Year 2013: Fun Facts, Trivia, and History

This quick read presents a mix of fun facts, trivia, and history events from the year 2013. 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.

1. Barack Obama was the president of the United States, and Joe Biden was the nation’s vice president.
2. Unemployment hovered around 7.7%. The states with the highest unemployment rates were Arizona, Arkansas, California, Connecticut, the District of Columbia, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Rhode Island, and Tennessee. The states with the lowest unemployment rates were Hawaii, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, and Wyoming.
3. The average inflation rate was 1.46%. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Price Index, “prices in 2018 are 8.55% higher than they were in 2013. The dollar experienced an average inflation rate of 1.66% per year during this period. In other words, $21.72 in 2013 is equivalent in purchasing power to $23.58 in 2018, a difference of $1.86 over 5 years.”
4. The average price for a gallon of gas was $3.49.
5. A 2013 Honda Accord LX sedan cost about $22,000. On the other hand, a 2017 Chevrolet Corvette had a sticker price just under $51,000.
6. The price of a first-class stamp was 46 cents. In 2013, the USPS introduced a Global Forever Stamp that allowed customers to mail letters anywhere in the world for a set price of $1.10.
7. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, bread went from 5.6 cents a pound in 1913 to $1.422 a pound in 2013. During the same period, milk increased from 35.6 cents a gallon to $3.53 a gallon; eggs went from 37.3 cents a dozen to $1.93 a dozen; potatoes increased from 1.6 cents per pound to 62.7 cents per pound; finally, sirloin steak went from 23.8 cents a pound to $5.705 a pound.
8. In January 2013, the median cost of a newly built, single-family home in the United States was $251,500. By December, the median price had increased to $275,500.
9. In January 2013, there were 148,000 homes for sale in the U.S. By December, the number of homes on the market had increased to 186,000.
10. On December 31, 2013, the prime rate was 3.25%.
11. In 2013, a Sony Camcorder CX220 cost $249.00, Crayola crayons were $3.79 for a 24-count box, and DVD movies cost $14.99 apiece. A Dell laptop was $429.99, Top Flite golf clubs were $399.99 a set, and a Pioneer navigation system cost $799.99. A movie ticket was $10.25, Nike running shoes were $79.99 a pair, and a Frigidaire air conditioner (6,000 BTU) cost $179.99.
12. On January 19, calcium deposits were discovered on Mars by NASA’s Curiosity rover.
13. On January 19, professional cyclist Lance Armstrong admitted to using “performance-enhancing” drugs in all seven of his Tour de France victories.
14. On January 21, President Obama was inaugurated for his second term.
15. On February 1, John Kerry succeeded Hillary Clinton as U.S. Secretary of State.
16. On March 23, the U.S. Senate passed its first formal budget in four years by a margin of 50-49.
17. On May 4, author Harper Lee filed a lawsuit against literary agent Samuel Pinkus over the copyright of her best-selling book To Kill a Mockingbird.
18. On May 6, Walmart became the largest company on the Fortune 500 list.
19. On May 7, the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 set record highs. Money.CNN.com explains that “The Dow Jones Industrial Average rallied nearly 170 points, or 1.1%, to end at a record high of 15,460, breaking its previous record set May 28. The S&P 500 rose more than 1.3% to 1,675--also topping its May record. The Nasdaq jumped 1.6% to end at its highest level since September 2000.”
20. On May 16, Bill Gates regained his position as the world's richest man.
21. In June, the National Security Agency (NSA) began collecting the telephone records of millions of Verizon customers. On an “ongoing, daily basis,” Verizon was required to give the NSA “information on all telephone calls in its systems, both within the US and between the US and other countries.”
22. On June 23, the FBI shut down Silk Road, a website that was best known for selling counterfeit goods and drugs. On November 6, Silk Road 2.0 came online.
23. On July 18, Detroit, Michigan, filed for Chapter 9 bankruptcy.
24. On September 3, Microsoft purchased Nokia for $7.2 billion.
25. On October 1, a partial shutdown of the U.S. government took place for the first time in 17 years, “after lawmakers in the House and the Senate could not agree on a spending bill to fund the government.”
26. On October 16, Congress voted to end the 16-day partial shutdown of the U.S. government and avoid default.
27. On November 5, Bill de Blasio was elected the 109th mayor of New York City.
28. On November 15, Sony launched the PlayStation Four and sold over one million units on the first day.
29. Between Black Friday weekend and December 15, an estimated 70 million Target customers had their personal information compromised.
30. On November 27, Tiger Woods was named the PGA Tour “Player of the Year” for the eleventh time.
31. In 2013, popular baby names were Jackson, Aiden, Liam, Lucas, Noah, Sophia, Emma, Olivia, Isabella, and Mia. In 1913, favorite baby names included John, William, James, Robert, Joseph, Mary, Helen, Dorothy, Margaret, and Ruth.
32. Popular names for male dogs were Max, Bailey, Charlie, Buddy, Rocky, Jake, Jack, Toby, Cody, Buster, Duke, and Cooper. Popular names for female canines included Bella, Lucy, Molly, Daisy, Maggie, Sophie, Sadie, Chloe, Bailey, Lola, Zoe, and Abby.
33. Time magazine’s “Person of the Year” was Pope Francis.
34. The average life expectancy at birth in the U.S. was 78.74 years.
35. The median household income was $56,479.
36. In 2013, approximately 14.5% of Americans (45.3 million) lived at the poverty level.
37. There were 2,081,301 marriages and 18.47 divorces per 1,000 marriages. The states with the highest divorce rates were Washington, DC, Arkansas, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Alabama, and Louisiana. The states with the lowest divorce rates included Rhode Island, Hawaii, Delaware, Minnesota, and Vermont.
38. Approximately 20% of U.S. adults (and about one-third of those 18-30) had no religious affiliation.
39. PayPal mistakenly credited $92 quadrillion ($92,233,720,368,547,800) to Pennsylvania PR executive Chris Reynolds.
40. Mallory Hagan (New York) was crowned Miss America.
41. According to VanityFair.com, top Google searches for the year were Nelson Mandela, Paul Walker, iPhone 5S, Cory Monteith, Harlem Shake, Boston Marathon, Royal Baby, Samsung Galaxy S4, PlayStation 4, and North Korea.
42. Here’s some more keyboard trivia: According to Pop-Culture.us, “Bill Gates admitted that the Ctrl+Alt+Delete command was a mistake and should have been a single button.”

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