2005 Fun Facts, Trivia and History

2005 Fun Facts, Trivia and History

Quick Facts from 2005:

  • World Changing Event: Youtube was founded
  • The Top Song was We Belong Together by Mariah Carey
  • The Movies to Watch include Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Walk the Line and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
  • The Most Famous Person in America was probably
  • Notable books include: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson
  • Price of a gallon of gas in 2005: $2.34
    Tylenol Extra Strength tablets: $1.99/24
  • 1 ounce of gold value: $513.00
  • The Funny Late Night Host: Jay Leno
    The Funny Late Late Night Host: Craig Ferguson
  • Charlie the Unicorn is a 2005 animated comedy short film and viral video series created by Jason Steele in Orlando, Florida.
  • One Red Paperclip is the story of Canadian blogger Kyle MacDonald, who traded his way from a single red paperclip to a house in a series of fourteen online trades over 2005/2006.
  • The Conversation: Which was better? 2005’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory or 1971’s Willy Wonka?
Year of the Rooster
The year of the rooster is one of the 12 years in the Chinese zodiac cycle. The rooster is the tenth animal in the cycle.
The years of the rooster include: 1933, 1945, 1957, 1969, 1981, 1993, 2005, 2017, 2029, 2041, 2053, and 2065
The year of the rooster is associated with punctuality, honesty, and hard work. People born in the year of the rooster are said to be confident, hardworking, and have a good sense of timekeeping. They are also reliable, trustworthy, and have a strong sense of responsibility. 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 punctual and are often early for appointments. 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 flamboyant and enjoy the spotlight.
Top Ten Baby Names of 2005:
Emily, Emma, Madison, Abigail, Olivia, Jacob, Michael, Joshua, Matthew, Ethan
Fashion Icons and Sex Symbols:
Gisele Bündchen, Heidi Klum, Victoria Beckham, Jennifer Aniston, Jessica Alba, Angelina Jolie, Keira Knightly, Jessica Simpson, Lindsay Lohan, Mischa Barton, Charlize Theron, Kate Hudson, Nicole Kidman, Halle Berry, Cate Blanchette, Marcia Cross, Salma Hayek, Reese Witherspoon, Naomi Watts, Nicole Richie, Teri Hatcher, Eva Longoria, Paris Hilton, Gwen Stefani, Gwyneth Paltrow, Sienna Miller
The Heartthrob(s):
Matthew McConaughey, George Clooney, Terrence Howard, Anderson Cooper, Chris Evans, Tim McGraw, Denzel Washington, Justin Timberlake, Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson, Christian Bale, David Beckham, Joaquin Phoenix, Leonardo DiCaprio, Russell Crowe, Jude Law, Hugh Laurie, Johnny Depp, Brad Pitt
“The Quote:”
“I’m the decider”
– President George W. Bush
Time Magazine’s Person of the Year:
Good Samaritans, Represented by Bono, Bill Gates, and Melinda Gates
Miss America:
Diedre Downs (Birmingham, AL)
Miss USA:
Chelsea Cooley (North Carolina)

The Scandals:
Minnesota Vikings boat cruise scandal, in which several players including Fred Smoot, Lance Johnstone, Daunte Culpepper, Mewelde Moore, Darren Sharper, Koren Robinson, Bryant McKinnie, Ralph Brown, Travis Taylor, Moe Williams, Jermaine Wiggins and Zygi Wilf allegedly performed lewd acts on a boat cruise on Lake Minnetonka.

Robert Blake, star of the 70s detective series “Baretta”, was acquitted of his wife’s murder in 2005 after a contentious 4-year legal drama. He was, however, found liable by a civil suit brought by his children.

In 2005, McDonald’s had an ad campaign saying “I’d hit it” about a double cheeseburger, not knowing the slang meant they wanted to have sex with the cheeseburger.

A woman falsely claimed she found a finger in her food at Wendy’s. The fast-food chain suffered an estimated $21 million in lost business. She later revealed, she cooked the finger at her home and then drove it to Wendy’s restaurant in San Jose, where she dropped it into the food.

Albert Gonzalez is an American computer hacker and computer criminal who is accused of masterminding the combined credit card theft and subsequent reselling of more than 170 million card and ATM numbers from 2005 to 2007: the biggest such fraud in history.

Brad Pitt left Jennifer Aniston for Angelina Jolie

December 12, 2005 – Dina and Michael Lohan officially divorced

Tom Cruise ‘Jumped The Couch” on Oprah while expressing how much he loved Katie Holmes.

Michael Schaivo successfully sued to have his brain-damaged wife Terri’s feeding tube removed.

Natalee Holloway disappeared in Aruba.
(Spoiler :Joran van der Sloot did it.)

Duluth, Georgia’s ‘Runaway Bride’ Jennifer Wilbanks came clean to the FBI about her faked kidnapping story.

