Year 1993 Fun Facts, Trivia, and History

What Happened During the Year 1993?

What are some fun facts, trivia, and history events from the year 1993? What were the top news stories in the U.S. and around the world, and what major events took place in the business and financial sectors? How much did a gallon of gas cost, and what happened in science, technology, sports, and in the entertainment industry?

Back in 1993, what were the biggest food and fashion trends, and what were the most popular baby names and Christmas gifts? Likewise, who won the Nobel Peace Prize, and how much did a first-class stamp or a gallon of milk cost? What about famous birthdays and deaths that year, and what were the best-selling books?

From world leaders to pioneers to innovators, who were the most influential people in 1993? What was the median household income, the average life expectancy, and how much did a new house or car cost? Finally, what was 1993 best known for, and was it a good or bad year overall? Let's find out.

Here is a summary of the top news stories and history events that happened in 1993:

1. Bill Clinton was inaugurated as the 42nd U.S. president.
2. Terrorists carried out their first attack on the World Trade Center, and Rudy Giuliani became the first Republican mayor of New York City in 20 years.
3. A one-second adjustment was made to civil time.
4. In 1993, Sears announced that it was eliminating its 97-year-old catalog sales department.
5. Construction began on Cleveland’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
6. Toy manufacturers Mattel and Fisher-Price announced a $1 billion merger.
7. The Eiffel Tower welcomed its 150,000,000th visitor.
8. The average life expectancy in the U.S. was 75.42 years.
9. Popular Halloween costumes included Princess Jasmine and Barney the Dinosaur.
10. Back in the year 1993, a postage stamp commemorating Elvis Presley went on sale.
11. Jurassic Park was the most popular film, The Bridges of Madison County was the best-selling fiction book, and 60 Minutes (CBS) was the top TV show.
12. Unforgiven won an Oscar for Best Picture, Seinfeld (NBC) won an Emmy for Outstanding Comedy Series, and Eric Clapton’s Tears in Heaven won a Grammy for Song of the Year.
13. The Food Network premiered on television.
14. Italian film director Federico Fellini passed away, and Hilary Swank was fired from Beverly Hills, 90210.
15. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975) was entered into the National Film Registry.
16. Here are some sports facts from 1993: The Dallas Cowboys were the Super Bowl champs, the Toronto Blue Jays won the World Series, and the Montreal Canadiens clinched the Stanley Cup.
17. NBC announced that it would televise the 1996 Summer Olympics, Don Shula became the “winningest” coach in professional football, and MLB player Reggie Jackson was inducted into the Hall of Fame.
18. The cost of a 30-second Super Bowl ad was $850,000.
19. Unemployment averaged 6.5%, inflation was 2.99%, and the minimum wage was $4.25 an hour.
20. A two-liter bottle of Coke Classic cost 99 cents, fresh blueberries were 99 cents a pint, and Hellman’s Mayonnaise was 99 cents for a quart jar.

This article teaches you fun facts, trivia, and history events from the year 1993. Find out about popular TV shows and movies, best-selling books, food and fashion trends, sports facts, pop music artists and songs, famous birthdays, economic and tech news, as well as unusual news events to get the right mix of questions and answers for your 1990s-themed trivia quiz.

Table of Contents

Here is a sneak preview of what this article is about:

1. Grocery Prices in the Year 1993
2. History Facts and Events From the USA
3. International News Events
4. Sports Facts and Trivia
5. Miscellaneous Fun Facts, Trivia, and Pop Culture Trends
6. Computer and Internet History
7. Websites Launched
8. Nobel Prize Winners
9. Best-Selling Books
10. Most Popular Television Shows From 1993-94
11. Highest-Grossing Films
12. Horror Movies From the Year 1993
13. Entries Into the National Film Registry
14. Biggest Pop Music Artists
15. Top 25 Songs for the Year
16. Favorite Video Games
17. Food and Beverage Trivia
18. Weddings and Divorces
19. Famous People Who Died in 1993
20. America’s Largest Corporations
21. Retailers and Brands From 1993 That Are No Longer Around

1. Grocery Prices in the Year 1993

These 1993 grocery prices have been made available courtesy of the Morris County Public Library in Whippany, NJ.

