Year 2018: Fun Facts, Trivia, and History
This quick read presents a mix of fun facts, trivia, and history events from the year 2018.
This quick read presents a mix of fun facts, trivia, and history events from the year 2018. Discover the year’s top news stories, most influential people, sports facts, computer and Internet history, erratic weather patterns, entertainment trivia, and much more.
Take a journey through history in just minutes.
In January, snow blanketed Tallahassee, Florida, for the first time in nearly 20 years. Weather.com tells us that just after New Year's Day, winter storm Grayson blanketed Tallahassee with its first measurable snow since 1989 and the first January snow since 1885.
In January and February, the U.S. government had two partial shutdowns that were separated by only two-and-a-half weeks. Both shutdowns were caused by “disagreements between Republicans and Democrats on several issues, including immigration, healthcare, and President Trump's proposed border wall.” The first shutdown lasted for three days, while the second one lasted for less than two hours.
On January 4, a lawyer representing U.S. President Donald Trump sought to stop the publication of a book on Trump's administration. Fire and Fury—written by journalist Michael Wolff—”details the behavior of U.S. President Donald Trump, the staff of his 2016 presidential campaign, and the White House staff.” (The book was published on January 5 and later became a New York Times bestseller.)
On January 7, about 15 inches of snow fell in the Sahara Desert. The New York Times remarks that “Unforgivingly hot in the day, but freezing during the night, the Sahara is renowned for its extreme temperatures.”
NPR reports that on January 25, “A panel of scientists and policy experts moved their Doomsday Clock 30 seconds closer to midnight, citing President Trump's rhetoric on nuclear weapons, environmental deterioration due to climate change, and a lack of trust in political institutions.”
On January 29, the Cleveland Indians announced that they would remove the Chief Wahoo logo from their uniforms in 2019.
During February 2018, it was summer in ten eastern states, including New York, Pennsylvania, Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, New Jersey, Massachusetts, and Ohio. According to Weather Underground, summer-like heat cooked the eastern U.S. on February 20-21, smashing records from Georgia to Maine. At least 24 cities, including New York (78°), Hartford, CT (74°), and Concord, NH (74°), recorded their hottest February temperatures since records began in the late 1800s.
On February 3, the heaviest snowfall on record blanketed Moscow.
On February 9, the Winter Olympics opened in South Korea.
On February 14, Nikolas Cruz, a former student at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, opened fire on the school’s campus and killed 17 people.
On February 20, Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II made a surprise appearance at London fashion week, “taking a front-row seat next to Vogue Editor-in-Chief Anna Wintour.”
On February 25, the Winter Olympics ended “with a big party and a last farewell from the 2,920 athletes who competed on ice and snow in South Korea.”
Remember the summer-like heat on February 20-21? In March, four nor'easters—Riley (March 2), Quinn (March 7), Skylar (March 13), and Toby (March 21)—brought heavy snow, damaging winds, and coastal flooding to the eastern seaboard.
On March 1, President Trump announced that he would “impose hefty tariffs on imported steel and aluminum to protect U.S. producers, risking retaliation from major trade partners like China, Europe, and neighboring Canada.”
On March 15, Toys ‘R’ Us announced that it would close or sell all of its remaining stores. After 70 years in business, the chain filed for bankruptcy in September 2017, “hoping to shed debt and reinvest in its stores.”
On March 19, a hailstone more than five inches in diameter was found near Cullman, Alabama.
In late March, orange snow was seen over parts of Russia, Bulgaria, the Ukraine, Romania, and Moldova.
The coldest April in 21 years for the continental United States was followed by the hottest May.
On April 14-15, 49.69 inches of rain fell at a location on Kauai, Hawaii. Weather.com points out that if the rainfall amount can be verified, the total would top the 24-hour rain record of 43 inches in Alvin, Texas, during tropical storm Claudette in July 1979.
In just six weeks, Minneapolis-St. Paul went from “its heaviest April snowstorm on record in mid-April to a Memorial Day high of 100 degrees.”
On May 19, American actress Meghan Markle married Prince Harry at a ceremony in Windsor Castle.
On May 28, Coca-Cola launched Lemon-Do, its first alcoholic beverage, but was only selling it on the Japanese island of Kyushu. The “fizzy, lemon-flavored drink” was available in cans with 3%, 5%, and 7% alcohol.
In early June, “a pair of EF3 tornadoes tore through areas near Gillette and Laramie, Wyoming, the first F/EF3 or stronger tornadoes in the state since 1987.”
On June 5, the Miss America pageant announced that it was ending its swimsuit competition. According to the New York Times, “For the first time in nearly a century, Miss America contestants will not strut onstage in swimsuits this year, as the pageant tries to redefine its role in an era of female empowerment and gender equality.”
On June 19, General Electric—the last original member of the Dow Jones Industrial Average—was dropped from the index after more than a century. Money.CNN.com explains that “GE's stock plunge helped lead to its exit from the Dow. That's because the Dow is price-weighted, meaning that GE's $13 price tag had little impact on the index.”
On June 26, “a storm off the coast of Newfoundland had just enough cold air to blanket parts of the island with snow, prompting plows to be called out.”
On July 9, Starbucks announced that it would stop using plastic straws by 2020. (This amounts to about one billion straws annually.)
On July 16, twelve new moons that orbit Jupiter were discovered, bringing Jupiter’s moon total to 79.
