Events of the Nineties Trivia Quiz

Answer: 1996

Although both bands had formed a few years before, they coincidentally released their first albums on 1996. "Backstreet Boys" was initially released in Germany on May 6th, and later in Canada and the UK. The album wasn't released in the US until the next year, when it was launched simultaneously with their sophomore LP, "Backstreet's Back".

On the other hand, "Spice" was first released on September 19th in Japan, and on November 4th in the UK. It sold 23 million copies around the world, which makes it the best selling album in history by a girl group. Both groups played a key part in the resurgence of the teen pop genre in the mid-nineties.

Answer: 1999

Formerly a part of the Northwest Territories, Nunavut gained its autonomy through the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement Act, and the Nunavut Act, both passed in 1993. The formal establishment of the new territory was completed on April 1, 1999.

It was the conclusion of a long period of activism by Inuit people, who were displaced to this area in the early stages of Cold War, in what was called the High Arctic Relocation. Their claiming of the land was the subject of many debates and negotiations, ending with the passing of the aforementioned laws.

Nunavut is the least populated division of Canada, despite being its largest territory. Indeed, it is the fifth largest country subdivision in the world.

Answer: 1995

Released to the public on August 25, 1995, the aptly named "Windows 95" meant a significant change regarding Microsoft's operating system. Introducing features that would become staples in future versions, such as the Start Menu, the Taskbar, and the Windows Explorer, it also came with several technical improvements, which included support for long filenames (up to 255 characters), "Plug and Play" technology, and accessibility features. It also merged Windows itself with MS-DOS, which would work separately prior to Win95 introduction.

Microsoft ended technical support for this version on December 31, 2000, with an additional year of extension.

Answer: 1998

One of the giants in technology and Internet related products and services, Google was founded in September 1998 by Sergey Brin and Larry Page when they were students at Stanford University. It became a public company through an Initial Public Offering in 2004. Since 2015, it was reorganized as a subsidiary of Alphabet Inc.

Its namesake search engine is the most used on the Internet, and it is considered the most visited website in the world. Other of their services, such as Gmail, YouTube, Drive, among others, are also widely used throughout the net.

Answer: 1997

On the early hours of August 31st, 1997, Princess Diana, along with her partner, Dodi Al-Fayed, and two others, were involved in a serious car crash in the Pont de l'Alma tunnel in Paris. She succumbed to her injuries a few hours later.

Her funeral, which took place on September 6th, was one of the most watched televised events in history, with an estimated 2.5 billion people having watched it worldwide.

Answer: 1990

Mandela was arrested in 1962, after his activism against the apartheid regime, and tried a year later in the Rivonia Trial, accused of sabotage. He, along with 7 others, was sentenced to life imprisonment.

When Frederik W. de Klerk became state president in late 1989 after Pieter W. Botha resigned he began taking steps toward ending the regime. One of such steps was the release of Mandela, after serving 27 years of prison, which happened on 11 February, 1990.

Mandela would eventually become the first black president of South Africa in 1994, retiring in 1999. He died on 5 December, 2013, aged 95.

Answer: 1992

Prior to this staging of the Summer Olympics, FIBA, the international governing body of basketball, explicitly prevented NBA players from participating in the Games, as they were aimed to amateur players. But, in 1989, a voting to change that rule was conducted.

As such, 1992 saw the first appearance of an American basketball team, comprised mainly by professional players, in the Olympic Games. The team featured many of the stars of the NBA, such as Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, Patrick Ewing, Charles Barkley, and Earvin "Magic" Johnson, who despite his retirement one year prior due to being diagnosed with AIDS, was allowed to take part. It was nicknamed the "Dream Team", and it is considered one of the greatest sports teams ever assembled.

Answer: 1991

By the end of 1991, many of the USSR's constituent republics had declared their independence from the union, which was already weakened after years of political and economic unrest. The situation had been further fueled by the disappearance of most communist regimes in Eastern Europe, following the 1989 revolutions and the fall of the Berlin Wall.

On December 25, 1991, Mikhail Gorbachev resigned as leader of the Soviet Union. The next day, the USSR was officially dissolved. This event is generally considered as the end of the Cold War.

Answer: 1993

Based on Michael Crichton's novel of the same name, "Jurassic Park" debuted in theaters on June of 1993, and became a worldwide massive success, with its ground-breaking visual effects attracting most of the attention.

The film won several awards, which include three Academy Awards for Best Visual Effects, Best Sound, and Best Sound Effects Editing. At the time of its release, it became the highest grossing film ever. The success of the movie led to the making of several sequels, with the sixth movie in the franchise, "Jurassic World Dominion", being released in 2022.

Answer: 1994

The idea of building a tunnel under the English Channel had been proposed since the early 19th century, but it never came to fruition until the second half of the 1980 decade, when the negotiations between France and the United Kingdom led to the signing of the Treaty of Canterbury in 1986. That treaty set the foundations for the building, funding, and details of operation of the tunnel. It is also unique in that it defined a land border between both countries, located in the middle of the tunnel.

The official opening of the tunnel took place on May 6th, 1994, with an inauguration ceremony held in Calais. The tunnel links the town of Coquelles in France (located near Calais) with Folkestone in the UK (in the county of Kent). It contains the longest underwater section of any tunnel in the world, with a length of 37,9 km (23,5 mi), and it is the only fixed link between Great Britain and the European mainland.