Gregory DeVictor is a trivia enthusiast who loves to write articles on American nostalgia.

This article teaches you fun facts, trivia, and historical events from the year 1999.

Interesting Facts From 1999

What are some fun facts, trivia, and history events from the year 1999?

The world braced for computer chaos as the year 2000 approached. Would computer systems crash when the calendar switched over to 2000? Fortunately, 1999 passed into history “with barely a whimper. A few glitches were reported here and there, but nothing catastrophic occurred.” On January 7, the impeachment trial of President Bill Clinton began in the U.S. Senate. On February 12, Clinton was acquitted of perjury and obstruction of justice. Nearly 50 million people watched Monica Lewinsky's 20/20 interview with Barbara Walters. According to Variety.com, “the Lewinsky interview was the most-watched news program ever in terms of total viewers. In total, 74 million Americans watched at least six minutes of the interview.” The Liberty Bell 7 space capsule was raised from the ocean floor. CNN.com tells us that “The Mercury capsule, flown by astronaut Gus Grissom for 15 minutes in space on July 21, 1961, was hoisted to the surface at 2:15 a.m. Tuesday from the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean. It was found at a depth of more than 15,000 feet -- 3,000 feet deeper than the wreck of the Titanic.” PayPal—one of the most widely used online payment platforms—was viewed as one of the ten worst business ideas of 1999. The euro became the official currency for 12 European nations—Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, and Spain. Jack Ma founded the e-commerce company Alibaba. Until the year 1999, Montana didn't have a speed limit on the interstate, and encouraged drivers instead to be "reasonable and prudent.” On August 11, a total eclipse of the sun was visible in all of Europe, northern Africa, and the western half of Asia. Fashion trends for women included bucket hats, wedge sandals, and blue eyeshadow. For men, black shirts, black ties, and black suits were all the rage. Star Wars Episode One: The Phantom Menace was the most popular film, and Who Wants to Be a Millionaire was the top TV show. Shakespeare in Love won an Oscar for Best Picture, and My Heart Will Go On won a Grammy for Record of the Year. The crime drama Law & Order: Special Victims Unit premiered on NBC. Created by Dick Wolf, the show starred Mariska Hargitay and Christopher Meloni. The Denver Broncos were the Super Bowl champs, the New York Yankees won the World Series, and the Dallas Stars clinched the Stanley Cup. Basketball legend Michael Jordan announced that he was retiring from the NBA. Back in the year 1999, the average ticket price for a Boston Red Sox game was $28.33, a one-day adult ticket at Disneyland cost $41.00, and the average ticket price for a Denver Broncos game was $49.00. Babysitting averaged $7.00-$10.00 an hour, a six-pack of Budweiser cost $4.01, and the average price for basic cable was $31.22 per month. Walmart stock was $69.12 a share, 500 kWh of electricity cost $45.38, and the average cell phone bill was $40.24 a month. The average cost of a wedding was $18,900.00, the average credit card APR was 15.07%, and the average domestic airfare was $329.00. In 1999, Internet search engines included Excite, Yahoo!, WebCrawler, MetaCrawler, Lycos, Infoseek, HotBot, Dogpile, MSN Search (now Bing), AOL Search, Netscape Search, AltaVista, Inktomi, Ask Jeeves (now Ask.com), Google, and Overture. Today, nearly 97% of all web searches are done on Google (92.37%), Bing (2.37%), and Yahoo! (2.25%).

Here are the five most popular TV shows from 1999-2000:

Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? (Tuesday) (ABC) Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? (Thursday) (ABC) Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? (Sunday) (ABC) ER (NBC) Friends (NBC)

Here are ten food and beverage trends for the year:

Chicken Caesar salad Crab cakes Crystal Pepsi Dunkaroos and Gushers Goat cheese Hot pockets Lunchables Molten chocolate cake Pizza bagels SlimFast

Whether you’re a millennial, a 50-something, or a baby boomer, this article teaches you fun facts, trivia, and history from the year 1999. Find out about popular TV shows, movies, music, famous authors and novels, cool sports facts, and other interesting pop culture trends to get the right mix of questions and answers for your 1990s-themed trivia quiz.

Table of Contents

For easier reading, I have divided this article into the following categories:

Retail Prices in the Year 1999 History Facts From the USA and World Sports Trivia Miscellaneous Fun Facts, Trivia, and Pop Culture Trends Computer and Internet History Nobel Prize Winners Most Popular Television Shows From 1999-2000 Best-Selling Fiction and Nonfiction Books Highest-Grossing Films Horror Movies From 1999 71st Annual Academy Awards Entries Into the National Film Registry Biggest Pop Music Artists Number One Music Hits for the Year 41st Annual Grammy Awards Favorite Video Games Food and Beverage Trivia Famous People Who Died in 1999 Best-Selling Cars in America America’s Largest Corporations

In 1999, General Motors was one of America’s largest corporations.

