1994 History, Fun Facts and Trivia

  • The Game Changer: Playstation released
  • The Hobby: Beanie Babies Mania began. Many people ‘invested’ in them, and now have millions of Beanies carefully preserved in attics and closets.
  • The Top Song was I’ll Make Love To You by Boyz II Men
  • The Movies to Watch include Forrest Gump, The Lion King, Angels in the Outfield, Clear and Present Danger and The Crow
  • The Most Famous Person in the World was probably Nelson Mandela
  • Notable books include: Guess How Much I Love You by Sam McBratney
  • Price of 10 oz Cheex-it crackers in 1994: $1.99
    Price of a daily newspaper: 25 cents
  • The Funny Old Guys were: Carl Reiner & Mel Brooks
  • The Funny Young Guy was: Martin Lawrence
    The Funny Movie Guy was: Jim Carrey
  • The Conversation: The biggest Pop Culture Event was the “O.J. Simpson White Bronco Car Chase” televised live on nearly every network.
  • The  Other Conversation: Was National Figure Skating Champ Tonya Harding responsible for the attack on her rival Nancy Kerrigan?
Year of the Dog
The year of the dog is one of the 12 years in the Chinese zodiac cycle.
The dog is the eleventh animal in the cycle. The years of the dog include: 1934, 1946, 1958, 1970, 1982, 1994, 2006, 2018, 2030, 2042, 2054, and 2066
The year of the dog is associated with loyalty, honesty, and a sense of justice. People born in the year of the dog are said to be honest, loyal, and have a strong sense of justice. They are also said to be reliable, responsible, and have a strong sense of duty. They are known to be quite independent, and they don’t like to be told what to do. They are also known to be quite intelligent, and they are often able to think things through before acting. They are said to be quite successful in their careers, and they are often able to achieve great things. They are also known to be quite straightforward, and they don’t like to beat around the bush.
Top Ten Baby Names of 1994:
Jessica, Ashley, Emily, Samantha, Sarah, Michael, Chris, Topher, Matthew, Joshua, Tyler
Fashion Icons and Sex Symbols:
Claudia Schiffer, Elle Macpherson
Leading Men and Hollywood Hunks:
George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Tom Cruise, John Travolta
“The Quote:”
“My momma always said that life was like a box of chocolates, you never know what you’re gonna get”
– Tom Hanks in ‘Forrest Gump’
Time Magazine’s Man of the Year:
Pope John Paul II
Miss America:
Kimberly Aiken (Columbia, SC)
Miss USA:
Lu Parker (South Carolina)

The Scandals:
Tonya Harding (the antagonist) and Nancy Kerrigan (the protagonist) ice skating rivalry resulted in some friends of Tonya, including her husband Jeff Gillooly and associates Shawn Eckhardt and Shane Stant, attempting to bust Nancy’s kneecaps at the U.S. Figure Skating Championship.
She had to withdraw, but did well for herself with endorsements and winning the Silver Medal in the Olympics in 1994.

On June 17th, a white Ford Bronco belonging to Simpson’s friend, Al Cowlings, was watched by the entire nation since it was carrying a now fugitive, O.J. Simpson, who was “holding a gun to Al’s head”. A note from O.J., sounding like a suicide note, was read to police by his lawyer.

Aaliyah (1/16/1979) was 15 years old when she married R. Kelly (1/8/1967) on 8/31/1994. He was 28 and she was 16 when their marriage was annulled on 2/7/1995.

Brief Celebrity marriages:
Michael Jackson and Lisa Marie Presley
Richard Gere and Cindy Crawford
Rock and Roll Death:
Kurt Cobain (suicide)
Serial Killer Prison Death:
Jeffrey Dahmer
Beloved Comedian Death:
John Candy
Disgraced Politician Death:
Richard Nixon. We don’t have him to kick around anymore.
RIP:
Rebecca Schaeffer, a 21-year-old actress, was shot at her front door by an obsessed fan and later died created calls for the Nation’s first anti-stalking Law’s in 1990. In 1994, the ‘Driver’s Privacy Protection Act’ made it illegal to release people’s private addresses.

World News:
The University of Erfurt in Germany was founded in 1379 and closed in 1816. But it was re-established in 1994 following Germany’s reunification. It probably is both the oldest and youngest University in Germany.

According to his biography, Kim Jung-Il first picked up a golf club in 1994, at North Korea’s only golf course, and shot a 38-under par round that included no fewer than 11 holes in one. Satisfied with his performance, he reportedly immediately declared his retirement from the sport.

Pop Culture Facts & History:
Soul Asylum’s 1994 music video for Runaway Train helped find 25 of the 36 missing children featured in the music video.
 