1. Apples (Red Delicious): 99 cents per pound
2. Bacon (Wilson): $1.19 a pound
3. Beef (chuck steak): $1.20 per pound
4. Blueberries (fresh): 99 cents per pint
5. Bread (County Hearth): 79 cents for a 22-ounce loaf
6. Butter: 64 cents for an eight-ounce container
7. Cake mix (Pillsbury Plus): 79 cents for an 18-ounce box
8. Cheese (Swiss): $2.99 per pound
9. Cherries (Bing): 99 cents a pound
10. Chicken (Country Pride, tender cuts): $3.99 per pound
11. Coffee (Savarin): 99 cents for a 13-ounce can
12. Cucumbers: Three for 99 cents
13. Crackers (Ritz): $1.99 for a 16-ounce box
14. Fish (Chicken of the Sea, tuna): 89 cents for a 6.5-ounce can
15. Hot dog rolls (Food Town): 68 cents for an eight-pack
16. Hot dogs (Ball Park): $1.49 for a one-pound package
17. Ice cream (Turkey Hill): $1.99 for a half-gallon
18. Juice (Minute Maid, fruit drink): 89 cents for a 64-ounce carton
19. Lettuce (Romaine): 79 cents per pound
20. Macaroni (Albadoro): Three 16-ounce boxes for $1.00
21. Mayonnaise (Hellman’s): 99 cents for a quart jar
22. Nectarines: 99 cents a pound
23. Preserves (Smucker's, grape jelly or jam): 79 cents for a two-pound jar
24. Soda (Coca-Cola, classic): 99 cents for a two-liter bottle
25. Tomatoes (Jersey, fresh): $1.20 a pound
26. Yogurt (La Yogurt): Four six-ounce containers for $1.00

2. History Facts and Events From the USA

1. Until January 20, George H. W. Bush was the President of the United States.
2. On January 20, Bill Clinton was inaugurated as the 42nd U.S. President.
3. In 1993, the U.S. unemployment rate averaged 6.5%.
4. The rate of inflation was 2.99%. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Price Index, “prices in 2017 are 69.63% higher than average prices throughout 1993. In other words, $100 in 1993 is equivalent in purchasing power to about $169.63 in 2017, a difference of $69.63 over 24 years.”
5. In 1993, a 22-ounce loaf of white bread cost 79 cents, Ritz Crackers were $1.99 for a 16-ounce box, and hot dogs were $1.49 for a one-pound package. A two-liter bottle of Coke Classic cost 99 cents, fresh blueberries were 99 cents a pint, and Hellman’s Mayonnaise was 99 cents for a quart jar.
6. Here were the sticker prices for two best-selling 1993 cars: a Chevrolet Lumina cost $12,599.00, and an Oldsmobile Royale 88 was $18,995.00.
7. The average price for a gallon of gas was $1.16.
8. A movie ticket cost $4.14.
9. Median household income was $31,230.00, and the cost of a new home was $113,200.00.
10. The federal minimum wage was $4.25.
11. The prime rate averaged 6.00%, and an ounce of gold was $391.75 on December 30.
12. On January 6, American astronomer Jean Meuller discovered a 15.5m comet. (While working at the Palomar Observatory in California, Mueller is credited for discovering a total of 15 comets and 13 numbered minor planets.)
13. On January 25, Sears, Roebuck & Company announced that it was eliminating its 97-year-old catalog sales department, closing 113 stores, and cutting 50,000 jobs.
14. On February 11, President Clinton nominated Janet Reno to serve as U.S. Attorney General. Reno would become “the first woman to serve as Attorney General and the second-longest serving Attorney General in U.S. history, after William Wirt.”
15. On February 26, terrorists “carried out their first attack on the World Trade Center.” According to 911Memorial.org, “a small cell of terrorists, with links to a local radical mosque and broader Islamist terror networks, detonated about 1,200 pounds of explosives in a rental van in the underground parking garage at the World Trade Center. The terrorists fled the area after setting the bomb to explode. The explosion created a five-story crater in the sub-grade levels of the towers and undermined the floor of an adjoining hotel.”
16. On April 5, construction began on downtown Cleveland’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Why is Cleveland the "Home of Rock and Roll?” TripSavvy.com explains that “Cleveland DJ Alan Freed coined the phrase ‘Rock and Roll’ on his Moondog Rock and Roll Radio Hour in the early 1950s. Freed is also credited with organizing the first rock concert, the Moondog Coronation Ball on March 21, 1952.”
17. On April 22, the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum was dedicated in Washington, DC.
18. On June 14, President Clinton nominated Ruth Bader Ginsburg to serve on the United States Supreme Court.
19. On July 1, Richard Riordan became the first Republican mayor of Los Angeles in 36 years.
20. On July 27, NBC announced that it would televise the 1996 Summer Olympics.
21. On August 19, the Dow Jones Industrial Average hit a record high of 3,612.13.
22. On August 19, toy manufacturers Mattel and Fisher-Price announced a $1 billion merger that would likely make the combined company the nation’s largest toymaker. The Los Angeles Times points out that “Mattel specializes in the fantasy line of toys--with its Barbie and Hot Wheels products and toys based on Disney characters. Fisher-Price products, primarily aimed at the preschool and infant markets, have long been known for their high quality and educational values. They include the Little People and Puffalumps brands, riding toys and play-yard equipment.”
23. On November 2, Rudy Giuliani became the first Republican mayor of New York City in 20 years.
24. On November 30, President Clinton signed the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act into law. GovTrack.us tells us that the Brady Act “mandated federal background checks on firearm purchasers in the United States, and imposed a five-day waiting period on purchases until the NICS system was implemented in 1998.”
25. On December 28, the Dow Jones Industrial Average hit another record high of 3,793.49.