1. Retail Prices in the Year 1999

These facts from the American retail industry have been made available courtesy of the Morris County Public Library in Whippany, NJ.

Automobiles:

1999 Chevrolet Tracker: $16,390.00 1999 Ford Escort LX: $13,905.00 1999 Oldsmobile Intrigue GX: $24,195.00

Clothing:

Boy’s coat: $29.00-$116.00 each Boy’s jeans (denim): $9.74-$40.00 a pair Girl’s dress: $13.99-$54.99 each Men’s gloves (cashmere, lined): $58.00-$65.00 a pair Men’s necktie: $21.99-$27.99 apiece Men’s shirt (Geoffrey Beene): $27.99-$42.00 each Men’s shoes (Bostonian): $79.99-$99.99 a pair Men’s slacks (Dockers): $32.99-$50.00 a pair Men’s sport coat: $159.99-$295.00 apiece Men’s suit: $199.99-$299.50 each Men’s sweater (Italian merino wool): $39.99 apiece Running shoes (New Balance): $77.99 a pair Women’s coat (wool): $209.00-$599.99 each Women’s dress (career): $95.99-$125.99 apiece Women’s jacket (leather): $259.00-$399.99 each Women’s shoes (dress): $39.99-$79.00 a pair Women’s suit (fall): $129.99-$179.99 apiece

Food and beverages:

Asparagus: $2.49 a pound Beans (B&M, baked): 99 cents for a 28-ounce can Beef (ground sirloin): $1.79 a pound Candy (Russell Stover Chocolates): $4.99 for a one-pound box Carrots (Dole): 98 cents for a two-pound bag Cereal (Kellogg’s Raisin Bran Crunch): $3.99 for an 18.2-ounce box Cheese (Kraft American Singles): $1.99 for a 12-ounce package Chicken (wings): 70 cents a pound Chocolate powder (Nestle’s Quick): $2.99 for a 30-ounce package Coffee (Folgers): $2.98 for a 16-ounce can Cookies (Nabisco Mallomars): $1.99 for an eight-ounce package Corn (yellow or white): 10 ears for 99 cents Fish (Bumble Bee, white tuna): 89 cents for a six-ounce can Eggs: 98 cents a dozen Grapes (Thompson seedless): 99 cents a pound Ham (John Morrell): $5.99 for a five-pound tin Ice cream (Edy’s): $2.99 for a half gallon Juice (Juicy Juice): $7.00 for three 64-ounce bottles Oatmeal (Quaker, instant): $3.49 for an 11.8-ounce package Pie (Sara Lee, apple): $4.98 for a 37-ounce package Pudding (Hunt’s Snack Pack, four-pack): $3.00 for three four-packs Soda (Pepsi): $2.00 for three two-liter bottles Turkey (cutlet): $2.69 a pound TV dinner (Swanson): $2.98 for an 11.75-ounce package Watermelon: $2.99 each Yogurt (Dannon): $1.98 for four eight-ounce containers

Household and seasonal goods:

Chrysanthemums: $2.97-$5.99 each Clothes dryer (Maytag): $549.99 Comforter (Ralph Lauren, any size): $129.99 apiece Dishwasher (Maytag): $444.99 Laundry detergent (Tide, liquid): $6.00 for a 100-ounce container Microwave (Sharp, 100 watt): $89.99 Paper towels (Scott): $9.00 for 12 rolls Rake (bamboo, 30″): $1.44-$2.99 each Range (Magic Chef, 30″, gas): $379.97 Refrigerator (Hotpoint, 17.6 cubic feet): $449.97 Sheets (twin size): $9.99 per set Toaster oven (Black & Decker): $29.99-$44.99 Towels (Charisma, bath): $14.99 each Washing machine (Frigidaire): $279.97

Personal care items:

Toilet paper (Scott): $11.00 for a 20-roll pack Toothpaste (Aquafresh): $3.49 for a six-ounce tube Vitamins (GNC, B-complex): $5.99-$9.99 for a 100-count bottle

Recreation and amusements:

Camcorder (JVC): $287.97-$327.97 CD (Dixie Chicks - Fly): $13.99 each Computer (Compaq Presario): $499.99 DVD (Titanic): $17.99 apiece DVD player (Panasonic): $297.97 Hockey skates (Bauer): $69.99-$79.99 a pair Hockey sticks: $17.99-$39.99 each Stereo (Yorx): $119.99 Telephone (Bell, cordless): $29.99 Television (Sony, 61″): $1,799.00 VCR (RCA, four-head): $99.99

School supplies:

Backpack (Jansport): $29.95-$44.00 each Calculator (Texas Instruments, scientific): $69.99 apiece Filler paper: $1.00 for two 100-count packages Crayons (Crayola): $1.79 for a 64-count box Pencils: $1.00 for two 10-count packages Sketch pad: $4.99 for a twin pack

In 1999, pokémon toys and games were all the rage.

