The 90s

90s Quiz – Below are ten events from the 1990s, one from each year. Can you remember which year was which?

1. Princess Diana died following a car crash in Paris.

1997

2. Margaret Thatcher resigned from her post as Prime Minister.

1990

3. Two-year-old James Bulger was abducted, tortured and killed by two ten-year-old boys.

1993

4. O.J. Simpson was acquitted after a high-profile, televised court case.

1995

5. The final phase of the M40 motorway, from Waterstock to Warwick, was completed and opened to the public.

1991

6. TV presenter Jill Dando died after being shot outside her home in Fulham.

1999

7. The ‘Good Friday Agreement’ was signed by the Republic of Ireland and the United Kingdom.

1998

8. Dolly the Sheep, the first mammal successfully cloned from an adult cell, was born.

1996

9. In a speech to Guildhall, Queen Elizabeth referred to this year as her ‘Annus horribilis.’

1992

10. The first women are ordained as priests in the Church of England.

1994

To download the 90s quiz as a PDF contestant question paper, please click on the link below:

How well do you remember the 90s?

1. What were the names of the four different ‘zones’ in the original series of ‘The Crystal Maze’?

Aztec, Futuristic, Medieval and Industrial (Ocean zone replaced the industrial zone in series 4)

2. Who were Lee Brennan, Jimmy Constable and Simon ‘Spike’ Dawbarn?

911

3. In which year did Bill Clinton become the 42nd President of the United States?

1993

4. The first Aldi store in the UK was opened in April 1990 – in which city?

Birmingham (Stechford)

5. In which year was the Prince of Wales’s and Princess Diana’s divorce finalised?

1996

6. Which drink was ‘too orangey for crows’?

Kia-Ora

7. Which political party leader died suddenly and unexpectedly of a heart attack on 12th May 1994?

John Smith (Labour)

8. Which Dutch Eurodance act had a number one hit in 1993 with ‘No Limit’?

2 Unlimited

9. Who won the Eurovision Song Contest on behalf of the UK in May 1997?

Katrina and the Waves (Love Shine a Light)

10. Which former Beatle suffered multiple stab wounds after being attacked by a intruder in his Henley-on-Thames mansion in December 1999?

George Harrison

To download the 90s quiz as a contestant question paper with spaces for answers, please click on the grey box below:

1. Which 90s American sitcom starred John Lithgow, Kristen Johnston, French Stewart and Joseph Gordon-Levitt?

3rd Rock from the Sun

2. In which year did Princess Diana die?

1997

3. What were pogs?

A game using cardboard discs (originally bottle caps) that was commercialised and became popular in the nineties.

4. Which song spent the longest as UK number one during the nineties?

Everything I do (I Do It for You) – Bryan Adams

5. In the children’s television series ‘Bodger and Badger’, what was badger’s favourite food?

Mashed potato

6. Which 1997 film received 14 Oscar nominations which, along with the 1950 film ‘All About Eve’, gives it the joint record?

Titanic

7. In which year was Nelson Mandela released from prison?

1990

8. Which popular band were uncovered as a hoax in 1990, when their manager was forced to admit that they had not sung any of their own songs and had actually been miming to tracks recorded by other singers all the time?

Milli Vanilli

9. Lance Ito became suddenly well-known to TV viewers in 1995 – for what?

He was the judge in the O. J. Simpson trial

10. Who became British Prime Minister in November 1990?

John Major

1. Which 1990s American TV sitcom starred Mark-Paul Gosselaar, Dustin Diamond, Mario Lopez and Elizabeth Berkley?

Saved by the Bell

2. In which year of the 90s did Kurt Cobain, lead singer of Nirvana, commit suicide?

1994

3. Which actress played wayward daughter Darlene in the US sitcom ‘Roseanne’?

Sara Gilbert

4. Complete the 1995 Smashing Pumpkins album title ‘Mellon Collie and the…’

Infinite Sadness

5. Which year was the Queen’s ‘Annus Horribilis’?

1992

6. In the blockbuster 1990 film ‘Home Alone’, what were the names of the two thieves that Kevin challenges?

Harry (Lime) and Marv (Merchants)

7. Which major comet became visible from Earth in 1997?

Hale-Bopp

8. In 1997 a round-the-world yachtsman was rescued from his capsized yacht after five days in the Southern Ocean – what was his name?

Tony Bullimore

9. Can you name two people who have presented TV’s ‘The Crystal Maze’?

Two of: Richard O’Brian (1990-1993), Edward Tudor-Pole (1993-1995), Stephen Merchant (One-off celebrity edition in 2016) and Richard Ayoade (2017-present)

10. What was the name of Sonic the Hedgehog’s fox sidekick, who joined him in the second Sega game in the series, ‘Sonic the Hedgehog 2’?

Tails (Real name Miles Prower)

1. In 1992, John Major’s government set up a telephone hotline which was the subject of much controversy – what was it for?

The ‘Cones Hotline’ – for the public to enquire about roadworks that appeared to be unnecessary

2. What was the name of the sheep which was the first to be cloned from an adult cell?

Dolly

3. Jason Priestley, Tori Spelling and Luke Perry starred in which 1990s American TV series?

Beverley Hills, 90210

4. In which year did the Simpsons arrive on UK terrestrial TV?

1990

5. Which boy band, who were launched in 1993, consist of A.J. McLean, Howie Dorough, Nick Carter, Kevin Richardson and Brian Littrell?

The Backstreet Boys

6. What colour was Mr Blobby and what colour spots did he have?

Pink with yellow spots

7. Who played Edina’s straight-laced daughter Saffron in ‘Absolutely Fabulous’?

Julia Sawalha

8. Which late-night 90s TV show was hosted by Iain Lee and Daisy Donovan and also launched Sacha Baron Cohen’s career when he appeared as Ali G?

The 11 O’Clock Show

9. The Labour Party used the song ‘Things Can Only Get Better’ as a theme for their successful 1997 campaign, but which band recorded it?

D:Ream (With Professor Brian Cox on keyboards, incidentally…)

10. In 1992, Coca-Cola launched a transparent cola, which was discontinued within 2 years – what was it called?

Tab Clear (It followed Pepsi’s version, Crystal Pepsi)

1. Kurt Cobain, lead singer of Nirvana, featured heavily in the news during the 90s – but who was he married to?

Courtney Love

2. Name both of the ‘Two Fat Ladies’ as featured in the 90s BBC2 cooking show.

Clarissa Dickson Wright and Jennifer Paterson

3. Whitney Houston’s ‘I Will Always Love You’ was featured in which film?

The Bodyguard

4. What was the name of the handheld digital pet which was created in the 90s and started a craze amongst children?

Tamagotchi

5. Name the 1998 Israeli and transsexual winner of the Eurovision song contest.

Dana International

6. Freddie Mercury topped the charts in August 1993, two years after his death – but with which song?

Living On My Own

7. What was the name of the housekeeper in the 90s Irish sitcom, ‘Father Ted’?

Mrs Doyle

8. In which year did the Soviet Union collapse?

1991

9. What was the name of the first cloned sheep, hitting headlines in 1996?

Dolly

10. What were the first names of the FBI characters ‘Mulder’ and ‘Scully’ in TV sci-fi show the X-Files?

Fox Mulder and Dana Scully