Decades Project

Myles JacksonJordan HowellJoey Moralez

Science

• DNA identification of individuals finds wide application in criminal law.

• NASA’s spacecraft Pathfinder lands on Mars and deploys a small roving vehicle, Sojourner.

• Genetically engineered crops are developed for commercial use.

• Development of biodegradable products, replacing products made from styrofoam; advances in methods for recycling of waste products (such as paper, glass, and aluminum).

Cars

• The recession of the early 1990’s damaged car sales. Cars in the 90s started getting a rounder, more streamlined shape than in earlier decades. Chryslers minivans dominated the market despite its rising completion in the 90’s. The Ford Taurus was the best selling car from 1992-1996 until the Toyota Camry outsold and dethroned the Taurus starting in 97. Although luxury brands Lexus and Infiniti launched in 1989 they saw immediate great success and Lexus would outsell Mercedes-Benz and BMW in the U.S. by 1991 and Cadillac and Lincoln by the end of the decade. Safety features such as airbags and shoulder belts became mandatory equipment on new cars.

Technology

• Y2K spread fear throughout the U.S. and eventually the world the last half of the decade about a possible massive computer malfunctions on 1 January 2000.

• E-mail becomes popular; as a result Microsoft acquires the popular Hotmail webmail service.

• Apple introduced the iMac computer. • CD burner drives are introduced.• Pagers are initially popular but ultimately are replaced by mobile

phones by the early 2000s.• Hand-held satellite phones are introduced towards the end of the

decade.• Portable CD players, introduced during the late 1980s, became

very popular and had a profound impact on the Music industry and youth culture during the 1990s.

• The first MP3 Player, the MPMan, is released in late spring of 1998. It came with 32Mb of flash memory expandable to 64Mb. By the mid-2000s, the Mp3 player would overtake the CD player in popularity

Video Games

• The console wars primarily between the Sega Genesis, Nintendo Super NES and the Sony PlayStation. (similar to the current battle of the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and Wii U). Although the introduction of the PlayStation in 1994 took a huge step by being the first successful CD-based console as opposed to cartridges.

• The PlayStation became the best selling gaming console of its time.

• Some of the 90’s most notable games are Metal Gear Solid, Super Mario World, Pokémon Red and Blue Versions, Super Mario 64, Mario Kart and Sonic the Hedgehog series.

• With the development of gaming consoles and portable gaming systems such as the Gameboy brings a decrease in popularity in Arcade Games.

Fashion in the 1990’s

• Slide 1 name: fashion in the 1990’s • In the early 1990’s hair style for women changed from the

big curly hair to more straight, smooth hair which was inspired by the late 1960’s probably the most popular hair cut amongst women was the “Rachel haircut” based on Jennifer Anistons character in the hit T.V. show Friends.

• For men curtained hair and side partings were popular in the early 90’s before head shaving had become an acceptable way of dealing with baldness. Then spikey hair and crew cuts started becoming more popular toward the late 90’s.

• Many women in the 1990’s wore tight fitting trousers with elastic boot straps, drainpipe jeans, colored tights, bike shorts and tartan skirts. Also popular were hippie-style floral dresses, turtleneck shirts, lace blouses and gypsy tops.

Fashion in the 1990’s cont.• For men loose fitting flannels were extremely

popular. For “preppy” men khaki slacks, canvas boat shoes, and navy blue blazers with breast-pocket monogram or gold buttons bearing a family crest was popular.

• Hip-hop fashion was very mainstream in the 90’s. where many men wore oversized baseball jackets, bomber jackets, and tracksuits. Pants were baggy carpenter jeans, cargo pants, sweatpants, overalls, and tracksuit bottoms. Popular shoe brands were addidas, reebok, and nike. Shoes with built in air pumps were popular as well as air jordans.

Music of the 1990’s • The 1990’s was best known for grunge,

gangsta rap, R&B, punk rock, and alternative rock.

• Some of the most popular artists and groups were Nervana, Tupac, Dr. Dre, N.W.A, Notorious B.I.G, Maria Carey, Spice Girls, Green Day, and Red Hot Chili Peppers just to name a few.

• West Coast gangsta rap dominated hip-hop during the 1990’s. 1994 was a breakthrough year for punk rock in California with artists like bad Religion, Blink-182 and Green Day leading the way.

Sports in the 1990’s

• MLB players went on strike from August 12, 1994 through March 29, 1995 which forced the league to cancel the 1994 World Series for the first time in 90 years.

• The NHL extended from 21 teams to 30 teams in the 1990’s and Canadian star hockey player Wayne Gretzky announced his retirement from the NHL in 1999.

• The (gosh darn) Dallas Cowboys won three superbowls in the 90s as well.

• The Chicago Bulls dominated the NBA and won 6 championships in the 90s behind the greatest basketball player of all time, Michael Jordan.

• Some other famous athletes of this time include David Beckham, Jerry rice, Hakeem Olajuwon, lance Armstrong and Oscar De La Hoya.

Movies and Television of the 1990’s • The first full length CGI movie Toy Story is

released which revolutionized animated films. • Titanic became the highest grossing movie of all

time, grossing over $1.8 billion worldwide. This was a record until James Cameron broke it again with the movie Avatar.

• Walt Disney Animated Studios came out with the classics Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, and The Lion King. This era was known as the Disney Renaissance.

• Sitcoms were very popular in the 90s such as Rosanne and Seinfeld. Among Sitcoms some of the more popular T.V. shows were Friends, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Full House, and That ‘70s Show