2. History Facts From the USA and World

In 1999, Bill Clinton was President of the United States and Al Gore was Vice-President. Because of advancements in medicine, people born in 1999 have a better chance of living in three different centuries than any other group of humans in history. Paypal, one of the most widely used payment services on the planet, was viewed as one of the 10 worst business ideas of 1999. Unemployment hovered around 4.1%. According to BLS.gov, “Iowa reported the lowest 1999 annual average unemployment rate (2.5 percent), followed by New Hampshire (2.7 percent). The other states with rates below 3.0 percent were Minnesota and Virginia (2.8 percent each) and Colorado, Nebraska, and South Dakota (2.9 percent each).” The states with the highest unemployment rates were New York, the District of Columbia, West Virginia, Mississippi, Louisiana, Idaho, Montana, New Mexico, Alaska, California, Hawaii, and Oregon. The rate of inflation was 2.21%. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Price Index, “prices in 2018 are 51.28% higher than prices in 1999. The dollar experienced an average inflation rate of 2.20% per year during this period. In other words, $100 in 1999 is equivalent in purchasing power to $151.28 in 2018, a difference of $51.28 over 19 years.” A movie ticket cost $5.06, the newsstand price of Time Magazine was $3.50, and the cost to raise a newborn to age 18 was $165,630.00. In 1999, the average cost of a wedding was $18,900.00, the average credit card APR was 15.07%, and the average domestic airfare was $329.00. Walmart stock was $69.12 a share, 500 kWh of electricity cost $45.38, and the average cell phone bill was $40.24 a month. Back in 1999, babysitting averaged $7.00-$10.00 an hour, a six-pack of Budweiser cost $4.01, and the average price for basic cable was $31.22 per month. A first-class stamp cost 33 cents, a large Slurpee at 7-11 was 99 cents, and the New York Times daily edition cost 75 cents. In 1999, the average ticket price for a Boston Red Sox game was $28.33, a one-day adult ticket at Disneyland cost $41.00, and the average ticket price for a Denver Broncos game was $49.00. One share of Apple stock cost $102.81, the auto toll at the Golden Gate Bridge was $3.00, and a Harley-Davidson 883 Sportster cost $5,595.00. Back in 1999, the prime rate was 8.50%, one ounce of gold was $279.11, and the average price for a gallon of gas was $1.22. The federal minimum wage was $5.15, the average annual income was $40,810.00, and the average price of a new car was $21,050.00. A 1999 Toyota Camry cost $17,518.00. On the other hand, the price range for a 1999 Chevrolet Corvette was $38,320-$45,220. In 1999, the median cost of a newly-built, single-family home in the United States was $161,000 while the average price was $195,600. Comparatively, in January 2017, the median cost of a newly-built, single-family home in the U.S. was $315,200. By December, the median price had increased to $343,300. In an abbreviated New Year’s Eve session, Wall Street ended 1999 at an all-time high. Money.CNN.com tells us that Wall Street capped “a century of unprecedented growth punctuated by two market crashes, the longest-running stock rally in history, and the emergence of technology companies as leaders for the 21st century. The Dow Jones industrial average--the only major indicator in existence 100 years ago--rose 44.26 points to 11,497.12. The Nasdaq composite index gained 32.44 to 4,069.31 while the S&P 500 index rose 4.78 to 1,469.25.” Throughout 1999, the world braced for chaos as the year 2000 approached. Would computer systems crash when the calendar switched over to 2000? Wired.com tells us that “The problem, as some saw it, was that older computers still being used for critical functions might break down when the date switched from 99 to 00, since the numeric progression convention, programmed to store data using only the last two digits of any given year, wouldn't recognize the logic of a century change.” Fortunately, 1999 passed into history “with barely a whimper. A few glitches were reported here and there, but nothing catastrophic occurred.” In 1999, the Geneva Convention celebrated its 50th anniversary. The U.S. Department of Commerce declared 1999 as “The Year of the Restaurant.” In 1999, U.S. agricultural exports were about 9.5% of total exports. On January 1, the Euro became the official currency of Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, and Spain. Matt Rosenberg explains that “The establishment of a common currency had the aims of greater economic integration and the unification of Europe as a common market. It also would enable easier transactions between people of different countries by having fewer conversions between so many different currencies. Creating the euro was also seen as a way to keep the peace due to the economic integration of the countries.” On January 7, the impeachment trial of President Bill Clinton began in the U.S. Senate. On January 27, Ford Motor Company bought Volvo AB of Sweden for $6.45 billion. On February 12, Bill Clinton was acquitted of perjury and obstruction of justice. On April 1, the UK’s national minimum wage (NMW) went into effect. The adult hourly rate was £3.60 and the rate for those 18-21 was £3.00. According to News.BBC.co.uk, “The change is expected to benefit about two million people--more than half of them in the service sector. Their wage packets will be boosted by up to a third.” On April 4, Jack Ma founded the Chinese Internet company Alibaba. According to Chegg.com, “Alibaba is China’s--and by some measures, the world’s--biggest online commerce company. Its three main sites--Taobao, Tmall, and Alibaba.com--have hundreds of millions of users, and host millions of merchants and businesses.” Projects.WSJ.com adds that transactions at Alibaba’s online sites “totaled $248 billion last year, more than those of eBay and Amazon.com combined.” On May 7, Pope John Paul II traveled to Romania and became the first Pontiff “to visit a predominantly Eastern Orthodox country since the Great Schism in 1054.” On July 16, the world mourned when John F. Kennedy Jr., his wife Carolyn Bessette Kennedy, and sister-in-law Lauren Bessette were killed in a plane crash off the coast of Martha's Vineyard. On July 20, the Liberty Bell 7 space capsule was raised from the ocean floor. CNN.com tells us that “The Mercury capsule, flown by astronaut Gus Grissom for 15 minutes in space on July 21, 1961, was hoisted to the surface at 2:15 a.m. Tuesday from the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean. It was found at a depth of more than 15,000 feet -- 3,000 feet deeper than the wreck of the Titanic.” On August 11, a total eclipse of the sun was visible in all of Europe, northern Africa, and the western half of Asia. On November 27, Helen Clark became the first elected female Prime Minister in New Zealand's history. On December 31, Russian President Boris Yeltsin resigned under “enormous internal pressure.” His chosen successor was Prime Minister Vladimir Putin. On December 31, the Millennium Dome opened in London.

