80 Fun Facts About Name That Decade

In which decade did the Wright brothers make the first sustained, controlled powered flight?

The 1900s: on December 17, 1903, Orville Wright flew the Flyer for 12 seconds over 120 feet at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina.

In which decade did the Ford Model T go into production?

The 1900s: the first production Model T was built at Ford's Piquette Avenue plant in Detroit in September 1908.

In which decade did the Titanic sink on her maiden voyage?

The 1910s: Titanic struck an iceberg late on April 14, 1912 and sank about two hours and forty minutes later, early on April 15.

In which decade was the Panama Canal formally opened to shipping?

The 1910s: the Panama Canal formally opened on August 15, 1914, when the cargo ship SS Ancon made the official first transit.

In which decade were the first Winter Olympic Games held, at Chamonix?

The 1920s: the Chamonix games were held in January and February 1924 as an 'International Winter Sports Week' and were recognized as the first Winter Olympics afterward.

In which decade did The Jazz Singer, the first feature-length 'talkie', reach cinemas?

The 1920s: The Jazz Singer premiered in New York on October 6, 1927, with Al Jolson's songs and a few lines of dialogue recorded on Vitaphone discs.

In which decade did Mickey Mouse make his official debut in Steamboat Willie?

The 1920s: Steamboat Willie, with synchronized sound, premiered at New York's Colony Theatre on November 18, 1928.

In which decade did Parker Brothers first publish Monopoly?

The 1930s: Parker Brothers began selling Monopoly in 1935 after buying it from Charles Darrow, whose patent was granted on December 31 that year.

In which decade did the Golden Gate Bridge open to the public?

The 1930s: the Golden Gate Bridge opened to pedestrians on May 27, 1937, with a 4,200-foot main span that was then the longest in the world.

In which decade did the airship Hindenburg burst into flames in New Jersey?

The 1930s: the Hindenburg caught fire while mooring at Lakehurst, New Jersey on May 6, 1937, killing 36 people.

In which decade did Superman first appear, in Action Comics #1?

The 1930s: Superman debuted in Action Comics #1, cover-dated June 1938, created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster.

In which decade was the Empire State Building constructed?

The 1930s: construction began in March 1930 and the Empire State Building opened on May 1, 1931, little more than a year later.

In which decade was the Slinky first demonstrated to shoppers, at Gimbels in Philadelphia?

The 1940s: Richard James demonstrated the Slinky at Gimbels in Philadelphia in November 1945 and sold all 400 units in about 90 minutes.

In which decade did Raytheon sell the first commercial microwave oven, the Radarange?

The 1940s: Raytheon's first Radarange went on sale in 1947, a water-cooled unit nearly six feet tall that weighed around 750 pounds.

In which decade did French designer Louis Réard introduce the modern bikini?

The 1940s: Louis Réard unveiled the bikini at a Paris swimming pool on July 5, 1946, four days after the Bikini Atoll nuclear test.

In which decade did Columbia Records introduce the 33 1/3 rpm LP record?

The 1940s: Columbia unveiled the 12-inch 33 1/3 rpm vinyl LP at New York's Waldorf-Astoria in June 1948.

In which decade did Mattel introduce the Barbie doll?

The 1950s: Barbie debuted at the American International Toy Fair in New York on March 9, 1959, modeled on the German Bild Lilli doll.

In which decade did Wham-O turn the plastic hula hoop into a craze?

The 1950s: Wham-O's Richard Knerr and Arthur Melin began selling the plastic Hula Hoop in 1958, and over 25 million sold within four months.

In which decade did the Soviet Union launch Sputnik 1, the first artificial satellite?

The 1950s: Sputnik 1 was launched on October 4, 1957 and circled the Earth about every 96 minutes, transmitting for three weeks.

In which decade did Disneyland open in Anaheim, California?

The 1950s: Disneyland opened in Anaheim on July 17, 1955, the only Disney park completed under Walt Disney's own supervision.

In which decade was Diners Club, the first independent payment card company, formed?

The 1950s: Frank McNamara and Ralph Schneider founded Diners Club in New York in 1950; its first cards were cardboard and accepted at local restaurants.

In which decade did Hasbro first distribute Mr. Potato Head, the first toy advertised on television?

The 1950s: Hasbro began selling Mr. Potato Head in 1952, and its April 30 TV commercial that year was the first aimed directly at children.

In which decade did Apollo 11 land the first humans on the Moon?

The 1960s: Apollo 11's lunar module Eagle landed in the Sea of Tranquility on July 20, 1969, and Neil Armstrong stepped onto the surface hours later.

In which decade did East Germany begin building the Berlin Wall?

The 1960s: East German troops sealed the border and began building the Berlin Wall in the early hours of August 13, 1961.

In which decade was the Woodstock festival held on Max Yasgur's dairy farm?

The 1960s: Woodstock ran from August 15 to 18, 1969 in Bethel, New York, drawing an estimated 400,000 people for 'three days of peace and music'.

In which decade did the original Star Trek series premiere on NBC?

