1992 in history
Here are some light-hearted facts about 1992, designed to serve as a prep sheet for a radio feature on 1992.
I created this page because when I needed some notes to create a few talking points about 1992 in Ireland I couldn't find any suitable sources, so I thought I'd share what I did find. It applies to 1992 in Britain too.
You can also look at years other than 1992:
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1992
CDs outsold cassettes for the first time. Vinyl records were withdrawn from sale in most shops.
After the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert was announced in this year, all 72,000 tickets sold out in three hours, even though no performers were announced besides the remaining members of Queen.
'November Rain' by Guns N' Roses became the longest ever Top 10 hit. Its video was the most expensive at the time, with a budget of over $1.5 million.
Dr Atkins' diet book was a popular fad.
President George H.W. Bush vomited on Japanese Prime Minister Kiichi Miyazawa during a state dinner.
A shipping container filled with 28,000 rubber ducks was lost in the Pacific Ocean. To this day, they're still being found around the world.
The Olympic Games were held in Barcelona. Michael Carruth won Ireland's first gold medal in 36 years.
Street Fighter II won 'game of the year', having become a huge success. [NB: this wasn't the release; it was released a while before.]
Singer Sinéad O'Connor tore up a picture of Pope John Paul II on Saturday Night Live. To ensure it happened, during the rehearsal she used a photo of a Brazilian street kid who the police had killed.
John Major was re-elected in a surprise General Election result. The Sun claimed "It's The Sun Wot Won It".
Bill Clinton became the 42nd president of the United States.
Ireland made wearing a seat belt mandatory for all passengers in a car.
Albert Reynolds replaced Charles Haughey as an Taoiseach.
1992 Launches
The first text message ever was sent and said "Merry Christmas"- it had to be typed from a PC as phones didn't allow text entry.
Text messaging was supposed to be a small feature to help deaf people. Creators didn't know how popular it would become until teenagers discovered how cheap and discreet it was.
Disneyland Paris opened.
UEFA Champions League debuted with four opening day matches. It had previously been known as the European Champion Clubs' Cup.
Mario Kart was released on the Super Nintendo Entertainment System.
The largest McDonald's in the world opened in Tiananmen Square, the first in China.
1992 in Film
Batman Returns was the biggest film of the year.
Other big films include Lethal Weapon 3, Sister Act, Home Alone 2: Lost in New York, Wayne's World, Basic Instinct, Aladdin, Under Siege and The Bodyguard.
Melrose Place, A Few Good Men and Death Becomes Her were also released.
Macaulay Culkin was paid $4.5m to star in Home Alone 2: Lost In New York, a record for a child actor at the time.
1992 in TV
Big TV shows of the year (not premiers): Only Fools and Horses, Alright On The Night, You've Been Framed!, Mr Bean, The Darling Buds Of May and Auntie's Bloomers.
Gladiators premiered on TV.
Heartbeat, Eldorado, Barney and Friends, Later... with Jools Holland, The Big Breakfast, Knowing Me, Knowing You with Alan Partridge and Absolutely Fabulous were first shown on TV.
An episode of Ghostwatch was said to have left viewers "traumatised", after witnessing what they believed was one of the hosts being genuinely killed by a ghost named Pipes.
Linda Martin won the Eurovision Song Contest for Ireland, with Why Me. She was the first of their three in a row.
Into the West released starring Gabriel Byrne and the iconic white horse, Tír na nÓg.
While these facts about 1992 have been checked against third-party sources (and have been used on air before!), they are provided in good faith to inspire your research and no guarantee is made about their accuracy or their uniqueness. You can use the facts however you wish: most people just take a couple of points they remember and talk around then.
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