Life | Celebrities | Pop Culture | 90s
7 Crazy Things From The '90s That Everyone Forgot Even Happened
The 90s were a pretty crazy time. Everything was changing so quickly with the invention of the internet, but even outside of technology the world seemed like it was full of newsworthy events. Whether it was political drama or bizarre entertainment news, there was always something to talk about.
How many of these news stories do you remember reading about?
1. O.J. Simpson's wasn't just big, it broke records you didn't even know about
95 million Americans tuned in to watch the O.J. Simpson trial. The televised event actually caused a record to be broken that had nothing to do with TV. But apparently it set a record for the most pizzas ordered in a day. It makes sense, everyone was in front of their TV that day, no time to cook dinner! Seriously though, if you compare these numbers to other popular shows now, the ratings are just completely different. Even Game of Thrones season finale only brings in seven million viewers.
2. President Bill Clinton was accused of dodging the draft
Sure, Clinton had another huge scandal in the 90s, but one that is often forgotten is that he was accused of dodging the draft for the Vietnam war. During the presidential campaign in 1992, his opponent claimed that he used a number of tactics to avoid going into war, but he was still elected.
3. Microsoft helped Apple stay afloat
Microsoft creator, Bill Gates, saw that Steve Jobs's company was struggling so he invested $150 million in the company. He said, "we have to let go of the notion that for Apple to win, Microsoft has to lose."
4. The U.S. government spent $100 billion to prepare for Y2K
The technical glitch that was expected to destroy all technology on January 1, 2000, prompted the government to prepare for the worst. There was a "Special Committee on the Year 2000 Technology Problem" but when nothing happened on January 1st we were all left feeling like it was an overreaction. Even though most people thought of it as an overreaction, there were a few isolated cases that computer programmers had to resolve. Luckily, nothing was nearly as dramatic as people expected.
Those weren't the only newsworthy moments...
5. Arnold Schwarzenegger is the reason why the Hummer was made
The giant SUVs became extremely popular in the 90s, but it's all thanks to Schwarzenegger. They used to only be military vehicles, formally called Humvees, but when the actor spotted one he lobbied GM to release one for the general public. The SUV was later discontinued in 2010.
6. Julia Roberts was a real runaway bride
Before she starred in the movie Runaway Bride, Roberts had some real life experience with the subject matter. Right before her wedding to Kiefer Sutherland she decided to cancel it and then went on a trip with an ex-boyfriend to Ireland.
7. George Clooney blamed the paparazzi for Princess Diana's death
The tragic death of Princess Diana really shocked the world. Shortly after, Clooney held a press conference to address the situation. He is known as an extremely private person, but he criticized the tabloids behavior in the situation. “To all … tabloids positioning themselves as innocents, Princess Di is dead. And who should we see about that? The driver of the car? The paparazzi? Or the magazines and papers who purchase these papers and make bounty hunters out of photographers?” He continued, “I wonder how you sleep at night. You should be ashamed.”