Come on, Uncle Phil. This is the '90s, man. Man, it's the '90s. It's hammer time. This is the '90s, the
1990s in point of fact. Does your girlfriend
have a girlfriend? Hey, it's the '90s. The 1990s. This decade would be all
that and a bag of chips-- Hey, we're not talking
brain cells here. We're talking taste buds. --where the planet would see
the rise of the world wide web-- Plane tickets are ordered. Now, let's look up dinosaurs. --civil unrest in the
states, and a hairstyle called "the Rachel"
dominate the landscape. Today, we're going to give
you the 411 about the news, culture, sports, and
entertainment, and all that was Weird in the '90s. Don't touch that dial. This is Timeline. [MUSIC PLAYING] Hang on to your
plaid because we're starting at the beginning
with the year 1990. But before we get started, be
sure to subscribe to the Weird History Channel and let
us know in the comments below what your favorite
'90s expression OK, baby, let's go back. I don't know about you guys,
but I'm dying for a Pepsi. Coming out of the '80s,
the world was changing. Communism was crumbling. The Cold War was
thawing, and materialism had taken root in our culture. Moving into the '90s, how
would this decade be defined? In the year ahead,
we would see one of the biggest upsets
in sports history, a whale of a good time, and
a stage being set for war. Five months ago Saddam
Hussein started this cruel war against Kuwait. Tonight, the battle
has been joined. This is 1990. Aren't you going to say, hello? The year started off great
for David N Dinkins, who became the first black
mayor of New York City, who was sworn in on January 1. Dinkins tenure,
however, was marred with unparalleled levels of
crime and a massive budget deficit. Most commonly, he's
remembered for failing to respond to the race
riot in August of 1991, now dubbed The Crown
Heights Crisis. At the time, tensions were
high between blacks and Jews in Brooklyn. A brutal attack on orthodox
Jews sparked a full blown riot. Two days later after holding
up in the Vatican embassy in Panama City for 10 days,
dictator Manuel Noriega surrendered to
the United States. American forces
surrounded the location, blasted music, and flew
helicopters overhead. Eventually, the US and the
Vatican reached an agreement, and Noriega surrendered. Coming back to the States,
we go to Washington DC, where Mayor Marion Barry was
arrested during an FBI sting operation and caught smoking
the crack on January 18. That was a government setup. Godammit, it was
a [BLEEP] setup. In a surprising twist after
serving his six-M month sentence, Barry was
re-elected mayor, serving from 1995 to '99. Damn mayor on crack. In late January, we head to
the New Orleans Superdome, where during Super Bowl
XXIV, the San Francisco 49ers demolished mule mouth
John Elway and the Denver Broncos, 55 to 10. Quarterback Joe Montana won
his third Super Bowl MVP. Three days later,
the Soviet Union saw its first McDonald's
restaurant open in Moscow. Those golden arches
attracted long lines of hungry Russians, who waited
as long as six hours for a two all-beef patties, special
sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions on a sesame seed
bun, plus fries and a Coke. I think the reaction
from the Soviets is going to be exceptional. I think they're going
to just say, thank you. Thanks, McDonald's. Thanks for coming here. One journalist noted the
level of Russian enthusiasm was the expression of
America's rationalism and pragmatism toward food. That's one way of looking at it. (SINGING) McDonald's. Food, folks, and fun. On February 11, the
leader of the movement to end South African
apartheid, Nelson Mandela, was released from prison after
spending 27 years incarcerated. I think we're feeling the
thrill of just realizing that he's going to be out. I feel free today. Now it's going to change
the country a lot. Mandela had been sent to
prison on trumped up charges of treason and sabotage. Flash forward four
years, where on May 10, Mandela would be elected as
president of South Africa and serve until 1999. The moment to bridge the causes
that divides us has come. Back to 1990, and we go to
the Tokyo Dome in Japan, where on the same day
as Mandela's release, the undisputed, undefeated
heavyweight champion of the world Mike
Tyson was defeated. Iron Mike was knocked down
and out by the 42 to 1 underdog Buster Douglas in
the 10th round of the bout. The next day on February
12, rapper, dancer, and iconic jeannie
