2002 Facts, Fun Trivia and History

2002 Pop Culture History

Quick Facts from 2002:

  • World Changing Event: United States President George W. Bush “Axis of Evil” speech
  • On January 1, Euro banknotes and coins become legal tender in twelve of the European Union’s member states.
  • The Top Song was Lose Yourself by Eminem
  • Influential Songs include: The Rising by Bruce Springsteen, Stole by Kelly Rowland, Cleanin’ Out My Closet by Eminem, A Thousand Miles by Vanessa Carlton, and Sk8er Boi by Avril Lavigne
  • The Movies to Watch include Spider-Man, Barbershop, My Big Fat Greek Wedding, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, Chicago, Lilo & Stitch, and Scooby-Doo
  • The Most Famous Fictional Person in America was probably Spider-Man
  • People Magazine’s Sexiest Man Alive: Ben Affleck
  • Elon Musk founded SpaceX
  • Notable books include: John Adams by David McCullough and The Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren
  • Price of a postage stamp in 2002: 37 cents
    Wendy’s Single burger with cheese: $2.25
    Land O Lakes butter, 1 pound: $3.99
  • The Funny Late Night Host: Jay Leno
  • The Conversation: The Stand by Your Ad provision is a federal act requiring candidates to state “I approved this message” in all political advertisements, to discourage them from making controversial claims or attack ads.
Top Ten Baby Names of 2002:
Emily, Madison, Hannah, Emma, Alexis, Jacob, Michael, Joshua, Matthew, Ethan
Fashion Icons and Sex Symbols:
Jennifer Garner, Angelina Jolie, Gisele Bündchen, Christina Ricci, Debra Messing, Britney Spears, Halle Berry, Faith Hill, Ashanti, Jennifer Aniston, Liv Tyler, Jennifer Love-Hewitt, Selma Blair, Kim Cattrall, Kate Beckinsale, Kylie Minogue, Brittany Murphy, Winona Ryder, Julianne Moore, Christina Applegate, Rebecca Romijn-Stamos, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Sarah Jessica-Parker, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Cameron Diaz, Jennifer Lopez, Gwyneth Paltrow, Jennifer Connelly, Nicole Kidman
The Heartthrob(s):
Brad Pitt, David Beckham, Brad Pitt, Tim McGraw, Russell Crowe, Justin Timberlake, Leonardo DiCaprio, George Clooney, Ashton Kutcher, Justin Timberlake, Ryan Gosling, Adam Levine

“The Quotes”
“My precious.”
– Andy Serkis, Gollum, in Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers

“What happens here, stays here”
– Las Vegas

Time Magazine’s Persons of the Year:
Whistleblowers, Represented by Cynthia Cooper, WorldCom; Coleen Rowley, FBI; and Sherron Watkins, Enron
Miss America:
Katie Harman (Gresham, OR)
Miss USA:
Shauntay Hinton (District of Colombia)

The Scandals:
Michael Jackson dangled Prince Michael II, off a balcony from a Berlin hotel room, earning him the nickname “blanket.”.

Enron’s 2001 surprise bankruptcy was just the beginning when its accounting firm, Arthur Andersen, was implicated in a huge accounting fraud scandal. AA was also dissolved in this scandal.

R & B singer R. Kelly liked to twiddle with underage girls, according to the visual evidence of videos he made.

Winona Ryder was sentenced to three years probation, 480 hours of community service, $3,700 in fines, $6,355 in restitution, and ordered to attend psychological and drug counseling after being found guilty of stealing $5,500 worth of merchandise from Saks Fifth Avenue.

Raelian UFO sect/sex cult scientists announced that they, through their company called Clonaid, had cloned the first human baby. They didn’t.

Pop Star Car Crash Death:
Lisa ‘Left Eye’ Lopes
Beloved TV Character Death:
ER’s Dr. Green, played by Anthony Edwards, while Isreal Kamakawiwo’ole’s Somewhere Over The Rainbow played.
Hip Hop Violent Death:
Jam Master Jay (gunshot)

TV Star Murder?
Robert Blake, best known as TV’s Baretta was charged, then acquitted for murdering his wife, Bonny Lee Bakley.

Ted Williams had his head separated from his body and frozen – he and his children agreed to each have it done so they could once again be together at some point in the future.

Royal Rumor:
Prince Charles had his valet hold the jar for a urine test
NOT a Surprise:
Rosie O’Donnell announced that she was gay

Pop Culture Facts & History:
Steve Fossett finished his non-stop trip around the world via balloon on July 4th. It took him 14 days, 19 hours and 51 minutes.

Muggle” was added to the Oxford English Dictionary in 2003 defined as a person who is lacking a skill. Muggle is also a 1930s jazz slang word for someone who uses cannabis.

Fujitsu made a device called the “iPAD” in 2002. Apple had to pay $4 million to Fujitsu to buy the trademark.

Every car made after 2002 has an “Emergency Release” cable inside the trunk in case of kidnapping.

