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90 Trivia Questions From the 1990s (and the 2000s, if you ask nicely)

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TL;DR. Ninety trivia questions from the 1990s — pop culture, music, movies, TV, fashion, tech, and world events — plus a bonus 20-question 2000s round. Sorted by category, mix-and-match for your night.

Music (15)

  • Who released “Smells Like Teen Spirit” in 1991? **Nirvana**
  • Which boy band released “I Want It That Way”? **Backstreet Boys**
  • Who sang “Wannabe”? **Spice Girls**
  • Which Alanis Morissette album sold 33+ million copies in 1995? **Jagged Little Pill**
  • Who released “…Baby One More Time”? **Britney Spears**
  • Which 1996 song dominated US radio? **“Macarena” by Los del Río**
  • Who sang “Killing Me Softly” with The Fugees? **Lauryn Hill**
  • What was Mariah Carey's 1991 album title? **Mariah Carey (debut)**
  • Which grunge band released “Black Hole Sun”? **Soundgarden**
  • Who sang “Vogue”? **Madonna**
  • Which 1993 Whitney Houston song was the longest-running #1 single? **“I Will Always Love You”**
  • Who is the lead singer of Pearl Jam? **Eddie Vedder**
  • Which TLC album included “Waterfalls”? **CrazySexyCool (1994)**
  • Who sang “Wonderwall”? **Oasis**
  • Which 1999 album by Eminem includes “My Name Is”? **The Slim Shady LP**
  • Movies (15)

  • Which 1994 Quentin Tarantino film starred Travolta and Jackson? **Pulp Fiction**
  • What animated 1994 Disney film features Simba? **The Lion King**
  • Who directed *Titanic* (1997)? **James Cameron**
  • Which 1999 film is told entirely in reverse? **(close to date — *Memento* came out in 2000)**; in the 90s, *Reservoir Dogs* (1992) is a strong out-of-order answer
  • Who plays Forrest Gump? **Tom Hanks**
  • Which 1995 Pixar film was the first feature-length CGI animation? **Toy Story**
  • Who directed *Schindler's List* (1993)? **Steven Spielberg**
  • Which 1999 film features “I see dead people”? **The Sixth Sense**
  • What was the highest-grossing film of the 1990s? **Titanic (1997)**
  • Who plays Trinity in *The Matrix* (1999)? **Carrie-Anne Moss**
  • Which 1996 film features the Sanderson Sisters? **Hocus Pocus** (1993, but trivia varies)
  • Who plays the Genie in *Aladdin* (1992)? **Robin Williams**
  • Which 1994 Jim Carrey film features a green mask? **The Mask**
  • Who directed *Goodfellas* (1990)? **Martin Scorsese**
  • Which 1991 Disney film was the first animated film nominated for Best Picture? **Beauty and the Beast**
  • TV (15)

  • Which sitcom centered around a coffee shop named Central Perk? **Friends**
  • Who plays Jerry on *Seinfeld*? **Jerry Seinfeld**
  • What is the name of the high school in *Buffy the Vampire Slayer*? **Sunnydale High**
  • Which 90s teen drama starred Jennie Garth and Tori Spelling? **Beverly Hills, 90210**
  • Who is the mom on *Family Matters*? **Harriette Winslow**
  • Which animated MTV pair watch music videos? **Beavis and Butt-Head**
  • What was Will Smith's 90s sitcom called? **The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air**
  • Which 1990s sitcom featured Tim “The Toolman” Taylor? **Home Improvement**
  • Who plays Buffy in *Buffy the Vampire Slayer*? **Sarah Michelle Gellar**
  • Which legal drama starred Calista Flockhart? **Ally McBeal**
  • What is the X-Files' famous tagline? **“The truth is out there.”**
  • Who plays Cordelia in *Buffy*? **Charisma Carpenter**
  • Which 90s show featured an alien named ALF? **ALF** (technically 1986–1990)
  • Who is the title star of *Roseanne* (1988–1997)? **Roseanne Barr**
  • Which long-running animated sitcom debuted in 1989? **The Simpsons**
  • Tech & games (10)

