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About This Quiz
The year of 1999 was filled with tragedy. John F. Kennedy Jr., his wife and his sister were lost at sea after their aircraft disappeared off the coast of Massachusetts. Columbine High School became one of the most notable school shootings in the United States. Kosovo was torn apart by war, while Turkey was rattled with an earthquake that killed more than 15,000 people. Despite all the bad things that happened in the 365 days of 1999, there are also a number of good things that came from the turn of the century.Â
Technology was one of the things that saw a lot of monumental changes. With the production of Nokia cellphones, handheld devices were becoming more popular than ever. Computers were getting smaller and becoming more accessible to the general public. Floppy disks were a common sight to see, and many people met the familiar drone of dial-up internet on a daily basis. With the bad came the good, and 1999 was no exception.Â
If the thought of pixelated phone games and "The Nanny" bring on feelings of intense nostalgia, then this is the quiz for you. Let's see just how much you can recall about the year before the 2000s took over!
External hard drive
USB flash drive
Optical discs
Floppy disk
Floppy disks were used much like the external hard drives used today. They could provide a user with a means to back up their computer, as well as transfer data from one location to another.
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Nokia 3310
In addition to their supreme ability to handle falls and excessive wear, the Nokia 3310 was one of the first of its kind to attract a younger market. With the color-changing covers, mobile game and early picture messaging options, it was a top choice among teens and young adults.
Motorola Timeport
Ericsson R290
Siemens C25
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Tic-Tac-Toe
Hangman
Snake
First released in 1997, "Snake" was a popular pre-installed game on most Nokia brand mobile devices. As it stands, it is estimated that the game has been installed on over 350 million devices around the world.
Solitaire
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"7th Heaven"
"All That"
"Home Improvement"
The popular sitcom, "Home Improvement," was on-air for almost 8 years between 1991 and 1999. Starring Tim Allen, the show is said to have been the launching pad for Pamela Anderson's "acting" career.
"Angel"
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Return on time
Rewind
Before the creation of Netflix and other video-streaming services, movies were watched on VHS tapes. Some of the movies released on VHS in 1999 include "Antz", "101 Dalmatians" and "Mighty Joe Young."
I'm fragile
Look inside
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Digital projector
Smartboard
Overhead projector
Overhead projectors enabled educators and presenters to write and draw things at a normal size and then project it up onto a screen that made things appear bigger. Towards the '90s, these were made so they could be attached to a computer output.
Chalkboard
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Record over music tapes
Burn CDs
Burning CDs became possible with the creation of the CD-RW, which stands for Compact Disc-ReWritable. Anyone with a modern enough computer was able to load their favorite songs on the disk and then take it anywhere.
Download MP3s and email them
Swap vinyl records
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Telenet
CompuServe
Prodigy
AOL
At one point, AOL was a large contender in the internet servicing business. Nowadays, people are still able to get their internet service through AOL, with more than 2 million rural subscribers using it for dial-up service.
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Internet routers
Dial-up modems
Dial-up modems used to be a common way to connect to the Internet. They worked by dialing a phone number that belonged to an Internet Service Provider, which would then connect the device.
Bluetooth devices
Landline telephones
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"The West Wing"
"The Sopranos"
"Futurama"
"Friends"
The popular series, "Friends," was on the air until 2004 and ran for an astounding 10 seasons. When it finished, there had been a total of 236 episodes in the series, and it's still a staple to American television today.
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Mail-order encyclopedias
Encarta encyclopedias
Encarta encyclopedias were created by the Microsoft Corporation. They began as a CD-ROM that was pre-populated with digital encyclopedias that could be viewed on any computer they were loaded onto.
Google
Ask Jeeves
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8-Track player
Sony Walkman
Sony Walkmans were the go-to device to listen to portable music. By the end of 1999, there had been over 186 million of the devices sold. Production stopped on the devices in 2010, as they grew obsolete with the changing music formats of the 21st century.
Generation I iPod
Zune
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Printing directions from MapQuest
MapQuest was first introduced to the public in 1996, making it the first commercial online mapping service of its kind. It was bought by AOL in 2000 and then sold to Verizon Media, its current owner, in 2016.
Having an in-car GPS
Using your mobile device
Google Maps
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"Fight Club"
"Being John Malkovich"
"The Sixth Sense"
"The Matrix"
Released on March 31st, 1999, "The Matrix" hit the screens and captured the attention of many. The iconic movie went on to win four Oscars, including Best Film Editing and Best Sound.
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A bouquet of dahlias
A CD player
A pager
A disposable camera
Before the advent of digital cameras, disposable cameras were a quick and convenient way for people to capture memories without the price of an expensive device. They were common at weddings to encourage guests to take pictures of their own.
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A car stereo
A boombox
Boomboxes were a popular choice for events that required loud music. The bulky music players were able to play cassette tapes, CDs and be used to tune into AM and FM radio stations.
