2000s ringtones
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2000s Ringtones — Daily trivia Saturday, August 29, 2026: questions and answers
All 10 questions with answers and explanations. Play this daily
Q 01Who couldn't hear the 17-kilohertz 'Mosquito' ringtone teenagers loved?
- AMost adults
- BDogs
- CSmall children
- DBoys but not girls
Show answer
Most adults
Most adults over about 25 cannot hear a 17-kilohertz tone. The sound came from the Mosquito, a British device built to disperse loitering teenagers, who flipped it into a ringtone their teachers could not detect.
Q 02What was the original iPhone's default ringtone called?
- AMarimba
- BXylophone
- CHarp
- DChimes
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Marimba
The 2007 iPhone rang with Marimba, a looping pattern played on the wooden-keyed percussion instrument. It stayed the default until iOS 7 replaced it with Opening in 2013.
Q 03Which animated ringtone character topped the charts in the mid-2000s?
- ADancing Banana
- BNyan Cat
- CCrazy Frog
- DHamster Dance
Show answer
Crazy Frog
Crazy Frog began as a Swedish teenager's imitation of a two-stroke moped engine. Jamster's ringtone ads ran so often in 2005 that the 'Axel F' single kept Coldplay's 'Speed of Sound' off the UK number one spot.
Q 04Which country first offered ringback tones, songs the caller hears while waiting?
- ASouth Korea
- BJapan
- CFinland
- DUnited States
Show answer
South Korea
South Korea's SK Telecom launched the 'Coloring' service in 2002, letting subscribers pay to replace the ringing tone callers hear with a song. The idea spread across Asia and later to US carriers.
Q 05Who composed the classical guitar piece behind the Nokia Tune?
- AFernando Sor
- BFrancisco Tárrega
- CIsaac Albéniz
- DMauro Giuliani
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Francisco Tárrega
The ubiquitous Nokia Tune is derived from 'Gran Vals,' a solo guitar piece composed by the Spanish classical guitarist Francisco Tárrega in 1902.
Q 06Paid ringtone sales slumped as more people switched to doing what?
- AUsing landlines
- BMaking their own
- CBuying pagers
- DCancelling plans
Show answer
Making their own
Making their own. US ringtone sales peaked at an estimated $714 million a year, then fell as people used software to make their own.
Q 07Nokia's classic 'Special' message tone spells what in Morse code?
- ASMS
- BSOS
- CMSG
- DCALL
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SMS
SMS. The 'Special' tone taps out dot-dot-dot, dash-dash, dot-dot-dot, and Nokia's 'Ascending' tone spells the slogan 'Connecting People.'
Q 08Which 1980s pop star's company built the synthesizer in Nokia's polyphonic phones?
- AThomas Dolby
- BHoward Jones
- CGary Numan
- DNik Kershaw
Show answer
Thomas Dolby
Thomas Dolby, of 'She Blinded Me with Science' fame, founded the company Beatnik; its tiny software synthesizer was licensed to Nokia and shipped in over a billion phones, generating the polyphonic Nokia tune.
Q 09Ringtones on Yamaha's MA-series sound chips were typically in which MIDI-based format?
- ASMAF
- BAMR
- CiMelody
- DRTTTL
Show answer
SMAF
Ringtones played on Yamaha's MA-series chips were typically in the MIDI-based Synthetic Music Mobile Application Format, which is where the acronym SMAF comes from.
Q 10Which Nokia phone shipped with ringtones composed by Ryuichi Sakamoto?
- ANokia 8800
- BNokia 6230
- CNokia N95
- DNokia 7650
Show answer
Nokia 8800
The Nokia 8800, a stainless-steel slider from 2005, came with ringtones and alarm tones composed by Ryuichi Sakamoto, the Oscar-winning Japanese musician, as part of its pitch as a luxury object.
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