3. Sports Trivia

This sports news has been made available courtesy of Pop-Culture.us.

World Series Champions: New York Yankees Super Bowl Champs: Denver Broncos NBA Champions: San Antonio Spurs Stanley Cup Champs: Dallas Stars NCAA Basketball Champions: Connecticut NCAA Football Champs: Florida State U.S. Open Golf: Payne Stewart U.S. Tennis (men/women): Andre Agassi/Serena Williams Wimbledon (men/women): Pete Sampras/Lindsay Davenport Kentucky Derby: Charismatic

In 1999, WebCrawler was a popular search engine.

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

Fun facts like fashion fads, Academy Award winners, and popular baby names always make perfect questions for trivia night.

At the beginning of 1999, the number of worldwide Internet users reached 150 million. Over 50% were from the United States. The use of mobile phones continued to grow as mobile devices became essential consumer products. InfoPlease.com tells us that two major recording labels, Universal and Polygram, merged and caused upheaval in the recording industry. The new company, Universal Music Group, controlled about 25% of the worldwide music market. The cost of a Super Bowl ad was $1,600,000. Popular baby names were Jacob, Michael, Matthew, Joshua, Christopher, Nicholas, Andrew, Joseph, Tyler, Daniel, Emily, Hannah, Alexis, Sarah, Samantha, Ashley, Madison, Taylor, Jessica, and Elizabeth. The average life expectancy at birth in the U.S was 76.58 years. Fashion trends for women in 1999 included bucket hats, spaghetti strap tops, chokers, wedge sandals, and blue eyeshadow and/or glitter. For men, black shirts, black ties, black suits, black leather reefer jackets, and trenchcoats were all the rage. Until 1999, Montana didn't have a speed limit on the interstate, and encouraged drivers instead to be "reasonable and prudent.” Nicole Johnson (Virginia) was crowned Miss America. Kimberly Pressler (New York) became Miss Universe. Jeff Bezos was chosen as Time Magazine’s “Person of the Year.” On January 13, basketball legend Michael Jordan announced his retirement. On January 31, Seth MacFarlane's Family Guy premiered on Fox. On March 4, Nearly 50 million people watched Monica Lewinsky's 20/20 interview with Barbara Walters. According to Variety.com, “the Lewinsky interview was the most-watched news program ever in terms of total viewers. In total, 74 million Americans watched at least six minutes of the interview.” In April, Restaurant Nora in Washington DC became America's first certified organic restaurant. According to FoodReference.com, “95% or more of everything that you eat at the restaurant has been produced by certified organic growers and farmers.” On May 26, Waldo Lonsbury Semon, the inventor of vinyl, passed away. Vinyl is the second most used plastic in the world. On May 28, Leonardo da Vinci's "The Last Supper" was put back on display after 22 years of restoration work. In July, the Swiss Winegrower's Festival (Fête des Vignerons) was held in Vivey, Switzerland. The wine spectacle has taken place every 20 years or so since 1797. On July 1, Forrest Edward Mars, best known for creating Milky Way candy bars and M&M's chocolate candy, died. On July 10, Aaron “Bunny” Lapin, the inventor of whipped cream in an aerosol can, also died. On August 12, Shakira recorded her first live album titled MTV Unplugged. On September 1, former Pittsburgh Penguins star Mario Lemieux became the new owner of the struggling ice hockey franchise. The Penguins became the “first club in pro sports history to be owned by a former member of the team.” On September 20, the crime drama Law & Order: Special Victims Unit premiered on NBC. Created by Dick Wolf, the show starred Mariska Hargitay and Christopher Meloni. On September 22, the serial political drama The West Wing debuted on NBC. Created by Aaron Sorkin, the show starred Martin Sheen, John Spencer, Allison Janney, Rob Lowe, Bradley Whitford, and Richard Schiff.

