Year 2009: Fun Facts, Trivia, and History

This quick read presents a collection of fun facts, trivia, and history events from the year 2009. 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 2009, George W. Bush (R-Texas) was the U.S. president until January 20. On that day, Barack Obama (D-Illinois) was inaugurated as the 44th president of the United States.
2. In October, the U.S. unemployment rate peaked at 10.2%. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, “the unemployment rates for adult men (10.7 percent) and whites (9.5 percent) rose in October. The jobless rates for adult women (8.1 percent), teenagers (27.6 percent), Blacks (15.7 percent), and Hispanics (13.1 percent) were little changed over the month.”
3. The nation’s inflation rate was -0.36%, and the average retail price for a gallon of gas was $1.89.
4. The minimum wage was $6.55, and the median annual household income in the U.S. was $50,221.00.
5. Because of the ongoing economic crisis, there was reduced demand for butter and cheese in the United States, and milk prices were also falling. As a result, dairy farmers were forced to sell hundreds of thousands of cows to be slaughtered for meat.
6. For the first time since 1945, when recordkeeping first began, worldwide electricity use in 2009 declined by 3%.
7. At the grocery store, Oscar Mayer bacon cost $5.69 for a 12-ounce package, Idaho potatoes were 99 cents a pound, and Land O’Lakes butter was $2.20 for an eight-ounce package. A gallon of milk cost $3.05, Wonder bread was $1.99 for a 20-ounce loaf, and five ears of fresh corn cost 99 cents.
8. The five best-selling cars and trucks in the U.S. were the Ford F-Series (413,625), Toyota Camry (356,824), Chevy Silverado (316,544), Toyota Corolla (296,874), and the Honda Accord (290,056).
9. In 2009, Austria, Belgium, Finland, the Netherlands, Romania, Switzerland, and the UK were all in a recession for at least part of the year. The Greek government also disclosed that its budget deficits were much higher than previously thought, which initiated the European debt crisis.
10. On January 15, in what is known today as the “Miracle on the Hudson,” Chesley Sullenberger safely landed US Airways Flight 1549 on the Hudson River after the plane hit Canadian geese while taking off from LaGuardia Airport. All 155 passengers and crew members survived.
11. On February 20, Hershey’s, the largest U.S. candy maker, closed its factory in Reading, Pennsylvania, and moved its production facility to Monterey, Mexico.
12. At the 81st Academy Awards on February 22, Slumdog Millionaire won an Oscar for Best Picture, and Danny Boyle (Slumdog Millionaire) won an Oscar for Best Director. Sean Penn (Milk) won an Oscar for Best Actor, and Kate Winslet (The Reader) won an Oscar for Best Actress.
13. On April 23, a gamma-ray burst, dubbed GRB 090423, was seen for 10 seconds and was the most distant cosmic explosion ever seen. NASA.gov explains that “Gamma-ray bursts are the universe's most luminous explosions. Most occur when massive stars run out of nuclear fuel.”
14. On April 30, automobile manufacturer Chrysler filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
15. On May 15, General Motors announced plans to eliminate 1,100 dealerships, or 40% of its dealer network. TheBalancesMB.com points out that GM “was closing more than 2,600 of its retail outlets to keep itself out of bankruptcy court. The total number of jobs that will be lost when all the stores are finally closed is estimated to be 130,000, which also puts GM at the top of the retail job cuts list for 2009.” (Just so you know, on June 1, 2009, General Motors filed for Chapter 11 reorganization.)
16. In June, the Great Recession in the United States officially ended. The National Bureau of Economic Research, a panel of academic economists based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, confirmed that the recession lasted 18 months. It began in December 2007 and ended in June 2009. Previously, the longest postwar economic downturns occurred in 1973-75 and 1981-82. Both of those recessions lasted 16 months.
