2000s Trivia — 60 Questions About the Millennium Decade

Kanye West — Released in February 2004, "The College Dropout" was Kanye West's debut studio album and established him as a major force in hip-hop. It featured hits like "Jesus Walks" and "Through the Wire."

The iPod — Launched in October 2001, the iPod could hold "1,000 songs in your pocket" and became the dominant digital music player of the decade, selling hundreds of millions of units worldwide.

Destiny's Child — After releasing their final studio album "Destiny Fulfilled" in 2004, the group officially disbanded in 2006, allowing Beyoncé to become one of the biggest solo artists of the decade.

iTunes Store — The iTunes Store launched in April 2003 and sold over one million songs in its first week, fundamentally changing how music was purchased and distributed digitally.

Green Day — "American Idiot" was a rock opera concept album that critiqued American politics and became one of the best-selling albums of the decade, winning the Grammy for Best Rock Album in 2005.

The Strokes — The Strokes' debut album "Is This It" is widely credited with kickstarting a garage rock and indie revival that would define much of the decade's alternative music scene.

Amy Winehouse — "Back to Black" made Amy Winehouse the first British female to win five Grammys in a single night, including Record of the Year and Song of the Year for "Rehab."

Napster — Napster, which had peaked with 80 million registered users, was forced to shut down its peer-to-peer file-sharing service in July 2001 following a federal court order.

Blink-182 — "Enema of the State" became a defining album of the pop-punk genre and propelled Blink-182 to mainstream success that carried through the early 2000s.

Eminem — "The Eminem Show" sold over 27 million copies worldwide and included massive hits like "Without Me" and "Cleanin' Out My Closet," solidifying Eminem's status as the biggest rapper of the decade.

The Fellowship of the Ring — Released in December 2001, "The Fellowship of the Ring" was the first of three LOTR films that collectively grossed nearly $3 billion and won 17 Academy Awards.

The Dark Knight — Christopher Nolan's "The Dark Knight" grossed over $1 billion worldwide and Heath Ledger posthumously won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his chilling Joker performance.

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone — Released in November 2001 ("Philosopher's Stone" outside the U.S.), it grossed nearly $1 billion and launched one of the highest-grossing film franchises of all time.

Spider-Man — The 2002 "Spider-Man" film grossed over $825 million worldwide and set a new opening-weekend record at the time, helping launch the modern superhero film genre.

Finding Nemo — "Finding Nemo" won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature and was the highest-grossing animated film at that time, earning over $940 million worldwide.

Gladiator — Ridley Scott's "Gladiator" won five Academy Awards including Best Picture and Best Actor for Russell Crowe, and is credited with reviving the historical epic genre.

The Incredibles — Written and directed by Brad Bird for Pixar, "The Incredibles" won two Academy Awards and is regarded as one of the best superhero films ever made.

Avatar — "Avatar" grossed over $2.9 billion worldwide, surpassing "Titanic" to become the highest-grossing film ever, a record it held for nearly a decade.

DodgeBall: A True Underdog Story — "DodgeBall" became a cult classic comedy of the 2000s, featuring the memorable line "If you can dodge a wrench, you can dodge a ball."

Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End — The third film in the Disney franchise grossed over $963 million worldwide and wrapped up the story arc begun in "The Curse of the Black Pearl" (2003).

Lost — "Lost" ran for six seasons from 2004 to 2010, becoming one of the most discussed and analyzed TV shows of the decade with its complex mythology and flashback storytelling structure.

The Office (U.S.) — Premiering in 2005 with Steve Carell as Michael Scott, the U.S. version of "The Office" became one of the most beloved sitcoms of all time and a defining show of the 2000s.

24 — "24" was famous for its real-time format, with each season consisting of 24 episodes representing one hour in a day. It premiered in November 2001 and ran for eight seasons.

Desperate Housewives — "Desperate Housewives" was an instant hit, drawing over 21 million viewers for its series premiere and running for eight seasons on ABC's Sunday night lineup.

The Sopranos — Running from 1999 to 2007, "The Sopranos" is widely considered one of the greatest TV shows ever made and helped establish HBO as a prestige television network.

Survivor — The first season of "Survivor," set in Borneo, drew over 50 million viewers for its finale and is credited with sparking the reality television revolution of the 2000s.

American Idol — "American Idol" dominated American television for most of the 2000s, with its Season 2 finale drawing over 38 million viewers and launching the careers of Kelly Clarkson and Carrie Underwood.

Mad Men — Created by Matthew Weiner, "Mad Men" followed the life of Don Draper and the employees of Sterling Cooper advertising agency, winning four consecutive Emmy Awards for Outstanding Drama Series.

Grey's Anatomy — "Grey's Anatomy" became one of ABC's longest-running and most successful series, making stars of Ellen Pompeo, Sandra Oh, and Patrick Dempsey.

Family Guy — Although it premiered in 1999, "Family Guy" was cancelled twice before being revived in 2005 due to strong DVD sales and Adult Swim ratings, becoming a cornerstone of Fox animation.

YouTube — YouTube was launched in February 2005 and was acquired by Google in November 2006 for $1.65 billion, becoming the dominant platform for online video sharing.

