50 Fun Facts About 2007

Which Apple device did Steve Jobs unveil at the Macworld expo in January 2007, almost six months before its release?

The iPhone went on sale in the United States on June 29, 2007, at $499 for the 4 GB model with a two-year contract. Its development had run in secret since 2005.

Which final Harry Potter novel sold 8.3 million copies in the United States within 24 hours of its July 2007 release?

Deathly Hallows holds the Guinness World Record for most novels sold within 24 hours of release. A further 2.65 million copies went in the United Kingdom over the same day.

Which HBO mob drama ended in June 2007 with a diner scene that cut abruptly to a silent black screen?

The Sopranos finale was written and directed by creator David Chase, who wanted the black screen to run with no credits at all. The scene was shot at Holsten's in Bloomfield, New Jersey.

Which English singer became a 2007 internet prank when disguised links led to his video Never Gonna Give You Up?

Rick Astley's 1987 hit was first swapped in for a Grand Theft Auto IV trailer by a 4chan user on 15 May 2007. The trick grew out of an earlier bait-and-switch called duckrolling.

Which San Francisco Giants slugger hit his 756th home run in August 2007, passing Hank Aaron's career record?

Barry Bonds hit the record-breaker, a 435-foot solo shot, off Washington Nationals pitcher Mike Bacsik in front of his home crowd.

Which California Democrat became the first woman to serve as Speaker of the US House in January 2007?

Nancy Pelosi took the gavel after leading the Democrats to their first House majority in 12 years at the 2006 midterms. She won the speakership a second time in 2019.

Which singer's 2007 single Umbrella, featuring Jay-Z, spent ten straight weeks at number one in the United Kingdom?

Rihanna's run was the longest at number one for any single of the 2000s in the UK, and it coincided with weeks of rain and flooding. The song was written with Britney Spears in mind.

Which convenience store chain turned a dozen locations into Kwik-E-Marts in July 2007 to promote The Simpsons Movie?

7-Eleven sold real versions of Buzz Cola, Krusty-O's cereal and Squishees, which were Slurpees in collector cups. Duff Beer was left out because the film was rated PG-13.

Which bird of prey was taken off the US list of endangered and threatened wildlife in June 2007?

Bald eagle numbers had crashed in the mid-20th century because the pesticide DDT thinned the birds' eggshells. The 1972 ban on DDT is credited with much of the recovery.

Which NFL team went 16–0 in the 2007 regular season, the first perfect record since the schedule grew to 16 games?

The New England Patriots were the first team to finish a regular season unbeaten since the 1972 Miami Dolphins. They then lost Super Bowl XLII 17–14 to the New York Giants.

Which 2007 Michael Bay film, based on a Hasbro toy line, stars Shia LaBeouf as teenager Sam Witwicky?

Transformers pits the heroic Autobots against the evil Decepticons, and its $709.7 million gross made it the fifth-highest-earning film of 2007.

Which 2007 Pixar film follows Remy, a young rat who dreams of becoming a chef in Paris?

Ratatouille won the Oscar for Best Animated Feature. Chef Thomas Keller, whose kitchen the producer interned in, suggested the fanned, layered version of the title dish that the rats cook at the climax.

Which 2007 comedy about a pregnant Minnesota teenager won Diablo Cody an Oscar for her first screenplay?

Juno earned back its $6.5 million budget in twenty days and picked up three more Oscar nominations, including Best Picture. Elliot Page plays the title role.

Which director won his first Oscar in February 2007 for The Departed, a remake of Hong Kong's Infernal Affairs?

Martin Scorsese's film also won Best Picture, Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Film Editing that night. Its story drew loosely on the real crime boss Whitey Bulger.

Which 2007 teen comedy written by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg features a fake ID bearing the name McLovin?

Superbad gave film debuts to both Emma Stone and Christopher Mintz-Plasse, who was 17 when he played Fogell, the owner of the fake ID.

Which actor played virologist Robert Neville, the last human left in New York City, in the 2007 film I Am Legend?

