2000 Trivia Questions and Answers on 2000 to 2009 in Six Rounds

Pick a round on the 2000s, tap one of the four choices, then press Check answer.

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A railway opened in 2006 climbs over a pass more than 5,000 meters high to reach which city?

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Written for this site. Not affiliated with any school, exam board or quiz show. Answers last checked September 20, 2026.

How it works

These 2000 trivia questions and answers are on 2000 to 2009, from a leap day that bent the century rule to the long eclipse of 2009: 120 multiple-choice questions in six rounds of 20, each with its reason and source.

Play the six rounds on a phone or paper

Choose a Round, tap one of four choices and press Check answer: the reason and its source open under the question. For a table, press Print question sheet before anyone answers, because the sheet takes the next 20 questions from where you stand. Print answer key carries the same sheet code.

What each round of the 2000s asks

World news, 2000 to 2009 runs from a recount settled by 537 votes to a vault inside an Arctic mountain. New at home: tech of the 2000s covers flash drives, flat televisions and a format war. The other four take in space, sports, the arts and what a barrel of oil cost.

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Questions and answers

Is there a 2000s trivia questions and answers pdf?

Yes. Press Print question sheet and choose Save as PDF in the print dialog. The sheet holds 20 questions with four lettered choices and no answers marked. Print answer key saves a second file with each right letter, its reason and its source.

Can I run this as a 2000s trivia game for teams?

Yes. Press Host a round and each question fills the screen in large type. Add a team for up to six tables, press Show the answer when pens are down, then give a point with the plus under each team that got it right.

Do these questions cover 2000s movies, music and TV?

No. The pack leaves out shows, songs, films, video games and brands, so nothing turns on a lyric or a logo. The arts round sticks to plain facts, such as which award category arrived in 2002 and how a hoard of gold was found.

All 120 questions with answers

World news, 2000 to 2009 20

  • The 2007 Nobel Peace Prize was shared by a former United States vice president and a United Nations panel that studies what? Answer: Climate change. Source: Wikipedia: 2007 Nobel Peace Prize
  • A railway opened in 2006 climbs over a pass more than 5,000 meters high to reach which city? Answer: Lhasa. Source: Wikipedia: Qinghai–Tibet railway
  • The African Union was launched in Durban in July 2002. Which body did it replace? Answer: Organisation of African Unity. Source: Wikipedia: African Union
  • After elections in 2005, which country chose the first woman to be elected president in Africa? Answer: Liberia. Source: Wikipedia: Liberia
  • After elections in 2005, which European country got its first woman head of government, with the title of chancellor? Answer: Germany. Source: Wikipedia: Germany
  • Benedict XVI, elected pope in April 2005, was born in which country? Answer: Germany. Source: Wikipedia: Pope Benedict XVI
  • Euro notes and coins arrived on January 1, 2002. How many countries began using them that day? Answer: Twelve. Source: Wikipedia: Eurozone
  • The first summit between the leaders of North and South Korea was held in June 2000. In which city? Answer: Pyongyang. Source: Wikipedia: 2000 inter-Korean summit
  • In 2005, voters in France and which other founding member rejected the proposed European Union constitution? Answer: The Netherlands. Source: Wikipedia: Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe
  • In February 2003 the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia took a new name made up of which two republics? Answer: Serbia and Montenegro. Source: Wikipedia: Serbia and Montenegro
  • In which country did the Orange Revolution of late 2004 lead to a presidential run-off being held again? Answer: Ukraine. Source: Wikipedia: Orange Revolution
  • Kosovo declared independence in February 2008. From which country? Answer: Serbia. Source: Wikipedia: 2008 Kosovo declaration of independence
  • The Kyoto Protocol came into force in February 2005. What did it commit countries to cut? Answer: Greenhouse gas emissions. Source: Wikipedia: Kyoto Protocol
  • The Three Gorges Dam, whose main wall was finished in 2006, spans which river? Answer: Yangtze. Source: Wikipedia: Three Gorges Dam
  • What is stored in the vault that opened inside an Arctic mountain on Svalbard in February 2008? Answer: Seeds of food crops. Source: Wikipedia: Svalbard Global Seed Vault
  • When Turkey introduced a new lira on January 1, 2005, how many zeros did it drop from the old one? Answer: Six. Source: Wikipedia: Revaluation of the Turkish lira
  • Which Asian country ended its monarchy and declared itself a federal republic in May 2008? Answer: Nepal. Source: Wikipedia: Nepal
  • Which long-neutral country joined the United Nations in 2002 after its voters approved the move? Answer: Switzerland. Source: Wikipedia: Switzerland
  • Which Pacific island nation became the 189th member of the United Nations in September 2000? Answer: Tuvalu. Source: Wikipedia: Tuvalu
  • Which state's recount, settled by 537 votes, decided the 2000 United States presidential election? Answer: Florida. Source: Wikipedia: 2000 United States presidential election