England’s Prince Harry went to a costume party dressed as a Nazi.

Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans. Many people on both political sides and up and down the political power tree made mistakes. 

Celebrity RIP:
Mitch Hedberg died of a cocaine and heroin drug overdose. His death was formally announced on April 1, 2005, leading some to believe it was an April Fools’ Day joke.
Writer Death by Suicide:
Hunter S. Thompson
US Politics:
January 20, 2005 (Thursday) Second inauguration of George W. Bush

Pop Culture Facts & History:
The fasted whack with a Badminton racket was by Fu Haifeng, clocking at 206 MPH.

When Halle Berry won a Worst Actor Razzie Award for her role in Catwoman, she showed up in person to collect the award. She spoke while holding her 2002 Academy Award from Monster’s Ball in one hand and the Razzie in the other.

Danni Boatwright won Survivor: Guatemala

On January 14, 2005, the Cassini spacecraft landed the Huygens probe on the surface of Saturn’s moon, Titan. It is the first probe to land on a surface in the outer solar system, the farthest any man-made spacecraft has landed.

The term “flip phone” was a Motorola trademark until 2005.

The Jeopardy! “Think!” theme was composed by the show’s creator Merv Griffin in less than a minute as a lullaby for his son. By 2005, he had made over $70 million dollars in royalties from that song, the equivalent of a Jeopardy contestant winning every game for about a decade.

Leonardo Da Vinci’s Salvator Mundi was sold at a New Orleans art gallery for $10,000 in 2005 and ended up selling for $450,000,000 in 2017. It’s the most expensive painting ever sold.

In 2005, the Temple of the Jedi Order was registered in Texas. It was granted an IRS tax exemption in 2015.

There is over $45 billion on unused gift cards floating around since 2005

New Jersey made the tomato their state vegetable in 2005, justifying the decision with an 1893 ruling by the Supreme Court that although tomatoes are actually fruits, they would be legally considered vegetables.

The longest-lived domestic cat was named Creme Puff. She lived from August 3, 1967, to August 6, 2005, a span of 38 years and 3 days.

In 2005 graffiti artist David Choe was offered $60K to paint multiple murals at Facebook headquarters. He chose to take his compensation in stock which was eventually worth more than $200 million in 2020.

Eric James Torpy was convicted of shooting with intent to kill and robbery. He asked that his sentence be changed from 30 years’ imprisonment to 33 so that it would match Larry Bird’s jersey number. His request was granted.

On April 1st, 2005, NASA pulled an April Fool’s prank telling the world that they had found water on Mars.

When the results began coming in from the March 30, 2005 Powerball drawing, lottery officials suspected fraud was underway because 110 players claimed second prizes of $100,000 or $500,000. All 110 players and the jackpot winner got their numbers from fortune cookies.

Doug Heckman read the EULA before he installed some PC software. The agreement included a clause offering ‘financial compensation’ to licensees who actually read the license agreement. He emailed the company, referred to the clause and the company sent him a check for $1,000

In 2005 Manhattan was home to both the lowest-income ($9,320 household income) and the highest-income ($188,697 household income) census tract in the USA.

Sichuan pepper, commonly used in Chinese cuisine, was banned in the US until 2005.

In 2005 there were so many tropical storms and hurricanes in the Atlantic that we ran out of names and had to start using the Greek alphabet. The last Hurricane was Epsilon (December), while the last tropical storm was Zeta (January). Countless records were broken during this season.

Gene Greytak was a real estate broker who moonlighted as an actor, but he only played and made personal appearances as Pope John Paul II. If you saw the Pope in a movie or on a sitcom before 2005, it was Gene.

Since 2005 it has been illegal to carry more than five dollars worth of pennies and nickels outside of the United States when traveling (due to people melting them down for copper).

In 2005 the Emergency Alert System mistakenly issued an immediate evacuation order for all of Connecticut. 63% of residents surveyed after the incident said they had been “a little or not at all concerned” by the vague message; 1% admitted to taking it seriously and trying to flee the state.

The term “Cyber Monday” was created and coined by Ellen Davis from the Nation Retail Federation, and Scott Silverman on November 28, 2005, after a study revealed that online retailers experienced a surge in sales the Monday after Thanksgiving.

Stephen Hawking wrote a sequel to A Brief History of Time in 2005 called A Briefer History of Time with only 176 pages. The book was updated with newly discovered topics and informs of recurring subjects throughout the book in greater detail

Ted Koppel retired from Nightline on November 22

Dan rather retired from the CBS Evening News on March 9. #Courage

Mark Felt, a 92-year-old retired FBI agent was revealed to be 1972’s “Deep Throat” who helped take down the Nixon presidency.

Ashton Kutcher and Demi Moore got married on September 24.

England’s Prince Charles married long-time flame, Camilla Parker Bowles.

