2009 Fun Facts, Trivia and History

2009 Pop Culture History

Quick Facts from 2009:

• World Changing Event: The Bitcoin (BTC) was created. It had virtually zero value in 2009 but peaked at 39 cents in 2010.
• 10,000 BTC were used to buy 2 Papa John Pizzas.
• The Top Song was I Gotta Feeling by The Black Eyed Peas
• Influential Songs include: The Fear by Lily Allen, I Dreamed A Dream by Susan Boyle, The Climb by Miley Cyrus, and Chasing Pavements by Adele
• The Movies to Watch include Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, The Hurt Locker, Avatar, Up, Watchmen, Sherlock Holmes, and District 9
• The Most Famous Person in America was probably Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger
• People Magazine’s Sexiest Man Alive: Johnny Depp
• Notable books include: The Help by Kathryn Stockett and Freakonomics by Stephen Dubner and Steven Levitt
• Price of an Element MP3 player, 4GB: $39.99
  Apple iPod Nano: $149.00
  Minimum Wage in 2009: $7.25 per hour*
  *some states higher
• The Funny Guy was: Larry the Cable Guy
  The Funny Late Night Host (1/2 year): Conan O’Brien
• The Viral Video: JK Wedding Entrance Dance… The wedding procession for Jill Peterson and Kevin Heinz of St. Paul, Minnesota, was choreographed to the song Forever by Chris Brown.
• After 74 years of production, Kodak stopped selling 35mm color film in 2009.
• Rare Video Game: Mean Girls on DS, a game based on a movie starring Lindsay Lohan.
• The Conversion Rate: Singer Lily Allen turned down 200,000 in Bitcoins for a gig in 2009, about $2,000 (1 cent each) in cash value then. As of November 2017, it was worth over $1.3 Billion. (current value)

“The Quotes:”
“If you like your doctor, you will be able to keep your doctor. Period. If you like your health care plan, you will be able to keep your health care plan. Period. No one will take it away. No matter what.”
-Barack Obama

“You guys might not know this, but I consider myself a bit of a loner. I tend to think of myself as a one-man wolf pack. But when my sister brought Doug home, I knew he was one of my own. And my wolf pack… it grew by one. So there… there were two of us in the wolf pack… I was alone first in the pack, and then Doug joined in later. And six months ago, when Doug introduced me to you guys, I thought, “Wait a second, could it be?” And now I know for sure, I just added two more guys to my wolf pack. Four of us wolves, running around the desert together, in Las Vegas, looking for strippers and cocaine. So tonight, I make a toast!”
– Alan, from The Hangover

The Scandals:
Miley Cyrus almost had to dish out $4,000 to every Asian and Pacific Islander living in Los Angeles County in 2009. A racial discrimination lawsuit was filed by Lucie J. Kim claiming a picture of the singer pulling back her eyelids had broken the law. It was dismissed by the judge.

Golfer Tiger Woods allegedly took part in extramarital affairs with up to ten women including Playboy model Loredana Jolie and porn star Holly Sampson.

Chris Brown’s battery charges against Rihanna and the shocking picture of her black eye that surfaced on the internet.

Richard and Mayumi Heene of Fort Collins, Colorado claimed their 6-year-old child was trapped inside a gas balloon that floated up to altitudes of 7,000 feet. The incident received mass media attention but turned out to be a hoax.

Kanye West did not let Taylor Swift finish at the MTV VMA awards and interrupted her during her acceptance speech.

Michael Jackson, The King of Pop, died while preparing for a series of concerts. Prosecutors continue to question Jackson’s doctor, Conrad Murry, about whether or not he prescribed Jackson a fatal dosage of Propofol.

Presidents Obama(USA) and Sarkozy (France) noticed a young woman. French presidents are known for ‘noticing’ pretty young women, but American presidents normally don’t get photographed in such positions.

Pop Culture Facts:
Inventions included Foldable Speakers and  Bladeless Fans.

Melissa and her husband Jackson Brandts were exploring Lake Minnewanka in Banff National Park, Canada, when a ground squirrel photobombed their timed picture.

Cost of a Superbowl ad in 2009: $3,000,000

East End Show – Thriller – Live (revival) Opened on January 26, 2009

Broadway Show – Rock of Ages (Musical) Opened on April 7, 2009 and Closed: January 18, 2015

Broadway Show – Memphis (Musical) Opened on October 19, 2009 and Closed: August 5, 2012