Year 2001: Fun Facts, Trivia, and History

This quick read presents a collection of fun facts, trivia, and history events from the year 2001. Discover the year’s top news stories, most influential people, sports facts, historic firsts, entertainment trivia, and much more.

Take a journey through history in just minutes.

1. In 2001, George W. Bush was the U.S. president, and Dick Cheney was the nation’s vice president.
2. The U.S. unemployment rate averaged 4.20%. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, “As the nation moved into a recession, most states experienced rising unemployment rates. Compared with 2000, jobless rates in 2001 were higher in 42 states and the District of Columbia, lower in 7 states, and unchanged in 1 state.”
3. At the grocery store, Nabisco Chips Ahoy cost $1.74 for a 15-ounce package, Kellogg’s Fruit Loops were $1.99 for a 15-ounce box, and Skippy peanut butter was 99 cents for a 16-ounce jar.
4. In the marketplace, a Honda snowblower cost $1,749.00, compact discs were $9.98 to $11.98 apiece, and a General Electric microwave was about $100.00.
5. Here were the sticker prices for three best-selling 2001 cars: A Jeep Wrangler SE 4X4 cost $14,995.00, a Plymouth Voyager was $11,995.00, and a Toyota Corolla CE cost $10,995.00.
6. On January 13, Wikipedia.org came online. Wikipedia is a free-content encyclopedia "written and maintained by a community of volunteers" known as Wikipedians. It is “the largest and most-read reference work in history” and is consistently one of the most popular Internet destinations. To date, Wikipedia has published over 55 million articles written in more than 300 languages.
7. On January 17, OPEC (Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries) agreed to reduce oil production by 1.5 million barrels per day.
8. On March 4, the Kashagan oil field in the Caspian Sea became “the world's largest oil find in three decades.”
9. On March 6, U.S. Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham established the Northeast Home Heating Oil Reserve (NEHHOR). Energy.gov explains that NEHHOR is “a one million barrel supply of ultra-low sulfur distillate (diesel) that provides protection for homes and businesses in the northeastern United States should a disruption in supplies occur. Of all the households in the United States that use heating oil to heat their homes, the majority reside in the Northeast region of the country—making this area especially vulnerable to fuel oil disruptions.”
10. At the 73rd Academy Awards on March 25, Gladiator won an Oscar for Best Picture, and Steven Soderbergh (Traffic) won an Oscar for Best Director. Russell Crowe (Gladiator) won an Oscar for Best Actor, and Julia Roberts (Erin Brockovich) won an Oscar for Best Actress. Finally, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (Taiwan) won an Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film, and Traffic received an Oscar for Best Film Editing.
11. On April 17, President Bush announced plans to auction six million acres of “potentially oil-and-gas-rich seabed in the Gulf of Mexico.” He also called for reduced regulations “to encourage more oil, gas, and nuclear production.”
12. On May 24, the Democrats gained control of the U.S. Senate for the first time since 1994, after Senator James Jeffords of Vermont left the Republican Party and declared himself an independent.
13. On June 5, Nevada became the first U.S. state to legalize online gambling. By 2001, about eight million people in the U.S. had already participated in Internet gambling. Popular online casinos at the time were Jackpot City, Spin Palace, InterCasino, English Harbour, and The Gaming Club. Online poker, blackjack, progressive jackpots, and slot machines were among the most popular Internet casino games.
14. On June 7, President Bush signed a $1.35 trillion tax cut into law—the first major tax cut in 20 years. According to Politico.com, “the legislation cut income tax rates across the board, reducing the lowest rate from 15 percent to 10 percent and the highest rate from 39.6 percent to 35 percent. The 10 percent tax rate was made retroactive to Jan. 1, 2001.”
15. On July 2, the Bush administration announced that it would allow oil companies to drill on about 1.5 million acres in the Gulf of Mexico.
16. On September 11, now referred to as 9/11, nineteen terrorists who were members of the Islamic group al-Qaeda simultaneously hijacked four U.S. passenger air carriers. Two of the planes crashed into the North and South towers of the World Trade Center in lower Manhattan. The third plane crashed into the Pentagon (the headquarters of the U.S. Department of Defense) in Arlington, Virginia. The fourth plane crashed into a rural field in Somerset County, Pennsylvania, near Pittsburgh. The 9/11 attacks killed nearly 2,700 people and injured over 6,000 others.
17. On September 17, the New York Stock Exchange and the New York Mercantile Exchange both reopened for the first time since the 9/11 attacks.
18. On September 18, nationwide anthrax attacks began when six contaminated letters were sent from Trenton, New Jersey, to media companies in New York City and Florida. The initial letters were sent to ABC News, CBS News, NBC News, the New York Post, the National Enquirer, and American Media.
19. On September 20, President George W. Bush declared a "war on terror" while addressing both Congress and the American people. According to the George W. Bush Library, President Bush announced “a comprehensive plan to seek out and stop terrorists around the world. The wars in Afghanistan and Iraq were part of the Global War on Terror, or ‘GWOT,’ but the term was also used to describe diplomatic, financial, and other actions taken to deny financing or safe harbor to terrorists.”
20. On October 7, the U.S. began bombing Afghanistan, targeting both Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda fighters and the Taliban.
21. On October 8, President Bush established the Office of Homeland Security. According to USA.gov, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) “works to improve the security of the United States. The Department's work includes customs, border, and immigration enforcement, emergency response to natural and manmade disasters, antiterrorism work, and cybersecurity.”
22. On October 26, President Bush signed the USA PATRIOT Act into law. Britannica.com points out that the PATRIOT Act “made numerous changes to existing statutes relating to the privacy of telephone and electronic communications, the operation of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, money laundering, immigration, and other areas.”
23. On November 10, Apple’s first iPod went on sale for $399 and came with “5 GB of storage, a 160-by-128-pixel ‘high-resolution display,’ and a FireWire port for connecting it to a Mac.”
24. At the 53rd Primetime Emmy Awards on November 4, Sex and the City won an Emmy for Outstanding Comedy Series, and The West Wing (NBC) won an Emmy for Outstanding Drama Series.
25. In 2001, the average Internet user spent 83 minutes online each day. There were nearly 30 million websites to choose from and an average of 17 users per site.
26. Dell became the world’s largest PC maker.
27. Friends (NBC) was the most popular television show, Skipping Christmas was a best-selling fiction book, and Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone was the highest-grossing film.
28. In 2001, New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani was Time magazine’s “Person of the Year.”
29. Silly Putty and Tonka trucks were inducted into the National Toy Hall of Fame.
30. The Rotters’ Club—a 2001 novel by Jonathan Coe—contained a 13,955-word sentence.
31. Here are some sports facts from the year 2001: The Arizona Diamondbacks won the World Series, the Baltimore Ravens were the Super Bowl champs, and Monarchos was the winning horse in the 127th Kentucky Derby.
32. Finally, the cost of a 30-second Super Bowl ad was $2,100,000.

References:

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2001_in_the_United_States
2. https://www.foodreference.com/html/html/food-history-2001.html
3. https://www.famousbirthdays.com/year/2001.html
4. https://www.onthisday.com/date/2001

Disclaimer: In writing and editing this article, Gregory DeVictor has made every effort to ensure historical accuracy and not to mislead his audience. In addition, the contents of this article, including text, graphics, and captions, are for general informational purposes only.

© 2026 Gregory DeVictor