Heidi Klum and Seal were married on May 10

Cost of a Superbowl ad in 2005: $2,400,000

The Habits:
Sudoku, YouTube, MySpace, Facebook opened up for High School students in September 2005.
Watching Penguins and/or Grey’s Anatomy
Supersized Sunglasses

Splitsville:
Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston (Homewrecker: Angelina Jolie)
Jessica Simpson and Nick Lachey (mutual)
Kenny Chesney and Renee Zellweger (annulled 4 months after the marriage)
Jude Law and Sienna Miller (His affair with the nanny, we hear)

No Surprise Here:
Mary Kay Letourneau (formerly Schmitz; January 30, 1962 – July 6, 2020) married just-turned-21 Vili Fualaau, the student she met (and had sex with) when he was 12.
Nobel Prize Winners:
Chemistry – Robert Grubbs, Richard Schrock, and Yves Chauvin
Economics – Robert J. Aumann, and Thomas Schelling
Literature – Harold Pinter
Peace – Mohamed ElBaradei
Physics – Roy J. Glauber, John L. Hall, and Theodor W. Hänsch
Physiology or Medicine – Robin Warren, and Barry Marshall
2005 Toys inducted to the National Toy Hall of Fame:
Candy Land, Cardboard box, Jack-in-the-box
1st Appearances & 2005’s Most Popular Christmas Gifts, Toys and Presents:
Webkinz plush animals, Barbie as Harley Quinn
Lindsay Lohan, Hilary Duff, Destiny’s Child, and Raven-Symoné dolls
Broadway Shows:
Spamalot (Musical) Opened on March 17, 2005, and closed on January 11, 2009
The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (Musical) Opened on May 2, 2005, and closed on January 20, 2008
East End Shows:
Billy Elliot the Musical (Musical) Opened on May 11, 2005, and closed on April 9, 2016
Jersey Boys (Musical) Opened on November 6, 2005, and closed on January 15, 2017
Best Film Oscar Winner:
Million Dollar Baby (Presented in 2006)
2005 Entries to The National Film Registry:
Baby Face (released in 1933)
The Buffalo Creek Flood: An Act of Man (released in 1975)
The Cameraman (released in 1928)
Commandment Keeper Church, Beaufort, South Carolina (May 1940) (released in 1940)
Cool Hand Luke (released in 1967)
Fast Times at Ridgemont High (released in 1982)
The French Connection (released in 1971)
Giant (released in 1956)
H2O (released in 1929)
Hands Up! (released in 1926)
Hoop Dreams (released in 1994)
House of Usher (released in 1960)
Imitation of Life (released in 1934)
Jeffries-Johnson World’s Championship Boxing Contest (released in 1910)
The Making of an American (released in 1920)
Miracle on 34th Street (released in 1947)
Mom and Dad (released in 1944)
The Music Man (released in 1962)
The Power of the Press (released in 1928)
A Raisin in the Sun (released in 1961)
The Rocky Horror Picture Show (released in 1975)
San Francisco Earthquake and Fire, April 18, (released in 1906)
The Sting (released in 1973)
A Time for Burning (released in 1966)
Toy Story (released in 1995)
The Big Movies: (according to boxofficemojo)
1. Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
2. The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe
3. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
4. War of the Worlds
5. King Kong
6. Wedding Crashers
7. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
8. Batman Begins
9. Madagascar
10. Mr. & Mrs. Smith
2005 Most Popular TV Shows:
1. American Idol (Fox)
2. CSI (CBS)
3. Desperate Housewives (ABC)
4. Grey’s Anatomy (ABC)
5. Without a Trace (CBS)
6. Dancing With the Stars (ABC)
7. Survivor: Guatemala (CBS)
8. CSI: Miami (CBS)
9. House (Fox)
10. Survivor: Panama (CBS)

2005 Billboard Number One Songs:
January 1, 2005 – March 4:
Let Me Love You – Mario

March 5May 6:
Candy Shop – 50 Cent featuring Olivia

May 7June 3:
Hollaback Girl – Gwen Stefani

June 4July 2:
We Belong Together – Mariah Carey

July 2 – July 8:
Inside Your Heaven – Carrie Underwood

July 9September 9:
We Belong Together – Mariah Carey

September 10 – November 25:
Gold Deggir – Kanye West featuring Jamie Foxx

November 26 – December 29:
Run It! – Chris Brown

December 30, 2005 – January 13, 2006:
Don’t Forget About Us – Mariah Carey

Sports:
World Series Champions: Chicago White Sox
Superbowl XXXIX Champions: New England Patriots
NBA Champions: San Antonio Spurs
Stanley Cup Champs: none
U.S. Open Golf Michael Campbell
U.S. Tennis: (Men/Ladies) Roger Federer/Justine Henin-Hardenne
Wimbledon (Men/Women): Roger Federer/Venus Williams
NCAA Football Champions: Texas
NCAA Basketball Champions: North Carolina
Kentucky Derby: Giacomo