Will Smith's character survives a virus that was originally created to cure cancer. The film is loosely based on a 1954 novel by Richard Matheson.

Which Spanish actor won an Oscar as hitman Anton Chigurh in the 2007 Coen brothers thriller No Country for Old Men?

Javier Bardem became the first Spaniard to win the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. The film won four Oscars in all, including Best Picture.

Which AMC drama about a Manhattan advertising agency in the 1960s premiered in July 2007 with Jon Hamm as its lead?

Mad Men became the first basic cable series to win the Emmy for Outstanding Drama Series, taking it in each of its first four seasons.

Which CBS sitcom about two Caltech physicists and their neighbor Penny premiered in September 2007 and ran 12 seasons?

The Big Bang Theory ran for 279 episodes before ending in May 2019, and it later produced the spin-off Young Sheldon.

Which teen drama about Upper East Side students, narrated by an unseen blogger, premiered on The CW in September 2007?

Gossip Girl was adapted from Cecily von Ziegesar's novels, and the uncredited voice of the blogger in every episode belongs to Kristen Bell.

Which television host developed Keeping Up with the Kardashians for E!, where it debuted in October 2007?

Ryan Seacrest also served as an executive producer of the reality series, which ran for 20 seasons over almost fourteen years.

Which group of Hollywood workers began a 100-day strike in November 2007 over DVD residuals and new media pay?

Screenwriters stayed out until February 12, 2008, all 12,000 of them. The Tonight Show and Late Night came back on air that January without their writing staff.

Which British singer's album Back to Black, home of the single Rehab, was the UK's best-selling album of 2007?

Amy Winehouse sold 1.85 million copies of the album in the UK that year. She made it with producers Mark Ronson and Salaam Remi, drawing on the pop and soul of the 1960s.

Which British band released the album In Rainbows in October 2007 as a download that fans could buy at any price?

Radiohead let buyers enter any amount, including £0, in a landmark use of the pay-what-you-want model. Guitarist Jonny Greenwood announced the album just ten days ahead.

Which band reunited at London's O2 Arena in December 2007 with Jason Bonham taking his late father's place on drums?

Led Zeppelin headlined a tribute to music executive Ahmet Ertegun, and Guinness World Records counted 20 million ticket requests for the one-off show.

Which rapper's album Graduation outsold 50 Cent's Curtis when both came out on the same day in September 2007?

Kanye West sold more than 957,000 copies in the first week against 691,000 for his rival, who had vowed to end his solo career if he lost.

Which singer's Irreplaceable, co-written by Ne-Yo, was the best-performing single on the 2007 Billboard Hot 100?

Beyoncé held the top of the Hot 100 for 10 consecutive weeks with the song, which became her fourth US number one as a solo artist.

Which musician headlined the Super Bowl halftime show in February 2007 as a downpour soaked the Miami stage?

Prince was playing Purple Rain when the downpour began, the first time it had ever rained during a Super Bowl halftime show.

Which Xbox 360 shooter grossed $170 million on its first day in September 2007, with players cast as Master Chief?

Halo 3 took its total to $300 million within a week. Developer Bungie had started work on it shortly after shipping the previous game.

Which 2007 Valve puzzle game, sold in The Orange Box, has an AI named GLaDOS promising the player cake?

Portal grew out of Narbacular Drop, a student project at the DigiPen Institute of Technology whose team Valve hired to build the new game.

Which e-reader did Amazon launch for $399 in November 2007, only to sell out within six hours?

Kindle was Amazon's first e-reader, built after founder Jeff Bezos told staff in 2004 to make the world's best one before any competitor could.

Which mobile operating system was unveiled in November 2007 by Google and the new Open Handset Alliance?

Android began at a start-up founded in 2003 to build software for digital cameras. The first phone to run it, the HTC Dream, did not go on sale until 2008.

Which DVD-by-mail company began streaming films over the internet in January 2007 with just 1,000 titles?

