20 questions · Current events
2002 began with the jingle of new coins: on New Year's night, twelve countries drew euro cash from their ATMs and the deutschmark headed for the museum and soon half of Germany was grumbling about the "Teuro", a pun on "teuer" (expensive) that promptly became Germany's word of the year. In summer, all eyes turned to Asia: at the first World Cup with two host countries, a depleted German side battled through to the final in Yokohama, where Ronaldo's two goals secured Brazil's fifth star, with the consolation that Oliver Kahn became the first goalkeeper ever named the tournament's best player. Back home, eastern Germany drowned in the Elbe's flood of the century in August, images that arguably swung the federal election: Gerhard Schröder edged out Edmund Stoiber by a whisker. The world gained two new institutions in 2002 (the African Union and the International Criminal Court) a new state called East Timor, and a new UN member: Switzerland. But the year had dark chapters too, from the Bali bombings to the Moscow theatre siege and the Überlingen mid-air collision. Twenty questions between the euro launch and Yokohama.
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Foto: Avij ( talk · contribs ) · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons
euro
The deutschmark could still be used in parallel for two months.
💡 Did you know? Germany's Bundesbank still exchanges old deutschmarks indefinitely.
Brazil
It was Brazil's fifth World Cup title: still the record.
💡 Did you know? It was the first World Cup with two host countries: Japan and South Korea.
Oliver Kahn
Kahn had carried Germany to the final with brilliant saves.
💡 Did you know? No goalkeeper has won the Golden Ball before or since.
Elbe
Damage ran into the billions; tens of thousands of volunteers helped out.
💡 Did you know? Chancellor Schröder in rubber boots is seen as the turning point of the 2002 campaign.
Edmund Stoiber
The red-green coalition stayed in power.
💡 Did you know? Stoiber initially celebrated on election night: early projections had him ahead.
Salt Lake City
Germany won 36 medals: more than any other country (Norway led by golds).
💡 Did you know? A judging scandal in figure skating led to duplicate pairs golds.
Bali
Australian holidaymakers were the largest group of victims (88 of the 202 dead).
💡 Did you know? The Islamist group Jemaah Islamiyah was responsible.
Moscow
The hostage-takers demanded Russia's withdrawal from Chechnya.
💡 Did you know? Russia has never officially named the gas that was used.
African Union
The founding summit took place in Durban, South Africa.
💡 Did you know? The AU now has 55 member states, headquartered in Addis Ababa.
International Criminal Court
Its basis, the Rome Statute, entered into force in July 2002.
💡 Did you know? Major powers like the US, China and Russia still aren't members.
East Timor
A UN administration had prepared the country for independence.
💡 Did you know? Its official languages are Tetum and Portuguese.
Switzerland
Voters had clearly rejected membership back in 1986.
💡 Did you know? Geneva had long been a global hub of UN diplomacy anyway.
Queen Mother
Her daughter Princess Margaret had died just weeks earlier.
💡 Did you know? As queen, she lived through the London Blitz in World War II.
The Lord of the Rings
The computer-animated Gollum set new standards.
💡 Did you know? Andy Serkis played Gollum via motion capture: revolutionary at the time.
Kelly Clarkson
The format was based on Britain's "Pop Idol".
💡 Did you know? Germany's version, DSDS, started just weeks later.
Teuro
Statistically, 2002 inflation stayed moderate: but everything felt pricier.
💡 Did you know? Restaurant prices really were often "rounded up" in the conversion.
Überlingen
A chain of air traffic control errors led to the disaster.
💡 Did you know? The crash changed the rules: the TCAS collision system now has the final say.
Jimmy Carter
The award cited Camp David 1978 and his Carter Center, among others.
💡 Did you know? Carter later became the longest-lived US president in history.
Ice Age
Scrat the sabre-toothed squirrel's chase after his acorn became iconic.
💡 Did you know? Four sequels and several spin-offs followed.
Borussia Dortmund
Leverkusen finished tragic runners-up in league, cup AND Champions League that year.
💡 Did you know? Sammer won the title with Dortmund both as player and coach.
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