The Year 2015 in Review: Facts, Trivia, and Historic Highlights

This quick read is a collection of fun facts, trivia, and historical events from the year 2015. Discover the year’s top news stories, most influential people, sports facts, grocery prices, computer and Internet news, entertainment trivia, and much more.

1. In 2015, Barack Obama was the 44th president of the United States, and Joe Biden was the nation’s vice president.
2. About two-thirds of Americans owned their own home. ValuePenguin.com reveals that “In 2015, the average American homeowner spent about $1,800 on paying down the principal on their loans and nearly $8,000 on mortgage interest and related charges, a combined monthly average of about $820.”
3. Americans paid an average of $30,500 for a new car, and the retail price for a gallon of gas averaged $2.40.
4. In 2015, the average American household owed $15,675 in credit card debt, $172,341 on a mortgage, $27,865 in auto loans, and $48,591 in student loans.
5. In January, Google Chrome (40.06%) was the most popular browser, followed by Internet Explorer (32.68%), Firefox (16.5%), Safari (9.06%), and Opera (0.48%).
6. On April 12, Hillary Clinton, the former First Lady and U.S. senator, announced that she would run for U.S. president for a second time.
7. On April 23, Loretta Lynch became the first African American woman to serve as a U.S. attorney general. She succeeded Eric Holder, who had resigned as the 82nd United States attorney general on September 25, 2014.
8. On April 24, Apple launched the Apple Watch, a traditional wristwatch that also has features of the iPhone and iPod.
9. On May 20, after 33 years, David Letterman hosted The Late Show with David Letterman (CBS) for the final time.
10. On June 15, the 800th anniversary of the Magna Carta was observed. (The Magna Carta, issued during June 1215 in the UK, was the first document to “formally state” that the king and his government were not above the law and “sought to prevent the king from exploiting his power.”)
11. On June 15, real estate magnate Donald Trump announced that he would run for U.S. president on the Republican ticket.
12. On June 17, the U.S. Treasury announced that it was booting Alexander Hamilton from the $10 bill and replacing him with a woman.
13. On June 30, Misty Copeland became the first African American principal dancer with the American Ballet Theatre (ABT).
14. On July 8, the NYSE stopped trading for four hours because of a technical glitch.
15. On August 3, President Obama unveiled his Clean Power Plan to cut greenhouse gases.
16. On August 4, Forbes magazine named Robert Downey Jr. the world’s highest-paid actor.
17. On August 10, Google announced that it would “rebrand itself as Alphabet—a new holding company whose largest wholly owned subsidiary will be Google.”
18. On August 12, British archaeologists discovered a mass grave of 30 bodies from the Great Plague of London (1665-66).
19. On September 1, Google changed its logo for the first time since 1999.
20. On September 8, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert premiered on CBS.
21. On September 11, Google introduced the Android Pay app for all Android-based smartphones. (Just so you know, Apple Pay—Apple’s mobile payment service—was launched on October 20, 2014.)
22. On September 28, Samsung launched Samsung Pay for all of its smartphones. The app works in a similar fashion to Google’s Android Pay and Apple’s Apple Pay.
23. On September 28, NASA scientists confirmed that liquid water existed on Mars.
24. On October 29, China abolished its one-child policy after 35 years and allowed all families to have two children.
25. On November 4, Forbes magazine named Katy Perry the highest-paid musician of 2015.
26. Oklahoma City was once known as the “Cafeteria Capital of the World” because it had more cafeterias per capita than any other city in America. The Oklahoman confirms that Oklahoma City “supported 37 independently owned cafeterias at the height of their popularity in the 1950s and '60s.” On December 11, 2015, the Boulevard Cafeteria—Oklahoma City’s last remaining cafeteria—served its last meal. KFOR-TV reports that the Boulevard had been in business since 1948 and had about 500 customers who ate there every day.
27. The U.S. Census Bureau tells us that among all U.S. households in 2015, “78 percent had a desktop or laptop, 75 percent had a handheld computer such as a smartphone or other handheld wireless computer, and 77 percent had a broadband Internet subscription.”
28. In 2015, over 600,000 Americans slept in abandoned buildings or makeshift campsites, at motels and bus stops, inside parked cars, or in public spaces such as parks.
29. The average U.S. household threw away $2,200 worth of food.
30. Americans did not use 658 million vacation days, and 222 million of them could not be rolled over into 2016.
31. NCIS (CBS) was the most popular TV show, Star Wars: The Force Awakens was the highest-grossing film, and Harper Lee’s Go Set a Watchman was the best-selling book.
32. Birdman won an Academy Award for Best Picture, Veep (HBO) won an Emmy for Outstanding Comedy Series, and Stay with Me won a Grammy for Song of the Year.
33. Here are some of the TV shows that aired during the 2015-16 season but weren’t back for the 2016-17 season: American Gothic (CBS), American Idol (FOX), Aquarius (NBC), Billy & Billie (DirecTV), BrainDead (CBS), The Briefcase (CBS), Brothers in Atlanta (HBO), Castle (ABC), CSI: Cyber (CBS), Game of Silence (NBC), The Good Wife (CBS), Inspector Lewis (PBS), Lucas Bros. Moving Company (FOX), Mike & Molly (CBS), Person of Interest (CBS), Rizzoli & Isles (TNT), Thirteen (BBC America), Truth Be Told (NBC), Vinyl (HBO), Wicked City (ABC), and You, Me and the Apocalypse (NBC).
34. Here are some sports facts from 2015: The New England Patriots were the Super Bowl champs, the Kansas City Royals won the World Series, and the Chicago Blackhawks clinched the Stanley Cup.
35. American cheese (one pound): $4.46
36. Bananas (one pound): 58 cents
37. Boneless chicken breasts (one pound): $3.41
38. Broccoli (one pound): $1.79
39. Chocolate chip cookies (one pound): $3.35
40. Creamy peanut butter (one pound): $2.68
41. Eggs (one dozen): $2.47
42. Frozen turkey (one pound): $1.51
43. Pasta (one pound): $1.32
44. Potatoes (one pound): 65 cents
45. Salted butter (one pound): $3.12
46. Seedless grapes (one pound): $2.59
47. Sirloin steak (one pound): $8.57
48. Sugar (one pound): 65 cents
49. Tomatoes (one pound): $1.84
50. Whole milk (one gallon): $3.42

References:

1. https://popculturemadness.com/2014-trivia-fun-facts-history/
2. https://www.computerhope.com/history/2015.htm
3. https://abcnews.go.com/US/year-review-13-biggest-news-stories-2015/story?id=35852690
4. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2015_in_the_United_States
5. https://www.onthisday.com/date/2015
6. https://www.mclib.info/Research/Local-History-Genealogy/Historic-Prices
7. https://www.foodreference.com/html/html/food-timeline-2015.html
8. https://www.thefiscaltimes.com/Media/Slideshow/2014/11/30/12-Hottest-Food-Trends-2015
9. https://www.motortrend.com/news/the-top-10-best-selling-cars-of-2015
10. https://www.visualcapitalist.com/decade-grocery-prices/

Disclaimer: In writing and editing this article, Gregory DeVictor has made every effort to ensure historical accuracy and not to mislead his audience. In addition, the contents of this article, including text, graphics, and captions, are for general informational purposes only.

© 2026 Gregory DeVictor