2005 Annual History Facts

2005 Annual History Facts

  • Politics: “The Rent is too Damn High” is the motto and political platform of Jimmy McMillan, while running for Mayor of NYC (and sometimes Governor of New York).
  • The Top Song was We Belong Together by Mariah Carey
  • The Big Movies included Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.
  • Religion: Pastafarianism, the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster was founded
  • Price of Sony Trinitron 32: TV in 2005: $599.99
    Craftsman 18 pc screwdriver set: $14.99
    Perdue chicken breasts: $1.50/pound
  • The World Population was ~ 6,482,000,000
  • A house sparrow knocked down 23,000 dominos before being set up for a world record attempt for the largest domino chain. The bird was shot, and the shooter was later fined because house sparrows are endangered in the Netherlands.
  • And… For the squirrel scene in 2005’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, they trained real squirrels to crack open the nuts.

World Series Champions

Chicago White Sox

Superbowl XXXIX Champions

New England Patriots

National Basketball Association Champions

San Antonio Spurs

NHL Stanley Cup Champions

none

US Open Golf

Michael Campbell

US Open Tennis (Men Ladies)

Roger Federer/Justine Henin-Hardenne

Wimbledon (Men/Women)

Roger Federer/Venus Williams

NCAA Football Champions

Texas

NCAA Basketball Champions

North Carolina

Bowl Games

Orange Bowl: January 4, 2005 – USC over Oklahoma
Rose Bowl: January 1, 2005 – Texas over Michigan
Sugar Bowl: January 3, 2005 – Auburn over Virginia Tech
Puppy Bowl I: February 6, 2005 Most Valuable Puppy: Max (a Jack Russell Terrier)

Kentucky Derby

Giacomo

Westminster Kennel Best in Show Dog

Kan-Point’s VJK Autumn Roses

Time Magazine’s Persons of the Year

Good Samaritans, Represented by Bono, Bill Gates, and Melinda Gates

Miss America

Diedre Downs (Birminham, AL)

Miss USA

Chelsea Cooley (North Carolina)

Fashion Icons and Movie Stars

Halle Berry, Beyonce, Jessica Biel, Rachel Bilson, Cate Blanchette, Kate Bosworth, Gisele Bündchen, Kari Byron, Lacey Chabert, Ciara, Marcia Cross, Adrianne Curry, Cameron Diaz, Isla Fisher, Jenna Fischer, Gal Gadot, Jennifer Garner, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Maggie Grace, Teri Hatcher, Salma Hayek, Paris Hilton, Katie Holmes, Julianne Hough, Kate Hudson, Angelina Jolie, Stacy Keibler, Nicole Kidman, Jaime King, Heidi Klum, Keira Knightly, Anna Kournikova, Kristin Kreuk, Avril Lavigne, Evangeline Lilly, Lindsay Lohan, Eva Longoria, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Vanessa Marcil, Rachel McAdams, Eva Mendes, Christina Milian, Sienna Miller, Brittany Murphy, Gwyneth Paltrow, Natalie Portman, Laura Prepon, Nicole Richie, Amanda Seyfried, Jessica Simpson, Gwen Stefani, Mena Suvari, Charlize Theron, Uma Thurman, Reese Witherspoon, Naomi Watts, Sofia Vergara

Matthew McConaughey, Terrence Howard, Anderson Cooper, Tim McGraw, Denzel Washington, Justin Timberlake, Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson, Jaoquin Phoenix, Leonardo DiCaprio, Russell Crowe, Jude Law

“The Quotes”

“I’m the decider.”
– President George W. Bush

Rob Schneider ripped critic Patrick Goldstein for panning Deuce Bigalow 2, stating Goldstein was unqualified to judge when he had never even been awarded by his peers. Roger Ebert’s responded:”As chance would have it, I have won the Pulitzer Prize… Mr. Schneider, your movie sucks”.

2005 Pop Culture History

A glitch in World of Warcraft allowed a plague to spread, leading non-infected players to abandon cities while those infected were forced into quarantines. Epidemiologists later studied it to see how real-life people react to a pandemic.

The simple cardboard box was inducted into the National Toy Hall of Fame.

Five months after PC Pitstop’s release, and thousands of sales, someone read the EULA for a piece of software and won $1000 for it.

Stephen Colbert coined the term “truthiness” with its current meaning: the quality of seeming authentic but not necessarily being true.

The Office premiered in 2005 with mediocre ratings. However, NBC decided to renew it for a second season due to the anticipated success of Carell’s film The 40-Year-Old Virgin. Carell won a Golden Globe in 2006 for Best Actor for The Office.

