1990s Memories
Doctors still use this otherwise obsolete form of communication.
What is a pager (or beeper)? Pager networks are encrypted and more reliable than cell service.
Ironically, the Marlboro Man died from this form of cancer
What is lung? Three men who appeared in Marlboro commercials died from lung cancer.
It is estimated that by 2040, 95 percent of shopping will be handled this way.
What is online? Eighty percent of companies already offer a combination of online and brick-and-mortar shopping.
This one-word Spielberg film title stars Roy Schneider and Richard Dreyfuss. It’s a story about shark attacks on Amity Island.
What is Jaws? Decades after the film was released, Lee Fierro, who played Mrs. Kintner, went into a restaurant and noticed an Alex Kintner sandwich on the menu. She mentioned that she played his mother in Jaws. The restaurant’s owner ran out to see her, and the owner was Jeffrey Voorhees, who played her son Alex in the film.
This sitcom is the show about nothing.
What is Seinfeld? The show is all about the characters and their character, not the plot.
She had a massive hit with “I Will Always Love You.”
Who is Whitney Houston? It was a cover of Dolly Parton’s hit song.
You’ll be surprised to learn this royal owns a McDonald’s in England.
Who is Queen Elizabeth? The owner of record is the Crown Estate, and the royals don’t pop in for lunch.
One inventor incorrectly predicted that these would never render the landline obsolete.
What is cell or mobile phone? In 1981, inventor and pioneer in the wireless communications industry Marty Cooper said, “Cellular phones will absolutely not replace local wire systems.”
This top British modeling sensation of the late 1960s was known for her especially slender frame.
Who is Twiggy? She has since worked on TV and film as well as on stage.
Special Agents Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) are a conspiracy theorists’ favorite FBI agents. As partners, they work to solve paranormal cases in this TV drama.
What is The X-Files? During the early years of the show, Mulder believes in unexplained elements of the paranormal, and Scully does not.
He stars in the 1993 film Mrs. Doubtfire.
Who is Robin Williams? The film won a well-deserved Academy Award for Best Makeup. Make-up artists convincingly made Williams look like an older woman for his character to work in disguise as a nanny in order to spend more time with his children.
This company was founded in 1994 and originally named Cadabra until Jeff Bezos realized it looked too similar to cadaver.
What is Amazon? The name Amazon was chosen because it sells products from A to Z.
Steve Chen, CTO and co-founder of this company, doubted the long-term viability of the company, saying, “There’s just not that many videos I want to watch.”
What is YouTube? More than 15 years later, it’s a spectacular success.
Michael Jackson’s hit song from this album by the same name was inspired by Jackson’s interest in the horror genre.
What is Thriller? The spoken parts and ominous, deep laughs you hear come from Vincent Price.
This long-running 1990 TV police drama has had several spin-offs. It stars characters such as Detective Lennie Briscoe, Lieutenant Anita Van Buren, and Executive Assistant District Attorneys Ben Stone and Jack McCoy.
What is Law and Order? The next-longest-running show in the franchise is Law and Order: Special Victims Unit, which began its run in 1999.
This was the number of the TWA flight number that exploded right after takeoff from JFK airport on July 17, 1996.
What is 800? The flight was en route to Paris.
This TV show and movie streaming company started by renting out DVDs.
What is Netflix? The rise of the company was the beginning of Blockbuster’s demise, primarily because Blockbuster did not acknowledge Netflix as a threat.
Steve Balmer, former CEO of Microsoft, once said, “There’s no chance that this Apple product is going to get any significant market share.”
What is the iPhone? In December 2020, Apple’s iPhone market share reached 64 percent.
“Who ya gonna call?” is the tagline of this film starring Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Harold Ramos, Ernie Hudson, and Sigourney Weaver.
What is Ghostbusters? Three university professors lose their jobs for performing unethical paranormal experiments on their students, so they set up business ridding New York City of ghosts and other paranormal phenomena.
This 1999 TV drama stars Martin Sheen and gives us a glimpse of the inner workings of the White House.
What is West Wing? Stockard Channing has a recurring role as first lady.
O.J. Simpson was riding in this type of vehicle during a historic, slow-speed chase.
What is a (Ford) Bronco? It was one of the most memorable TV moments of its day, and pizza sales were off the charts that day because no one could tear themselves away from the TV long enough to cook a meal or go out.
This is a popular jeans manufacturer, but the founder never wore his company’s jeans.
What is Levi’s? Levi Strauss felt he was from the upper class and that the jeans were meant for the working class.
T.A.M. Craven, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) commissioner in 1961, once said, “There is practically no chance [these devices] will be used to provide better telephone, telegraph, television, or radio service inside the United States.”
What are (communications) space satellites? Satellite communications play a vital role in modern life, with over 2,000 artificial satellites in use today.
The lead song from Stevie Wonder’s Talking Book album is a word that is sometimes used to refer to a faith in magic or luck.
What is “Superstition”? The music for the hit single was improvised.
A group of aliens disguised as an earthling family visits Earth to learn about its people and their way of life. The sitcom is [missing word] Rock from the Sun.
What is Third? Because the aliens only pretended to be human, they have no grasp on how humans handle various situations or interactions.