50 Question Challenge #17, 90s Trivia: answers and sources
Spoilers ahead! Play the video first. Here is every answer, the fun fact and the source we checked it against.
Scores: 0-19: Still dialing up · 20-29: Mixtape maker · 30-39: Totally rad · 40+: 90s legend. Don't forget your Couch Wager. Spotted a mistake? Email hello@ahaville.com with the question number.
Level 1: Easy
- 1
Let's start easy. Which 90s toy was a digital pet on a keychain?
Tamagotchi It first came out in Japan in 1996.
Source: wikipedia.org/wiki/Tamagotchi · tamagotchi-official.com/
- 2
Which internet service greeted you with “You've got mail!”?
AOL The voice was Elwood Edwards, recorded in 1989.
Source: kunc.org/2024-11-08/elwood-edwards-the-voice-behind-aols-... · wikipedia.org/wiki/Elwood_Edwards
- 3
Will Smith starred in which 90s sitcom?
The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air It ran for six seasons, from 1990 to 1996.
- 4
In Jurassic Park, what makes the glass of water ripple?
A T. rex's footsteps It was the top-earning film ever, until Titanic.
Source: wikipedia.org/wiki/Jurassic_Park_(film) · wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_highest-grossing_films
- 5
In Toy Story, what does Buzz Lightyear believe he is?
A real space ranger Tim Allen, of Home Improvement, voiced him.
Source: wikipedia.org/wiki/Buzz_Lightyear · wikipedia.org/wiki/Toy_Story
- 6
Which handheld came with Tetris in the box in the US?
Game Boy Over 118 million sold, counting the Color.
Source: nintendo.co.jp/ir/en/finance/hard_soft/index.html · wikipedia.org/wiki/Game_Boy
- 7
Which sitcom was famously “a show about nothing”?
Seinfeld It ran for nine seasons, from 1989 to 1998.
Source: wikipedia.org/wiki/Seinfeld
- 8
What was the Y2K bug about?
Years saved as two digits So the year 2000 could read as 1900.
- 9
Which cola came out clear, like water, in 1992?
Crystal Pepsi Pepsi has brought it back for short runs since.
Source: pepsi.com/what-happened-crystal-pepsi · wikipedia.org/wiki/Crystal_Pepsi
- 10
Last easy one: which bracelet curled around your wrist with one slap?
Slap bracelet Some schools banned them after kids got cut.
Source: wikipedia.org/wiki/Slap_bracelet · mentalfloss.com/fun/slap-bracelet-phenomenon-1990
Level 2: 90s in emojis
- 11
Which movie is this? 👧👧🏕️
The Parent Trap Lindsay Lohan played both twins in the 1998 film.
- 12
Name this film. 🌹🕯️🫖
Beauty and the Beast The first animated film up for Best Picture.
Source: wikipedia.org/wiki/Beauty_and_the_Beast_(1991_film) · wikipedia.org/wiki/64th_Academy_Awards
- 13
Which TV show is this? 🛟🔔🏫
Saved by the Bell It ran on NBC from 1989 to 1993.
- 14
And this movie? 🐜🦗🎪
A Bug's Life It was Pixar's second film, after Toy Story.
- 15
Which show is this? 💰❓📞
Who Wants to Be a Millionaire Regis Philbin hosted the US show from 1999.
Source: wikipedia.org/wiki/Who_Wants_to_Be_a_Millionaire_(America...
- 16
Which movie is this? 🐕🐕🐈⛰️🏠
Homeward Bound It remakes Disney's 1963 The Incredible Journey.
Source: wikipedia.org/wiki/Homeward_Bound:_The_Incredible_Journey
- 17
Name this TV show. 👨👨👨👧👧👧
Full House The Olsen twins shared the role of Michelle.
Source: wikipedia.org/wiki/Full_House
- 18
Which movie? 🦴👦💪⚾
Rookie of the Year Home Alone's Daniel Stern directed it.
- 19
And this one? 🐶🏀🏆
Air Bud The dog, Buddy, really could sink a basket.
Source: wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_Bud · wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddy_(dog_actor)
- 20
Last emoji one: which TV show? 👦🤝🌍
Boy Meets World It ran for seven seasons, from 1993 to 2000.
Level 3: Quick: which year?
- 21
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In which year did Sonic the Hedgehog first appear?
1991
Source: wikipedia.org/wiki/Sonic_the_Hedgehog_(1991_video_game)
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- 30
In which year did SpongeBob SquarePants first air?
1999
Level 4: Firsts and records
- 31
Where was the world's first website made?
CERN You can still visit it, at info.cern.ch.
Source: home.cern/science/computing/the-birth-of-the-web/ · info.cern.ch/ · wikipedia.org/wiki/Tim_Berners-Lee
- 32
In 1995, what did eBay's founder sell for $14.83?
A broken laser pointer eBay was still called AuctionWeb back then.
Source: wikipedia.org/wiki/EBay · wikipedia.org/wiki/Pierre_Omidyar
- 33
How many regular-season games did Jordan's Bulls win in 1995-96?
72 A record until the Warriors won 73 in 2016.
Source: wikipedia.org/wiki/1995%E2%80%9396_Chicago_Bulls_season · wikipedia.org/wiki/2015%E2%80%9316_Golden_State_Warriors_...