Dolby Surround Sound system
Bluetooth speaker
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Cars would stop running.
Computers would stop working.
Also known as the Year 2000 Problem and the Millennium Bug, Y2K was an occurrence at the beginning of the 21st century that caused computers to not recognize the difference between 2000 and 1900. It ended up being much ado about nothing, as programming fixes were installed far ahead of time.
Stock markets would collapse.
Hospitals would lose power.
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City Pages
DexKnows
Yellow Pages
Prior to search engines, people used to use phone books to find the contact information for local businesses. Yellow Pages began in 1999 and is still functioning, but it is getting away from printing physical phone books.
Hibu
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Movie King
Redbox
Rental Palace
Blockbuster
Blockbuster used to be at the top of the movie rental business. However, in 2017 the majority of their stores were all but shut down. The single Blockbuster left is located in Bend, Oregon.
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Nintendo cartridges
The first iteration of the Nintendo Entertainment System was released in 1985 and maintained popularity into the late 90s. Some of the popular games were "Duck Hunt", "Ice Climber" and "Hogan's Alley."
Atari controllers
GameCube consoles
PlayStation cords
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Super Smash Bros.
The Super Smash Bros. name has grown in popularity since its original release for Nintendo 64. In 2001, its reach grew with the release of Super Smash Bros. Melee and has gone up from there. The most recent edition of the game was released in 2018.
Mortal Kombat
Donkey Kong 64
Pokemon Stadium
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"That '70s Show"
"7th Heaven"
"The Nanny"
"The Nanny" television aired between 1993 and 1999 and had 6 seasons completed before the show was cancelled. The family dog in the show actually belonged to Fran Drescher in real life!
"Boy Meets World"
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"Smart House"
"Stuart Little"
"Stuart Little" was released on Dec. 17, 1999 and went on to become a trilogy of films. It was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects, but lost to another popular movie, "The Matrix."
"Muppets from Space"
"Tarzan"
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Bill Clinton
Mohammad Khatami
Nelson Mandela
Nelson Mandela retired from his active political role in 1999 and was succeeded by Thabo Mbeki. Mandela went on to combat HIV/AIDS and poverty in South Africa through the charity he founded.
Jacques Chirac
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Aggie Bonfire collapse
Vargas flood
Columbine High School shooting
On April 20, 1999, 13 people were killed, including one teacher, when two students went on a shooting spree at Columbine High School. At one point, it was considered the worst high school shooting in United States history.
EgyptAir plane crash
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SlashDot
blogger.com
Blogger.com was originally started by Pyra Labs, which was later bought out by Google in 2003. In 2007, Blogger was in the top 20 sites for number of unique visitors and is still functioning today.
LiveJournal
Open Diary
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Limewire
Clementine
Amarok
Napster
Napster was the brainchild of Sean Parker and Shawn Fanning. While it rapidly grew in popularity, the service was shut down in July 2001 after Napster was found guilty of infringing on intellectual property.
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"Futurama"
"SpongeBob SquarePants"
"SpongeBob SquarePants" is one of the few shows that are still in existence as it rounds out yet another season. The franchise also has two movies, with another one set to be released.
"Caillou"
"Arthur"
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Alex Zulle
Mario Cipollini
Lance Armstrong
While Lance Armstrong was indeed the first one to cross the finish line of the multiple stage race, official results have stripped him of this title. The United States Anti-Doping Agency disqualified the bicyclist in 2012.
Fernando Escartin
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Ebola
West Nile virus
The first reported case of the West Nile virus came from Queens, New York. There is no concrete evidence that can state how the virus reached the U.S., but some believe it came by way of an infected bird or mosquito.
Hanta fever
Lassa
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The Melissa virus
The Melissa virus was first distributed by David L. Smith, who said that it got its name from a stripper. When he was found guilty, Smith was sentenced to 10 years in prison and fined $5,000.
The Stephanie virus
The Angela virus
The Stacy virus
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Play Along Toys
Hasbro
Beanie Baby
The stuffed animal that was meant to symbolize the retirement of Beanie Baby's production line was a black bear, simply called "The End." The company continued production when it was faced with backlash from Beanie Baby enthusiasts around the world.
Mattel
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George H.W. Bush
George W. Bush
Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton was charged with lying under oath and obstruction of justice when his impeachment trial began. He was later acquitted of his charges because the Senate could not get the two-thirds majority needed to impeach him.
Ronald Reagan
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Amazon
PayPal
The popular payment platform and parent company to Venmo was once called one of the top 10 worst business ideas of 1999. This is because its original business plan was made around the idea of beaming money from one Palm Pilot to another, which was not a realistic goal.
Alphabet Inc.
Facebook
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Gmail
Yahoo
Hotmail
Before the importance of cyber security was entirely realized, Hotmail was revealed to have a major security flaw: any account could be logged into using 'eh' as the password. This was regardless of what the password was actually set as.
AOL
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