3. International News Events

1. On January 1, Czechoslovakia peacefully separated into the independent countries of the Czech Republic and Slovakia. KafkaDesk.org tells us that “Both countries divided their common ‘goods’ (embassies, military equipment, etc.) on a two-to-one ratio to reflect their populations.”
2. On January 3, President George H. W. Bush and Russian President Boris Yeltsin signed the START II (Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty) in Moscow. START II was a “bilateral treaty between the United States of America and Russia on the Reduction and Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms.”
3. On April 30, CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research, released the World Wide Web into the public domain. (According to CERN’s website, “Tim Berners-Lee, a British scientist, invented the World Wide Web (WWW) in 1989, [sic] while working at CERN. The web was originally conceived and developed to meet the demand for automated information-sharing between scientists in universities and institutes around the world.”)
4. On May 18, Danish citizens voted in favor of ratifying the Maastricht Treaty. Known formally as the Treaty on European Union, the Maastricht Treaty is “the international agreement responsible for the creation of the European Union (EU).”
5. On June 25, Kim Campbell became the 19th Prime Minister of Canada. She was the first and only woman to ever hold that position.
6. On July 11, a leap second or one-second adjustment was made to civil time, “to synchronize clocks worldwide with the Earth's ever slowing rotation.” NationalGeographic.com points out that “A leap second isn't needed every year, because Earth rotates more regularly during some periods than others. A total of 26 leap seconds have been added since the practice began in 1972, when the world got 10 leap seconds to make up for lost time.”
7. On August 30, the Eiffel Tower welcomed its 150,000,000th visitor. (The Eiffel Tower welcomes over seven million visitors annually, making it “the most visited monument that you have to pay for in the world.”)
8. On October 15, Nelson Mandela and South African President F. W. de Klerk were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
9. On October 31, Germany’s unemployment reached a national record of 3.5 million people.
10. On December 15, British Prime Minister John Major and Irish Taoiseach Albert Reynolds signed the Downing Street Declaration, a joint proclamation that "outlined their approach to restoring peace in Northern Ireland."

4. Sports Facts and Trivia

This information has been made available courtesy of Pop-Culture.us. Generally suitable for all age groups, sports trivia questions are a welcome addition to any party game.

1. Kentucky Derby: Sea Hero
2. NBA Champions: Chicago Bulls
3. NCAA Basketball Champions: North Carolina
4. NCAA Football Champs: Florida State
5. Stanley Cup Champs: Montreal Canadiens
6. Super Bowl XXVII Champions: Dallas Cowboys
7. U.S. Open Golf: Lee Janzen
8. U.S. Open Tennis (men/women): Pete Sampras/Steffi Graf
9. Wimbledon (men/women): Pete Sampras/Steffi Graf
10. World Series Champions: Toronto Blue Jays

5. Miscellaneous Fun Facts, Trivia, and Pop Culture Trends

PBS.org explains that pop culture is that loose blend of books, music, fashion and other daily ephemera that contributes to the identity of a society at a particular point in time. In the 1990s, radio, film, television, books, and the internet defined the essence of American pop culture.