In 1999, the crime drama "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" premiered on NBC.

5. Computer and Internet History

These fun facts and trivia have been made available courtesy of ComputerHope.com.

In 1999, there was no Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, or Reddit. Similarly, there was no LinkedIn, Pinterest, Tumblr, Snapchat, or Flickr. There were no Google Maps, Google Books, or Google Goggles. Likewise, iPhones, camera phones, iPods, Blu-ray discs, Amazon Kindle, Skype, Gmail, Wikipedia, and iTunes did not exist yet. In 1999, Internet search engines included Excite, Yahoo!, WebCrawler, MetaCrawler, Lycos, Infoseek, HotBot, Dogpile, MSN Search (now Bing), AOL Search, Netscape Search, AltaVista, Inktomi, Ask Jeeves (now Ask.com), Google, and Overture. Today, nearly 97% of all web searches are done on Google (92.37%), Bing (2.37%), and Yahoo! (2.25%). Popular web searches in 1999 included Bill Clinton, Britney Spears, Carmen Electra, David Beckham, Days of Our Lives, Denise Richards, games, Harry Potter, Jennifer Lopez, John F. Kennedy Jr., Kama Sutra, Lolita, Martin Luther King Jr., Mia Hamm, Monica Lewinsky, NASCAR, Pamela Anderson, pokémon, Sarah Jessica Parker, Sesame Street, South Park (sitcom), Star Wars, the Bible, The Simpsons, weather, and World Cup. Popular web browsers were Amaya 2.0, Mozilla M3, Internet Explorer 5.0, Netscape, and Opera. W3Counter.com confirms that today’s most-used browsers are Chrome (63.5%), Safari (13.9%), Internet Explorer & Edge (7.3%), Firefox (6.6%), and Opera (3.0%). QZ.com tells us that “If you long for the days of dial-up modems, help is at hand. A new web portal called OldWeb.Today lets you surf the web using some of the web’s earliest browsers, like Mosaic, Netscape Navigator, and Internet Explorer 3.0. Unlike back in the day, however, you don’t have to make sure that no one is on the phone when you hop on your Gateway desktop computer, or suffer through the dial-up modem klaxon when you go online.” Here is a partial list of computer companies that were launched in 1999: Aspire International, Calcomp Graphics, D-Wave Systems, Disney Interactive Media Group, EVGA, GameSpy, ITK, Linden Lab, Mellanox Technologies, PEAR, Shutterfly, SiPix, Thermaltake, TiVo, and Zhone Technologies. In 1999, 41% of Americans used the Internet. The most popular online news attraction was the weather. Today, about 68% of U.S. adults are Facebook users and “roughly three-quarters of those users access Facebook on a daily basis.” The Pew Research Center adds that YouTube “is now used by nearly three-quarters of U.S. adults and 94% of 18- to 24-year-olds.” Microsoft released both Internet Explorer 4.5 and Internet Explorer 5.0. They also released FrontPage 2000. Amazon agreed to purchase Accept.com, Alexa.com, and Exchange.com. ARK Logic (founded in 1993) and Genoa Systems (founded in 1984) both went out of business in 1999. On January 19, Research In Motion (RIM) rebranded BlackBerry email service across North America and offered “the first wireless device to synch with corporate email systems.” On January 28, Yahoo! bought GeoCities for $3.65 billion. In February, Adobe Photoshop 5.5 was released. On March 16, EverQuest, “a 3D fantasy-themed multiplayer online role-playing game” for Windows PCs, was launched. On April 1, Yahoo! purchased Broadcast.com for $5.7 billion. On April 19, Microsoft introduced the IntelliMouse Explorer, an optical computer mouse. On April 27, a “malicious program” known as the Chernobyl virus wiped out data in hundreds of thousands of computers in Asia and the Middle East. Both the U.S. and Europe largely escaped the damaging effects of the virus. In May, The Mining Company, launched on April 21, 1997, changed its name to “About Inc.” The website address was also changed from “MiningCo.com” to “About.com.” (In May 2017, About.com was rebranded to DotDash.com.) In June, MP3 file-sharing service Napster was launched. Lifewire.com tells us that Napster didn't last very long “due to the lack of control over the transfer of copyrighted material across its network. Napster's illegal operations were soon on the radar of the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America), which filed a lawsuit against it for the unauthorized distribution of copyrighted material. After a long court battle, the RIAA obtained an injunction from the courts that forced Napster to shut down its network in 2001.” On June 1, AOL purchased Nullsoft, a computer software house founded in 1997. Nullsoft products included “the Winamp media player and the SHOUTcast MP3 streaming media server.” On July 21, Apple introduced the Apple Airport and iBook. On October 11, Baidu.com, the first Chinese search engine, came online. Baidu Knows (百度知道) provides users with “a query-based searchable community to share knowledge and experience.” On the other hand, Baidu Image Search “enables users to search millions of images on the Internet.” On December 1, Marc Ostrofsky sold the domain name “Business.com” for $7.5 million. On July 26, 2007, the domain was sold again to R.H. Donnelley for $345 million. On December 27, Jeff Bezos was chosen as Time Magazine’s “Person of the Year.”

