One of my all-time favourite shows was started in 1997. I loved Angry Beavers in 1997 and I still do. 

I was also rather found of Rocko’s Modern Life, though I think Angry Beavers is still my preferred 90s kids’ spooting cartoon.

Death, landslides and the environment

Two famous people died in 1997 and there was a landslide in Australia that made someone famous.

There’s a ski resort in Thredbo in New South Wales and in 1997 there was a huge landslide that covered a number of cottages, trapping and killing about 18 people. Stuart Diver was a ski instructor and he was one of the people trapped in the landslide along with his wife. His wife died, but Stuart was found alive after being buried for 65 hours. Stuart became pretty famous after that.

The two famous deaths of 1997 were Mother Teresa and Diana, Princess of Wales.

Mother Teresa was mostly seen as this tiny old nun who did good things, but she was deeply flawed. She believed that suffering brings you closer to god, so she and her fellow nuns often refused patients painkillers no matter how bad their pain. She also discouraged her nuns from being educated to treat the illness they were dealing with, because for her it was all about saving the souls of the poor, not really saving their physical bodies. If they died, as long as they’d been converted, it was fine, according to the mad old nun. Religion can do a lot of harm.

The whole world went insane over the death of Diana. I mean really, if it was anyone else who was drunk, refused to wear a seat belt and then died in a high-speed crash, no-one much would care. But because she was famous, everyone got all upset. I bet you can guess my reaction.

1997 was the year the Kyoto Protocol was reached to set binding limits on greenhouse gasses that developed countries should release into the atmosphere. It felt like such a turning point at the time, like the world was actually going to stop killing itself and humans might do the responsible thing. But of course, we all know how that went in the end. So depressing how selfish humans are.

Thumping the beautiful people in the mbop

A look at the 25 number ones in Australia for 1997 is a bit of a scary flashback. Hanson is in there, Chumbawamba with that annoying Tubthumping song that still gets overplayed and bloody Aqua. Ew.

The triple j Hottest 100 is closer to what I was listening to in ‘97. Blur’s Song 2 came out that year and Marilyn Manson’s Beautiful People.