- 34
Which chess champion lost a match to IBM's Deep Blue in 1997?
Garry Kasparov No champion had lost a full match to a computer.
Source: ibm.com/history/deep-blue · wikipedia.org/wiki/Deep_Blue_versus_Garry_Kasparov
- 35
In which country was Dolly the sheep cloned?
Scotland The first mammal cloned from an adult cell.
Source: vet.ed.ac.uk/roslin/about/history/dolly · wikipedia.org/wiki/Dolly_(sheep)
- 36
Who scored the winning penalty in the 1999 Women's World Cup final?
Brandi Chastain 90,185 fans watched, at the Rose Bowl.
Source: fifa.com/en/tournaments/womens/womensworldcup/usa1999 · wikipedia.org/wiki/1999_FIFA_Women%27s_World_Cup_final
- 37
What was the first rover to drive on Mars, in 1997?
Sojourner It was about the size of a microwave oven.
Source: spaceplace.nasa.gov/mars-sojourner/ · jpl.nasa.gov/missions/mars-pathfinder-sojourner-rover/ · wikipedia.org/wiki/Sojourner_(rover)
- 38
Which US agency banned Furbies from its offices?
The NSA Its maker said Furby couldn't record anything.
Source: 404media.co/these-are-the-notorious-nsa-furby-documents-s... · wikipedia.org/wiki/Furby
- 39
Which phone maker made the game Snake famous?
Nokia It came on the Nokia 6110, in 1997.
Source: wikipedia.org/wiki/Snake_(video_game_genre) · wikipedia.org/wiki/Nokia_6110
- 40
Which was the first home game console to ship 100 million units?
PlayStation It got there in 2004, after nine and a half years.
Source: sonyinteractive.com/en/press-releases/2004/playstation-ac... · wikipedia.org/wiki/PlayStation_(console)
Level 5: Impossible
- 41
In The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, what is the butler's name?
Geoffrey Joseph Marcell played him in all six seasons.
Source: wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Fresh_Prince_of_Bel-Air · wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Marcell
- 42
How much did a standard 3.5-inch floppy disk hold?
1.44 MB Many phone photos today wouldn't fit on one.
Source: wikipedia.org/wiki/Floppy_disk · wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_floppy_disk_formats
- 43
Before the 90s craze, what was POG?
A juice Passion fruit, orange and guava, from Hawaii.
Source: wikipedia.org/wiki/Pogs · wikipedia.org/wiki/POG_(juice)
- 44
How many Beanie Babies were in the very first lineup?
9 Patti the Platypus was one of them.
Source: wikipedia.org/wiki/Beanie_Babies
- 45
What color was the very first iMac, in 1998?
Bondi Blue It's named after Bondi Beach in Sydney.
Source: wikipedia.org/wiki/IMac_G3 · wikipedia.org/wiki/Bondi_Beach
- 46
What was the very first web browser called?
WorldWideWeb Tim Berners-Lee made it in 1990, at CERN.
Source: w3.org/People/Berners-Lee/WorldWideWeb.html · wikipedia.org/wiki/WorldWideWeb
- 47
Coca-Cola launched Surge to take on which drink?
Mountain Dew Fans won it back in 2014, after years of asking.
Source: wikipedia.org/wiki/Surge_(drink) · abc7news.com/post/its-back-coca-colas-surge-soda-returns/...
- 48
In 1996, who won the 200 m and 400 m in golden shoes?
Michael Johnson He was the first man to win both at one Olympics.
Source: wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Johnson_(sprinter) · olympics.com/en/news/classic-finals-the-man-with-the-gold...
- 49
How many Oscars did Titanic win?
11 That's the most ever, tied with two other films.
Source: wikipedia.org/wiki/70th_Academy_Awards · wikipedia.org/wiki/Titanic_(1997_film)
- 50
The very last one. How many episodes of Friends were made?
236 Ten seasons, from 1994 to 2004.
Source: wikipedia.org/wiki/Friends · wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Friends_episodes
The Big Aha stories
- Michael Jordan's baseball year: In October 1993, after three NBA titles in a row with the Chicago Bulls, Michael Jordan retired from basketball. He was 30. A few months later, he signed with baseball's Chicago White Sox, who sent him to their Double-A team, the Birmingham Barons. For the Barons in 1994, he played 127 games. He batted .202 and stole 30 bases. In March 1995, he announced his return in two words: “I'm back.” The Bulls went on to win three more titles in a row. Sources: nba.com/news/history-nba-legend-michael-jordan · wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Jordan · espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/26449232 · wikipedia.org/wiki/Birmingham_Barons
- The coffee pot on the internet: In 1991, at Cambridge University's computer lab in England, one coffee pot served a whole group. Too often, the walk to it ended at an empty pot. So two researchers pointed a camera at it. A small black-and-white picture of the pot, updated about three times a minute, showed up on their screens. In November 1993, the picture went on the World Wide Web. It's often called the first webcam, and people around the world watched... a coffee pot. When the camera was switched off in 2001, the lab's coffee machine was sold on eBay, for £3,350. Sources: wikipedia.org/wiki/Trojan_Room_coffee_pot · cl.cam.ac.uk/coffee/qsf/coffee.html · theregister.com/offbeat/2001/08/13/trojan-room-coffee-pot...
Bonus question
Which of these is the oldest? We reveal the answer in the pinned comment under the video.