In 1999, General Motors was America’s largest corporation.

6. Nobel Prize Winners

These history facts have been made available courtesy of InfoPlease.com.

Peace: Doctors Without Borders, a French-based global organization that has “provided emergency medical assistance” to more than 80 countries “plagued by violence and brutality.” Literature: Günter Grass (Germany), “whose frolicsome black fables portray the forgotten face of history.” Physics: Gerardus 't Hooft (Netherlands) and Martinus J. G. Veltman (Netherlands), who have “placed particle physics theory on a firmer mathematical foundation.” Chemistry: Ahmed H. Zewail (Egypt and U.S.), “who has created the world's fastest camera, which captures atoms in motion much as a slow-motion replay captures a sporting event.” Medicine: Dr. Günter Blobel (Germany and U.S.), “for the discovery that proteins have intrinsic signals that govern their transport and localization in the cell.” Economics: Robert A. Mundell (U.S.), a Columbia University economist, “for his work on monetary dynamics and optimum currency areas.”

7. Most Popular Television Shows From 1999-2000

This TV trivia from 1999-2000 has been made available courtesy of FBibler.Chez.com. Generally suitable for all age groups, fun facts about TV shows are always a welcome addition to any trivia night.

Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? (Tuesday) (ABC) Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? (Thursday) (ABC) Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? (Sunday) (ABC) ER (NBC) Friends (NBC) Monday Night Football (ABC) Frasier (NBC) 60 Minutes (CBS) The Practice (ABC) Touched by Angel (CBS)

8. Best-Selling Fiction and Nonfiction Books

This book trivia has been made available courtesy of PublishersWeekly.com.

Fiction:

The Testament by John Grisham Hannibal by Thomas Harris Assassins by Jerry B. Jenkins and Tim LaHaye Star Wars: Episode 1, The Phantom Menace by Terry Brooks Timeline by Michael Crichton Hearts in Atlantis by Stephen King Apollyon by Jerry B. Jenkins and Tim LaHaye The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon by Stephen King Irresistible Forces by Danielle SteelTara Road by Maeve Binchy Tara Road by Maeve Binchy

Nonfiction:

Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom The Greatest Generation by Tom Brokaw Guinness World Records 2000 ‘Tis by Frank McCourt Who Moved My Cheese? by Spencer Johnson The Courage to Be Rich by Suze Orman The Greatest Generation Speaks by Tom Brokaw Sugar Busters! by H. Leighton Steward, Morrison C. Bethea, Sam S. Andrews, and Luis A. Balart The Art of Happiness by Dalai Lama and Howard C. Cutler The Century by Peter Jennings and Todd Brewster

In 1999, “Shakespeare in Love” won an Oscar for Best Picture.

9. Highest-Grossing Films

This information has been made available courtesy of BoxOfficeMojo.com. Regardless of the year, film facts always make perfect trivia night questions.

Star Wars Episode One: The Phantom Menace The Sixth Sense Toy Story 2 Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me The Matrix Tarzan Big Daddy The Mummy Runaway Bride Blair Witch Project

10. Horror Movies From 1999

Horror films from 1999 include A Wicked Ghost, Alien Blood, Anthropophagous, Audition, Bats, Candyman: Day of the Dead, Children of the Corn 666: Isaac's Return, Deep Blue Sea, Desecration, End of Days, Existenz, From Dusk Till Dawn 2: Texas Blood Money, From Dusk Till Dawn 3: The Hangman's Daughter, Hellblock, House on Haunted Hill, Ice from the Sun, and Idle Hands.

11. 71st Annual Academy Awards

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

Best Picture: Shakespeare in Love Best Director: Steven Spielberg (Saving Private Ryan) Best Actor: Roberto Benigni (Life Is Beautiful) Best Actress: Gwyneth Paltrow (Shakespeare in Love) Best Supporting Actor: James Coburn (Affliction) Best Supporting Actress: Judi Dench (Shakespeare in Love) Best Original Screenplay: Shakespeare in Love Best Adapted Screenplay: Gods and Monsters Best Editing: Saving Private Ryan Best Cinematography: Saving Private Ryan Best Art Direction: Shakespeare in Love Best Costume Design: Shakespeare in Love Best Makeup: Elizabeth Best Visual Effects: What Dreams May Come Best Sound: Saving Private Ryan Best Sound Effects Editing: Saving Private Ryan Best Original Dramatic Score: Life Is Beautiful Best Original Musical or Comedy Score: Shakespeare in Love Best Original Song: When You Believe from The Prince of Egypt Best Live Action Short Film: Election Night Best Foreign Language Picture: Life Is Beautiful (Italy) Best Documentary Feature: The Last Days Best Documentary Short Subject: The Personals Best Animated Short Film: Bunny

