50 Fun Facts About 2015

Which country adopted the euro on January 1, 2015, becoming the 19th eurozone member?

It replaced the litas. Latvia had joined a year earlier and Croatia would not switch until 2023.

Gunmen killed 12 people at the Paris offices of which satirical newspaper in January 2015?

The attack prompted a march attended by more than a million people and over 40 world leaders.

Which party, led by Alexis Tsipras, won Greece's January 2015 election?

It took 149 of 300 seats. By July, Greece had become the first advanced economy to miss an IMF payment.

Which country won the 2015 Cricket World Cup, a tournament it co-hosted?

The tournament was co-hosted by the two finalists, Australia and New Zealand.

NASA's Dawn probe entered orbit around which dwarf planet in March 2015?

It was the first spacecraft to visit a dwarf planet, four months before New Horizons reached Pluto.

Whose Top Gear contract did the BBC decline to renew in March 2015?

The decision ended his run on the 2002-format show; his co-hosts soon followed him to Amazon's The Grand Tour.

In March 2015 a Germanwings A320 was deliberately crashed in which mountain range?

All 150 people aboard died after the first officer locked the captain out of the cockpit.

A magnitude 7.8 earthquake in April 2015 killed nearly 9,000 people in which country?

Nineteen of the dead were at Everest base camp; a 7.3 aftershock in May killed more than 200 more.

Which disease did the WHO declare eradicated from the Americas in April 2015?

In a separate milestone that June, Cuba became the first country to eliminate mother-to-child transmission of HIV and syphilis.

Which Picasso painting sold for a record $179.3 million at Christie's in May 2015?

The same sale set a sculpture record when Giacometti's L'Homme au doigt fetched $141.3 million.

Who won the 2015 Eurovision Song Contest in Vienna with the song 'Heroes'?

The Swedish singer's win brought the contest to Stockholm in 2016.

Which FIFA president announced his intention to resign in June 2015 amid a corruption probe?

The announcement came days after his re-election, as an FBI-led investigation swept through football's governing body.

The inaugural European Games were held in June 2015 in which city?

Azerbaijan's capital hosted the first edition; Minsk staged the second in 2019.

Pope Francis's 2015 encyclical on the environment was titled what?

Dated May 24 and released June 18, it arrived months before the Paris climate conference.

On July 14, 2015, NASA's New Horizons became the first spacecraft to fly past what?

The same day, Iran agreed to long-term limits on its nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief.

Which desktop operating system did Microsoft release on July 29, 2015?

It skipped the number 9 entirely, following Windows 8.1.

In July 2015 the IOC awarded the 2022 Winter Olympics to which city?

It made Beijing the first city to host both Summer and Winter Games, after 2008.

Debris found on Réunion Island in August 2015 was confirmed to come from which lost airliner?

The aircraft had been missing since March 2014; the flaperon was the first physical evidence recovered.

Explosions that killed 173 people in August 2015 struck the port of which Chinese city?

Investigators blamed overheated nitrocellulose and about 800 tonnes of ammonium nitrate.

On September 9, 2015, Queen Elizabeth II passed whom as Britain's longest-reigning monarch?

She overtook a reign of 63 years and 216 days, set when Victoria died in January 1901.

Homo naledi, a new species of early human announced in September 2015, was found where?

The fossils came from the Rising Star cave system near Johannesburg.

Gravitational waves were first detected in September 2015 by which observatory?

The detection was kept quiet until February 11, 2016, when it was announced to the world.

Who replaced Tony Abbott as Australian Prime Minister in September 2015?

He won a Liberal Party leadership ballot on September 14 and was sworn in the next day.

Which carmaker was accused in September 2015 of rigging diesel emissions tests worldwide?

About 11 million vehicles were affected; the US ordered a recall of roughly 500,000 cars.

Which team won the 2015 Rugby World Cup in England?

The All Blacks beat Australia in the final to become the first team to retain the title.

Hurricane Patricia, the Western Hemisphere's most intense on record, hit what peak wind speed?

