15 things that happened in 1992

Do you remember what you were doing in 1992, the year EuroBonus was launched?

December 2023

Sometimes 30 years is a long time. It may not be significant in the lifetime of a California redwood tree, but for most of us humans, a lot of things happen in three decades. We get married, celebrate birthdays, get divorced, change jobs, retire, have children, invent new things, close down shops, fall down – and get back up again. We put together our own Scandinavian Traveler list with some of the significant events that took place in 1992.

Summer Olympics 1992.

1. Summer Olympics in Barcelona

One hundred sixty-nine nations took part in the Barcelona Olympics—many of them making a return after several years away, such as South Africa and the Baltic states. The Olympic flame was lit by Paralympic archer Antonio Rebollo using a flaming arrow, and in basketball, the U.S. “Dream Team” including Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, and Larry Bird won gold.

2. The Washington Redskins Win the Super Bowl

In the 1992 Super Bowl, the Washington Redskins beat the Buffalo Bills 37–24 to win the 1991 NFL season. The championship was held for the first time in Minneapolis and the half-time show featured a celebration of the Winter Olympics and winter season. Three days before the final, The Simpsons predicted that the Redskins would win.

3. IBM ThinkPad 700C Launched

In October 1992, IBM introduced the ThinkPad 700C, the first laptop for the ThinkPad brand. It cost $2,750 in its simplest form and featured a 120 MB hard drive.

Bill Clinton. Photo: Shutterstock

4. Bill Clinton Elected President of the United States

Democratic presidential candidate Bill Clinton won a landslide victory against incumbent President George H. W. Bush on November 3 with 370 electoral college votes. Clinton would remain in office for the rest of the decade.

5. Jay Leno Takes Over The Tonight Show

Comedian Jay Leno took over The Tonight Show from Johnny Carson in 1992 after standing in as host several times since 1986. This was controversial as David Letterman—who hosted Late Night with David Letterman directly after The Tonight Show—was convinced that he would be the one to take over.

6. Denmark Wins Euro 92

The UEFA Euro 92 soccer championships were held in Sweden, and after the group stage four teams remained: Sweden, Denmark, Germany, and the Netherlands. Denmark and Germany went on to meet in the final where Denmark won 2–0.

7. Quentin Tarantino’s Reservoir Dogs Premiers

Reservoir Dogs was director Quentin Tarantino’s debut and became an instant critical hit after it was screened at the Sundance Film Festival in early 1992. The film’s combination of stylish aesthetics and graphic violence became highly influential in the 1990s.

8. Mortal Kombat Becomes an Arcade Hit

Mortal Kombat, one of the best video games ever made, was released in 1992 and enjoyed huge success. The game is notorious for its gruesome “fatalities,” which are the final moves the character makes to kill their opponent. These “fatalities” became controversial and part of the debate on violence in video games.

9. Wayne’s World Hits Theaters

The movie about rock fans Wayne Campbell and Garth Algar and their TV show Wayne’s World was based on a Saturday Night Live sketch, and it became one of the biggest blockbusters of 1992. The comedy is particularly famous for the scene where Wayne and Garth sing along to Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody.

10. Microsoft Releases Windows 3.1

In April 1992, Microsoft released its Windows 3.1 operating system, selling over three million copies in the first three months. Considered a major advance, Windows 3.1 introduced innovations such as screen savers.

Jay Leno. Photo: Shutterstock

11. Kris Kross Enjoy Success with Jump

Hip hop duo Kris Kross scored a smash hit with their debut song Jump. Its success is perhaps partly due to the video in which Chris “Mac Daddy” Kelly and Chris “Daddy Mac” Smith—just 12 and 13 years old at the time—wore their jeans backwards.

12. Billy Ray Cyrus Releases His Debut Album and Has a Daughter

Some Gave All, the debut album from country star Billy Ray Cyrus, was released in 1992. It was the best-selling album of the year and still holds the record for most weeks at number one on the Billboard charts for a debut artist. In November that year, he also had a daughter, Miley Cyrus, so it’s fair to say that 1992 was a very successful year for him.

13. Euro Disney Opens

Disneyland Paris, as it is called today, opened just outside Paris on April 12, 1992. French intellectuals called the project a “cultural Chernobyl,” French farmers held protests, and trade unions criticized the dress code as an attack on individual freedom. A quarter of the workforce resigned within a month.

14. Cold War Formally Ends

Following the collapse of the Soviet Union in December 1991, U.S. President George H. W. Bush and Russian leader Boris Yeltsin met in February 1992 to put a formal end to the Cold War and usher in a new era of “friendship and partnership.”

15. Kate Moss and Mark Wahlberg in CK One

Is there a more iconic advertising campaign from the 1990s than Calvin Klein’s CK One unisex fragrance? Kate Moss burst onto the scene and rapper Mark “Marky Mark” Wahlberg became a new sex symbol.

SAS EuroBonus

It was established in 1992 by then SAS Chairman and CEO Jan Carlzon.

Today it is the largest loyalty program in the Nordic region with over seven million members.

Three hundred thousand have been members since 1992.

In addition to the basic level, there are Silver, Gold, and Diamond levels.