50 Fun Facts About The 1980s

What 1982 Steven Spielberg film follows a young boy who befriends an alien stranded on Earth?

E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982) became the highest-grossing film of all time at that point, telling the story of Elliott and his alien friend.

Which pop star released the album 'Thriller' in 1982, which became the best-selling album of all time?

Michael Jackson's 'Thriller' has sold over 70 million copies worldwide, featuring hits like 'Billie Jean,' 'Beat It,' and the title track.

What famous barrier fell on November 9, 1989, symbolizing the end of the Cold War?

The Berlin Wall, which had divided East and West Berlin since 1961, was opened on November 9, 1989. Its fall became the defining image of the Cold War's end.

Which handheld music device, introduced by Sony in 1979, became a 1980s phenomenon?

The Sony Walkman, the blue-and-silver TPS-L2, went on sale in Japan on 1 July 1979 for ¥33,000 (about $150) and reached the US in June 1980.

In 'Back to the Future' (1985), what speed must the DeLorean reach to travel through time?

Doc Brown's DeLorean time machine needed to reach 88 miles per hour to activate the flux capacitor and travel through time, powered by 1.21 gigawatts.

Which arcade video game, released in 1980 by Namco, features a yellow character eating dots in a maze?

Pac-Man became one of the most iconic arcade games ever made, generating over $2.5 billion in quarters by the 1990s and spawning a massive merchandise empire.

The 1980 'Who Shot J.R.?' cliffhanger came from which primetime soap about a Texas oil family?

Dallas ended its 1979–80 season with J.R. Ewing shot; the 21 November 1980 episode 'Who Done It?' revealed Kristin Shepard as the shooter and drew an estimated 83 million US viewers.

Which twisting puzzle, invented by a Hungarian architecture professor, became a craze in the early 1980s?

The Rubik's Cube was patented in Hungary by architecture professor Ernő Rubik in 1975 as the 'Magic Cube'; roughly 200 million were sold worldwide between 1980 and 1983.

Which U.S. president survived an assassination attempt in March 1981, just 69 days into his first term?

Ronald Reagan was shot by John Hinckley Jr. on March 30, 1981. Reagan famously quipped to surgeons, 'I hope you're all Republicans.'

Which accessory became a 1980s aerobics fashion trend after 'Fame' and 'Flashdance'?

Leg warmers, originally worn by dancers to keep calf muscles warm, became street fashion after Fame (1980) and Flashdance (1983) fed the aerobics craze.

Which 1984 comedy features parapsychologists starting a ghost-catching business in New York?

Ghostbusters (1984) starred Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, and Harold Ramis. Its theme song by Ray Parker Jr. hit #1 on the Billboard Hot 100.

What was Madonna wearing when she performed 'Like a Virgin' at the first MTV Video Music Awards?

She wore a bustier-and-wedding-gown combination with her 'Boy Toy' belt and rolled around the stage revealing lace stockings and a garter.

What Soviet nuclear disaster on April 26, 1986 became history's worst nuclear accident?

The Chernobyl disaster in Ukraine (then USSR) released 400 times more radiation than the Hiroshima bomb. A roughly 30 km exclusion zone was set up around the plant in 1986.

Which British Prime Minister, known as the 'Iron Lady,' served throughout most of the 1980s?

Margaret Thatcher was prime minister from May 1979 to November 1990, the longest-serving British PM of the 20th century; the 'Iron Lady' nickname came from a 1976 Soviet Army newspaper, Red Star.

Which Boston bar "where everybody knows your name" was the setting for a hit 1980s sitcom?

Cheers ran on NBC from 1982 to 1993 and won 28 Primetime Emmys, even though its first season finished near the bottom of the ratings and it was nearly cancelled.

Which console, released in North America in 1985, revived the gaming industry after the 1983 crash?

The NES single-handedly revived the North American video game market after the 1983 crash, selling over 61 million units and launching franchises like Super Mario Bros. and The Legend of Zelda.

Which dolls, each with a name and adoption certificate, caused shopping frenzies in 1983?

Cabbage Patch Kids, made by Coleco, each came with a birth certificate and adoption papers; demand in Christmas 1983 outran supply and set off fights in toy stores.

Which 1984 Chicago Bulls draftee is widely regarded as the greatest basketball player ever?

Michael Jordan was selected 3rd overall in the 1984 NBA Draft. He won Rookie of the Year in 1985 and went on to win six NBA championships with the Bulls.

What clothing feature defined the broad silhouette of 1980s power dressing?

Shoulder pads, introduced to womenswear by Elsa Schiaparelli in the 1930s, returned in the 1980s as the signature of power dressing, exaggerated by designers like Thierry Mugler and by TV's 'Dynasty'.

Which 1986 Tom Cruise film featured fighter pilots at the United States Navy's elite training school?

Top Gun (1986) was inspired by Ehud Yonay's 1983 California magazine article 'Top Guns' about the Navy Fighter Weapons School at NAS Miramar; the Navy set up recruiting booths in cinemas.

Which TV show featured undercover detectives Sonny Crockett and Ricardo Tubbs?

