Fun Facts About the Year 1990 Trivia Quiz

Answer: Mikhail Gorbachev

One of the most important men of the 20th century, Mikhail Gorbachev, was born on March 2, 1931 in Privolnoye, Russia to a poor family. Gorbachev's father was an agricultural mechanic on a collective farm in a village of 3,000 people. Young Mikhail was lucky enough to impress the local Communist party officials who sponsored him to enroll in the Moscow University School of Law at the age of 19. After joining the Party in 1952 Gorbachev quickly rose through the ranks becoming the youngest member of the ruling Politburo in 1980. In 1985 Gorbachev became the General Secretary of the Communist Party and de facto ruler of the Soviet Union.

Gorbachev inherited an empire weighed down by poor economic performance, heavy debt, and massive costs associated with Cold War hostilities. He tried to modernize the government through perestroika (restructuring) and glasnost (openness). Gorbachev established positive ties to leading Western leaders, canceled development of new long range nuclear weapons and granted Soviet citizens greater freedoms of movement and liberty. Slowly Gorbachev desired to open Soviet society and transition from a centralized planned economy envisioned by Stalin to a form of market driven socialism. However the pace of domestic economic change was both slow and painful and by the end of the 1980s severe food shortages and inflation doomed his economic policies and emboldened submerged nationalists within the USSR to break away from the Union.

In the end Gorbachev can be seen as the captain leading the USSR to dissolution. However, his steadfast unwillingness to destabilize the world with Soviet arms or take back the hard won freedom of its citizens earned him international appeal and the well deserved 1990 Nobel Peace Prize.

Answer: Iraq

Kuwait was a part of the Ottoman Empire until becoming a British protectorate 1899. The British ruled both Iraq and Kuwait and did not set firm borders until 1923. Kuwait became independent in 1961 and joined the Arab League. Iraq pressed a claim that Kuwait was part of their territory but did not receive any regional or international support, so the matter was set aside. Large oil reserves fueling a highly prosperous economy caused Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein to revive Iraq's claim to Kuwait. Saddam Hussein used this claim as the excuse to invade the neighboring country on August 2, 1990.

The attack caught the US, Kuwait and other regional forces by surprise. Within hours the Iraqi military were only a few miles from the Kuwaiti capital city. Iraqi forces set up a perimeter at the border between Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. At the urgings of both the Kuwaiti and Saudi Arabian governments the US and supporting allies agreed to mount a counter-attack to liberate Kuwait. US forces entered combat under the operational name Desert Storm on January 16, 1991. Using a combination of troops, tanks and a devastating air attack, all of which was broadcast by news outlets across the globe, the US and coalition forces quickly routed the Iraqis and by February 28, 1991 had liberated Kuwait. The short "war" had cost the Iraqi's over 100,000 lives against less than 500 by the coalition. Unfortunately, the coalition mandate did not include removing Saddam Hussein from power. Despite the outcome of the war, Saddam Hussein remain the leader of Iraq until the Second Gulf War in 2003.

Answer: Nelson Mandela

Rolihlahla "Nelson" Mandela was born July 18, 1918 in the small town of Mvezo South Africa. Young Nelson was the son of a local chief and a member of the Thembu people's royal family. Intending to become a tribal adviser Mandela attended law school. During this time Mandela became affiliated with the African National Congress (ANC). Rising in the leadership of the ANC, Mandela was a powerful orator and voice for greater equality for black South Africans during this time of apartheid. In 1960 the ANC was banned by the government and its members including Mandela were considered criminals and terrorists.

After several arrests Mandela was convicted of treason in 1964 and sentenced to life imprisonment. Prison however did not silence Mandela and during his incarceration his reputation increased, making him the leading international symbol of anti-apartheid sentiment. Mandela was released from prison on February 11, 1990. After being released Mandela parlayed his enduring popularity to pressure an end to apartheid. Mandela was at the forefront of the changes in South Africa and was the first President of the Republic where all races could vote. He served from 1994-1999. Mandela was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993 and is one of the few people to have received both the Order of Lenin (USSR) and the Presidential Medal of Freedom (US).

Answer: Jim Henson

Jim Henson was the creator of the beloved collection of puppets known as the Muppets. Henson was born in 1936 in Leland Mississippi and grew up in the suburbs of Washington DC. As a high school student Henson began working creating puppets for a local television show. In 1960 Henson created his most famous puppet, Kermit the Frog, for a Washington DC children's television show. At this time Henson began working with his long term collaborator Frank Oz. Henson worked closely with the Children Television Workshop on their groundbreaking educational show "Sesame Street". Here Henson created such characters as Big Bird, Bert & Ernie, Oscar the Grouch and Cookie Monster. During the 1970s Henson expanded his Muppet brand with television's "The Muppet Show" and then to motion pictures with 1979's "The Muppet Movie". Later in his career Henson created new puppets for 1982's successful "The Dark Crystal" and "Fraggle Rock". Early in 1990 Henson took ill with flu like symptoms. Within two weeks, On May 16th, Henson succumbed to a highly virulent form of pneumonia.

Henson served as the voice of Kermit the Frog and many other Muppet characters. Frank Oz is the voice of both Miss Piggy and Star Wars' Yoda. Carroll Spinney is the voice for famous Muppet characters Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch. Sammy Davis Jr. was a legendary singer, actor and dancer who also died on May 16 1990.

Answer: West Germany

The 14th FIFA World Cup was held in Italy during June-July 1990. The tournament featured participation from both the United States and the USSR, even as Soviet Union was quickly dismantling. At the same time the post World War II Cold War division of Germany into East and West Germany was also coming to an end. Throughout 1989 and 1990 the two halves of Germany underwent sustained discussions for the reunification of the country. The triumphant treaty was concluded on August 31, 1990. A treaty between the two German states and the "Big Four" Allies of World War II followed on 12 September and Germany was reunited on October 3, 1990.

