That ’90s Quiz

Question: Appealing to young voters, in 1992 then-presidential candidate Bill Clinton played what instrument on The Arsenio Hall Show?

Answer: Donning black sunglasses, Arkansas Gov. Bill Clinton sat in with Arsenio’s band and played a rendition of Elvis Presley’s “Heartbreak Hotel.”

Question: A look tried out by millions of people, which of the following was a widely imitated haircut from the sitcom Friends?

Answer: Jennifer Aniston, who played Rachel Green, did not care for the Rachel, saying it was difficult to maintain and “the ugliest haircut I’ve ever seen.” Despite being a ’90s cultural phenomenon, Aniston only sported the Rachel for a little more than two of Friends’ ten seasons.

Question: Despite suffering an assault to her leg just a month before the games, which of these ice skaters took the silver medal at the 1994 Winter Olympics?

Answer: The attack orchestrated by the husband of rival ice skater Tonya Harding left Nancy Kerrigan with a severely bruised knee and quadriceps tendon. Kerrigan missed the U.S. figure skating championship held that month, but she went on to win the silver medal the following month in Lillehammer, Norway.

Question: In 1990 George H.W. Bush declared, “I’m president of the United States, and I’m not going to eat any more” what?

Answer: During a slow news cycle, the press took notice of President Bush banishing broccoli from Air Force One. When asked about it, Bush said he never liked the vegetable as a child and certainly wouldn’t eat it now that he was the leader of the free world. Broccoli vendors reported a 10 percent spike in sales thanks to the presidential publicity.

Question: What popular toy was banned from the National Security Agency offices for fear that it could be used to eavesdrop?

Answer: Despite assurances from the president of Tiger Electronics that the talking toy had no recording capability, in 1999 the NSA insisted on a ban, requiring employees to leave their Furbies at home.

Question: What actor made headlines as the first to receive $20 million for a single role?

Answer: Jim Carrey saw a lot of success in the 1990s, starring in hits like Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, The Mask, and Batman Forever. Columbia Studios agreed to pay him a record-breaking $20 million to act in 1996’s The Cable Guy. Today that is still more or less the standard for many A-list actors.

Question: One of the longest runs atop the chart, which of these songs spent 14 weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1996?

Answer: Only four songs have spent more time at number one on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart than the dance sensation by Los Del Rio. The song and its relatively-easy-to-replicate dance took the United States by storm; in 1996 the U.S. Olympic women’s gymnastics team as well as delegates at the Democratic National Convention could be seen doing the Macarena.

Question: Surpassing Roger Maris’s single-season record, Mark McGwire and what other player each hit more than 62 home runs in 1998?

Answer: Roger Maris’s home run record stood from 1961 until 1998, when two players, Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa, were able to topple it. McGwire was the first to hit 62 but then hit a slump, allowing Sosa to briefly take the lead. McGwire then regained his stride, finishing the season with 70 homers to Sosa’s 66. Years later McGwire admitted to using steroids, and, while Sosa maintains that he did not, neither were voted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Question: During a ubiquitous “Got Milk?” ad, a mouthful of peanut butter left a history buff unable to say whose name?

Answer: In the commercial, which debuted in October 1993, a lack of milk leaves a history buff unable to answer “Who shot Alexander Hamilton in that famous duel?” and causes him to lose out on $10,000. The ad was directed by a fresh-out-of-school Michael Bay, who went on to make such movies as Bad Boys, Armageddon, and Transformers.

Question: O.J. Simpson rode in what vehicle during his infamous low-speed police chase?

Answer: Simpson and former teammate Al Cowlings led police on a 60-mph chase in a white Ford Bronco, seen live by 95 million people across the U.S. Although sales increased after the chase, Ford discontinued the Bronco for unrelated reasons two years later.

Question: Amazon.com launched in 1994, originally selling only what product?

Answer: Founder Jeff Bezos chose books as Amazon’s initial merchandise because he felt it would best emphasize the advantages of an online store. A brick-and-mortar bookseller could not offer millions of titles in one place like Amazon could. The online retailer expanded to products beyond books in 1998 and first turned a profit in 2001.

Question: Which hall-of-fame athlete retired from his primary sport in 1993 to play minor league baseball?

Answer: Michael Jordan stepped away from basketball during his prime at age 31 to embark on a new challenge. He signed with the Birmingham Barons, an affiliate of the Chicago White Sox. When Major League Baseball players went on strike in 1994, Jordan returned to basketball rather than cross the picket line.

Question: The first major international crisis of the post-Cold War era, the Persian Gulf War started in August 1990, when Iraq invaded what country?

Answer: A U.S.-led coalition began using force to expel Iraq from Kuwait in January 1991. By the end of February, Iraq agreed to accept all UN resolutions regarding the conflict, including divesting itself of weapons of mass destruction. The question of whether these WMDs existed would factor heavily in the lead-up to the Iraq War (2003–11).

Question: The epicenter of ’90s grunge music, what city was home to Nirvana, Pearl Jam, and Soundgarden?

Answer: When Nirvana’s Nevermind displaced Michael Jackson’s Dangerous at the top of the Billboard chart in 1992, the recording industry became infatuated with all things Seattle. According to one music publication’s estimate, bands in the American Northwest were being signed to record deals at a rate of one a week.

Question: In 1996 what computer made headlines by defeating chess world champion Gary Kasparov?

Answer: In 1996 Deep Blue beat Kasparov once but ended up losing the overall match. During a rematch the following year, Deep Blue won twice and tied three times, winning the match. Various artificial intelligences have gone on to defeat professional poker players as well as champions of the board game go.

Question: On which of these ’90s sitcoms would you frequently hear someone ask “Got any cheese?”

Answer: “Did I do that?” Steve Urkel, played by Jaleel White, was the brilliant-but-bungling cheese-loving neighbor to the Winslow family during the nine-season run of Family Matters. Urkel was originally intended as a guest role, but White’s nerdy charm immediately won over audiences.

Question: The highest-grossing film of the ’90s, what movie was number one at the box office for 15 weeks in 1997–98?

Answer: For a not-too-brief time during the late ’90s, Titanic was “king of the world,” raking in a then-record $1.8 billion worldwide ($600 million domestically, also a record). A critical and commercial success, Titanic is one of a handful of number-one box office draws to win the best picture Oscar.

Question: Fill in the blank of this Bill Clinton impeachment testimony quote: “It depends on what the meaning of the word _____ is.”

Answer: Even many of Clinton’s supporters considered his impeachment testimony evasive. The U.S. House of Representatives approved two articles of impeachment, for perjury and obstruction of justice regarding his sexual relationship with a White House intern. The Senate acquitted him of the charges.

Question: Nicknamed for his ability to keep criminal charges from sticking, what “Teflon Don” was finally convicted in 1992?

Answer: John Gotti was eventually convicted on 13 charges, including murder and racketeering, thanks to the testimony of underboss Salvatore (“Sammy the Bull”) Gravano. In 2002 Gotti died in prison, and in 2020 Gravano started a Mafia podcast.

Question: Debuting in 1991, what video game character’s red shoes were inspired by Michael Jackson’s Bad album cover?

Answer: Sonic creator Naoto Ohshima said the red-on-white contrast on Jackson’s bestseller influenced the hedgehog’s footwear.