12. Entries Into the National Film Registry

The Library of Congress tells us that the “National Film Registry selects 25 films each year showcasing the range and diversity of American film heritage to increase awareness for its preservation.” Here are the additions to the Registry for 1999:

A Streetcar Named Desire (released in 1951) Civilization (released in 1916) Do the Right Thing (released in 1989) Duck Amuck (released in 1953) Gunga Din (released in 1939) In the Land of the Head Hunters (released in 1914) Kiss Me Deadly (released in 1955) Lambchops (released in 1929) Laura (released in 1944) Master Hands (released in 1936) My Man Godfrey (released in 1936) Night of the Living Dead (released in 1968) Raiders of the Lost Ark (released in 1981) Roman Holiday (released in 1953) The Docks of New York (released in 1928) The Emperor Jones (released in 1933) The Kiss (released in 1896) The Plow That Broke the Plains (released in 1936) The Shop Around the Corner (released in 1940) The Ten Commandments (released in 1956) The Wild Bunch (released in 1969) Woman of the Year (released in 1942)

In 1999, Jack Ma founded the Chinese Internet company Alibaba.

13. Biggest Pop Music Artists

These fun facts and trivia from 1999 have been made available courtesy of Billboard.com.

Backstreet Boys, Brad Paisley, Brandy, Brian McKnight, Britney Spears, Cher, Christina Aguilera, Destiny's Child, Eminem, Eve, Faith Evans, Jennifer Lopez, Jessica Simpson, Kelly Price, Lauryn Hill, Mariah Carey, Montell Jordan, 98 Degrees, Pearl Jam, Q-Top, Ricky Martin, Rob Thomas, Santana, Smash Mouth, TLC, Vengaboys, Whitney Houston, Will Smith, and Wyclef Jean.

14. Number One Music Hits for the Year

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

December 5, 1998 - January 15, 1999: R. Kelly and Céline Dion, I'm Your Angel

January 16 - January 29: Brandy, Have You Ever

January 30 - February 12: Britney Spears, Baby One More Time

February 13 - March 12: Monica, Angel Of Mine

March 13 - April 9: Cher, Believe

April 10 - May 7: TLC, No Scrubs

May 8 - June 11: Ricky Martin, Livin' La Vida Loca

June 12 - July 16: Jennifer Lopez, If You Had My Love

July 17 - July 23: Destiny's Child, Bills, Bills, Bills

July 24 - July 30: Will Smith featuring Dru Hill and Kool Moe Dee, Wild Wild West

July 31 - September 3: Christina Aguilera, Genie In A Bottle

September 4 - September 17: Enrique Iglesias, Bailamos

September 18 - October 8: TLC, Unpretty

October 9 - October 22: Mariah Carey featuring Jay-Z, Heartbreaker

October 23, 1999 - January 14, 2000: Santana featuring Rob Thomas, Smooth

15. 41st Annual Grammy Awards

This music news has been made available courtesy of Grammy.com.

Record of the Year: My Heart Will Go On Song of the Year: My Heart Will Go On Album of the Year: The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill Best New Artist: Lauryn Hill Best Female Pop Vocal Performance: My Heart Will Go On Best Male Pop Vocal Performance: My Father’s Eyes Best Pop Duo/Group Performance: Jump Jive An' Wail Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals: I Still Have That Other Girl Best Pop Instrumental Performance: Sleepwalk Best Dance Recording: Ray of Light Best Pop Album: Ray of Light Best Traditional Pop Vocal Performance: Patti Page Best Female Rock Vocal Performance: Uninvited Best Male Rock Vocal Performance: Fly Away Best Hard Rock Performance: Most High Best Metal Performance: Better Than You Best Rock Song: Uninvited Best Rock Album: The Globe Sessions Best Alternative Music Performance: Hello Nasty Best Rhythm & Blues Song: Doo Wop (That Thing) Best R&B Album: The Miseducation Of Lauryn Hill Best Traditional R&B Vocal Performance: Live! - One Night Only Best Rap Solo Performance: Gettin' Jiggy Wit It Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group: Intergalactic Best Rap Album: Vol. 2… Hard Knock Life Best Female Country Solo Performance: You're Still The One Best Male Country Solo Performance: If You Ever Have Forever In Mind Best Country Duo/Group Performance: There's Your Trouble Best Country Song: You're Still The One Best Country Album: Wide Open Spaces Best Bluegrass Album: Bluegrass Rules! Best New Age Album: Landmarks Best Contemporary Jazz Performance: Imaginary Day Best Jazz Vocal Performance: I Remember Miles Best Jazz Instrumental Solo: Rhumbata Best Latin Jazz Performance: Hot House Best Rock Gospel Album: You Are There Best Latin Pop Performance: Vuelve Best Traditional Blues Album: Any Place I'm Going Best Engineered Album (Classical) - Barber: Prayers Of Kierkegaard/Vaughan Williams: Dona Nobis Pacem/Bartok: Cantata Profana

In 1999, a cosmopolitan or cosmo was a favorite cocktail from New York to San Francisco.

