1990-1999-Disasters and Discoveries

-Important People-Political Events

-Movies and Music

Disasters And Discoveries• Hubble Telescope (1990)

• shuttle Discovery carries the Hubble Space Telescope into orbit• about 370 miles above Earth• view objects with greater brightness, clarity, and detail• appeared to be a failure, all pictures were out of focus• 1993: a shuttle is sent to fix the problem • clear photographs of planets, stars, and distant galaxies• look deeper into space • providing evidence that supported the Big Bang theory• the universe could be younger than previously thought• disks of dust around young stars

Disasters and Discoveries

• Hurricane Andrew: August 1992

• first catastrophic storm of the 1990s• category-five hurricane (Saffir-Simpson Scale)• August 24: South Florida with winds of 150 mi/hr• Homestead Air Force Base: demolished• two million people evacuated• Gulf of Mexico then down the coast of Louisiana• twenty-six people died • hundreds more were injured• thousands lost possessions

• Columbine Shooting: April 20, 1999

• Denver, Colorado• two teenagers: Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold• killed 12 students, one teacher and themselves• fourth deadliest school shooting in US history• event sparked people and officials to question gun control laws and

bullying in schools• movies and video games were questioned in aiding the massacre

Disasters And Discoveries

• Oprah Winfrey

• “Time named Oprah Winfrey one of the most important people of the twentieth century, and in 1998 Entertainment Weekly ranked her first in its annual list of the most influential people in Hollywood, In 1997 Newsweek named her the most important person in books and media, and TV Guide called her the television performer of the year.”

• her show includes segments on books celebrity interviews, and

self-improvement• 1993: highest rated episode- Michael Jackson confessed he

suffered from a skin-pigment disorder, vitiligo

Important People

Important People

• Jim Clark (1995)• Netscape Communications: instantly made $2 billion• World Wide Web

Important People

• Jerry Seinfeld

• adapted comedy—with brilliance—to a new culture• hit TV show, Seinfeld, popular in the 90s• stand-up comedian• writer• actor

Political Events

• The Gulf War: 1990 • August 2: Iraqi army invaded Kuwait • fight over the oil rich land in Kuwait• Americans and the UN joined the fight to stop Iraqi movement• Iraqi actions threatened the world supply of oil• Iraqi actions also threatened the stability of the Middle East

Political Events

• The Twin Tower Bombing: 1993

• February 16• rental van loaded with about 1500 lbs of explosives was detonated

in the parking garage beneath Tower One• 150 feet wide hole and several stories deep in the parking garage• six people were killed• more than a thousand injured • more than $300 million in property damage• thought to be an accident because “terrorism” was not something

that could happen on American soil• nitrates in the bomb crater led FBI bomb experts to conclude the

nature of the bomb

Political Events

• Clinton / Lewinsky Scandal: 1995 – 1998

• Nov 15 1995 –Aug 17 1998• sexual encounters between former President Clinton and 22 year

old white house worker, Monica Lewinsky,• ended in a trial and a possible 11 impeachment charges, including

perjury and obstruction of justice• 21 day trial in Senate• Linda Tipp secretly recorded conversations between Lewinsky and

herself which explicitly explained the personal relationship between Clinton and Lewinsky

Movies and Music

• Nirvana: “Smells Like Teen Spirit” (1991)

• Sir Mix A Lot: “Baby Got Back” (1992)

• Brittney Spears: “Baby, One More Time” (1999)

Movies and Music

• Silence of the Lambs (1991)

• Schindler’s List (1993)

”Movie of the Decade”

• Braveheart (1995)

The End