  • Which gaming console launched in 1994 with a CD format? **PlayStation (Sony)**
  • What was Nintendo's flagship 90s handheld? **Game Boy**
  • Which 1996 Pokémon game was the franchise's debut? **Pokémon Red and Green (Japan) / Red and Blue (international)**
  • Which company released the iMac in 1998? **Apple**
  • What was the original name of Google's search engine? **BackRub**
  • Which 1999 search engine was a popular Google rival? **Ask Jeeves, AltaVista, Yahoo!, Lycos**
  • What was the first commercially successful MP3 player? **Diamond Rio PMP300 (1998)**
  • Which game popularised the first-person shooter? **Doom (1993)**
  • Which 1996 fighting game introduced sub-zero and scorpion to home consoles widely? **Mortal Kombat Trilogy**
  • Which 1991 Sonic the Hedgehog game launched on the Genesis/Mega Drive? **Sonic the Hedgehog**
  • World events (10)

  • Which wall fell in 1989, marking the end of the Cold War era? **The Berlin Wall**
  • Who became South Africa's first Black president in 1994? **Nelson Mandela**
  • Which 1991 conflict was led by a US-led coalition in Kuwait? **Gulf War**
  • The European Union was officially formed by which 1993 treaty? **The Maastricht Treaty**
  • Which 1997 Princess died in a car accident in Paris? **Princess Diana**
  • Which 1998 conflict involved bombing of Iraq by US and UK forces? **Operation Desert Fox**
  • Which 1994 genocide occurred in Rwanda? **Tutsi genocide**
  • Which 1999 currency was introduced in Europe? **The euro (officially launched, physical notes in 2002)**
  • Which 1995 trial captivated the US? **O.J. Simpson trial**
  • Who was US president for most of the 1990s? **Bill Clinton**
  • Fashion & pop culture (10)

  • Which 90s fashion staple was a velvet choker? **Choker necklace**
  • Which boy bands defined late-90s teen pop? **Backstreet Boys, NSYNC, 98 Degrees, Boyz II Men**
  • Which 90s shoe brand was famously platformed? **Spice Girls' platform sneakers (and brands like Steve Madden)**
  • What was Pog mania? **A 1990s craze of collecting circular cardboard discs**
  • Which 90s toy was a virtual pet? **Tamagotchi**
  • Which doll was very popular in the early 90s among teens? **Barbie**
  • Which talk show host dominated daytime TV in the 90s? **Oprah Winfrey**
  • Which 90s drink had a slogan “Obey your thirst”? **Sprite**
  • Which 90s candy bar advertised “Sometimes you feel like a nut”? **Almond Joy / Mounds**
  • What was a Beanie Baby? **A small stuffed animal craze (Ty Inc.)**
  • Bonus: 2000s round (15 questions)

  • Which TV show featured Tony Soprano as a mob boss? **The Sopranos**
  • Who is the lead singer of Coldplay? **Chris Martin**
  • Which 2003 reality competition crowned its first American Idol? **Kelly Clarkson (Season 1, 2002)**
  • Which 2003 film won Best Picture? **The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King**
  • Who released “Crazy in Love” in 2003? **Beyoncé**
  • Which iPhone year was the first iPhone? **2007**
  • What was MySpace's peak year? **2008**
  • Which 2007 film features the line “You either die a hero…”? **The Dark Knight (2008)**
  • Who plays the lead in *The Wire*? **Dominic West (McNulty)**
  • Which Mark Zuckerberg site launched in 2004 at Harvard? **Facebook**
  • Who sang “Hey Ya!” (2003)? **OutKast**
  • Which 2001 game console succeeded the PS1? **PlayStation 2**
  • Which 2002 reality show featured Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie? **The Simple Life**
  • Which Pixar 2003 film features Marlin and Dory? **Finding Nemo**
  • Who became US president in 2009? **Barack Obama**
  • Tips

    For decade-themed trivia nights, mix questions across categories so no one team dominates a single sub-genre.

  • [How to Host a Trivia Night](/blog/how-to-host-a-trivia-night)
  • [Music Trivia Questions](/blog/music-trivia-questions)
  • [Movie Trivia Questions](/blog/movie-trivia-questions)
  • Build a 90s trivia quiz →

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    James Okafor

    EdTech Researcher & Instructional Designer

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