Space and science 20

  • 2005 was named the World Year of Physics to mark 100 years since whose 'miracle year' of four landmark papers? Answer: Albert Einstein. Source: Wikipedia: World Year of Physics 2005
  • 2009 was the International Year of Astronomy, 400 years after which astronomer first turned a telescope on the night sky? Answer: Galileo Galilei. Source: Wikipedia: International Year of Astronomy
  • A leading science journal named the proof of the Poincaré conjecture its Breakthrough of the Year for 2006. Which field does the conjecture belong to? Answer: Mathematics. Source: Wikipedia: Poincaré conjecture
  • Bones found in 2003 in a cave on the Indonesian island of Flores came from a small human species. About how tall did it stand? Answer: About 1.1 m (3 ft 7 in). Source: Wikipedia: Homo floresiensis
  • The Cassini spacecraft went into orbit around which planet in the summer of 2004? Answer: Saturn. Source: Wikipedia: Cassini–Huygens
  • CC, born in Texas in December 2001, was the world's first cloned pet. What kind of animal was she? Answer: Cat. Source: Wikipedia: CC (cat)
  • Chandrayaan-1, launched in October 2008, was which country's first mission to the Moon? Answer: India. Source: Wikipedia: Chandrayaan-1
  • Element 110 got its official name in 2003, after the German city where it was first made. What is it called? Answer: Darmstadtium. Source: Wikipedia: Darmstadtium
  • The first long-stay crew reached the International Space Station in November 2000. How many people were in it? Answer: Three. Source: Wikipedia: Expedition 1
  • Hayabusa, a probe that touched down on an asteroid in 2005 to collect dust, was sent by which country? Answer: Japan. Source: Wikipedia: Hayabusa
  • How much was the Ansari X Prize, won in October 2004 by the first private crewed craft to reach space twice within two weeks? Answer: $10 million. Source: Wikipedia: Ansari X Prize
  • In January 2005 the Huygens probe made the most distant landing up to that time. Where did it come down? Answer: Titan, a moon of Saturn. Source: Wikipedia: Huygens (spacecraft)
  • In July 2003 a clone of the extinct Pyrenean ibex was born and lived for a few minutes. What kind of animal is an ibex? Answer: A wild goat. Source: Wikipedia: Pyrenean ibex
  • In October 2003, which country became the third to send a person into orbit on its own rocket? Answer: China. Source: Wikipedia: Shenzhou 5
  • In October 2009 the LCROSS mission crashed a spent rocket stage into a crater near the Moon's south pole. What did it confirm was there? Answer: Water. Source: Wikipedia: LCROSS
  • In which city did astronomers vote in August 2006 on a definition of 'planet' that left the solar system with eight? Answer: Prague. Source: Wikipedia: IAU definition of planet
  • Mars Express, launched in 2003, was the first mission to another planet by which space agency? Answer: European Space Agency. Source: Wikipedia: Mars Express
  • On July 4, 2005, the Deep Impact mission deliberately crashed an impactor into what? Answer: A comet. Source: Wikipedia: Deep Impact (spacecraft)
  • Spirit and Opportunity, twin rovers that landed in January 2004, explored which world? Answer: Mars. Source: Wikipedia: Mars Exploration Rover
  • The total solar eclipse of July 22, 2009, was the longest of the 21st century. About how long did totality last at its peak? Answer: About 6 and a half minutes. Source: Wikipedia: Solar eclipse of July 22, 2009

