Remember the Aughties Trivia Quiz

Answer: Elian Gonzalez

Elian Gonzalez had attempted to flee Cuba with his mother by sailing over to Miami, Florida. Sadly, his mother perished when their boat was caught in a storm. Elian had been placed in an inner tube and was found floating off the coast of Florida. He was brought ashore and treated for his injuries.

He had been released to the custody of his relatives who lived in Miami. Elian's father sought to have his son returned to Cuba. It ended up becoming a political war as Cuban leader Fidel Castro and U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno became involved in the conflict.

It was eventually decided that Elian would need to be returned to Cuba by April 13, 2000. Elian's relatives in America resisted the order and on April 22 federal agents stormed their Miami home and took custody of Elian and returned him to his father's custody.

Answer: American Airlines 587

September 11, 2001 is a day that changed the world. Four American airliners were hijacked in massive terrorist attack. American Airlines 11 and United Airlines 175, both of which originated in Boston struck the World Trade Center in New York City, which brought down both towers. American Airlines 77 originated at Washington-Dulles airport and was flown into the Pentagon. United Airlines 93 originated at Newark airport in New Jersey and was intended to strike another target in Washington, DC, but crashed in western Pennsylvania after the passengers rallied against the hijackers. American Airlines 587 crashed shortly after takeoff from New York's JFK airport two months after September 11.

The crash of AA587 was determined to have been caused by pilot error after the aircraft encountered some wake turbulence.

Answer: East Timor

In 1515, the Portuguese were the first European power to establish a trading post in what is now Indonesia. Later, in 1603 the Dutch East India Company also established a trading post in the archipelago. Later on, the Dutch would establish the Dutch East Indies colony in 1800.

However, several islands remained in possession of the Portuguese, including the island of Timor. Indonesia would declare its independence from the Netherlands on August 17, 1945. Later East Timor would declare its independence from Portugal on November 28, 1975.

However, East Timor's independence was short lived as Indonesia invaded East Timor which resulted in East Timor becoming part of Indonesia. After decades of violent conflict, East Timor's independence was finally recognized by the United Nations on March 22, 2002.

Answer: Columbia

Space Shuttle Columbia operating as STS-107 launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida on January 16, 2003. Unknown to the seven astronauts aboard, a piece of foam insulation broke off and struck the wing of the orbiter damaging several of its heat resistant tiles.

The damage to the tiles left the shuttle unprotected when the shuttle reentered the Earth's atmosphere on February 1. The shuttle disintegrated and all seven astronauts perished. It was the second orbiter lost following the Challenger disaster in 1986.

The shuttle program was grounded for more than two years. All subsequent missions would require astronauts to inspect the shuttle for damage after launch, as well as have a backup shuttle standing by in case of emergencies. The three remaining shuttles (Atlantis, Endeavour and Discovery) were later retired in 2011.

Answer: Facebook

Mark Zuckerberg first launched Facebook in 2004. When it was initially launched it was known as "TheFacebook" and was only available to students at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. It was later expanded to other colleges and high schools across the nation. Facebook was finally opened to the public on September 26, 2006. Today, Facebook has more than two billion users across the entire globe. Facebook has allowed Mark Zuckerberg to become one of the richest men in the world, with his net worth reaching more than $50 billion.

Answer: Joseph Ratzinger

On April 2, 2005, Pope John Paul II passed away at the age of 84. Born Karol Jozef Wojtyla in Wadowice, Poland, he was elected Pope in 1978 following the death of Pope Paul VI. During his papacy, Pope John Paul II would attempt to promote peace in the world.

He fought against the spread of Communism in Europe and sought to improve the relationship between the Roman Catholic church and other religious denominations. Following Pope John Paul II's death, Joseph Ratzinger from Germany was elected Pope and assumed the papacy on April 19, 2005 adopting the name Pope Benedict XVI.

He later resigned the papacy due to health concerns in 2013, being the first Pope to resign since 1415. He was succeeded by Pope Francis I (Jorge Bergoglio).

Answer: The object must have at least one moon

Pluto was discovered by American astronomer Clyde Tombaugh in 1930. For decades, the scientific community accepted Pluto as the ninth planet. Following the discovery of similar sized objects in the Kuiper Belt, such as fellow dwarf planet Eris, the International Astronomical Union (IAU) reevaluated its criteria on what should be considered a planet.

The new requirements were that the object needed to orbit the Sun, be large enough to become spherical and be able to clear its orbit of other objects.

It was determined that Pluto did not meet the third requirement and was demoted to a dwarf planet. The New Horizons space probe visited Pluto in 2015 and sent back images that showed scientists that there is more to the dwarf planet than meets the eye.

Answer: Apple iPhone

Apple released the first version of the iPhone on June 29, 2007. The original iPhone sold for $499.00 (4 GB version) and $599.00 (8 GB version). Just for comparison the Apple iPhone X released a decade later in 2017 was sold for $999.00 (64 GB version) and $1,149.00 (256 GB version).

The iPhone was born off the success of Apple's previous successful "i" products such as the iPod media player and iMac personal computer.

Answer: Beijing, China

The 2008 Summer Olympics were held in Beijing, China. In preparation for the games, the Chinese built the Beijing National Stadium between 2003-2007, which was able to accommodate over 90,000 spectators in attendance for the games. During the games, China was able to accumulate the most gold medals with 48. China also became involved in some controversy when their women's gymnastics team was accused of allowing underage girls to compete in the games. Beijing was selected to host the 2022 Winter Olympics, becoming the first city chosen to host both versions of the Olympic Games.

Answer: Swine Flu

The H1N1 strain of the influenza virus caused an epidemic known as Swine Flu in 2009. It is actually the second time in history that the H1N1 was involved in a global epidemic, with the first occurring in 1918 when it was then known as Spanish Flu. There are conflicting stories regarding where the 2009 epidemic originated.

There are some health officials that believe the virus originated in domestic pigs in Mexico, while others believe the epidemic originated in Asia. The 2009 epidemic caused approximately 200,000 deaths worldwide, which is small compared to the 1918 epidemic which claimed approximately 50 million people worldwide.