1. In 1993, popular baby names were Ashley, Jessica, Sarah, Samantha, Christopher, Joshua, Michael, and Matthew.
2. The average life expectancy at birth in the United States was 75.42 years.
3. The cost of a 30-second Super Bowl ad was $850,000.
4. Popular Halloween costumes were Barney the Dinosaur, the Genie from Aladdin, and Princess Jasmine from Aladdin.
5. Favorite holiday gifts included the Power Wheels Barbie Jeep Beach Buggy, Play-Doh Jewels and Gems, the VTech Smart Play Talking Alphabet Desk, and the Playskool Tape Recorder With Microphones.
6. Fashion trends in 1993 included crop tops, platform shoes, animal prints, faux fur, velvet, windbreakers, and denim. LiveTheOliver.com adds that “Matching your top to your bottom was very important. Monochromatic and dichromatic looks were the way to go. Tartan ruffle skirts that came with a matching tie or jacket were the coolest.”
7. Heartthrobs and fashion icons for the year were Gillian Anderson, Christina Applegate, Candice Bergen, Cindy Crawford, Fran Drescher, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Rachel Hunter, Julianna Margulies, Elisabeth Moss, Princess Diana, Claudia Schiffer, Stephanie Seymour, Anna Nicole Smith, Sharon Stone, Niki Taylor, and Heather Thomas.
8. Hunks included George Clooney, Tom Cruise, and Brad Pitt.
9. Leanza Cornett (Florida) won the Miss America crown.
10. Kenya Moore (Michigan) became Miss USA.
11. Top-grossing Broadway shows were The Phantom of the Opera, Miss Saigon, Crazy for You, Guys and Dolls, Les Miserables, Tommy, Cats, Kiss of the Spider Woman, The Sisters Rosensweig, Jelly’s Last Jam, and Will Rogers’ Follies.
12. Broadway shows that opened in 1993 included A Grand Night for Singing, Any Given Day, Camelot, Candida, Fool Moon, Gray’s Anatomy, In the Summer House, Laughter on the 23rd Floor, Mixed Emotions, My Fair Lady, The Red Shoes, and Wonderful Tennessee.
13. At the 65th Academy Awards, which honored the best films of 1992, Unforgiven won an Oscar for Best Picture, Clint Eastwood (Unforgiven) won an Oscar for Best Director, Al Pacino (Scent of a Woman) won an Oscar for Best Actor, and Emma Thompson (Howards End) won an Oscar for Best Actress.
14. At the 45th Primetime Emmy Awards, Seinfeld (NBC) won an Emmy for Outstanding Comedy Series, and Picket Fences (CBS) won an Emmy for Outstanding Drama Series. Likewise, Ted Danson (Cheers) won an Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series, and Roseanne Arnold (Roseanne) won an Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series.
15. In 1993, SnackWell’s reduced-fat cookies were introduced.
16. The Food Network premiered on television.
17. The largest peanut butter and jelly sandwich to date was made in Pennsylvania. It was created from 150 pounds of peanut butter and 50 pounds of jelly.
18. The last episode of the sitcom Cheers aired on television.
19. Recycling began in Brooklyn, New York.
20. New York City’s MTA banned cigarette advertisements.
21. On January 5, MLB player Reggie Jackson was inducted into the Hall of Fame.
22. On January 8, a postage stamp commemorating Elvis Presley went on sale.
23. On January 14, David Letterman announced that his late-night talk show was moving from NBC to CBS.
24. On January 18, the Martin Luther King holiday was observed in all 50 states for the first time.
25. On April 21, the action TV series Walker, Texas Ranger premiered on CBS.
26. On April 26, NBC announced that Conan O’Brien would replace David Letterman.
27. On May 24, astronaut and physician Mae Jemison became the first real-life astronaut to appear on Star Trek.
28. On June 25, the Late Night with David Letterman aired for the last time on NBC.
29. On August 28, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, a live-action, superhero TV series, premiered on the Fox Kids Network.
30. On August 30, the Late Show with David Letterman debuted on CBS.
31. On November 14, Don Shula became the "winningest" coach in professional football. According to Encyclopedia.com, Shula “compiled an unparalleled record of 347-173-6 over thirty-three seasons coaching in the National Football League (NFL). On November 14, 1993, as coach of the Miami Dolphins, Shula broke the record of 324 wins set by the legendary George Halas.”
32. On November 30, Schindler's List, directed by Steven Spielberg and starring Liam Neeson, Ben Kingsley, and Ralph Fiennes, premiered in Washington, DC. In 1994, the film won an Academy Award for Best Picture.
33. Here is a partial list of consumer products that were launched during 1993:

AlphaSmart (word processing keyboard)

Apple Newton (PDA device)

Atari Jaguar (home video game console)

Beanie Babies (stuffed toys)

Belvedere Vodka (Polish rye vodka)

Goodfella’s (frozen pizza)

Mega Duck (handheld game console)

MessagePad (PDA device)

MetroCard (primary payment method for the New York City subway)

OK Soda (a soft drink created by Coca-Cola)

Pepsi Max (a sugar-free soda created by PepsiCo)

R4600 (microprocessor)

Sprinkle Spangles (a short-lived breakfast cereal)

Triples (breakfast cereal)

Zima (a lightly-carbonated alcoholic beverage created by the Coors Brewing Company)

6. Computer and Internet History

This cool trivia from 1993 has been made available courtesy of ComputerHope.com.