New at home: tech of the 2000s 20

  • Blu-ray discs, first sold in 2006, take their name from the color of what? Answer: The laser that reads them. Source: Wikipedia: Blu-ray
  • The CAN-SPAM Act, signed in the United States in December 2003, set the first national rules for what? Answer: Commercial email. Source: Wikipedia: CAN-SPAM Act of 2003
  • Digital cameras of the 2000s were sold by the megapixel. How many pixels make one megapixel? Answer: One million. Source: Wikipedia: Pixel
  • The first USB flash drives went on sale in late 2000. How much did they hold? Answer: 8 MB. Source: Wikipedia: USB flash drive
  • Flat LCD televisions first outsold which older kind of set worldwide, in late 2007? Answer: Cathode-ray tube sets. Source: Wikipedia: LCD television
  • From late 2007, shops sold small, low-cost laptops made mainly for browsing the web. What were they called? Answer: Netbooks. Source: Wikipedia: Netbook
  • In 2003, for the first time, more of which gadget were sold worldwide than stand-alone digital cameras? Answer: Camera phones. Source: Wikipedia: Camera phone
  • In 2005 the One Laptop per Child project set out to build a laptop for schoolchildren at what price? Answer: $100. Source: Wikipedia: One Laptop per Child
  • In 2005, which country became the first to hold legally binding elections across the whole country in which people could vote over the internet? Answer: Estonia. Source: Wikipedia: Electronic voting in Estonia
  • In May 2000 the United States switched off 'Selective Availability'. Which everyday service became far more accurate overnight? Answer: Civilian GPS. Source: Wikipedia: Error analysis for the Global Positioning System
  • In November 2000 seven new internet domain endings were approved. Which of these was one of them? Answer: .museum. Source: Wikipedia: Generic top-level domain
  • One American news magazine's Person of the Year for 2006 was not a single person. Who was it? Answer: "You". Source: Wikipedia: You (Time Person of the Year)
  • Phone calls over the internet spread in the 2000s under the name VoIP. What does the V stand for? Answer: Voice. Source: Wikipedia: Voice over IP
  • Two disc formats fought a 'format war' over high-definition movies at home. Which one gave up in February 2008? Answer: HD DVD. Source: Wikipedia: High-definition optical disc format war
  • USB 2.0, released in April 2000, raised the top data rate from 12 megabits a second to what? Answer: 480 megabits a second. Source: Wikipedia: USB
  • 'Web 2.0', a label made popular by a 2004 conference, described websites built around what? Answer: Content made by their users. Source: Wikipedia: Web 2.0
  • What can a multi-touch screen do that earlier touchscreens could not? Answer: Sense more than one finger at once. Source: Wikipedia: Multi-touch
  • Which country had the first commercial 3G mobile network, opened on October 1, 2001? Answer: Japan. Source: Wikipedia: 3G
  • The word 'podcast' was coined in 2004 by blending the name of a portable music player with which word? Answer: Broadcast. Source: Wikipedia: Podcast
  • The word 'wiki', used for a website that its readers can edit, comes from a Hawaiian word meaning what? Answer: Quick. Source: Wikipedia: Wiki

Sports, 2000 to 2009 20

  • The 2008 Beijing Olympics opened at 8:00 pm on the eighth day of the eighth month. What is the number eight linked with in Chinese culture? Answer: Prosperity. Source: Wikipedia: 2008 Summer Olympics
  • At the 2008 Olympics one swimmer won more gold medals than anyone had at a single Games up to that time. How many? Answer: Eight. Source: Wikipedia: Swimming at the 2008 Summer Olympics
  • From 2004, figure skating dropped the scoring system whose perfect mark was what? Answer: 6.0. Source: Wikipedia: ISU Judging System
  • In 2002, which country won its first Olympic gold medal in men's ice hockey for 50 years? Answer: Canada. Source: Wikipedia: Ice hockey at the 2002 Winter Olympics – Men's tournament
  • In 2003, which country became the first from the northern hemisphere to win the Rugby World Cup? Answer: England. Source: Wikipedia: 2003 Rugby World Cup
  • In 2003, which country became the first to have won both the men's and the women's soccer World Cup? Answer: Germany. Source: Wikipedia: 2003 FIFA Women's World Cup
  • In July 2005, Olympic officials voted two sports out of the 2012 Games, the first dropped since polo in 1936. Which two? Answer: Baseball and softball. Source: Wikipedia: Baseball at the Summer Olympics
  • In July 2005, which city won the vote to host the 2012 Summer Olympics, beating Paris by four votes? Answer: London. Source: Wikipedia: Bids for the 2012 Summer Olympics
  • What nickname did Beijing's National Stadium, built for the 2008 Olympics, earn from its woven steel frame? Answer: The Bird's Nest. Source: Wikipedia: Beijing National Stadium
  • What was new about Formula One's Singapore Grand Prix when it was first run in 2008? Answer: It was held at night. Source: Wikipedia: 2008 Singapore Grand Prix
  • When the Boston Red Sox won the 2004 World Series, how long had it been since their last title? Answer: 86 years. Source: Wikipedia: 2004 World Series
  • Which city hosted the 2004 Summer Olympics, 108 years after it held the first modern Games? Answer: Athens. Source: Wikipedia: 2004 Summer Olympics
  • Which country won its first Olympic gold medal in men's basketball at Athens in 2004? Answer: Argentina. Source: Wikipedia: Basketball at the 2004 Summer Olympics
  • Which country won the 2006 men's soccer World Cup final in Berlin on penalty kicks? Answer: Italy. Source: Wikipedia: 2006 FIFA World Cup final
  • Which country won the first World Twenty20 cricket tournament, held in South Africa in 2007? Answer: India. Source: Wikipedia: 2007 World Twenty20
  • Which country won the men's soccer World Cup of 2002, becoming the only one with five titles? Answer: Brazil. Source: Wikipedia: 2002 FIFA World Cup
  • Which country won the most gold medals at the 2008 Summer Olympics? Answer: China. Source: Wikipedia: 2008 Summer Olympics medal table
  • Which endurance sport made its Olympic debut at Sydney in 2000? Answer: Triathlon. Source: Wikipedia: Triathlon at the 2000 Summer Olympics
  • Which North American league lost its whole 2004-05 season to a labor dispute? Answer: National Hockey League. Source: Wikipedia: 2004–05 NHL lockout
  • Which sport held its first Olympic events for women at Athens in 2004? Answer: Wrestling. Source: Wikipedia: Wrestling at the 2004 Summer Olympics