The 1960s: Star Trek premiered on NBC on September 8, 1966 with the episode 'The Man Trap' and ran for three seasons.

In which decade did Ford launch the Mustang, creating the 'pony car' segment?

The 1960s: the Mustang went on sale on April 17, 1964, the day it was unveiled at the New York World's Fair, and sold over 400,000 in its first year.

In which decade was the world's first cash machine installed, at a Barclays branch in Enfield, London?

The 1960s: Barclays opened the machine at its Enfield branch on June 27, 1967, and actor Reg Varney made the first withdrawal.

In which decade did Atari release Pong in arcades?

The 1970s: Atari's Pong was first tested at Andy Capp's Tavern in Sunnyvale, California in 1972, built by Allan Alcorn as a training exercise.

In which decade did Ernő Rubik invent the puzzle cube that bears his name?

The 1970s: Ernő Rubik built the first cube in Budapest in 1974 and patented it in Hungary as the Magic Cube.

In which decade was the original Star Wars film released?

The 1970s: Star Wars opened in US cinemas on May 25, 1977 and was later subtitled Episode IV – A New Hope.

In which decade did Sony introduce the Walkman portable cassette player?

The 1970s: Sony launched the Walkman TPS-L2 in Japan on July 1, 1979; in the US it was briefly sold as the Soundabout.

In which decade was Apple founded by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne?

The 1970s: Apple was founded on April 1, 1976; Ronald Wayne sold his 10 percent stake back for $800 less than two weeks later.

In which decade was the first Earth Day held?

The 1970s: the first Earth Day was held on April 22, 1970, when an estimated 20 million Americans took part in rallies and teach-ins.

In which decade were Post-it notes launched across the United States?

The 1980s: 3M launched Post-it Notes nationwide in the United States in 1980, after an earlier 'Press 'n Peel' test market had flopped.

In which decade did Namco release Pac-Man?

The 1980s: Namco released Pac-Man in Japan in 1980 as Puck Man, designed by Toru Iwatani; it was renamed for its American release.

In which decade did MTV go on the air?

The 1980s: MTV launched at 12:01 a.m. on August 1, 1981, opening with 'Video Killed the Radio Star' by the Buggles.

In which decade did the compact disc first go on sale, in Japan?

The 1980s: the first commercial CDs and Sony's CDP-101 player went on sale in Japan on October 1, 1982.

In which decade did reactor 4 at Chernobyl explode?

The 1980s: reactor 4 at Chernobyl exploded during a safety test in the early hours of April 26, 1986, near Pripyat in Soviet Ukraine.

In which decade did The Simpsons debut as a half-hour series on Fox?

The 1980s: The Simpsons debuted as a half-hour series on Fox on December 17, 1989 with the Christmas episode 'Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire'.

In which decade did the Nintendo Entertainment System get its nationwide launch in the United States?

The 1980s: after a New York test market in late 1985, Nintendo rolled the NES out across the United States in 1986.

In which decade did Coleco first produce Cabbage Patch Kids?

They set toy-industry sales records for three straight years and caused Christmas shopping riots.

In which decade was the World Wide Web opened to the public?

The 1990s: Tim Berners-Lee's first website went live outside CERN in August 1991, and CERN put the web software into the public domain in April 1993.

In which decade was the Hubble Space Telescope launched into orbit?

The 1990s: Hubble was carried into orbit by the shuttle Discovery on April 24, 1990, and a servicing mission corrected its flawed mirror in 1993.

In which decade did Friends premiere on NBC?

The 1990s: Friends premiered on NBC on September 22, 1994, created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, and ran for ten seasons.

In which decade did Bandai release the Tamagotchi digital pet?

The 1990s: Bandai released the Tamagotchi in Japan on November 23, 1996, created by Aki Maita and Akihiro Yokoi.

In which decade was Dolly the sheep, the first mammal cloned from an adult cell, born?

The 1990s: Dolly was born at the Roslin Institute near Edinburgh on July 5, 1996, cloned from a mammary gland cell and announced the following February.

In which decade was Google founded by Larry Page and Sergey Brin?

The 1990s: Google was incorporated on September 4, 1998 while Larry Page and Sergey Brin were PhD students at Stanford, working from a garage in Menlo Park.

In which decade were the first Pokémon games, Red and Green, released on the Game Boy?

The 1990s: Pokémon Red and Green were released in Japan on February 27, 1996, developed by Game Freak under Satoshi Tajiri.

In which decade was Wikipedia founded?

It began as an English-only side project and now exists in more than 300 languages.

In which decade did Apple release the first iPod?

The 2000s: Apple unveiled the first iPod on October 23, 2001, a 5 GB player with a scroll wheel that held about 1,000 songs.

In which decade was YouTube founded?

The 2000s: YouTube was founded in February 2005 by Chad Hurley, Steve Chen and Jawed Karim; the first upload, 'Me at the zoo', went up that April.

In which decade did the first iPhone go on sale?

The 2000s: the first iPhone went on sale in the United States on June 29, 2007, priced at $499 for the 4 GB model.