pant's wearer, MC Hammer released his album
Please Hammer, Don't Hurt 'Em. The album stayed on the
Billboard 200 for 21 weeks straight and propelled MC
into superstardom thanks to his juggernaut single,
You Can't Touch This. Hammer became so popular that
a year and a half later he got his very own
cartoon, Hammerman, which debuted on September 7, 1991. Your very own cartoon. Now that's making it. It's hammertime. Back to 1990. We go to the courts,
where on February 27 the case of Washington v. Harper
saw an inmate in Washington state through the prison system
for involuntary medication, specifically around the inmates
antipsychotic medication. The court found that Harper
was a danger to either himself or his fellow inmates,
and the prison was well within its
rights to administer antipsychotic medicine
against the will of the individual involved. [MUSIC PLAYING] Now they're taking
Burger King by storm. You can get one of your favorite
heroes in a half shell-- Wow! --every time you buy
a kids club meal. Teenage Mutant
Ninja Turtle badges, for a limited time
only at Burger King. Cowabunga, dude. Sir, we have been sabotaged. I'm telling you,
he wants to defect! I'll shake the man loose. Right full rudder. Countdown on Crazy Ivan! Sean Connery, Alec Baldwin. The Hunt for Red October. This is no April Fool's joke. But after a nine
year stagnation, the federal minimum wage
was increased on April 1, going from $3.35 to
a whopping $3.80. From what Mindy is
holding, we found what we were looking for
being fans of Twin Peaks. Damn good coffee and hot. Hello? I was wondering if
I might trouble you for a cup of strong,
black coffee. They got a cherry pie
there that'll kill you. On April 10, animal
rights activists had a win when they successfully
convinced canned tuna brands not to buy fish caught
from companies that use nets which harm dolphins. The turning point
was when Heinz, who was the globe's
foremost tuna supplier, decided to stop buying any tuna
caught using first fishing net methods. Just about everything you see
in here is a potential hazard. Let me show you something. Let's just say you're changing
the water in this here fish tank, and you accidentally
fill it with gasoline like so. The janitor comes in. There's a power outage. He likes himself a match, and
whoa, he's cooking fish sticks! In late April, the
Hubble Telescope was launched into space aboard
the space shuttle Discovery. After its launch,
it was discovered that the telescope's primary
mirror had an aberration that affected its ability to produce
clear and accurate images, making the poor Hubble a late
night talk show punch line. Have you heard about the
problems with the Hubble Space Telescope? They called the NASA
official repairman to fix it, and he said, he'll
be up there sometime in the 21st century
between noon and 5:00. Since being fixed,
the Hubble has helped revolutionize astronomy,
giving in-depth looks at distant stars,
planets, and galaxies, and giving scientists a better
understanding of black holes. Some sad news as we
head into mid-May. The man behind The Muppets, Jim
Henson, died at the age of 53. He's taught me so much just
by being the person who he is. Henson single handedly ushered
in a new golden age of puppets, creating many of his iconic
characters on Sam and Friends in 1955, which would then
later be reborn as The Muppet Show almost 20 years later. Besides being the hand behind
Kermit the Frog and Miss Piggy, Henson also helped
create puppets for The Dark Crystal, Teenage
Mutant Ninja Turtles, Farscape, and Labyrinth. On the same day, beloved Rat
Pack member Sammy Davis Jr. passed away. The actor, singer, and comedian
died while heavily in debt to the IRS. His estate was divided up
and had various legal battles surrounding it, even after
the death of his wife who passed in 2009. A little known fact
about Sammy was that towards the
back half of his life he converted from
Judaism to Satanism. The Mr. Bojangles crooner
hosted many interesting parties, satanic rituals, and
pagan sacrifices. Sticking with the
music, Madonna's Vogue topped the charts by reaching
number 1 on the US Hot 100 on May 19 and stayed there
for three consecutive weeks. The music video for
Vogue was directed by a then budding David
Fincher, who we may hear from later on in the decade. What's in 1995? What's in 1995? In late May, Colombian
elections were marred by violent
protests and riots after Cesar Gaviria