Netflix had 70,000 titles on disc at the time, against the 1,000 it could stream. It had been posting out DVDs since 1998.

Which first-term senator launched a run for the White House in February 2007 with a speech in Springfield, Illinois?

Barack Obama was then the junior senator from Illinois. He became the official Democratic nominee in August 2008 and won the election that November.

Which former US vice president shared the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize with a United Nations panel of climate scientists?

Al Gore and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, founded in 1988, each received half of the prize for spreading knowledge about man-made climate change.

Which long-serving Chancellor of the Exchequer succeeded Tony Blair as British prime minister in June 2007?

Gordon Brown was elected unopposed as Labour leader after a decade running the Treasury, the longest spell of any chancellor in modern history.

Which player matched Björn Borg in 2007 by winning a fifth straight Wimbledon men's singles title?

Roger Federer beat Rafael Nadal in a five-set final for his eleventh major title. The pair met in the Wimbledon final three years running.

Which team swept the Colorado Rockies in four games to win the 2007 World Series, its second title in four seasons?

The Boston Red Sox still had a number of players from their curse-breaking 2004 champions. Third baseman Mike Lowell was named the Series MVP.

Which Major League Soccer club did David Beckham agree to join from Real Madrid in a deal announced in January 2007?

LA Galaxy signed him to a five-year contract that began on 1 July 2007. Real Madrid tried to undo the move once he had won back his place, without success.

Which landmark was given honorary status when the New Seven Wonders of the World were announced in Lisbon in July 2007?

The Great Pyramid is the only survivor of the original Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, so the Giza pyramids were honoured alongside the seven poll winners.

Which Ferrari driver won the 2007 Formula One title by one point, passing rookie Lewis Hamilton at the final race?

Kimi Räikkönen went into the last race third in the standings, a comeback first managed by Giuseppe Farina in 1950. It was his first year with Ferrari.

Which second-tier college football team beat fifth-ranked Michigan 34–32 at Michigan Stadium in September 2007?

Appalachian State kicked a short field goal with 26 seconds left, then blocked Michigan's own attempt as time ran out. The upset made the cover of Sports Illustrated.

Which team beat the Ottawa Senators in five games in 2007 to become the first California club to win the Stanley Cup?

The Anaheim Ducks were the first Pacific coast winners of the Cup since the Victoria Cougars in 1925, and the first from the NHL.

Which nation won football's AFC Asian Cup for the first time in 2007, beating Saudi Arabia 1–0 in the final?

Iraq took the title at a tournament co-hosted by four Southeast Asian countries, the first major continental competition with more than two hosts.

Which Italian club beat Liverpool 2–1 in the 2007 Champions League final in Athens, avenging a defeat two years earlier?

AC Milan won through two goals from Filippo Inzaghi, the first a deflection off him from an Andrea Pirlo free kick. It was the club's seventh European title.

Which country joined the European Union alongside Bulgaria on 1 January 2007 in the fifth wave of enlargement?

Romania entered on the same day as its southern neighbor, whose arrival made Cyrillic the third official alphabet of the EU after Latin and Greek.

Which country won cricket's first Twenty20 World Cup in September 2007, beating Pakistan by five runs in the final?

India had already beaten the same opponents in the group stage through a bowl-out, the only one needed in the whole tournament.

Which conservative candidate beat Socialist Ségolène Royal in May 2007 to succeed Jacques Chirac as French president?

Nicolas Sarkozy took 53% of the run-off vote after serving as interior minister under Chirac. Both finalists had been born after World War II.

Which actor played Baltimore mother Edna Turnblad in drag in Hairspray, the 2007 musical remake?

John Travolta followed the drag queen Divine, who played Edna in the 1988 original, and Harvey Fierstein, who played her on Broadway.

Which host retired from the CBS game show The Price Is Right in 2007 after presenting it since 1972?

Bob Barker's retirement capped a 50-year career on television. The Price Is Right is the longest-running game show in North American television history.