'80s Expert Trivia

World Events & Pop Culture Answers

1. Match the following events from the '80s with the year they occurred: 

a) 1988 - CDs outsell vinyl for the first time ever.

b) 1986 - Vice President George Bush comments that he hates broccoli and subsequently, tons of it are delivered to the White House. 

c) 1981 - Prince Charles and Diana Spencer marry on July 29th.

d) 1984 - Stonewashed jeans are introduced. Not a good idea then, not a good idea now.

e) 1987 - Black Monday - The stock market drops 22% on October 19th.

f) 1983 - USSR shoots and destroys South Korean flight KAL-007.

g) 1980 - Japan surpasses the US as the largest automaker in the world.

h) 1989 - Milli Vanilli gets a Grammy for Best New Artist. Later, they are stripped of the award when it is revealed that they didn't (and couldn't) sing a note.

i) 1980 - Bill Gates licenses MS-DOS to IBM and makes nearly nothing on the deal.

j) 1984 - The term cyberspace is coined by William Gibson in his novel “Neuromancer.”

k) 1985 - Rock Hudson, the first major public figure to die of AIDS, dies on October 2nd.

l) 1980 - Post-It Notes are introduced by 3M.

m) 1982 - The Vietnam Memorial is erected in Washington D.C. 

n) 1984 - The Cosby show premiers.

o) 1989 - Exxon Valdez oil disaster occurs off the coast of Alaska in March.

p) 1986 - Len Bias, an NBA first round pick by the Celtics, dies of a cocaine overdose. 

q) 1981 - Pac-Man is introduced in the US.

r) 1985 - Madonna begins her first tour.

s) 1989 - Arsenio Hall becomes the first African-American to host a nightly talk show.

t) 1983 - The Cabbage Patch kids are released.

u) 1981 - The first DeLorean sports car rolls off the assembly line.

v) 1982 - John Belushi dies March 5th of cocaine and heroine. He was really fat, too.

w) 1989 - Rick Ocasek marries Paulina Porizkova. Millions of men all over the world realize that ugly guys might actually have a chance.

x) 1980 - CNN is launched as the first all-news network.

y) 1989 - The Berlin Wall falls.

z) 1981 - MTV is born. They used to actually play music videos 24 hours a day.

aa) 1986 - The world's worst nuclear disaster occurs in Chernobyl, USSR in April.

bb) 1982 - Michael Jackson's “Thriller” sells 20 million albums to become the highest selling record in history. 

cc) 1987 - “Baby Jessica” McClure falls down a well and is later rescued.

dd) 1985 - The Nintendo home entertainment is system introduced. Millions of little brains go numb worldwide. Some youngsters never even see sunlight first-hand.

ee) 1986 - The space shuttle Challenger explodes.

ff) 1981 - Sandra Day O'Connor becomes the first female Supreme Court Justice.

gg) 1980 - Brooke Shields whispers “You know what comes between me and my Calvins? Nothing.” and then the ad was banned.

hh) 1985 - New Coke is introduced in April and is quickly replaced with Coca-Cola Classic.

ii) 1981 - President Ronald Reagan is shot by a man obsessed with Jodie Foster.

jj) 1981 - The first space shuttle, Columbia, is launched.

kk) 1988 - Pan Am Flight 103 explodes over Lockerbie, Scotland.

ll) 1982 - The first artificial heart transplant takes place - the recipient lives 112 days. 

mm) 1980 - Mt. Saint Helens volcano erupts, killing 60 people.

nn) 1987 - Gary Hart's scandal with model Donna Rice destroys his political career. Monkey business, indeed.

oo) 1986 - The Fox Network starts in the U.S.

pp) 1984 - Run D.M.C. is the first ever rap group to have an album certified gold.

qq) 1981 - The world's first test tube baby is born. 

rr) 1988 - Robin Givens files for divorce from Mike Tyson.

ss) 1980 - John Lennon is assassinated by Mark David Chapman.

2. What kind of animal was a Monchichi doll?

A monkey

3. What G.I. Joe feature allowed him to hold items in his hands?

Kung Fu grip

For any comments, suggestions or corrections, please email: tvan.

Last modified: 21 Jan 2000