 Michael Crichton, the screenwriter of Jurassic Park, had a novel (Disclosure) and a television show (ER) reach the US number one at the same time the film did in 1994. He is the only person to achieve these hits simultaneously.

For one November week in 1994, Tim Allen had the #1 movie at the box office (The Santa Clause), The #1 rated TV show (Home Improvement), and the #1 NY Times bestselling book (Don’t Stand Too Close to a Naked Man).

The first series produced by Cartoon Network was Space Ghost Coast to Coast in 1994, to target an older audience.

The Beastie Boys coined the term “mullet” to refer to a hairstyle in 1994 in their song Mullet Head. No earlier use of the term “mullet” that refers to a hairstyle has been found.

The Wonderbra was invented.

Liam Neeson turned down the role of James Bond in Goldeneye in 1994 because he “has never been interested in starring in action movies”.

At the time of its release, True Lies was the most expensive film ever made, as the first film to have over a $100 million production budget.

Despite being a trained Broadway singer, Matthew Broderick only voiced the speaking role of adult Simba in 1994’s The Lion King. Simba’s singing voice was provided by Joseph Williams, the lead singer of Toto.

Voiced-over trailers hit their peak in 1994 when all top 10 box office movies featured one.

Leonardo da Vinci’s Codex Hammer was purchased for $30,802,500 in 1994 by Bill Gates; 3 years later he released a digital version of the historic diary for all the world to see.

Pearl Jam canceled their 1994 summer tour after they found out Ticket Master was demanding a ‘service charge’ for fan’s tickets.

Country music star Alan Jackson was asked to use a pre-recorded version of his song Gone Country when performing live at the Country Music Awards. He protested by having his drummer perform with no drum sticks in his hand the whole performance.

Frank Sinatra’s acceptance speech for a Legend Award at the 1994 Grammys was cut short due to commercial breaks. In response, Billy Joel stopped halfway through his performance of The River of Dreams later on, simply looking at his watch and saying ‘valuable advertising time going by…’.

Lisa Loeb was the first artist ever to have a number one hit without being signed to a record label with the song Stay in 1994. She didn’t even have an album out when the song became a number one single.

Thrift Shop by Macklemore and Ryan Lewis was the first song since 1994 to reach No. 1 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart without the support of a major record label.

Kevin Briggs, a San Francisco Highway Patrol Officer and a veteran of the US Army, has talked approximately 200 people out of suicide on the Golden Gate Bridge since 1994.

Harley-Davidson filed a trademark application in 1994 for the sound produced by their motorcycles. After many objections and even litigation, they dropped all efforts in 2000.

Finding the proof for Fermat’s last theorem (x^n+ y^n = z^n) was considered as the most difficult math problem and was even listed in the Guinness book of world records. Andrew Wiles cracked it in 1994 and won $ 700,000. When n=2 this is the Pythagoras Theorem.

After Sports Illustrated published its “Bag It, Michael” cover story about his less-than-stellar baseball career in 1994, Michael Jordan cut off all official communication with the magazine.

NFL officials used to use a gunshot to signal the end of a quarter. In 1994 they switched to using a whistle.

The 1967 Velvet Underground album The Velvet Underground & Nico didn’t reach the UK charts until 1994 and peaked in 2013 after Velvet Underground singer Lou Reed died.

Procter & Gamble argued that Pringles were only 42% potato flour, with the rest mostly a slurry of wheat starch, corn and rice flour, and vegetable oil. They made this argument because according to Britain’s 1994 VAT Act, potato products were subject to a 17.5% tax.

From 1994-1999 George Foreman was paid about 40% of the profits on each Foreman grill sold, earning him $4.5M a month in payouts at its peak. In the period it’s estimated he received over $200M, more than he did as a boxer.

George Foreman first became the Heavyweight World Champion in 1973 by knocking out Joe Frazier. In 1994, at 45 years old, he regained the title. After 4 title defenses, he finally lost the title in 1997 just a few months short of his 49th birthday.