won the presidency. Luis Carlos Galan, a Colombian
presidential candidate, had been shot and killed while
campaigning South of Bogota. He was so far ahead in the polls
for the presidential elections that he was virtually
assured of victory. His campaign manager, Cesar
Gaviria, ran in his place after the attack and
was elected president. Immediately after
Galan's assassination, the president at the
time, Virgilio Barco, retaliated by
reinstating extraditions. Have you brought any fruits
or vegetables onto the planet? Two weeks. Excuse me? [MUSIC PLAYING] Catch! [SCREAMS] Ah! Get ready for a surprise. A notable first-- the
Thanatron, the machine Jack Kevorkian used
for assisted suicides, was used for the
first time on June 4. Janet Adkins of Portland,
Oregon became the first person to use the Thanatron. And her decision that had been
made some time ago, the voice. We're all familiar
with it, and we all knew what she wanted to do. Kevorkian and the
Thanatron eventually be enlisted by 129 other
people to end their own lives. Six days later, Federal
District Judge Jose Gonzalez ruled that 2 Live Crew's
album As Nasty As They Want To Be was
obscene, and the album was ruled illegal to perform
in multiple Florida counties. With hits like Me So Horny
and Dirty Nursery Rhymes, the group quickly gained
nationwide recognition for their profanity
and explicit lyrics. Crew's Fresh Kid Ice and Amazing
V were arrested by the police during a performance
at, of all places, a local Florida strip
club after the ruling. The case was taken to trial
where the crew would eventually be acquitted. 2 Live Crew walked, so Megan
The Stallion could run. Sticking with the
justice system, the US Supreme Court
upheld by a 6 to 3 vote police DUI
checkpoints on June 14. In the decision written by
Chief Justice William Rehnquist, the court rejected assertions
that DUI checkpoints violated the Fourth Amendment protection
against unreasonable search and seizure. Hey, daddy. I can do it. Right here. Oh. [MUSIC PLAYING] [MUSIC PLAYING] (SINGING)
What's a meal i hate to miss? Kibbles 'n bits,
'n bits, 'n bits. Variety I must insist. Kibbles 'n bits,
'n bits, 'n bits. Crunchy. Chewy. Bone-in. Chow down. Kibbles 'n bits,
'n bits, 'n bits. We now go to the Middle
East where on June 21 a 7.7 magnitude earthquake
devastated Iran. An estimated 50,000
Iranians perished, and over 400,000 people
were left homeless from the quake, which
spanned from 7.3 to 7.7 on the Richter scale. Heading into July,
we go to Italy-- bongiorno-- where West Germany-- yes, West Germany was
still around at the time-- won the FIFA World Cup,
defeating Argentina 1 to 0. This was the third World
Cup title for West Germany. You ain't got a
body no more, son. It's all up here now. You want to move something, you
got to move it with your mind! I did it. Way to go. The month of August would
start off a touch fresher with the city of San
Luis Obispo, California, adopting the first legislation
to ban smoking in bars. Tobacco giant RJ Reynolds
fumigated local residents with pamphlets, urging
them to call their council members but to no avail. By July of 2018, nearly every
state adopted similar laws with only 12 states-- Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia,
Kentucky, Mississippi, Oklahoma, South Carolina,
Texas, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wyoming-- can still live in
flavor country. Six days later after
invading Kuwait, the Iraqi government
proclaimed that they had annexed the country. In a statement issued from
Saddam Hussein's ruling council, they insisted
their lack of fear from American military forces
despite the annexation, proclaiming all the fleets
and squadrons of aircraft will not shake a single
palm frond in Iraq. We'll see how well
that statement holds going into 1991. Clear! No, no, no, wait! Oh, my God. Can [BLEEP] go? Come on, Nelson. Pick up the beat. Easy, easy, easy. Nelson, pick up the beat. Pick up the beat. Pick up the beat. [LAUGHTER] Here's my candy. Ready for you, whoa! [LAUGHTER] What's up, man? Oh, what happened to you
Whitney Houston cutout? She fell apart in the shower. On September 14, Seattle
Mariners Ken Griffey Jr. And Ken Griffey Sr made
history by becoming the first father-son
duo to hit back to back home runs against
the California Angels. And he hits one well
to left center field. Back to back home runs! So he said what? What the [BLEEP] . You better pull over and see. Yeah. As far back as I can remember, I