West Germany qualified for the World Cup while East Germany did not. Against the backdrop of the unification talks the West German squad defeated foes from the East (Czechoslovakia)and West (England) on route to a championship match with South American power Argentina. In a tight nervous final marred by numerous fouls the sporting end to the German separation came to a successful close, when West Germany prevailed 1-0 on a disputed penalty kick goal from Andreas Bremhe. The victory was the West German's third and last championship.

Answer: Hubble

The Hubble Space Telescope is a large astrophysical observatory that sits in orbit at the edge of the Earth's atmosphere. The telescope is a joint effort between NASA and the European Space Agency. The Hubble has four main instruments that allow images to be viewed in visible, ultraviolet and infrared light, thus greatly increasing the type of images the Hubble can see. The telescope is named after the astronomer Edwin Hubble who was a pioneer cosmologist and is credited with the discovery and proof that the universe continues to expand.

Launched from the US Space Shuttle Discovery on April 24, 1990 the Hubble's orbit is outside the distortion of Earth's atmosphere and creates detailed clearer images from earthbound telescopes. Images seen through the Hubble are at the forefront of developments on the origin of the universe as well as the discovery of new galaxies and star systems. Interestingly the Hubble was designed to allow astronauts to service the telescope from space. During the Shuttle program five missions rendezvoused with the telescope to improve its operations and life span.

Breathtaking images taken from the Hubble can be seen at www.hubblesite.org.

Answer: Milli Vanilli

Like Fun Trivia, the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (sponsor of the Grammy Awards) takes a dim view of cheating. The 1990 Grammy Awards category for Best New Artist featured such talents as the Indigo Girls, Soul II Soul, Neneh Cherry and Tone Loc. The award was won by a pop duo named Milli Vanilli from Germany whose album "Girl You Know Its True" was a Billboard 200 Album number 1. However, almost immediately after the win problems started. The two members of Milli Vanilla, Rob Pilatus and Fab Morvan, were German speakers with limited command of English. In late 1989 during a concert the duo were found to be obviously lip synching songs. After the Grammy win several singers come forward stating that they and not either Morvan or Pilatus sang the songs on the album. On November 12, 1990 the producer of Milli Vanilli, Frank Farian, admitted that neither Morvan nor Pilatus sang any of the songs on the album and that the two men were merely attractive facades presented to the public.

The backlash against the group, Farian, and Arista Records, included numerous law suits prompting a refund offer to any of the purchasers of the groups records. The duo's Best New Artist Grammy was revoked, marking a first in Grammy history. Eventually the toll of the scandal caused Rob Pilatus to decline into a life of crime and drug abuse. Pilatus died of drug abuse in 1998.

Answer: 40 meters below the English Channel

The Channel Tunnel is a rail link that directly connects Great Britain with France. The "Chunnel", as the tunnel is colloquially called, was built under the English Channel connecting the English port city of Folkestone with the small French port of Coquelles near Calais. Long the dream of both British and Continental merchants the Chunnel cost over $7 billion to complete.

While the Chunnel project was subject to massive cost overruns and of dubious economic value, it remains a marvel of human engineering. Crews from France started at one end of the Channel and crews from England the other. The two halves of the tunnel were joined for the first time on October 30, 1990; however the hole was not large enough for the construction teams to meet until December 1, 1990. The Chunnel opened for operation in 1994 and carries an average of 17 million passengers annually. In 1994 the American Society of Civil Engineers named the Channel Tunnel one of its Seven Wonders of the Modern World.

Answer: Mary Robinson

Mary Robinson became the first woman and the seventh President of the Republic of Ireland with her historic election on November 7, 1990. A member of Ireland's Labour Party, Mrs. Robinson was a legal scholar, champion of human and minority rights and an outspoken advocate of expanding the role of women in Irish society. Mrs. Robinson was a leader in the fight to legalize contraceptives in Ireland and the extension of the rights of homosexuals, having served as a Senator in the Irish Parliament for twenty years. In 1989 Robinson declined to seek re-election for her seat and instead sought the Presidency. In an upset, Mrs. Robinson defeated the leading party candidates Brian Lenihan and Austin Currie to become the first woman to hold that office. While largely a ceremonial office the position carries great prestige and marked a significant advancement in the status of women in Ireland. President Robinson served from 1990 until two months short of the end of her seven year term in 1997 when she left to accept the appointment as the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.

In an odd coincidence Mary McAleese who had replaced Mrs. Robinson as the Trinity College Reid Professor of Law succeeded Robinson as the eighth Irish President.

Answer: Emma Watson

Emma Charlotte Duerre Watson was born in Paris on April 15, 1990. Emma's parents divorced when she was five and she was raised in Oxford, England. Chosen from amongst hundreds of young girls who auditioned for the role, Emma's first screen credit was as the girl wizard, Hermione Granger, in the 2001 film adaption of the world-wide bestseller "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone". The tremendous success of that film and its seven successors over the next decade turned Emma from an unknown child into an international celebrity.

In addition to Ms. Watson 1990 has already proved to be to a boon year for talent. Celebrities born in 1990 include Academy Award Winner Jennifer Lawrence, as well as her "Hunger Games" co-star Liam Hemsworth, "Twilight" star Kristen Stewart and "Jerry McGuire" scene-stealer Jonathan Lipnicki. Athletes born in 1990 include Manchester United footballer Danny Welbeck, American footballer Robert Griffin III, tennis star Caroline Wozniacki and rap star Soulja Boy to name but a few.

On a personal note my list of the most important people born in 1990 would not be complete without including my daughter (Leah-Perle) who was born on August 18, 1990.