Iraqi terrorists held a GI Joe action figure hostage and tried to claim that it was a US Soldier. #pictureproof

The RIAA‘s first Platinum Digital Single Award went to Gwen Stefani for her “Hollaback Girl” (Interscope), selling more than one million downloads.

The fasted whack with a Badminton racket was by Fu Haifeng, clocking at 206 MPH.

Alex Smith took so many AP tests in high school that he entered college as a junior. The quarterback received his bachelor’s degree in two years and began working on a master’s degree, before becoming the first overall pick in the 2005 NFL draft.

Wonton Food, a fortune cookie company, correctly foretold the Powerball lottery numbers, resulting in 110 second-place winners and an investigation.

Mark Zuckerberg offered to sell Facebook to Myspace. Myspace CEO Chris DeWolfe rejected Zuckerberg’s asking price of 75 million dollars.

Dannu Boatwright won Survivor: Guatemala.

Swedish millionaire Johan Eliasch purchased a 400,000-acre area of land in the heart of the Amazon rainforest from a logging company for its preservation.

Ted Koppel retired from Nightline on November 22.

The ending of the 2005 romantic comedy Fever Pitch had to be rewritten, with additional filming, when the Red Sox defeated the Yankees and St. Louis Cardinals to win the 2004 World Series. The writers had initially assumed the Red Sox would lose.

Dan Rather retired from the CBS Evening News on March 9. #Courage

Bhutan became the first country in the world to ban all sales of nicotine products.

Thirty-six different songs hit number one in the US during 1974… and nine songs hit number one in the US during 2005.

Croatian architect installed a set of large marble stairs that descend into the sea, effectively transforming the entire area into a colossal musical instrument played by the winds and sea motions. It is called ‘The Zadar Sea Organ.’

Mark Felt, a 92-year-old retired FBI agent, was revealed to be 1972’s “Deep Throat” who helped take down the Nixon presidency.

Ashton Kutcher and Demi Moore got married on September 24.

England’s Prince Charles married long-time flame, Camilla Parker Bowles.

Heidi Klum and Seal were married on May 10

Rather than use CGI, Tim Burton had 40 squirrels trained to crack nuts for Charlie & The Chocolate Factory.

Cost of a Superbowl ad in 2005: $2,400,000

To prove that the bacteria H. pylori could cause stomach ulcers, an Australian doctor named Barry J. Marshall drank a culture of H. pylori, developed an ulcer, and successfully treated it with antibiotics. He won a Nobel Prize for it.

RIP, Scandals, Sad and Odd News

Jean Charles de Menezes, the innocent man, was pinned to the ground by British police and shot seven times in the head, point blank, thinking he was a suicide bomber and later tried to cover it up.

Comedian Mitch Hedberg’s death was announced on April Fool’s Day, 2005, leading many to believe it was a hoax.

Minnesota Vikings boat cruise scandal, in which several players, including Fred Smoot, Lance Johnstone, Daunte Culpepper, Mewelde Moore, Darren Sharper, Koren Robinson, Bryant McKinnie, Ralph Brown, Travis Taylor, Moe Williams, Jermaine Wiggins, and Zygi Wilf allegedly performed lewd acts on a boat cruise on Lake Minnetonka.

Candy company Trolli briefly made “roadkill gummies” shaped like smooshed animals until animal rights activists complained and they were pulled from the market.

Brad Pitt left Jennifer Aniston for Angelina Jolie. #actors

Actor Benedict Cumberbatch was abducted and held by armed men in South Africa at gunpoint. After being let go, he was eventually rescued by a stranger. He commented: “It taught me that you come into this world as you leave it, on your own. It’s made me want to live a life less ordinary.”

Sony illegally installed rootkits on 22 million computers to prevent the users from ripping copyrighted music, and could not be uninstalled. It also reported user’s listening habits back to Sony. Ironically, the code itself contained open-source software, and so infringed copyright.

Tom Cruise ‘Jumped The Couch” on Oprah while expressing how much he loved Katie Holmes.

Norreasha Gill sued WLTO in Lexington, Kentucky, for giving her a 100 Grand candy bar after she won a radio contest that promised listeners “a chance to win one hundred grand.”

Kelly Frank was arrested for plotting to kidnap David Letterman’s toddler son, along with the nanny. Frank, who had worked as Letterman’s house painter, had a door key and knew where the baby slept. He intended to include the nanny “so she could care for the child.”