Facebook — Founded by Mark Zuckerberg and his college roommates, Facebook expanded beyond Harvard in 2004 and reached 100 million users by August 2008, reshaping social media forever.

The iPhone — The original iPhone combined an iPod, phone, and internet communicator into one device, fundamentally transforming mobile technology and spawning the modern smartphone era.

Wi-Fi — Wi-Fi became increasingly widespread throughout the decade, with the Wi-Fi Alliance certifying devices and "hotspots" appearing in coffee shops, airports, and homes around the world.

Wikipedia — Founded by Jimmy Wales and Larry Sanger, Wikipedia grew from a small experiment to one of the world's largest reference websites, with millions of articles in hundreds of languages by decade's end.

Mozilla Firefox — Firefox was released in November 2004 and quickly gained popularity for its speed, security, and tabbed browsing, at one point capturing over 30% of the browser market.

Twitter — Twitter launched in March 2006 and introduced the concept of microblogging, becoming a major platform for real-time news, celebrity communication, and social movements.

Windows XP — Released in October 2001, Windows XP remained the world's most popular operating system for nearly a decade, with over 400 million copies activated by 2006.

Google — Google's IPO in August 2004 valued the company at $23 billion. By the end of the decade, Google had become the dominant search engine, handling billions of queries per day.

Android — The Android operating system was unveiled in November 2007, and the first Android phone (the HTC Dream/T-Mobile G1) was released in 2008, beginning its rise to become the world's most popular mobile OS.

The September 11 attacks — Al-Qaeda terrorists hijacked four commercial airplanes, crashing two into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center, one into the Pentagon, and one into a Pennsylvania field, killing nearly 3,000 people.

The Iraq War — The Iraq War began on March 20, 2003, with a coalition led by the United States and the United Kingdom invading Iraq. Saddam Hussein was captured in December 2003 and executed in 2006.

Hurricane Katrina — Hurricane Katrina caused over 1,800 deaths and approximately $125 billion in damage, making it one of the costliest natural disasters in U.S. history and exposing severe failures in disaster response.

Barack Obama — Barack Obama became the first African American elected President of the United States, defeating John McCain. His campaign slogan was "Yes We Can."

The 2008 Global Financial Crisis — The crisis led to the collapse of Lehman Brothers in September 2008, a global recession, and massive government bailouts of banks and financial institutions worldwide.

Space Shuttle Columbia — The Columbia disaster occurred on February 1, 2003, when the shuttle broke apart over Texas during re-entry. The tragedy grounded the shuttle fleet for over two years.

The War in Afghanistan — Operation Enduring Freedom began on October 7, 2001, with the U.S. and NATO allies invading Afghanistan to dismantle al-Qaeda and remove the Taliban from power.

The 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami — Triggered by a magnitude 9.1 earthquake off the coast of Sumatra, Indonesia, the tsunami was one of the deadliest natural disasters in recorded history.

MySpace — MySpace became the most visited social networking site in the world from 2005 to 2008, reaching over 100 million accounts and launching the careers of musicians like Arctic Monkeys and Lily Allen.

The Real World — MTV's "The Real World" was already running since 1992, but the 2000s saw its peak cultural influence, with the Las Vegas season in 2002–2003 becoming the most-watched season ever.

The Cha Cha Slide — DJ Casper's "Cha Cha Slide" became a staple at weddings, school dances, and parties throughout the 2000s with its call-and-response dance instructions.

The Hampster Dance — Created in 1998 but peaking in popularity in the early 2000s, the Hampster Dance website featured rows of animated hamsters dancing and became one of the earliest viral internet phenomena.

Sagging — Sagging pants, worn below the waist to expose underwear, was one of the most debated fashion trends of the 2000s, with some cities attempting to ban the style in public.

Flash mobs — Flash mobs began as a social experiment in 2003 when Bill Wasik of Harper's Magazine organized the first known flash mob in Manhattan. The trend went global by the mid-2000s.

The Twilight Saga — Stephenie Meyer's "Twilight" series sold over 100 million copies worldwide and spawned a film franchise that became a defining pop culture phenomenon of the late 2000s.

Bejeweled — "Bejeweled" sold over 50 million copies and helped define the casual gaming market. Its success laid groundwork for the match-3 puzzle genre that includes "Candy Crush Saga."

The New England Patriots — Led by quarterback Tom Brady and coach Bill Belichick, the Patriots became a dynasty, with their three early-decade Super Bowl wins launching the most successful era in NFL history.

The Boston Red Sox — The Red Sox came back from a 3-0 deficit to beat the Yankees in the ALCS, then swept the St. Louis Cardinals to win their first World Series since 1918, ending the "Curse of the Bambino."

Michael Phelps — Michael Phelps won eight gold medals in Beijing, surpassing Mark Spitz's 1972 record of seven golds in a single Olympics. His eight wins included the 100m butterfly by just 0.01 seconds.

Italy — Italy defeated France 5-3 on penalties in the final after a 1-1 draw. The match is remembered for Zinedine Zidane's headbutt on Marco Materazzi in his final professional game.