Everyday life, fads and prices 20

  • About how many people did the United States census of 2000 count? Answer: 281 million. Source: Wikipedia: 2000 United States census
  • The American Dialect Society's word of the year for 2006 was 'plutoed'. What did it mean? Answer: Demoted or devalued. Source: Wikipedia: Pluto
  • Century years are usually not leap years, but 2000 was one. What made it an exception? Answer: It divides evenly by 400. Source: Wikipedia: Leap year
  • Earth Hour, when people switch off their lights for an hour, began in 2007 in which city? Answer: Sydney. Source: Wikipedia: Earth Hour
  • The first flash mobs gathered in 2003. In which city? Answer: New York. Source: Wikipedia: Flash mob
  • The first United States 'Forever' stamp went on sale in April 2007. What did it picture? Answer: The Liberty Bell. Source: Wikipedia: Non-denominated postage
  • From 1999 to 2008 the United States Mint changed the back of which coin five times a year, once for each state? Answer: The quarter. Source: Wikipedia: 50 State quarters
  • From 2004, millions of people wore a stretchy colored band on the wrist to show support for a cause. What was it made of? Answer: Silicone. Source: Wikipedia: Gel bracelet
  • From June 2003, people in the United States could add their phone number to a national registry to stop what? Answer: Telemarketing calls. Source: Wikipedia: National Do Not Call Registry
  • Geocaching began in Oregon in May 2000. What do players use to find a hidden container? Answer: GPS coordinates. Source: Wikipedia: Geocaching
  • In July 2008 the price of a barrel of oil reached a record up to that time. About how high did it go? Answer: $147. Source: Wikipedia: 2000s energy crisis
  • International Talk Like a Pirate Day took off in 2002 after a newspaper humor column mentioned it. On which date does it fall? Answer: September 19. Source: Wikipedia: International Talk Like a Pirate Day
  • Millennium Island, renamed to draw visitors for the first sunrise of 2000, belongs to which Pacific country? Answer: Kiribati. Source: Wikipedia: Caroline Island
  • On March 29, 2004, which country brought in a nationwide ban on smoking in all workplaces? Answer: Ireland. Source: Wikipedia: Smoking ban
  • Purists said the third millennium began on January 1, 2001, not 2000. What was their reason? Answer: The calendar has no year zero. Source: Wikipedia: Millennium
  • 'Staycation' caught on in the United States in 2008. What does it mean? Answer: A vacation spent at home or close by. Source: Wikipedia: Staycation
  • Sudoku puzzles became a daily habit in the 2000s. In which year did one first appear in a newspaper outside Japan? Answer: 2004. Source: Wikipedia: Sudoku
  • The United States federal minimum wage stayed at one hourly rate from 1997 until July 2007. What was it? Answer: $5.15. Source: Wikipedia: Minimum wage in the United States
  • When London began charging drivers to enter the city center in February 2003, what was the daily fee? Answer: £5. Source: Wikipedia: London congestion charge
  • Which woman appears, carrying her infant son, on the 'golden dollar' coin introduced in the United States in 2000? Answer: Sacagawea. Source: Wikipedia: Sacagawea dollar

