U.S. Politics
This Illinois Senator became the first African American to be elected President of the United States in November.
Who is Barack Obama?
In August, this city hosted the Summer Olympics, where the iconic "Bird's Nest" stadium was featured.
What is Beijing?
At the Beijing Olympics, American swimmer Michael Phelps won this many gold medals in a single Games, breaking Mark Spitz's record.
What is eight?
This actor, who played the Joker in The Dark Knight, tragically died of an accidental prescription drug overdose in January.
Who is Heath Ledger?
Scientists at CERN's lab in Geneva successfully powered up this, the world's largest and highest-energy particle accelerator.
What is the Large Hadron Collider (LHC)?
This former First Lady and New York Senator was Obama's main rival for the Democratic presidential nomination.
Who is Hillary Clinton?
In May, Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 people in this Southeast Asian country.
What is Myanmar (Burma)?
This golfer won the U.S. Open on a painful leg that later required surgery, defeating Rocco Mediate in a playoff.
Who is Tiger Woods?
Apple launched this online store in July, starting with only 500 apps available.
What is the App Store?
In May, NASA's Phoenix spacecraft successfully became the first to land in this region of Mars.
What is the northern polar region?
Republican presidential nominee John McCain selected this first-term Alaska governor as his controversial running mate.
Who is Sarah Palin?
In August, a brief war broke out between Russia and this small Caucasian nation over the breakaway region of South Ossetia.
What is Georgia?
This team defeated the heavily favored New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLII, denying them a perfect season.
Who are the New York Giants?
The first film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, starring Robert Downey Jr., was released in May.
What is Iron Man?
In a paper published on October 31, a mysterious person or group under this pseudonym introduced the cryptocurrency Bitcoin.
Who is Satoshi Nakamoto?
In March, New York Governor resigned after being linked to a high-priced prostitution ring.
Who is Eliot Spitzer?
This Balkan territory formally declared its independence from Serbia in February, a move met with a mixed international response.
What is Kosovo?
In April, this driver became the first woman to win a top-level IndyCar Series race at the Indy Japan 300.
Who is Danica Patrick?
This pop star released her second album Fearless, which would go on to become the most-awarded country album of all time.
Who is Taylor Swift?
The HTC Dream, the first smartphone to use this operating system, was released in the U.S. in October.
What is Android?
This Illinois governor was arrested in December for attempting to solicit bribes to occupy Barack Obama's vacant Senate seat.
Who is Rod Blagojevich?
In December, an Iraqi journalist achieved global infamy when he threw his shoes at this U.S. President during a press conference.
Who is George W. Bush?
The Philadelphia Phillies defeated this team to win the 2008 World Series.
Who are the Tampa Bay Rays?
Beyoncé introduced the world to this confident alter ego with her album I Am... Sasha Fierce, which featured the hit "Single Ladies".
Who is Sasha Fierce?
The U.S. Department of the Interior listed this animal as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act, citing the melting of Arctic sea ice as the primary threat.
What is the polar bear?