2012 Pop Culture History |
Quick Facts from 2012:
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Top Ten Baby Names of 2012: Sophia, Emma, Isabella, Olivia, Ava, Jacob, Mason, Ethan, Noah, William |
The Hotties and Fashion Icons: Mila Kunis, Lea Michele, Scarlett Johansson, Katy Perry, Jennifer Lawrence, Olivia Munn, Emma Stone, Megan Fox, Emma Watson, Malin Ackerman, Rosie Huntington-Whitely, Olivia Wilde |
The Heartthrob(s): Chris Evans, Ryan Lochte, Stephen Amell, Tom Hardy, Justin Timberlake, Robert Pattinson, Hugh Laurie, Christian Bale, Adam Levine |
Fresh Faces: Rita Ora, Frank Ocean |
“The Quotes:” “Puny god” “The ‘D’ is silent.” |
Time Magazine’s Person of the Year: Barack Obama |
Miss America: Laura Kaeppeler |
Miss USA: Olivia Culpo (Miss Universe), Nana Meriwether |
The Scandals: Most of the millions of fans who were watching her back up Madonna disagreed. When sued by the NFL for $1.5 million, she defended herself by saying that it was no big deal since there were young, provocative cheerleaders also performing. Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) blackout as the largest protest in the history of the internet, so far. The Mesoamerican Long Count calendar reached the date 13.0.0.0.0 on December 21, 2012. Many people thought that this would be the end of the world. |
The Terrible: 28 people, including 20 children, were shot to death at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut |
Pop Culture History: Stephen Hawking won the $3 million Fundamental Physics Prize, the most lucrative academic prize in the world Google’s Gmail became the world’s most popular email service Voyager 1 spacecraft, launched in 1977, passed the heliopause, entering interstellar space. (The heliopause is the theoretical boundary where the Sun’s solar wind is stopped by the interstellar medium; where the solar wind’s strength is no longer great enough to push back the stellar winds of the surrounding stars.) Walt Disney purchased Lucasfilm Ltd and its rights for Star Wars and Indiana Jones for $4.05 billion Russian scientists regenerated Silene stenophylla (a flower) from a 31,800 year old group of cells, a record for regeneration. Edvard Munch’s famous painting ‘The Scream’ sold at auction for $119,922,500. Hurricane Sandy made landfall in New Jersey resulting in 110 deaths and $50 billion in damage and forces the New York stock exchange to close In March, Wendy’s overtook Burger King to become the second best selling hamburger chain. For the first time since 1977 no Pulitzer Prize is awarded for fiction. ‘Call of Duty: Black Ops 2’ grossed $500 million in 24 hours to become the biggest entertainment launch of all time |
Doomsday Clock: 5 minutes to midnight, according to the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists. 2012: “The challenges to rid the world of nuclear weapons, harness nuclear power, and meet the nearly inexorable climate disruptions from global warming are complex and interconnected. In the face of such complex problems, it is difficult to see where the capacity lies to address these challenges.” Political processes seem wholly inadequate; the potential for nuclear weapons use in regional conflicts in the Middle East, Northeast Asia, and South Asia are alarming; safer nuclear reactor designs need to be developed and built, and more stringent oversight, training, and attention are needed to prevent future disasters; the pace of technological solutions to address climate change may not be adequate to meet the hardships that large-scale disruption of the climate portends. |
The Habits: Playing Call of Duty: Black Ops 2, Dancing to PSY’s “Gangnam Style, Reading Fifty Shades of Gray by E.L. James or The Hunger Games (Trilogy) by Suzanne Collins |
2012 Toys inducted to the National Toy Hall of Fame: Star Wars action figures, Dominoes |
Broadway Show – Once (Musical) Opened on March 18, 2012 and Closed: January 4, 2015 Broadway Show – Newsies (Musical) Opened on March 29, 2012 and Closed: August 24, 2014 |
Best Film Oscar Winner: The Artist (presented in 2102) |
The Number One Hits Of 2012: November 12, 2011 – January 6, 2012: Rihanna featuring Calvin Harris – We Found Love January 7, 2012 – February 3, 2012: February 4, 2012 – February 17, 2012: February 18, 2012 – March 2, 2012: March 3, 2012 – March 16, 2012: March 17, 2012 – April 27, 2012: April 28, 2012 – June 22, 2012: June 23, 2012 – August 24, 2012: August 25, 2012 – August 31, 2012: September 1, 2012 – September 28, 2012: September 29, 2012 – November 30, 2012: December 1, 2012 – December 21, 2012: December 22, 2012 – February 1, 2013: |
2012 Entries to The National Film Registry: 3:10 to Yuma (released in 1957) Anatomy of a Murder (released in 1959) The Augustas (released in 1930s/1950s) Born Yesterday (released in 1950) Breakfast at Tiffany’s (released in 1961) A Christmas Story (released in 1983) Corbett-Fitzsimmons Title Fight (released in 1897) Dirty Harry (released in 1971) Hours for Jerome: Parts 1 and 2 (released in 1980-82) Kidnapper’s Foil (released in 1930s) A League of Their Own (released in 1992) The Matrix (released in 1999) The Middleton Family at the New York World’s Fair (released in 1939) One Survivor Remembers (released in 1995) Parable (released in 1964) Samsara: Death and Rebirth in Cambodia (released in 1990) Slacker (released in 1991) Sons of the Desert (released in 1933) The Spook Who Sat by the Door (released in 1973) They Call It Pro Football (released in 1966) The Times of Harvey Milk (released in 1984) Two-Color Kodachrome Test Shots No. III (released in 1922) Two-Lane Blacktop (released in 1971) Uncle Tom’s Cabin (released in 1914) The Wishing Ring: an Idyll of Old England (released in 1914) |
The Big Movies: (according to boxofficemojo) 1. Marvel’s The Avengers 2. The Dark Knight Rises 3. The Hunger Games 4. Skyfall 5. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey 6. The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2 7. The Amazing Spider-Man 8. Brave 9. Ted 10. Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted |
Sports: World Series Champions: San Francisco Giants Superbowl Champions: New York Giants NBA Champions: Oklahoma City Thunder Stanley Cup Champs: Los Angeles Kings U.S. Open Golf: Webb Simpson U.S. Tennis: (Men/Ladies): Andy Murray/Serena Williams Wimbledon (Men/Women): Roger Federer/Serena Williams NCAA Football Champions: North Dakota State NCAA Basketball Champions: Kentucky Kentucky Derby: I’ll Have Another |