In which decade was Twitter launched?

The 2000s: Jack Dorsey posted the first tweet on March 21, 2006, and the service opened to the public that July.

In which decade did Nintendo release the Wii?

The 2000s: the Wii launched in North America on November 19, 2006 with motion-sensing controls and went on to sell over 100 million units.

In which decade did Netflix launch its streaming service?

The 2000s: Netflix introduced its 'Watch Now' streaming option in January 2007, nine years after it began mailing DVDs.

In which decade was Instagram launched?

The 2010s: Instagram launched on iOS on October 6, 2010, built by Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger, and Facebook bought it in April 2012.

In which decade did Pokémon Go send players into the streets to catch creatures in augmented reality?

The 2010s: Niantic released Pokémon Go in July 2016, and it passed 500 million downloads within its first few months.

In which decade did Disney release Frozen?

The 2010s: Frozen opened in US theaters on November 27, 2013, loosely inspired by Hans Christian Andersen's 'The Snow Queen'.

In which decade did Psy release 'Gangnam Style'?

The 2010s: Psy released 'Gangnam Style' on July 15, 2012, and that December it became the first YouTube video to pass a billion views.

In which decade did NASA's Curiosity rover land on Mars?

The 2010s: Curiosity touched down in Gale crater on August 6, 2012 (UTC), lowered to the surface by a rocket-powered 'sky crane'.

In which decade did Epic Games release Fortnite?

The 2010s: Epic released Fortnite's Save the World in early access in July 2017, and the free Battle Royale mode followed that September.

In which decade was Snapchat launched?

The 2010s: Snapchat launched on iOS in July 2011 as Picaboo, built by Evan Spiegel and Bobby Murphy, and was renamed Snapchat that September.

In which decade was the Eiffel Tower completed?

The 1880s: the Eiffel Tower was completed on March 31, 1889 as the entrance arch to that year's Exposition Universelle in Paris.

In which decade was Coca-Cola first sold, at Jacob's Pharmacy in Atlanta?

The 1880s: John Pemberton's Coca-Cola was first sold at Jacob's Pharmacy in Atlanta on May 8, 1886, for five cents a glass.

In which decade were the first modern Olympic Games held in Athens?

The 1890s: the first modern Olympics opened in Athens on April 6, 1896, with 14 nations and 241 athletes, all men.

In which decade did George Eastman patent the Kodak camera?

The 1880s: George Eastman's patent for the Kodak camera was granted on September 4, 1888; it came loaded with film for 100 exposures.

In which decade did George de Mestral conceive the hook-and-loop fastener sold as Velcro?

The 1940s: George de Mestral had the idea in 1941 after picking burdock burrs from his dog's fur on a hunting trip in the Swiss Alps.

In which decade did Wham-O buy the rights to the flying disc it would sell as the Frisbee?

The 1950s: Wham-O bought Fred Morrison's Pluto Platter design in 1957 and soon renamed the disc the Frisbee.

In which decade was the Etch A Sketch introduced?

The 1960s: Ohio Art launched the Etch A Sketch in the United States on July 12, 1960, after buying André Cassagnes's L'Écran Magique design.

In which decade did Sesame Street premiere?

The 1960s: Sesame Street premiered on November 10, 1969 on US public television, created by Joan Ganz Cooney and Lloyd Morrisett.

In which decade did the BBC first broadcast Doctor Who?

The 1960s: the first episode of Doctor Who, 'An Unearthly Child', aired on the BBC on November 23, 1963, with William Hartnell as the Doctor.

In which decade was the euro introduced to financial markets as an accounting currency?

The 1990s: the euro was launched as an accounting currency for 11 member states on January 1, 1999, three years before notes and coins arrived.

In which decade was the first Angry Birds game released?

The 2000s: Rovio released the first Angry Birds on iOS in December 2009, its slingshot play inspired by the Flash game Crush the Castle.

In which decade did Alexey Pajitnov create Tetris?

The 1980s: Alexey Pajitnov wrote Tetris in 1984 on an Elektronika 60 computer at the Soviet Academy of Sciences in Moscow.

In which decade was Play-Doh first shown at an educational convention and sold in stores?

The 1950s: Joe McVicker's Rainbow Crafts introduced Play-Doh in 1956, after the same compound had sold for years as a wallpaper cleaner.

In which decade did Willis Carrier invent air conditioning?

His 1902 system allowed precise control of both temperature and humidity indoors.

In which decade did Ruth Wakefield invent the chocolate chip cookie?

The 1930s: Ruth Wakefield created the Toll House Cookie at her Toll House Inn in Whitman, Massachusetts, in 1938; Nestlé later printed the recipe on its semi-sweet chocolate wrappers.

In which decade did Sylvan Goldman invent the shopping cart?

Goldman, a grocery store owner, introduced the wheeled basket in 1937.

In which decade did Whitcomb L. Judson construct the first workable zipper?

The Chicago engineer's 1893 hook-and-eye device was intended for shoes.