Claritin, invented as a prescription medication in 1993, became an over-the-counter allergy medicine.

Cost of a Superbowl ad in 2002: $1,900,000

The Master of Disguise, a flop film from 2002, is only 65 minutes long but it includes 15 minutes of end credits in order to qualify as a feature film.

Doomsday Clock:
7 minutes to midnight, according to the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists.
2002: “Concerns regarding a nuclear terrorist attack underscore the enormous amount of unsecured–and sometimes unaccounted for–weapon-grade nuclear materials located throughout the world. Meanwhile, the United States expresses a desire to design new nuclear weapons, with an emphasis on those able to destroy hardened and deeply buried targets. It also rejects a series of arms control treaties and announces it will withdraw from the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty.”
Nobel Prize Winners:
Chemistry – John B. Fenn and Koichi Tanaka, Kurt Wüthrich
Economics – Daniel Kahneman and Vernon L. Smith
Literature – Imre Kertész
Peace – Jimmy Carter
Physics – Raymond Davis Jr. and Masatoshi Koshiba, Riccardo Giacconi
Physiology or Medicine – Sydney Brenner, H. Robert Horvitz, and John E. Sulston
The Habit:
Watching American Idol
2002 Toys inducted to the National Toy Hall of Fame:
Jigsaw puzzle, Raggedy Ann

1st Appearances & 2002’s Most Popular Christmas Gifts, Toys and Presents:
Ugly Dolls, Trivial Pursuit 20th Anniversary Edition

FOX’s American Idol Premiered

Best Film Oscar Winner:
A Beautiful Mind (presented in 2002)
2002 Entries to The National Film Registry:
Alien (released in 1979)
All My Babies (released in 1953)
The Bad and the Beautiful (released in 1952)
Beauty and the Beast (released in 1991)
The Black Stallion (released in 1979)
Boyz N the Hood (released in 1991)
Demolishing and Building Up the Star Theatre (released in 1901)
The Endless Summer (released in 1966)
From Here to Eternity (released in 1953)
From Stump to Ship (released in 1930)
Fuji (released in 1974)
In the Heat of the Night (released in 1967)
Lady Windermere’s Fan (released in 1925)
Melody Ranch (released in 1940)
Navajo Film Themselves (Through Navajo Eyes) (released in 1966)
The Pearl (released in 1948)
Punch Drunks (released in 1934)
Sabrina (released in 1954)
Stranger Than Paradise (released in 1984)
Theodore Case Sound Test: Gus Visser and His Singing Duck (released in 1925)
This Is Cinerama (released in 1952)
This Is Spinal Tap (released in 1984)
Why Man Creates (released in 1968)
Wild and Woolly (released in 1917)
Wild River (released in 1960)
The Big Movies: (according to boxofficemojo)
1. Spider-Man
2. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
3. Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones
4. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
5. My Big Fat Greek Wedding
6. Signs
7. Austin Powers in Goldmember
8. Men In Black II
9. Ice Age
10. Chicago

Broadway Show – Hairspray (Musical) Opened on August 15, 2002 and closed on January 4, 2009

East End Show – We Will Rock You (Musical) Opened on September 25, 2002 and closed on May 31, 2014

East End Show – Stomp (Dance Musical) Opened on September 25, 2002

Broadway Show – Movin’ Out (Dance Musical) Opened on October 24, 2002 and closed on December 11, 2005

2002 Most Popular TV Shows:
1. CSI (CBS)
2. American Idol-Wednesday (Fox)
3. Joe Millionaire (Fox)
4. Friends (NBC)
5. Survivor: Thailand (CBS)
6. ER (NBC)
7. Survivor: Amazon (CBS)
8. Everbody Loves Raymond (CBS)
9. Law & Order (NBC)
10. Monday Night Football (ABC)

2002 Billboard Number One Songs:
December 15, 2001 – January 25, 2002:
U Got It Bad – Usher

January 26February 22:
How You Remind Me – Nickelback

February 23March 8:
Always On Time – Ja Rule featuring Ashanti

March 9April 19:
Ain’t It Funny – Jennifer Lopez featuring Ja Rule

April 20June 28:
Foolish- Ashanti

June 29August 16:
Hot In Herre – Nelly

August 17October 25:
Dilemma – Nelly featuring Kelly Rowland

October 26November 8:
A Moment Like This – Kelly Clarkson

November 9, 2002- January 31, 2003:
Lose Yourself – Eminem

Sports:
World Series Champions: Anaheim Angels
Superbowl XXXVI Champions: New England Patriots
NBA Champions: Los Angeles Lakers
Stanley Cup Champs: Detroit Red Wings
U.S. Open Golf Tiger Woods
U.S. Tennis: (Men/Ladies) Pete Sampras/Serena Williams
Wimbledon (Men/Women): Lleyton Hewitt/Serena Williams
NCAA Football Champions: Ohio State
NCAA Basketball Champions: Maryland
Kentucky Derby: War Emblem
World Cup (Soccer): Brazil