always wanted to be a gangster. In late September, East and
West Germany overwhelmingly voted in favor of reuniting
the two countries, which had been separated
since Germany's unconditional surrender in 1945. The measure passed with a vote
of 442 in favor and 47 against. Step out of the pit. All you can do is put me
on a little joke trip. I can explain that, all right? Hey, I lent you my girlfriend. You made a move on here. You made a move on Kelly? Nothing happened. Then you sent your little
sex freak over to my house and look for some
kind of handout. It's temporary
insanity, all right? I wasn't thinking with my head. You weren't thinking at all. Hold on a second. Let's back up to the
part about the sex freak. Humphrey the humpback
whale may not be as popular as Free Willy. But on October 24, he became
a celebrity in his own right. I saw his tail coming
out of the water. It was right past the
Golden Gate Bridge. During his long
seasonal migration from Mexico to Alaska,
Humphrey decided to take a pit stop in
the San Francisco Bay. Humphrey stayed for
three days and then was lured back on his way
by the Marine Mammal Center, who played the smooth
jazzy sounds of other humpback whales. [MUSIC PLAYING] (SINGING) Red Lobster. Tonight, 30 shrimp just $8.95. (SINGING) Red Lobster for
the seafood lover in you. And kids get shrimp. A complete meal just $1.95. We go to Saudi Arabia
we're on November 6, a group of women protesters
drove through the streets of Riyadh as an act of
defiance to the government ban on women driving cars. Unfortunately, this act of civil
disobedience cost them deeply. The women were arrested,
removed from their jobs, and banned from traveling. Subsequently, the interior
minister, Prince Nayef Bin Abdul Aziz, officially
banned women from operating
motorized vehicles. This stayed law until 2017, when
King Salman announced an order allowing women to drive. Driver's licenses for women
were issued the following year. In mid-November Bret
Easton Ellis' book American Psycho was
supposed to be published by Simon and Schuster
but was pulled over aesthetic differences
after a public outcry that the book was
deemed too violent. The book would eventually be
picked up by Vintage Books and would go on to sell
over one million copies. Nearly 10 years later, the
movie American Psycho starring Christian Bale made its debut. Hey, Paul? Ah! Speaking of psychos-- Kevin! Ah! Home Alone. Ow! And I don't care if I forget up
on your runway and hitchhike. I am going to get
home to my son. Yes! Ah! Ah! Coming back to
literature, a sad passing, as acclaimed
children's book author Roald Dahl died on November 23. Author of Charlie and the
Chocolate Factory, James and The Giant Peach, BFG, and
countless others, Dahl's books worldwide have sold
over 250 million copies. And fun fact, Roald was also the
screenwriter of the James Bond film You Only Live Twice. You dirty bird. How could you? Misery Chastain cannot be dead. Misery's spirit's still alive. I don't want her spirit! I want her! And you murdered her! In the landmark case of
Cruzan versus Director, Missouri Department of
Health, Nancy Beth Cruzan, who was in a persistent
vegetative state, was being kept alive by
a life support system. In a 5 to 4 decision,
the Supreme Court allowed Nancy's
parents the right to terminate the use
of her feeding tubes that were administering her
nutrition and hydration. Just three days before
Christmas, Lech Walesa took the oath of
office as Poland's first popularly
elected president. Previous to Walesa,
Ryszard Kaczorowski had ended his term by
living in exile in London. Walesa, a Nobel
Peace Prize winner, would go on to serve as
president from 1990 to 1995. Just after Christmas, the
US Census was released, and America was getting
pretty big with a grand total of 249.6 million people. And that is how 1990 ended. 1999 was just days away,
and America would see itself on the precipice of war. Racial tensions would boil
over in the City of Angels, and we would find
out what goes well with fava beans
and a nice Chianti. [SLURPING] But that is for next year. Coming soon, 1991. Let me know how it
turns out, guys. So what do you think? What was your fondest
memory of 1990? Let us know in the
comments below. And while you're
at it, check out some of these other Weird
History Timeline videos. [MUSIC PLAYING]
They did a whole 90s timeline. All of the episodes were quite good from memory.