50 things that we remember about 1991, the year we started making cider!
May 20, 2014
It’s been 23 years since we first started making cider. Back in 1991, Greg Failing created our original Amber. A lot has happened since then! We got a bit nostalgic and went back to the history books to see what else happened the year we shook the cider industry to it’s core. Check out 50 things that were different in our world in 1991 when we first started making cider!
1. “Seinfeld” debuts on NBC. Puffy shirts will never be looked at the same.
2. US minimum wage goes from $3.80 to $4.25 per hour.
3. The movie Terminator 2 is released, and the term “Hasta La Vista Baby” is coined. [Tweet “#GiveAChuck about heritage! “Hasta La Vista Baby” happened the year Woodchuck started making cider!”]
4. The Minnesota Twins win the World Series.
5. Dances with Wolves wins Best Picture at Academy Awards.
6. The Cost of a Superbowl ad in 1991: $800,000.
7. Johnny Carson announces he will retire from Tonight Show.
8. Top 20 Hits from 1991:
1. (Everything I Do) I Do It for You, Bryan Adams
2. I Wanna Sex You Up, Color Me Badd
3. Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now), C+C Music Factory
4. Rush, Rush, Paula Abdul
5. One More Try, Timmy T
6. Unbelievable, EMF
7. More Than Words, Extreme
8. I Like the Way (The Kissing Game), Hi-Five
9. The First Time, Surface
10. Baby, Baby, Amy Grant
11. Motownphilly, Boyz II Men
12. Because I Love You (The Postman Song), Stevie B
13. Someday, Mariah Carey
14. High Enough, Damn Yankees
15. From a Distance, Bette Midler
16. All the Man That I Need, Whitney Houston
17. Right Here Right Now, Jesus Jones
18. I Adore Mi Amor, Color Me Badd
19. Love Will Never Do (Without You), Janet Jackson
20. Good Vibrations, Marky Mark and The Funky Bunch Featuring Loleatta Holloway
9. Didn’t matter who you were… you should have been wearing parachute pants.
10. Miley Cyrus wasn’t yet born, and neither was her father’s career. [Tweet “Woodchuck has been making cider since before Miley Cyrus was born. #TrueStory #GiveAChuck about American Cider”]
11. Bonnie Wright, who plays the youngest Weasley in Harry Potter, was born!
12. Eastern Airlines shuts down operation… which means Eastern Airlines still existed. Does anyone remember them?
13. Super Bowl XXV: NY Giants beat Buffalo Bills, 20-19 in Tampa – Super Bowl MVP: Ottis Anderson, NY Giants, RB.
14. It didn’t win the Oscar for Best Picture until ’92, but 1991 is when Anthony Hopkins first haunted your nightmares after watching Silence of the Lambs!
15. The first Cybercafe opens in San Francisco.
16. “Dinosaurs” premieres on ABC.
These creepy guys were on our TV’s every week.
17. George Washington Bridge raises toll from $3.00 to $4.00 – the toll today is $13.00.
18. Martina Navratilova wins record 100th singles match at Wimbledon.
19. 1991: The year of Charles Barkley’s final season on the Philadelphia 76ers.
[Tweet “When Woodchuck first made cider, Charles Barkley was a 76er. #GiveAChuck about heritage!”]
20. President George H. W. Bush is in office.
21. In 1991, the Mall of America was only an idea!
22. Rickey Henderson breaks Lou Brocks stolen base record with his 939th steal.
23. Cost of a first-class stamp: $0.25 ($0.29 as of 2/3/91). Today? $.49!
24. “Michael Jackson: Magic & Madness” tour tickets go on sale.
25. Does anyone remember that hair accessory, Topsy Tails? A gem from 1991.
26. Michael Jordan, named NBA’s MVP for the second time… he won the award five times!
27. The slogan “Quicker picker-upper” by Bounty Paper Towels is coined.
28. The Pittsburgh Penguins are the NHL Stanley Cup Champions.
29. The Florida Marlins became a professional baseball team. [Tweet “Woodchuck 1st made cider the same time Florida Marlins 1st became a baseball team. #1991 #GiveAChuck”]
30. Kentucky Fried Chicken officially changed its name to KFC.
31. In 1991, the Bowl Cut had made a comeback.
I mean… if Jon Hamm is doing it, it’s in style.
32. Chicago Bulls win the NBA Championship.
33. POGS were the top-selling holiday gift of 1991. Hope you held on to your slammers…
34. “Full House” has its 100th episode- Uncle Jesse and Aunt Becky’s twins are born! (Well… their TV twins!)
35. Magic Johnson retires from LA Lakers.
36. In 1991, “The Real World” on MTV doesn’t yet exist.
37. Michael Jackson’s “Black or White” video premieres on FOX TV.
38. “The Cosby Show” is still on the air. Paging Dr. Huxtable…
We can thank Tumblr for providing us endless gifs of this comedic genius.
39. In 1991, Troll Dolls were not yet a part of American life. How did that even happen in the first place?
40. Tiger Woods? Still practicing that swing for his debut in 1992! [Tweet “Woodchuck was making cider before Tiger Woods was crushing the PGA. #GiveAChuck about hard cider heritage!”]
41. Adam Sandler became a featured player on Saturday Night Live (SNL) in 1991.
42. Disney’s Beauty and the Beast is released!
43. Michael and Ashley were the 2 most popular baby names.
44. On August 6th, the World Wide Web became a publicly available service! (What did we do before then!?)[Tweet “Woodchuck Cider: Born the same year as the World Wide Web! #GiveAChuck about hard cider heritage!”]
45. Nirvana releases the album “Nevermind”, helping spark the “Grunge Revolution”.
46. The beloved Dr. Seuss passes away.
47. Nintendo releases its 16-bit console, the Super Nintendo.
48. “Who’s the Boss” is still on TV! We all know the real boss was Mona…
49. Whitney Houston sings the forever known version of the Star Spangled Banner at Tampa Stadium for Super Bowl XXV.
50. The mullet was not only an acceptable haircut, it was considered sexy. Yikes.
The Mullet…sexy in 1991…apparently. It was rocked on the cover of People way back when.
Sources:
- http://www.computerhope.com/history/1991.htm
- http://www.musicoutfitters.com/topsongs/1991.htm
- http://www.pop-culture.us/Annual/1991.html
- http://www.historyorb.com/events/date/1991
- http://www.thepeoplehistory.com/1991.html
- http://www.retrojunk.com/article/show/1269/1991-in-review
- http://www.mrpopculture.com/1991