the big five Oscars - Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress and Best Writing.

Only three films that have won all of the Big Five Academy Awards: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress, and Best Writing (Original or Adapted). Those films were: It Happened One Night (1934), One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975), and The Silence of the Lambs (1991).

Disney's Beauty and the Beast was the first animated movie to be nominated in the best picture category at the Oscars.

In a scene in Hook, there is a couple kissing on a bridge while Tinkerbell is flying over, dropping fairy dust on them and sending them flying. The couple was actually an uncredited cameo by George Lucas, and Carrie Fisher.

Christian Bale's stepmother, Gloria Steinham, was a feminist who protested the 1991 publication of the novel, American Psycho, due to its portrayal of violence toward women. In 2000, Bale went on to star as the title character of the novel's film adaption.

UNSUNG HERO - Tim Berners-Lee came up with the idea of making 'links' on his own compter, then others, creating "The Information Mine" (TIM) later renamed the "World Wide Web." He renounced patent rights because it "would have scuppered the whole thing. It never would have taken off."

Cosmonaut Sergei Krikalev launched into space as a Soviet citizen, but returned to earth as a Russian citizen - he was in orbit when the Soviet Union dissolved on December 26, 1991.

The May 5, 1991 Calvin and Hobbes strip criticized the naming of The Big Bang as not evocative of the wonders behind it, and coined "Horrendous Space Kablooie," an alternative that achieved some informal popularity among scientists and was often shortened to "the HSK."

Liz Taylor married hubby # 7, Larry Fortensky, at Michael Jackson's Neverland Ranch. They met in a rehab center.

Jason Alexander threatened to quit Seinfeld in the third season. After the table read of "The Pen", which features only Jerry and Elaine, Alexander pulled Larry David aside and said "if you write me out again, do it permanently." In 9 seasons, that was the only episode he wasn't in.

In 1991 the #55 Mazda 787B is the only car with a non-reciprocating engine to win the 24 hours of Le Mans. Its wankel engine was so good (930 bhp from a 2.6l engine) that after winning the race it was banned.

After the Australian 1 and 2 cent coins were phased out in late 1991, they were melted down and used in the Sydney 2000 Olympics as Bronze Medals. Not all of them, of course.

The record for the most passengers on an airplane was set in 1991 when 1086 Ethiopian jews were evacuated on a Boeing 747 to Jerusalem. The plane landed with 1088 passengers as two babies were born during the flight.

It became a lot easier for many to quit smoking when Nicoderm CQ's nicotine patch was approved by the FDA.

In 1991 a supermarket gave away 10,000 tickets to a Texas Rangers game. It tuned out to be the night Nolan Ryan threw his 7th and final no-hitter.

The Calloway Golf Company's 'Big Bertha' club was introduced. The club revolutionized how the game of golf would be played.

Cost of a Superbowl ad in 1991: $800,000

TOP SONGS OF 1991

Ratings are based on Hot 100 Charts from third week of Nov. 1990 – third week of Nov. 1991 ranking by Billboard

No. 1. Song of 1991 – “(Everything I Do) I Do It for You” Bryan Adams
2. “I Wanna Sex You Up” Color Me Badd
3. “Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now)” C+C Music Factory
4. “Rush Rush” Paula Abdul
5. “One More Try” Timmy T
6. “Unbelievable” EMF
7. “More Than Words” Extreme
8. “I Like the Way (The Kissing Game)” Hi-Five
9. “The First Time” Surface
10. “Baby Baby” Amy Grant
11. “Motownphilly” Boyz II Men
12. “Because I Love You (The Postman Song)” Stevie B
13. “Someday” Mariah Carey
14. “High Enough” Damn Yankees
15. “From a Distance” Bette Midler
16. “All the Man That I Need” Whitney Houston
17. “Right Here, Right Now” Jesus Jones
18. “I Adore Mi Amor” Color Me Badd
19. “Love Will Never Do (Without You)” Janet Jackson
20. “Good Vibrations” Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch featuring Loleatta Holloway
21. “Justify My Love” Madonna
22. “Emotions” Mariah Carey

In 1991, Joe’s Crab Shack—the beach-themed restaurant chain—was founded.

References

© 2019 Gregory DeVictor


About Me

A local archivist who specializes in all things Pocahontas County