Its pressure bottomed out at 872 mbar in October before it weakened rapidly over Mexico.

A deadly 2015 fire at the Colectiv nightclub brought down the government of which country?

Prime Minister Victor Ponta resigned days later amid mass protests in Bucharest.

How many people were killed in the coordinated Paris attacks of November 13, 2015?

ISIL claimed the attacks, which hit the Bataclan theatre, cafés and the Stade de France.

In November 2015 which NATO member shot down a Russian fighter jet on its border with Syria?

It was the first time a NATO member had destroyed a Russian aircraft since the 1950s.

Which non-profit AI research company was founded on December 11, 2015?

Eleven days later SpaceX landed a Falcon 9 booster, the first reusable rocket to reach orbital space and return.

The December 2015 COP 21 climate pact was agreed in which city?

Leaders from 147 nations attended; the deal committed every country to cut carbon emissions for the first time.

Who won the 2015 Nobel Prize in Literature?

The Belarusian journalist was honored for her oral histories; Dylan won the following year.

The 2015 Nobel Peace Prize went to a national dialogue quartet from which country?

The group of civil-society organizations was credited with steering the country toward democracy after the Arab Spring.

Which team beat the Seattle Seahawks 28–24 in Super Bowl XLIX in February 2015?

The win came amid the Deflategate accusations; Katy Perry's halftime show was the most-watched ever at the time.

Which film won Best Picture at the 87th Academy Awards in February 2015?

It took four awards from nine nominations, including Best Director for Alejandro González Iñárritu.

Which horse won the 2015 Kentucky Derby and went on to the first Triple Crown in 37 years?

Ridden by Victor Espinoza, he sealed the sweep at the Belmont Stakes in June.

Who took over The Late Show on CBS after David Letterman's final episode in May 2015?

Letterman's 22-year run ended May 20; his successor debuted on September 8.

Caitlyn Jenner became the first transgender person on the cover of which magazine in June 2015?

The cover, shot by Annie Leibovitz, came two months after the former Olympian's interview with Diane Sawyer.

The Golden State Warriors won their first NBA title in 40 years in 2015 by beating whom?

They won in six games for the franchise's fourth championship overall.

Which NHL team won the 2015 Stanley Cup, its third in six years?

They beat the Tampa Bay Lightning in six games for the franchise's sixth Cup.

In June 2015 the Treasury said a woman would replace which figure on the $10 bill?

The plan was later shifted to the $20, with Harriet Tubman chosen to replace Andrew Jackson.

Which justice wrote the majority opinion in the June 2015 ruling guaranteeing same-sex marriage?

The 5–4 decision in Obergefell v. Hodges was joined by Ginsburg, Breyer, Sotomayor and Kagan.

The US beat which team 5–2 in the 2015 Women's World Cup final?

It was the highest-scoring final in the tournament's history and made the US the first three-time champion.

Which comedian hosted his final episode of The Daily Show on August 6, 2015?

Trevor Noah took over the desk that September.

The Kansas City Royals won the 2015 World Series by beating which team?

The 4–1 series win was the Royals' first championship in 30 years.

Who succeeded John Boehner as Speaker of the House in October 2015?

Boehner had announced his resignation on September 25, a day after Pope Francis addressed Congress.

Which 2015 release became only the third film ever to gross $2 billion worldwide?

It opened December 18 and reached $1 billion in 12 days, a day faster than Jurassic World had that June.

Which 2015 animated film was the first non-Disney animation to gross $1 billion?

It reached the mark in 49 days, faster than Toy Story 3's 75, and remains the highest-grossing spinoff.

Which song spent 14 weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 2015, the year's longest run?

Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars held the top spot longer than Wiz Khalifa's 12-week 'See You Again'.

Whose album 25 sold 3.38 million copies in its first week in November 2015, a Nielsen-era record?

It beat NSYNC's 2.42 million from 2000; the single 'Hello' had already become the first song to sell a million downloads in a week.