Which country did the US and its "coalition of the willing" invade in March 2003?
Show answer
Iraq
Germany and France pointedly refused to join the war.
💡 Did you know? On 15 February 2003, millions worldwide marched against the looming war.
All questions with answers
Which toppled Iraqi dictator was captured in a hole near Tikrit in December 2003?
Show answer
Saddam Hussein
An Iraqi court sentenced him to death in 2006.
💡 Did you know? The famous photo of his dental examination went around the world.
Foto: NASA · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons
Which US space shuttle broke apart on re-entry in February 2003?
Show answer
Columbia
A piece of foam shed at launch had damaged the wing.
💡 Did you know? The shuttle fleet was grounded for more than two years afterwards.
Which new lung disease spread from Asia in 2003 and put the world on alert?
Show answer
SARS
About 800 people died; strict quarantine stopped the outbreak.
💡 Did you know? The 2003 SARS virus is a close relative of the later Covid virus.
Which weather extreme killed tens of thousands across Europe in summer 2003?
Show answer
heatwave
France was hit hardest, with about 15,000 deaths.
💡 Did you know? Europe-wide estimates run as high as 70,000 heat deaths.
Which French foreign minister drew rare applause in the UN Security Council on 14 February 2003 with a speech against war in Iraq?
Show answer
Dominique de Villepin
He argued for continuing the weapons inspections rather than resorting to force.
💡 Did you know? Villepin went on to become prime minister of France in 2005.
Which legal music download store did Apple open in April 2003?
Show answer
iTunes Music Store
One million songs were sold in the first week.
💡 Did you know? It was Apple's answer to the Napster piracy era.
Which supersonic airliner made its very last flight in autumn 2003?
Show answer
Concorde
British Airways and Air France retired their fleets.
💡 Did you know? It flew Paris-New York in under three and a half hours.
Which landmark scientific project was declared complete in April 2003?
Show answer
Human Genome Project
The project took 13 years and billions of dollars.
💡 Did you know? Sequencing a genome now costs just a few hundred euros.
Which power failure paralysed the northeastern US and parts of Canada in August 2003?
Show answer
blackout
New York ground to a halt; subways and traffic lights failed.
💡 Did you know? One trigger: a power line sagging into trees in Ohio.
Foto: Georges Biard · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Which action film star was elected Governor of California in 2003?
Show answer
Arnold Schwarzenegger
He won a bizarre recall election with 135 candidates.
💡 Did you know? The Austrian-born star governed California until 2011.
Foto: Sgerbic · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Which first cloned mammal was put down in February 2003?
Show answer
Dolly
Dolly suffered from a progressive lung disease.
💡 Did you know? Stuffed, Dolly now stands in the National Museum of Scotland.
Which internet telephony software launched in 2003, letting people call worldwide for free?
Show answer
Skype
eBay bought it in 2005; Microsoft later took over.
💡 Did you know? Its technology came from the file-sharing service Kazaa.
With his sixth title in 2003, Michael Schumacher broke the ancient record of which Argentine driver?
Show answer
Juan Manuel Fangio
Schumacher added title number seven in 2004.
💡 Did you know? Only Lewis Hamilton matched the seven titles, in 2020.
Which Pixar film about a missing clownfish became the most successful animated film of its time in 2003?
Show answer
Finding Nemo
It won the Oscar for Best Animated Feature.
💡 Did you know? After its release, demand for pet clownfish soared alarmingly.
Which Spanish club did David Beckham join from Manchester United in 2003?
Show answer
Real Madrid
The transfer was also a global marketing event.
💡 Did you know? Beckham wore 23 at Real: Michael Jordan's number.
Which peaceful revolution toppled Georgia's president Shevardnadze in November 2003?
Show answer
Rose Revolution
Young Mikheil Saakashvili became the new strongman.
💡 Did you know? Shevardnadze had been Soviet foreign minister under Gorbachev.
Which "Man in Black" of country music died in September 2003?
Show answer
Johnny Cash
His late cover of "Hurt" became a moving legacy.
💡 Did you know? Cash played legendary concerts at Folsom and San Quentin prisons.
Which European space probe launched towards the Red Planet in 2003?
Show answer
Mars Express
The orbiter still works today; only the Beagle 2 lander fell silent.
💡 Did you know? Beagle 2 was rediscovered in Mars photos in 2015: landed, but never unfolded.
In which Iraqi capital did crowds and US soldiers topple the giant Saddam statue in April 2003?
Show answer
Baghdad
The statue's fall became the symbol of the regime's end.
💡 Did you know? In the Middle Ages, Baghdad was one of the largest cities on Earth.
How PurFact works
- Every new tab, every visit: one question from your packs.
- What you know comes back at growing intervals; what you don't yet comes back sooner.
- Games, learning paths and duels with friends turn studying into a competition.
- 📅 2000 in review
- 📅 2001 in review
- 📅 2002 in review
- 📅 2004 in review
- 📅 2005 in review
- 📅 2006 in review
- 📅 2007 in review
- 📅 2008 in review
- 📅 2009 in review
- 📅 2010 in review
- 📅 2011 in review
- 📅 2012 in review
- 📅 2013 in review
- 📅 2014 in review
- 📅 2015 in review
- 📅 2016 in review
- 📅 2017 in review
- 📅 2018 in review
- 📅 2019 in review
- 📅 2020 in review
- 📅 2021 in review
- 📅 2022 in review
- 📅 2023 in review
- 📅 2024 in review
Home · All topics · Legal notice · Privacy · Terms · Contact