2007 in history
Here are some light-hearted facts about 2007, designed to serve as a prep sheet for a radio feature on 2007.
I created this page because when I needed some notes to create a few talking points about 2007 in Ireland I couldn't find any suitable sources, so I thought I'd share what I did find. It applies to 2007 in Britain too.
You can also look at years other than 2007:
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2007
The first ever 'Rickroll' happened. This is when you click on something online, and instead get the video for Rick Asley's Never Gonna Give You Up.
After getting lost during a training mission, the Switzerland national army accidentally invaded the neighbouring country of Liechtenstein. In response, Liechtenstein said, "no problem, these things happen".
What could have been an awful terror attack at Glasgow Airport went wrong and ended with the terrorists being beaten up by bystanders. One man proudly told reporters "I got a kick in, other passengers were getting kicks in, some other guy banjoed him". Another claimed that he kicked the terrorist in the balls so hard he broke a tendon in his foot.
A fundraiser raised enough money to buy the heroes 1,000 pints for their efforts.
The Live Earth gigs were held across the world.
Rod Stewart was paid $1 million to perform a one hour gig for billionaire Steve Schwarzman's 60th birthday.
Smoking was banned in all enclosed public places in England and Wales.
Caitlin Upton was asked why people can't find the US on a map at the Miss Teen USA pageant. She went on a long ramble about "the Iraq" that went viral.
Viynl started to show signs that it was becoming more popular aign.
David Beckham played with LA Galaxy.
Britney Spears shaved her head.
'Brain Training' on the Nintendo DS took the country by storm.
The fidget spinner became the most popular toy in the world.
Prawo Jazdy racked up more than 50 Irish driving offences. Authorities soon discovered that his "name" was the Polish translation of 'driving licence'.
The phrase "credit crunch" became a regular in the news.
Tony Blair stepped down and Gordon Brown became Prime Minister.
2007 Launches
The iPhone was invented. Steve Jobs sold it as a "multimedia entertainment device that is also a phone". Time Magazine called it the invention of the year.
The Amazon Kindle was released.
A video of two children playing, called "Charlie bit my finger again", was uploaded to YouTube, and became a massive hit.
George Michael performed the first concert at the newly rebuilt Wembley Stadium. Concert for Diana soon followed.
Bon Jovi performed the first concert at the newly repurposed Millennium Dome.
Barclaycard in the UK launched Europe's first contactless payment card.
BBC iPlayer launched. It was the world's first online TV catch-up service, and was mocked for being "almost as good as taping it". It soon inspired hundreds of copy-cats.
Windows Vista (home edition) was released. Its unreliability became a joke.
2007 in Film
Spider-Man 3 was the biggest film of the year.
Other big films include Shrek the Third, Transformers, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, The Bourne Ultimatum, Ratatouille, Knocked Up, I Am Legend, The Simpsons Movie, Alvin and the Chipmunks and Night at the Museum.
Garage and Transformers were also released.
2007 in TV
The Sopranos ended.
Mad Men, Benidorm, Outnumbered, Gavin & Stacey and The Big Bang Theory premiered.
The first series of Britain's Got Talent aired, with Paul Potts winning after a performance of Nessun Dorma. Ant & Dec later revealed that they went to lunch during Paul's audition, because they didn't think he'd be very interesting. Producers had to run to get them so they could film a reaction.
It was the fifth series of Celebrity Big Brother, featuring Shilpa Shetty and Jade Goody, Danielle Lloyd and Jo O'Meara. 44,000 people complained to broadcasting regulator Ofcom about the alleged racism happening in the house, leading to a police investigation and debates in parliament.
Jade Goody was evicted that week and no studio audience was invited. Shilpa Shetty eventually won the series.
Famous British TV shows were plunged into chaos, after an investigation by the BBC's Panorama found evidence that many of them were faking their competitions, faking their winners or setting impossible quizzes.
There was confusion about who would represent the UK at Eurovision. On live TV, Terry Wogan told Cyndi Almouzni she had won, while co-presenter Fearne Cotton stood next to him and correctly told Scooch that they had won.
Cabury launched the 'drumming gorilla' TV advert.
Don't Tell the Bride launched on TV.
Xposé was new on TV.
2007 in Ireland
Sony released a Hurling game for the Playstation 2.
The sale of 10 packs of cigarettes were banned in Ireland.
This year was described as "an annus horribilis for Irish music" by rock critic Eamon Sweeney.
Dublin Port Tunnel officially opened to all traffic [NB: the first lorries were allowed through in December 2006]
The Rolling Stones returned to Slane Castle.
While these facts about 2007 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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