Cost of a Superbowl ad in 1994: $900,000

 
The Mystery:
In 1994, Oakville, WA experienced a rainstorm in which gelatinous blobs fell onto a farm. The blobs were examined and found to contain human white blood cells but they did not contain nuclei, which is something human white cells do have. Theories persist, but none have been proven correct.
The Love Letter:
 Johnny Cash wrote a letter to June Carter in 1994 was voted the greatest love letter of all time. They were married from 1968 till June passed away in 2003. Johnny died 4 months later.
Happy Birthday Princess,
We get old and get use to each other. We think alike. We read each others minds. We know what the other wants without asking. Sometimes we irritate each other a little bit. Maybe sometimes take each other for granted. But once in awhile, like today, I meditate on it and realize how lucky I am to share my life with the greatest woman I ever met. You still fascinate and inspire me.You influence me for the better. You’re the object of my desire, the #1 Earthly reason for my existence. I love you very much. 
Happy Birthday Princess. John
The Habit:
Watching ER on NBC.
1st Appearances & 1994’s Most Popular Christmas Gifts, Toys and Presents:
Starting Lineup statuettes, Barbie as Scarlett O’Hara & Ken as Rhett Butler, Barbie as Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz, Blurt!
Popular and Best-selling Books From 1994:
Accident by Danielle Steel
The Bridges of Madison County by Robert James Waller
The Celestine Prophecy by James Redfield
The Chamber by John Grisham
Debt of Honor by Tom Clancy
Disclosure by Michael Crichton
The Gift by Danielle Steel
Gun, With Occasional Music by Jonathan Lethem
The Ice Storm by Rick Moody
Insomnia by Stephen King
Disney’s The Lion King (adapted by) Justine Korman
Politically Correct Bedtime Stories by James Finn Garner
Remember Me by Mary Higgins Clark
Slow Waltz in Cedar Bend by Robert James Waller
Taltos by Anne Rice
Who Will Run the Frog Hospital? by Lorrie Moore
Wings by Danielle Steel
Broadway Show:
Beauty and the Beast (Musical) Opened on April 18, 1994, and closed on July 29, 2007
Grease (Musical) Opened on May 11, 1994, and closed on January 25, 1998 (revival)
Best Film Oscar Winner:
Schindler’s List (presented in 1994)
1994 Entries to The National Film Registry:
The African Queen (released in 1951)
The Apartment (released in 1960)
The Cool World (released in 1963)
A Corner in Wheat (released in 1909)
E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial (released in 1982)
The Exploits of Elaine (released in 1914)
Force of Evil (released in 1948)
Freaks (released in 1932)
Hell’s Hinges (released in 1916)
Hospital (released in 1970)
Invasion of the Body Snatchers (released in 1956)
The Lady Eve (released in 1941)
Louisiana Story (released in 1948)
The Manchurian Candidate (released in 1962)
Marty (released in 1955)
Meet Me in St. Louis (released in 1944)
Midnight Cowboy (released in 1969)
A MOVIE (released in 1958)
Pinocchio (released in 1940)
Safety Last! (released in 1923)
Scarface (released in 1932)
Snow White (released in 1933)
Tabu (released in 1931)
Taxi Driver (released in 1976)
Zapruder Film (released in 1963)
The Big Movies: (according to boxofficemojo)
1. Forrest Gump
2. The Lion King
3. True Lies
4. The Santa Clause
5. The Flintstones
6. Dumb and Dumber
7. Clear and Present Danger
8. Speed
9. The Mask
10. Pulp Fiction
1994 Most Popular TV Shows:
1. Seinfeld (NBC)
2. E.R. (NBC)
3. Home Improvement (ABC)
4. Grace Under Fire (ABC)
5. NYPD Blue (ABC)
6. Murder, She Wrote (CBS)
7. Friends (NBC)
8. Roseanne (ABC)
9. Mad About You (NBC)
10. Madman of the People (NBC)

1994 Billboard Number One Songs:
December 25, 1993  – January 2, 19941:
Hero – Mariah Carey

January 22 – February 11:
All For Love – Bryan Adams/Rod Stewart/Sting

February 12March 11:
Power of Love – Céline Dion

March 12 – April 15:
The Sign – Ace of Base

April 16May 20:
Bump N’ Grind – R. Kelly

May 21August 5:
I Swear – All-4-One

August 6August 26:
Stay (I Missed You) – Lisa Loeb & Nine Stories

August 27December 2:
I’ll Make Love To You – Boyz II Men

December 3, 1994 – January 13, 1995:
On Bended Knee – Boyz II Men

Sports:
World Series Champions: No one…Major League Baseball Players Association was on strike.
Superbowl XXVIII Champions: Dallas Cowboys
NBA Champions: Houston Rockets
Stanley Cup Champs: New York Rangers
U.S. Open Golf Ernie Ells
U.S. Tennis: (Men/Ladies) Andre Agassi/Sanchez Vicario
Wimbledon (Men/Women): Pete Sampras/Conchita Martinez
NCAA Football Champions: Nebraska
NCAA Basketball Champions: Arkansas
Kentucky Derby: Go For Gin
World Cup (Soccer): Brazil