 |
2004 History, Fun Facts and Trivia |
Quick Facts from 2004:
|
Top Ten Baby Names of 2004:Emily, Emma, Madison, Olivia, Hannah, Jacob, Michael, Joshua, Matthew, Ethan |
Fashion Icons and Sex Symbols:Gisele Bündchen, Britney Spears, Alicia Keys, Gwen Stefani, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Eva Longoria, Scarlett Johansson, Jennifer Garner, Sarah Jessica Parker, Teri Hatcher, Uma Thurman, Beyonce, Cameron Diaz, Cate Blanchette, Charlize Theron, Jennifer Aniston, Mischa Barton, Nicole Kidman, Naomi Watts, Sheryl Crow, Renee Zellweger, Mary-Kate and Ashley Olson (turned 18 on June 13), Sienna Miller, Rebecca Romijn, Fergie |
The Heartthrob(s):Jude Law, George Clooney, Usher, Johnny Depp, Hugh Laurie, Matt Damon, Brad Pitt, Justin Timberlake, Orlando Bloom, Jake Gyllenhaal, Heath Ledger, David Beckham, Ryan Reynolds |
“The Quotes”“You’re Fired” “That’s Hot” “Heeaauughh! “I Am A Gay American” |
Time Magazine’s Person of the Year:George W. Bush |
Miss America:Ericka Dunlap (Orlando, FL) |
Miss USA:Shandi Finnessey (Missouri) |
The Scandals:Janet Jackson’s right breast was semi-exposed by Justin Timberlake during 2004’s Super Bowl halftime show while they sang his “Rock Your Body.” “I am a gay American” – James McGreevey, Democrat Governor of New Jersey, revealed that he was gay and admitted to an extramarital affair with aide Golan Cipel. The arguably criminal aspect of hiring a non-qualified lover to be in charge of NJ’s homeland security was overshadowed by the sex scandal. During the 2004 US Presidential Campaign, CBS and Dan Rather used what were probably forged documents during a 60 Minutes Wednesday report on George W. Bush’s Vietnam-era service record. The ‘evidence’ report was written with a modern computer, not the IBM Selectric that would have been used in 1972. Britney Spears married high school friend Jason Alexander (not the Seinfeld star!) for nearly an entire weekend. (55 hours) |
Beslan School MassacreThe Beslan School Massacre in Southwestern Russia began on September 1st, 2004. Over 360 hostages, including 186 children, were killed by Islamic insurgents or Russian military personnel during the 4-day siege. |
Hip Hop Death:Old Dirty Bastard (cocaine and painkiller overdose) |
Tortoise Death:Timothy, a female tortoise who died in 2004, was the last survivor of the Crimean War, which ended in 1856. |
The Odd:Police discovered a movie theater in the Paris Catacombs. It had a giant cinema screen, seats, projection equipment, film reels, a fully stocked bar, and a complete restaurant with tables and chairs. Its power source and the identity of those responsible remain unknown. |
Pop Culture Facts & History:Ashlee Simpson was caught lip-syncing on Saturday Night Live on October 24. (To be fair, many artists lip-sync). In 2004, Eminem dissed Michael Jackson on Just Lose it, in 2007, MJ responded by buying all of Eminem’s Publishing. Polaroid warned the public not to “shake it like a polaroid picture.” as copying the Outkast song Hey Ya! might damage the photo. Shaking polaroids has been unnecessary since 1972, when the SX-70 eliminated the need for peel-apart film. Few cameras still use the technology. During the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami on December 26, 2004, fishermen said they saw with their own eyes “the reality of generations of legends . . . the remains of ancient temples and hundreds of refrigerator-sized blocks, all briefly exposed before the sea swallowed them up again.” The cover art for Prince’s 2013 single Breakfast Can Wait was Dave Chappelle dressed as “Purple Rain” era Prince holding a plate of pancakes from 2004. Dick Van Dyke dropped out of high school during his senior year in 1944 to join the military. He went on to earn his diploma in 2004 at the age of 78. Survivor: Vanuatu Winner: Chris Daugherty Ken Jennings won 74 games and 2.5 Million dollars on Jeopardy! If you try to steal the hood ornament from a Rolls Royce made after 2004, it will instantly retreat into the car’s chassis until the owner rights it. These hood ornaments, called “The Spirit of Ecstasy”, cost roughly US $4000 to replace. Morgan Spurlock gained 25 pounds in 30 days, eating only McDonald’s food. It took him 14 months to lose the weight. GIF files were originally not widely used online since they required royalties to be paid until the patent expired in 2003 (2004 worldwide). Tim Berners Lee, the creator of the World Wide Web, was knighted in 2004 and should be addressed as Sir Tim Berners Lee. More and more, American highways are being signed with a font called Clearview, approved for interim use in 2004 and claimed to be more legible than the traditional Highway Gothic font. Mehran Karimi Nasseri was a man who lived at Terminal 1 at the Charles de Gaulle International Airport, France, for 18 years. His story was the inspiration for the 2004 film The Terminal. Deadpool described himself as “Ryan Reynolds crossed with a shar-pei” in his 2004 comic book series, leading Reynolds to believe he was destined for the role. After sweeping the 2004 Oscars, Peter Jackson & Elijah Wood skipped all official celebrations and attended a LOTR fan party. The house in the suburbs that Monica & Chandler bought in the final season of Friends (2004) was filmed at a soundstage, but the view outside was a stock photo taken from the front step of the McAllister house while filming the movie Home Alone. So… Monica and Chandler bought Kevin McAllister’s house. At $2 million per 30-second slot, the 2004 finale episode of Friends had the most expensive ad slots for a non-sports program up to that time. William Hung lost on American Idol but won America’s collective heart with his happy nature. He sang Ricky Martin’s She Bangs. Despite its name, Jimmy Kimmel Live! hasn’t aired live since 2004, when censors could not properly censor a swearing rant from actor Thomas Jane. Samantha Mumba wore a Scott Henshall-designed dress (filled with diamonds) worth between 10 and 13 million dollars at the Spider-Man 2 premiere, possibly the most risque and expensive dress ever. Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy in 1877 became a best-seller thanks to Oprah’s Book Club in 2004. Blind athletes competing in the 2004 Paralympics made the same spontaneous facial expressions as sighted athletes competing in the 2004 Olympics, proving that certain facial expressions are innate to humans and not visually learned. ‘Curse of the Bambino’ – The Red Sox last won a world series in 1918, their streak as a ‘quality team’ ended when they sold Babe Ruth’s contract to the New York Yankees. Cost of a Super Bowl ad in 2004: $2,300,000 |
The Disaster:A Tsunami killed nearly a quarter of a million people in Indonesia and the entire South Asian area on December 26, 2004, including Sri Lanka, India and Thailand. An underwater earthquake with a guesstimated Magnitude of 9.2 caused it. It lasted nearly 10 minutes, and some waves were 100 feet tall. |
The Habit:Facebook is just for college students. Low Carb Diets like ‘Atkins’ and ‘South Beach’ Wearing Lance Armstrong Cancer Awareness ‘Livestrong Bracelets’ Madonna, Paris Hilton, Demi Moore, and Britney Spears wore ‘Kabbalah Strings’ |
Nobel Prize Winners:Chemistry – Aaron Ciechanover, Avram Hershko, Irwin Rose |
2004 Toys inducted to the National Toy Hall of Fame:G.I. Joe, Rocking Horse, Scrabble |
1st Appearances & 2004’s Most Popular Christmas Gifts, Toys and Presents:Bratz, Dancing Dora the Explorer |
Best Film Oscar Winner:The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (Presented in 2004) |
2004 Entries to The National Film Registry:Ben-Hur (released in 1959) |
The Big Movies: (according to boxofficemojo)1. Shrek 2 |
2004 Most Popular TV Shows:1. American Idol (Fox) |
2004 Billboard Number One Songs:December 13, 2003 – February 13, 2004: February 14 – February 20: February 21 – February 27: February 28 – May 21: July 17 July 23: July 24 – August 6: August 7 – August 20: August 21 – September 10: September 11 – October 29: October 30 – December 11: December 11 – December 31: |
Sports:World Series Champions: Boston Red Sox Honorable Oympic Mention: |