1. In 1993, there was no Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, or Reddit. Similarly, there was no LinkedIn, Pinterest, Tumblr, Snapchat, or Flickr. There were no Google Maps, Google Books, or Google Goggles. Likewise, iPhones, camera phones, iPods, Blu-ray discs, Amazon Kindle, Skype, Gmail, Wikipedia, and iTunes did not exist yet. Finally, Microsoft had not marketed a browser yet and did not release Internet Explorer (IE) until August 16, 1995.
2. Back in 1993, the top-level domains .org and .gov were first used.
3. In 1993, the C.H.A.O.S. Continuum adventure game was released for Windows and Macintosh computers.
4. Here is a partial list of computer companies that were launched in 1993: ACD Systems, ActionTec, ADSI, ARK Logic, CBL Data Recovery, Efficient Networks, FRISK Software, Funcom, GT Interactive Software, InterNIC, PowerQuest, SigmaTel, Stellar Data Recovery, Sun Solaris, and Supermicro.
5. On March 22, Intel released the first generation of Pentium processors. According to EDN.com, “The name Pentium came from the Greek word pente, meaning ‘five,’ referring to Intel's fifth-generation microarchitecture, the P5. The first chips ran at 60 and 66 MHz clock speeds, used 3.1 million transistors, had 4 GB of addressable memory, and measured 16.7×17.6 mm.”
6. On April 22, the National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA) released the Mosaic browser, which was the first widely-used, web-viewing software.
7. On April 30, CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research, released the World Wide Web (WWW) into the public domain. Computer Hope explains that “The WWW is different from the Internet although most people today think the WWW is the Internet. The Internet is what connects your computer with other computers. The WWW is what you're viewing while looking at your browser (e.g., this web page).”
8. On July 27, Microsoft Windows NT 3.1 was released.
9. On September 24, Broderbund Software released the computer game Myst. IMDb reveals the theme of this popular adventure game: “The player is the Stranger, an unknown person mysteriously transported to the island of Myst. Alone and without clues, the Stranger must solve the mysteries and discover the secrets of this strange place.”
10. During November, the first webcam was connected to the Internet.
11. On December 31, Microsoft Windows 3.11, an update to Windows 3.1, was launched.
12. By the end of December, there were 623 websites and about 15,000,000 Internet users worldwide. (In June 2018, there were 1,630,322,579 websites.)

7. Websites Launched

By December 1993, there were only 623 websites. Here are 20 sites that were launched that year:

1. ALIWEB (one of the first search engines)
2. Bloomberg (financial portal)
3. Chabad.org (the “flagship website of the Chabad-Lubavitch Hasidic movement”)
4. Doctor Fun (webcomic site)
5. ExPASy (life sciences website)
6. Global Network Navigator (early web directory)
7. Haystack Observatory (the official website for MIT’s astronomical observatory)
8. Internet Underground Music Archive
9. JumpStation (search engine)
10. Kent Anthropology (social science site)
11. MTV (the official website for the music network)
12. Nexor (a site designed for Nexor, an early Internet software company)
13. PARC Map Server (a precursor to MapQuest and Google Maps)
14. Principia Cybernetica (a site dedicated to the “international cooperation of scientists in the field of cybernetics and systems science”)
15. The Exploratorium (one of the Internet’s first science sites)
16. The Internet Movie Database
17. The Tech (MIT's campus newspaper)
18. Trincoll Journal (the first multimedia magazine)
19. Trojan Room Coffee Pot (the first webcam)
20. Wired.com (Wired magazine’s web site)

8. Nobel Prize Winners

Beth Rowen tells us that winning a Nobel Prize is a life-changing honor. Whether the laureate is an internationally known figure (such as Mother Teresa) or a scientist from obscurity (like Richard R. Ernst), the award brings worldwide recognition that highlights one's life work and provides the funds to continue the mission.