On July 17, scientists discovered the earliest known evidence of bread-making from a 14,000-year-old dig site in the Black Desert of Jordan. BBC.com reveals that “The Stone Age bread-makers took flour made from wild wheat and barley, mixed it with the pulverized roots of plants, added water, and then baked it.”
On July 23, Japan recorded its highest temperature ever—105.98°F.
From September 12 to 15, Hurricane Florence made landfall near Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina, as a Category 1 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 90 mph. Florence was considered one of the wettest tropical systems to ever hit North Carolina, and some parts of the state received nearly three feet of rain.
On September 28, over 50 million Facebook accounts were hacked because of a security breach.
On October 11, Hurricane Michael became the strongest storm to hit the continental U.S. since Hurricane Andrew in 1992. Michael packed maximum sustained winds of 155 mph as it made landfall in the Florida Panhandle, which made it much stronger than Hurricane Florence.
On October 15, American retailer Sears filed for bankruptcy “after years of losses and mounting competition from online rivals such as Amazon.”
In November, the much-anticipated midterm elections saw the Democrats win a majority in the House of Representatives for the first time in eight years and the Republicans strengthen their majority in the Senate.
On November 26, General Motors announced that it would close five factories in North America and eliminate 14,000 jobs.
On November 30, Marriott revealed that hackers “have had access to the reservation systems of many of its hotel chains for the past four years, a breach that exposed private details of up to 500 million customers while underscoring the sensitive nature of records showing where and when people travel—and with whom.”
December 5 was a national day of mourning for former U.S. President George H. W. Bush.
NASA scientists announced that global temperatures in 2018 were 1.5°F warmer than the 1951 to 1980 mean but ranked behind those of 2015, 2016, and 2017.
Popular baby names for boys in 2018 were Atticus, Milo, Jasper, Asher, Jack, Theodore, Silas, Wyatt, Henry, Finn, Oscar, Oliver, Declan, Leo, Aryan, and Felix.
Popular baby names for girls included Olivia, Isla, Amara, Cora, Charlotte, Aurora, Amelia, Ava, Rose, Genevieve, Ophelia, Maeve, Eleanor, Iris, Ada, Luna, and Penelope.
The average life expectancy at birth in the U.S. was 78.7 years, “which is an increase of 0.1 years (about a month on average) compared to the life expectancy of 78.6 years in 2017.”
The cost of a 30-second Super Bowl ad was $5.2 million.
Favorite Halloween costumes were Spider-Man, unicorns, dinosaurs, witches, Harley Quinn, superheroes, pirates, rabbits, and princesses.
Popular holiday gifts included Bluetooth speakers, Quidditch Match LEGO Harry Potter play sets, Dyson V6B cordless vacuums, espresso and cappuccino machines, the deluxe edition Monopoly game, photo printers, and the Samsung smart TV.
Fashion trends in 2018 included dark denim, camp collar shirts, faux fur, the death of skinny jeans, tweed, boots with suits, leopard prints, shorter shorts, pearls, hiking boots, high-cut swimwear, camo, high-waisted pants, checkered patterns, seasoned stripes, and sequins.
Cara Mudd of North Dakota won the Miss America crown.
Time magazine’s “Persons of the Year” included Jamal Khashoggi and other journalists.
At the 90th Academy Awards, which honored the best films of 2017, The Shape of Water won an Oscar for Best Picture, Guillermo del Toro (The Shape of Water) won an Oscar for Best Director, Gary Oldman (Darkest Hour) won an Oscar for Best Actor, and Frances McDormand (Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri) won an Oscar for Best Actress.
At the 70th Primetime Emmy Awards, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (Prime Video) won an Emmy for Outstanding Comedy Series, and Game of Thrones (HBO) won an Emmy for Outstanding Drama Series. Bill Hader (Barry) won an Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series, and Rachel Brosnahan (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel) won an Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series.
In 2018, The Simpsons—the animated Fox sitcom—aired its 636th episode and became the longest-running primetime series. The show surpassed the CBS western Gunsmoke, which aired 635 episodes between 1955 and 1975.
In January 2018, there were over four billion Internet users on the planet.
In April, there were over 1.8 billion websites on the Internet.
In April, there were over 132 million registered .com domain names.
Between 2013 and 2018, website traffic from mobile phones increased by 36%.
YouTube users in 2018 surpassed the 1.5 billion mark, making YouTube “the most popular website for viewing and uploading videos in the world.”
Indianapolis 500: Will Power
Kentucky Derby: Good Magic
Stanley Cup champs: Washington Capitals
Super Bowl champions: Philadelphia Eagles
U.S. Open golf: Brooks Koepka
World Series: Boston Red Sox
In 2018 as well, the words “dark academia,” “deepfake,” “forever chemical,” “Havana syndrome,” “large language model,” “looksmaxxing,” “TikTok,” and “TikToker” all appeared in print for the first time.
References:
https://weather.com/news/news/2018-06-27-weirdest-weather-2018-first-half
https://www.top10-websitehosting.co.uk/internet-facts-and-statistics/
https://www.rankingthebrands.com/The-Brand-Rankings.aspx?rankingID=118&year=1202
https://www.foodreference.com/html/html/food-timeline-2015.html
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.
Enjoyed the story? Support the Creator.
Subscribe for free to receive all their stories in your feed.
Comments