16. Favorite Video Games

Popular video games in 1999 included Chrono Cross, Final Fantasy VIII, EverQuest, Crash Team Racing, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater, System Shock 2, Unreal Tournament, Donkey Kong 64, Silent Hill, Namco Museum, Age of Empires II, Quake III Arena, Grand Theft Auto 2, Driver, Aliens versus Predator, Planescape: Torment, Resident Evil 3: Nemesis, Command & Conquer: Tiberian Sun, and Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver.

17. Food and Beverage Trivia

Here are some foods and beverages that were popular in 1999:

Capri Sun Cantaloupes Cream cheese Crystal Pepsi Dippin’ Dots Jawbreakers Laffy Taffy Lunchables Molten chocolate cake Poprocks Push Pops Red Bull Energy Drink Ring Pop Roasted red bell peppers Wrigley’s Bubble Tape Hot-Pink Gum

18. Famous People Who Died in 1999

This celebrity news has been made available courtesy of OnThisDay.com.

February 21: Gertrude B. Elion (American biochemist and drug researcher) March 7: Stanley Kubrick (American film director - 2001: A Space Odyssey and A Clockwork Orange) March 8: Joe DiMaggio (American baseball player) April 28: Arthur Leonard Schawlow (American physicist) July 2: Mario Puzo (American author) July 16: John F. Kennedy Jr. (American publisher and lawyer) September 22: George C. Scott (American actor - Dr. Strangelove) October 11: James Franklin Hyde (American inventor) October 12: Wilt Chamberlain (American NBA legend) October 25: Payne Stewart (American golfer)

In 1999, “Star Wars Episode One: The Phantom Menace” was the most popular film.

19. Best-Selling Cars in America

These auto facts have been made available courtesy of FactMonster.com.

Toyota Camry Honda Accord Ford Taurus Honda Civic Chevrolet Cavalier Ford Escort Toyota Corolla Pontiac Grand Am Chevrolet Malibu Saturn S

20. America’s Largest Corporations

General Motors Ford Motor Walmart Exxon Mobil General Electric IBM Citigroup Altria Group Boeing AT&T

In 1999, “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire” was a popular TV quiz show.

References

© 2018 Gregory DeVictor

Liza from USA on January 28, 2020:

Actually, I made a Hotmail account after I was accepting to a university. Some of these trivia and facts I discovered by watching the news, reading the magazines and newspapers. I had limited internet access at that time. I remember I had to go to a computer lab to do assignments and catch up with world headlines. Gosh, I can't believe how time flies.

Gregory DeVictor (author) from Pittsburgh, PA on January 28, 2020:

My first email account was Hotmail. I was teaching inner city public school back then and one of my colleagues set up the account for me. I guess the account was opened around 1999 too. Back then, I had no idea how to set up the email account up myself, and also believed that “Hotmail” was really a strange name.

Liza from USA on January 28, 2020:

Of course, I remember Netscape. I first encountered that from my elder brother's computer. I had my first email account in 1998/1999 too! My friend from school was encouraging me to have one. Gosh, I wish I can remember what it was. But, it was a yahoo account.

Gregory DeVictor (author) from Pittsburgh, PA on January 27, 2020:

Liza, thank you for your comment. Yes, I was listening to Britney Spears too back in 1999, along with some smooth jazz artists like Kim Waters and Norman Brown. Like others, I was also bracing for “computer chaos” throughout 1999 as the year 2000 approached. I don’t remember which search engine I used, taking into account that Google wasn’t around yet. I think I was using Netscape as a browser. Do you remember Netscape? Well, thanks again for your kind words.

Liza from USA on January 27, 2020:

1999. While all my friends went to the colleges, I decided to stay for another two years at my senior high school. It holds a few good memories; one of them I decided to quit boarding school and stay with my parents again till I finished my senior. I enjoyed listening to pop songs at this time (BSB, Nsync, Britney Spears). LOL. You have done thorough facts and trivia! Thanks for sharing.

Gregory DeVictor (author) from Pittsburgh, PA on July 19, 2019:

Thank you for the comment. I always write the introduction after I have completed the bulk of the article.

N B Yomi from Dallas, TX on July 18, 2019:

I haven't read the entire article, which I will do eventually. But that introduction had my pining to relive the 90s... I want my childhood back as it was a simpler time...