50 Fun Facts About 2022

Which film won Best Picture in March 2022, the first winner released by a streamer?

Apple's film was also the first Best Picture winner with a primarily deaf cast.

Will Smith slapped which comedian on stage at the 2022 Oscars?

Minutes later Smith won Best Actor for King Richard; the Academy banned him from its events for ten years.

Who directed Top Gun: Maverick, Tom Cruise's highest-grossing film?

Kosinski had previously directed Cruise in Oblivion; Val Kilmer returned for his final film role.

Queen Elizabeth II died on September 8, 2022 at which residence?

Her death in Scotland triggered Operation Unicorn, the plan for a Scottish death, alongside Operation London Bridge.

How much did Elon Musk pay for Twitter when the deal closed in October 2022?

He marked the close with the tweet "the bird is freed" after walking into HQ carrying a kitchen sink.

Argentina won the 2022 World Cup final on penalties after what scoreline in extra time?

It was Argentina's third title and their first since Maradona's team won in 1986.

Kylian Mbappe's hat-trick in the 2022 final was the first in a World Cup final since whom?

Hurst's came for England in 1966; Mbappe also took the Golden Boot with eight goals.

Which country became the first African nation to reach a World Cup semi-final in 2022?

They beat Spain and Portugal on the way before losing 2-0 to France.

Why was the 2022 World Cup played in November and December?

It was the first World Cup staged outside the traditional May-to-July window.

Who created Wordle, which the New York Times bought in January 2022?

The Welsh engineer built it for his partner; the Times paid a "low seven-figure sum".

Which team did the Los Angeles Rams beat in Super Bowl LVI in February 2022?

The Rams won 23-20 at their own SoFi Stadium, the second straight year a team won at home.

The 2022 Depp v. Heard defamation trial was held in which US state?

The case centred on a 2018 Washington Post op-ed; the jury found for Depp on June 1.

Which 1985 Kate Bush song hit number one in eight countries thanks to Stranger Things?

It had peaked at number three in the UK and 30 in the US on first release.

What do the Stranger Things kids name the season 4 villain, after a D&D character?

The season arrived in two volumes, seven episodes on May 27 and two more on July 1.

Which Beyonce single from Renaissance topped the Hot 100 in 2022?

The album is sequenced like a continuous DJ mix and pays homage to Black dance-music pioneers.

Taylor Swift's Midnights made her the first artist to do what on the Hot 100?

Released October 21, 2022, the album was framed as the story of thirteen sleepless nights.

Roughly how much did Avatar: The Way of Water gross in its first run?

It became the third-highest-grossing film of all time, behind the first Avatar and Avengers: Endgame.

In Netflix's Wednesday, which school do the Addamses send their daughter to?

Jenna Ortega starred, and Tim Burton directed four episodes of each season.

House of the Dragon, which premiered in August 2022, adapts which 2018 book?

It is set about 200 years before Game of Thrones, during the Targaryen civil war called the Dance of the Dragons.

Which fantasy author provided the worldbuilding for FromSoftware's Elden Ring?

Released February 25, 2022, it is set in the Lands Between and directed by Hidetaka Miyazaki.

Webb's first operational image, revealed July 11, 2022, showed which galaxy cluster?

President Biden unveiled the deep field at the White House a day before the rest of the first images.

NASA's DART spacecraft deliberately crashed into which asteroid moonlet in September 2022?

The impact shortened its orbit by 32 minutes, far beyond the 73-second success threshold.

Artemis I, launched November 16, 2022, was the first flight of which NASA rocket?

The uncrewed Orion capsule looped around the Moon and splashed down on December 11.

Shinzo Abe was assassinated in July 2022 while campaigning in which Japanese city?

He was shot with an improvised firearm while speaking outside a railway station.

Liz Truss resigned as UK prime minister on which day of her tenure?

Her mini-budget of unfunded tax cuts spooked markets and made her the shortest-serving PM in British history.

Which crypto exchange filed for bankruptcy on November 11, 2022?

A CoinDesk report about sister firm Alameda Research's balance sheet triggered the collapse nine days earlier.

Which country topped the medal table at the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics?

Norway's 16 golds set a record for a single Winter Games, its third straight time topping the table.

Which Encanto song topped the US Hot 100 in early 2022?

Encanto became the first Disney animated film to land multiple Hot 100 top-ten hits.

Which team did the Houston Astros beat in the 2022 World Series?

The Phillies led 2-1 before Houston won three straight for its second title.

Who won his first NBA Finals MVP as the Warriors beat the Celtics in 2022?

It was Golden State's fourth championship in eight years.

Which team ended the Tampa Bay Lightning's run of two straight Stanley Cups in 2022?

It was Colorado's third Cup and first since 2001.

Serena Williams played her final professional match at which 2022 tournament?

She described it as an "evolution" away from tennis rather than a retirement.

Which country won Eurovision 2022 with Kalush Orchestra's "Stefania"?

It took a record 439 televote points; the UK's Sam Ryder finished second.

Protests erupted across Iran in September 2022 after which woman died in police custody?

She had been arrested by the morality police for allegedly wearing her hijab improperly.

Which outlet published the leaked draft of the Dobbs decision in May 2022?

The draft, written by Justice Samuel Alito, largely matched the final ruling issued on June 24.

Ketanji Brown Jackson took the Supreme Court seat of which retiring justice in 2022?

She had clerked for Breyer from 1999 to 2000 and is the first Black woman on the Court.

Which two Nordic countries applied to join NATO in May 2022?

Both had stayed non-aligned through the Cold War; Russia's invasion of Ukraine changed that within three months.

The world's population officially passed what milestone on November 15, 2022?

It had taken just 11 years to add the latest billion, with Africa the fastest-growing continent.

Which company released ChatGPT on November 30, 2022?

Its release kicked off an AI arms race that only intensified in 2023.

In January 2022, Baltimore surgeons transplanted a heart from which animal into a human?

The genetically modified organ kept patient David Bennett alive for about two months.

Which tennis star was deported from Australia in January 2022 over his vaccination status?

He missed the Australian Open as a result, then returned to win it in 2023.

Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva won Brazil's October 2022 runoff against which incumbent?

At 77, Lula became the oldest president elected in Brazil and the first to win three times.

Which Filipino won the May 2022 presidential election in a landslide?

Sara Duterte, daughter of his predecessor, was elected vice president on the same day.

Which Ukrainian regional capital did Russia capture in March 2022 and lose in November?

It was the only regional capital Russia took during the invasion's first year.

Explosions in September 2022 knocked out which undersea pipelines in the Baltic Sea?

The sabotage off the Danish island of Bornholm left both Nord Stream lines inoperable.

Everything Everywhere All at Once premiered at which festival in March 2022?

A24 gave it a wide release in April; it went on to win seven Oscars the following year.

God of War Ragnarok, released in November 2022, ends which mythological era of the series?

Kratos and his teenage son Atreus try to stop the nine realms being destroyed.

Un Verano Sin Ti was the first album in which language to top Billboard's year-end chart?

It spent 13 weeks at number one and was the first Spanish-language album nominated for the Album of the Year Grammy.

Pixar's Lightyear, released June 2022, cast which actor as the voice of Buzz?

Tim Allen, the toy's voice in the Toy Story films, was not involved.

Abbott Elementary, the breakout sitcom of 2022, is set in a school in which city?

Creator Quinta Brunson plays second-grade teacher Janine Teagues at the underfunded West Philadelphia school.