17. On June 3, Microsoft launched the Bing search engine. NationalCiorReview.com tells us that prior to 2009, “Microsoft had already made several attempts to compete in the search engine market, including earlier efforts like MSN Search and Live Search. But those platforms struggled to gain meaningful traction.”
18. By June 12, all 1,600 full-power television stations in the U.S. had switched from analog to digital transmission.
19. On June 29, former investment advisor Bernard Madoff was sentenced to 150 years in prison for conducting a massive Ponzi scheme.
20. On September 18, the final episode of the 72-year-old soap opera Guiding Light was broadcast. At the time of its cancellation in 2009, Guiding Light was the longest-running television drama in American history.
21. On September 23, the sitcom Modern Family premiered on ABC and starred Ed O'Neill and Sofía Vergara. The series ran for 11 seasons and won 22 Emmy Awards, including five Emmy Awards for Outstanding Comedy Series. Modern Family also won the Golden Globe Award for Best Television Series—Musical or Comedy in 2011.
22. At the 61st Primetime Emmy Awards on September 20, 30 Rock (NBC) won an Emmy for Outstanding Comedy Series, and Mad Men (AMC) won an Emmy for Outstanding Drama Series.
23. On December 10, U.S. President Barack Obama accepted the Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo, Norway.
24. On December 16, Time magazine’s “Person of the Year” was Ben Bernanke, chair of the U.S. Federal Reserve. He was honored for his work in “rescuing the global economy from the Great Recession.”
25. In 2009, the most-visited websites were Google, Yahoo!, Microsoft, AOL, Fox, Ask, eBay, Amazon, Wikipedia, Facebook, Apple, CBS, the Weather Channel, Craigslist, and Adobe.
26. Top Google searches for the year were Michael Jackson, Facebook, Twitter, Lady Gaga, Eminem, Beyonce, Paranormal Activity, Natasha Richardson, the U.S. Open, and the Confederations Cup.
27. In other tech news, the AdBlock extension was created, Google removed the beta label from Gmail, and a person using the fake name “Satoshi Nakamoto” introduced the Internet currency bitcoin.
28. Internet companies launched in 2009 included Business Insider, CBS MoneyWatch, Clicker.com, Foursquare, Grammarly, Houzz, Offers.com, Quora, and Ranker.
29. American Idol (Fox) was the most popular TV show, The Lost Symbol was a best-selling book, and Avatar was a major box office hit.
30. In 2009, Sony sold over 12 million floppy disks.
31. Uber was founded in San Francisco.
32. Kellogg’s announced that there would be a nationwide shortage of Eggo frozen waffles until the summer of 2010.
33. McDonald’s closed its three locations in Iceland, Oscar Mayer gave away $1 million in free hot dogs, and about one billion frogs were killed for food.
34. Milton Parker, the owner of the famous Carnegie Deli in New York City, passed away at the age of 90.
35. Popular food trends in 2009 included chicken pot pies, meatloaf, macaroni and cheese, pizza, Hi-C fruit drinks, superfruits like blueberries, and wacky ice cream flavors.
36. Here are some sports facts from 2009: The New York Yankees won the World Series, the Pittsburgh Steelers were the Super Bowl champs, and the Pittsburgh Penguins clinched the Stanley Cup. In addition, the cost of a 30-second Super Bowl ad was $3,000,000.
37. Bananas (Dole): 79 cents a pound
38. Beef (ground, 80% lean): $2.99 a pound
39. Bologna (Oscar Mayer): $2.99 for a one-pound package
40. Bread (Wonder, white): $2.00 for a 20-ounce loaf
41. Cereal (Life): $3.99 for a 14-ounce box
42. Cheese (American singles): $2.49 for a one-pound package
43. Corn (fresh): Five ears for 99 cents
44. Ice cream (Edy’s Grand): $4.49 for a 48-ounce carton
45. Onions (yellow): $2.49 for a three-pound bag
46. Orange juice (Florida’s Natural): $4.99 for an 89-ounce jug
47. Potato chips (Lay’s): $3.99 for a 10.5-ounce bag
48. Potatoes (Idaho): 99 cents a pound
49. Soda (Coca-Cola): $3.99 for eight 16-ounce bottles
50. Watermelon (seedless): 69 cents a pound

References:

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2009_in_the_United_States
2. https://www.computerhope.com/history/2009.htm
3. https://www.foodreference.com/html/html/food-timeline-2009.html
4. https://www.onthisday.com/events/date/20

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