Year 2002: Fun Facts, Trivia, and History
This quick read presents a mix of fun facts, trivia, and history events from the year 2002.
This quick read presents a mix of fun facts, trivia, and history events from the year 2002. Discover the year’s top news stories, most influential people, sports facts, retail prices, computer and Internet history, entertainment trivia, and much more.
Take a journey through history in just minutes.
In 2002, George W. Bush was the president of the United States, and Dick Cheney was the nation’s vice president.
Unemployment averaged 5.80%. According to BLS.gov, “Rising unemployment persisted across the U.S. in 2002. Compared with the prior year, jobless rates were higher in 47 states, lower in 2 states, and unchanged in 1 state and the District of Columbia. In 2002, only Hawaii and South Dakota reported annual unemployment rate declines.”
The nation’s inflation rate was 1.58%.
The prime rate was 4.25%, one ounce of gold was $342.75, and the average price for a gallon of gas was $1.61.
The federal minimum wage was $6.75, the median household income was $42,409.00, and the average price of a new car was $21,866.00.
In January 2002, the median cost of a newly built, single-family home in the United States was $187,100, while the average price was $226,900.
A loaf of bread cost $1.39, London broil was $2.49 a pound, broccoli was $1.50 a bunch, and three pounds of bananas were $1.00.
Here were the sticker prices for three best-selling 2002 cars: A Mazda MPL LX cost $22,995.00, a Ford Taurus LX was $13,658.00, and a Pontiac Grand Am cost $13,499.00.
In 2002, a Maytag clothes dryer cost $399.00, a Maytag washing machine was $499.00, and a Eureka vacuum cleaner cost $69.99 to $149.99. A cordless Panasonic telephone cost $59.99 to $89.99, an 18.2-cubic-foot Sears refrigerator was $399.99, and a 1.4-cubic-foot Sears Kenmore microwave cost $249.99.
On January 8, President Bush signed the No Child Left Behind Act into law. OSPI tells us that “Under the 2002 law, states are required to test students in reading and math in grades 3-8 and once in high school. All students are expected to meet or exceed state standards in reading and math by 2014.”
On January 22, Kmart Corporation became the largest retailer in U.S. history to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
On January 29, President George W. Bush described Iraq, Iran, and North Korea as "regimes that sponsor terror" during his State of the Union address.
On May 16, the computer-related film, Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones, was released.
On June 3, music-swapping site Napster filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The decision was part of an agreement reached in May when Bertelsmann, the German media giant, agreed to purchase Napster's assets for $8 million.
On June 11, the singing competition series, American Idol, premiered on Fox.
On June 15, an asteroid the size of a football field missed the Earth by only 75,000 miles. CNN.com reports that “Cruising at 6.2 miles (10 km) per second, the big boulder could have unleashed some major firepower had it struck. The destructive force might have been comparable to an asteroid or comet that exploded over Siberia in 1908, which flattened 77 square miles (2,000 square km) of trees.”
On June 21, the long-distance telephone and data-service company WorldCom filed for bankruptcy.
On June 29, Vice President Dick Cheney served as acting president of the United States for two and a half hours while President George W. Bush underwent a medical procedure.
On July 28, nine coal miners were rescued from a flooded mine in Somerset County, Pennsylvania, after being trapped underground for 77 hours.
On July 30, President Bush signed the accounting law known as "The Sarbanes Oxley Act" (SOX) into law. Investopedia.com tells us that The SOX Act of 2002 “mandated strict reforms to improve financial disclosures from corporations and prevent accounting fraud.”
On August 15, the Broadway musical Hairspray opened.
On September 11, after extensive repairs, the Pentagon was rededicated exactly one year after the attack on the building.
On September 23, the Firefox browser was released in beta.
On October 31, Andrew Fastow, the former chief financial officer of the Enron Corporation, was indicted by a Houston grand jury on multiple counts of wire fraud, money laundering, and conspiracy.
On November 2, the LinkedIn.com domain was registered.
On December 18, California Governor Gray Davis announced that the state faced a record budget deficit of $35 billion, which was nearly double the amount reported one month earlier during his reelection campaign.
On December 18, shirtmaker Phillips-Van Heusen purchased Calvin Klein for $400 million in cash and $30 million in stock.
On December 20, U.S. Senator Trent Lott resigned as the Republican leader in the Senate.
In 2002, popular baby names were Jacob, Michael, Matthew, Joshua, Emily, Hannah, Madison, and Emma.
The average life expectancy at birth in the U.S. was 79.6 years for women and 74.4 years for men.
The cost of a 30-second Super Bowl ad was $1,900,000.
Allergy medication Claritin, a prescription-only drug since 1993, was now available over the counter.
Fashion trends for women in 2002 included bell-sleeved shirts, capri pants, cargo pants, crop tops, denim jackets, embroidered low-rise jeans, jean shorts, puffy jackets, thong underwear, tracksuits, trenchcoats, tube tops, whale tails, and yoga pants.
Katie Harman of Gresham, Oregon, won the Miss America crown.
Time magazine’s “Persons of the Year” were a trio of female whistleblowers: FBI Agent Coleen Rowley, former WorldCom vice president Cynthia Cooper, and former Enron vice president Sherron Watkins.
A Beautiful Mind won a Golden Globe for Best Drama, and Moulin Rouge won a Golden Globe for Best Musical or Comedy. On the other hand, Russell Crowe (A Beautiful Mind) won a Golden Globe for Best Actor, and Sissy Spacek (In the Bedroom) won a Golden Globe for Best Actress.
Friends (NBC) won an Emmy for Outstanding Comedy Series, and The West Wing (NBC) won an Emmy for Outstanding Drama Series. Ray Romano (Everybody Loves Raymond) won an Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series, and Jennifer Anniston (Friends) won an Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series.
In 2002, 569 million people, or 9.1% of the world’s population, used the Internet.
The average netizen spent 46 minutes a day online and had three million websites to choose from.
The most popular websites were AOL, MSN, Yahoo!, Google, eBay, About, Lycos, Amazon, Disney, Classmates, Gator, CNET, iVillage, Viacom, Infospace, Real, AT&T, eUniverse, TicketMaster, and Excite.
Back in 2002, Internet Explorer was the most popular web browser and had a market share of 95%.
Popular web searches included Spider-Man, Shakira, Winter Olympics, World Cup, Avril Lavigne, Star Wars, Eminem, American Idol, Morrowind, and Warcraft 3.
In 2002, it took an average of 12.5 minutes to download a song on a 56k modem. It also took 16 seconds for a web page to load.
Friendster was the most popular social media site and had a “whopping” three million members.
Kentucky Derby: War Emblem
NBA champions: Los Angeles Lakers
Super Bowl champs: New England Patriots
U.S. Open golf: Tiger Woods
World Cup (soccer): Brazil
World Series champions: Anaheim Angels
In 2002 as well, the words “airplane mode,” “borked,” “burkini,” “goji berry,” “mankini,” “Mexican street corn,” “parkour,” “plot armor,” “selfie,” and “thumb drive” all appeared in print for the first time.
References:
https://popculturemadness.com/2002-fun-facts-trivia-and-history/
https://www.foodreference.com/html/html/food-history-2001.html
https://www.infoplease.com/awards/nobel/2002-nobel-prize-winners
https://www.goodcarbadcar.net/us-auto-sales-hub/u-s-automotive-best-selling-hub/
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
About the Creator
Gregory DeVictor
Gregory DeVictor is a trivia enthusiast who likes to write articles about American history and nostalgia. Each of his articles presents a mix of fun facts, trivia, and historic events about a specific calendar year, decade, or century.
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