Arts and culture 20

  • A new Academy Award category was handed out for the first time in 2002. What was it for? Answer: Best animated feature. Source: Wikipedia: Academy Award for Best Animated Feature
  • A rounded glass tower that opened in London in 2004 is nicknamed after which pickled vegetable? Answer: The gherkin. Source: Wikipedia: The Gherkin
  • Berlin's Neues Museum reopened in October 2009 after a ten-year restoration. Which ancient Egyptian work is its best-known exhibit? Answer: The bust of Nefertiti. Source: Wikipedia: Neues Museum
  • The Bibliotheca Alexandrina, a new library recalling a lost ancient one, opened in 2002 in which country? Answer: Egypt. Source: Wikipedia: Bibliotheca Alexandrina
  • Cloud Gate, a mirrored steel sculpture finished in Chicago in 2006, is better known by which nickname? Answer: The Bean. Source: Wikipedia: Cloud Gate
  • In 2004 Zaha Hadid became the first woman to win the Pritzker Prize. Which field does it honor? Answer: Architecture. Source: Wikipedia: Pritzker Architecture Prize
  • In 2007 Doris Lessing became the oldest winner up to that time of the Nobel Prize in which field? Answer: Literature. Source: Wikipedia: Doris Lessing
  • In 2009 a British royal post that dates from 1668 went to a woman for the first time. Which post? Answer: Poet Laureate. Source: Wikipedia: Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom
  • In February 2005, 'The Gates' lined 23 miles of paths in New York's Central Park with fabric of which color? Answer: Saffron orange. Source: Wikipedia: The Gates
  • In June 2009 the Academy said its Best Picture field would grow from five films to how many? Answer: Ten. Source: Wikipedia: 82nd Academy Awards
  • In May 2004 a painting sold at auction for $104 million, a record up to that time. Who painted it? Answer: Pablo Picasso. Source: Wikipedia: Garçon à la pipe
  • In October 2003 UNESCO adopted a convention to protect 'intangible' heritage. Which of these does it cover? Answer: Traditional dances and crafts. Source: Wikipedia: Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage
  • La Fenice, which reopened in December 2003 after being rebuilt, is an opera house in which city? Answer: Venice. Source: Wikipedia: La Fenice
  • The Live 8 concerts of July 2, 2005, were timed to come just before which meeting? Answer: The G8 summit in Scotland. Source: Wikipedia: Live 8
  • London's Tate Modern gallery opened in May 2000 inside what kind of former building? Answer: A power station. Source: Wikipedia: Tate Modern
  • The Staffordshire Hoard, the largest find of Anglo-Saxon gold, turned up in an English field in July 2009. How was it found? Answer: With a metal detector. Source: Wikipedia: Staffordshire Hoard
  • What can visitors do on the sloping roof of the Oslo Opera House, which opened in 2008? Answer: Walk up it from the ground. Source: Wikipedia: Oslo Opera House
  • Which Australian building with sail-shaped roofs was made a World Heritage Site in 2007? Answer: Sydney Opera House. Source: Wikipedia: Sydney Opera House
  • Which city in England was a European Capital of Culture for 2008? Answer: Liverpool. Source: Wikipedia: Liverpool
  • Who went on strike in Hollywood from November 2007 to February 2008, halting many productions? Answer: Screenwriters. Source: Wikipedia: 2007–08 Writers Guild of America strike
How this list was compiled

Written for this site by the editors; nothing was copied from another quiz or list. Every question, wrong choice and explanation is our own wording. Each answer was checked on 2026-09-20 against the English Wikipedia article (https://en.wikipedia.org) named and linked beside the question: the article text was fetched that day and the sentence that states the fact was read before the question was kept. Where an article gave two dates or figures for one event, the question keeps to the month or the round figure. The pack covers January 2000 to December 2009, with an older or later date only where a 2000s story has a longer one, such as a coin series that began in 1999. Left out on purpose: shows, songs, films, video games, toys and brand names; athletes and other living people by name; attacks, wars and disasters; and anything that goes stale, such as who holds a record today. Records that were later broken say 'up to that time'. Technical standards and formats (USB, 3G, voice over IP, Blu-ray and HD DVD) are named because they are not products, and a league, team or building is named only where the question is about it. No question is shared with another pack on this site. Levels are an editor's judgment for a mixed table. The Millennial mix is the 40 questions a person born from 1981 to 1996 is most likely to remember first hand. The pack is reviewed once a year. Licence: own work