Michael Schaivo successfully sued to have his brain-damaged wife Terri’s feeding tube removed.

PFC LaVena Johnson was found dead in 2005 at a base in Balad, Iraq. Initially ruled a suicide, an autopsy revealed she had a broken nose, black eye, loose teeth, and burns from corrosive chemicals on her genitals. The Army has not reopened the case.

Natalee Holloway disappeared in Aruba.
(Spoiler :Joran van der Sloot did it.)

Duluth, Georgia’s ‘Runaway Bride’ Jennifer Wilbanks told the FBI about her faked kidnapping story.

England’s Prince Harry went to a costume party dressed as a Nazi.

Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans. Many people on both political sides and up and down the political power tree made mistakes.
’nuff said about that.

Writer Death by Suicide: Hunter S. Thompson

Firsts and the Biggest Christmas Gifts

Microsoft Xbox 360, Playstation Portable, Game Boy Micro, Webkinz plush animals, Barbie as Harley Quinn, Lindsay Lohan doll, Hilary Duff doll, Destiny’s Child, and Raven-Symoné dolls
Video Games: Nintendogs, Brain Age, Need for Speed: Most Wanted, Mario Kart DS
WebMD The Magazine began publication.
Women’s Health began publication.
Every Day with Rachael Ray began publication

The Habits

Sudoku, YouTube, and MySpace, (Facebook opened up for High School students in September 2005).
Watching Penguins
Watching Grey’s Anatomy
Wearing Supersized Sunglasses
Reading The Broker by John Grisham

Splitsville

Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston (Homewrecker: Angelina Jolie)

Lindsay’s parents, Dina and Michael Lohan, officially divorced.

Jessica Simpson and Nick Lachey (mutual)

Kenny Chesney and Renee Zellweger (annulled four months after the marriage)

Jude Law and Sienna Miller (His affair with the nanny, we hear)

2005 Biggest Television Shows

(according to Nielsen TV Research)
1. American Idol (FOX)
2. CSI (CBS)
3. Desperate Housewives (ABC)
4. Grey’s Anatomy (ABC)
5. Without a Trace (CBS)
6. Dancing With the Stars (ABC)
7. CSI: Miami (CBS)
8. Monday Night Football (ABC)
9. House (FOX)
10. Survivor (CBS)

Popular Music Artists

The Biggest Pop Artists of 2005 include
Akon, Beyonce, Black Eyed Peas, Bow Wow, Carrie Underwood, Chris Brown, Ciara, Coldplay, Destiny’s Child, Eminem, Fall Out Boy, 50 Cent, Frankie J, The Game, Green Day, Gwen Stefani, Jesse McCartney, Kanye West, Kelly Clarkson, Kenny Chesney, Ludacris, Mariah Carey, Mario, Missy Elliott, Nickelback, The Pussycat Dolls, Rihanna, T.I., Ying Yang Twins

(Data is compiled from charts, including Billboard’s Pop, Rock, Airplay, R&B/Dance, and Singles Charts. The Hot 100 is the primary chart used for this list.)

Number One Hits of 2005

December 11, 2004 – December 31, 2005: Snoop Dogg featuring Pharrell – Drop It Like It’s Hot

January 1, 2005 – March 4, 2005: Mario – Let Me Love You

March 5, 2005 – May 6, 2005: 50 Cent featuring Olivia – Candy Shop

May 7, 2005 – June 3, 2005: Gwen Stefani – Hollaback Girl

June 4, 2005 – July 1, 2005: Mariah Carey – We Belong Together

July 2, 2005 – September 16, 2005: Carrie Underwood – Inside Your Heaven

September 17, 2005 – November 25, 2005: Kanye West featuring Jamie Foxx – Gold Digger

November 26, 2005 – December 30, 2005: Chris Brown – Run It!

December 31, 2005 – January 13, 2006: Mariah Carey – Don’t Forget About Us

Popular Movies

(according to boxofficemojo)
1. Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
2. The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
3. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
4. War of the Worlds
5. King Kong
6. Wedding Crashers
7. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
8. Batman Begins
9. Madagascar
10. Mr. & Mrs. Smith

The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Batman Begins, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Chicken Little, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Fantastic Four, Fun with Dick and Jane, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Herbie: Fully Loaded, Hitch, King Kong, The Longest Yard, Madagascar, Mr. & Mrs. Smith, The Pacifier, Robots, Serenity, Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith, Walk The Line, War of the Worlds, Wedding Crashers.

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