Miami Vice ran on NBC from 1984 to 1989 with Don Johnson as Crockett and Philip Michael Thomas as Tubbs; executive producer Michael Mann banned earth tones from its pastel look.

Prince released a film and album with the same name in 1984. What was it called?

Purple Rain was both a film and soundtrack album released in 1984. The album spent 24 consecutive weeks at #1 on the Billboard 200 and has sold over 25 million copies.

Which Space Shuttle broke apart 73 seconds after launch on January 28, 1986?

Challenger broke apart 73 seconds after liftoff on 28 January 1986; near-freezing temperatures that morning stiffened an O-ring seal in the right solid rocket booster, a flaw engineers had flagged years earlier.

Apple's Ridley Scott-directed '1984' ad had its only US national airing during which event?

The '1984' ad aired nationally only once, in the third quarter of Super Bowl XVIII on 22 January 1984, two days before the Macintosh launch; it had quietly run once on a Twin Falls, Idaho station in December 1983.

Which 1985 John Hughes film has five students from different cliques spending a Saturday in detention?

The Breakfast Club featured a brain, an athlete, a basket case, a princess, and a criminal discovering common ground. Its theme song, 'Don't You (Forget About Me)' by Simple Minds, became iconic.

Which 1983 cartoon featured He-Man defending Eternia with the cry 'By the power of Grayskull!'?

He-Man and the Masters of the Universe (Filmation, 1983–85) ran two 65-episode seasons; Prince Adam raises the Sword of Power to become He-Man and his timid tiger Cringer becomes Battle Cat.

Whose single-season NHL scoring mark did Wayne Gretzky shatter in 1981-82 on the way to 92 goals?

Phil Esposito's 76 goals in 1970–71 stood as the NHL record until Wayne Gretzky scored 92 in 1981–82; Esposito needed 550 shots for his 76, Gretzky 369 for his 92.

Which 1986 Bon Jovi song about the working-class couple Tommy and Gina spent four weeks at #1?

'Livin' on a Prayer', from Slippery When Wet, topped the Billboard Hot 100 for four weeks in early 1987; Jon Bon Jovi, Richie Sambora and Desmond Child wrote it around the struggling couple Tommy and Gina.

Which 1980s series followed vigilante ex-commandos led by George Peppard's cigar-chomping colonel?

The A-Team (NBC, 1983–87) starred George Peppard as Col. John 'Hannibal' Smith and Mr. T as B.A. Baracus; Hannibal's catchphrase was 'I love it when a plan comes together.'

What was the name of Michael Knight's talking car in the 1980s series 'Knight Rider'?

KITT was a modified 1982 Pontiac Trans Am designed by customizer Michael Scheffe; its evil prototype twin KARR appeared in two episodes.

Which Duran Duran video, filmed in Sri Lanka, helped define MTV's early visual style?

'Hungry Like the Wolf' was shot in Sri Lanka in 1982 by director Russell Mulcahy as an Indiana Jones-style jungle chase; heavy MTV rotation of the clip helped break Duran Duran in the US.

Which country's heavily favoured team did the US hockey team beat in the 1980 'Miracle on Ice'?

The underdog U.S. team, mostly college players, defeated the dominant Soviet Union 4-3 at the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid. The moment is considered one of the greatest upsets in sports history.

Which 1986 movie follows a high schooler who skips school for a day of adventure in Chicago?

Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986) was John Hughes's love letter to Chicago, with Matthew Broderick's Ferris visiting the Sears Tower, Wrigley Field and the Art Institute on his day off.

Which Hasbro toy line, launched in 1984, featured robots that changed into vehicles and other objects?

Transformers, produced by Hasbro based on Japanese Takara toys, became a cultural juggernaut. The franchise spawned a TV series, comic books, a 1986 animated film, and eventually a billion-dollar movie series.

What was the first music video ever played on MTV when it launched on August 1, 1981?

'Video Killed the Radio Star' by The Buggles was MTV's inaugural music video, a prophetically titled choice. MTV launched at 12:01 AM on August 1, 1981, forever changing the music industry.

Def Leppard's 'Hysteria' took over three years to record, partly due to what tragedy involving drummer Rick Allen?

The crash was on 31 December 1984 near Sheffield; he returned using four electronic pedals under his left foot to trigger the hi-hat, bass, snare and tom.

Which 1988 Tom Hanks film has a boy's Zoltar wish turn him into an adult overnight?

In Big (1988), 12-year-old Josh Baskin wishes on a Zoltar machine and wakes up as Tom Hanks; the FAO Schwarz walking-piano duet with Robert Loggia became its signature scene.

What was Bob Geldof's July 1985 global charity concert for Ethiopian famine relief called?

Live Aid, organised by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure, was held at Wembley Stadium and Philadelphia's JFK Stadium on 13 July 1985 and reached an estimated 1.9 billion viewers in about 150 countries.

Which 1982 Ridley Scott film starring Harrison Ford depicts a dystopian Los Angeles in 2019?

Blade Runner was a commercial disappointment on release but became one of the most influential sci-fi films ever. Its rain-soaked neon vision of the future defined the cyberpunk aesthetic.

Which 1981 Nintendo game introduced the character later known as Mario?

Donkey Kong (1981) was the first appearance of Mario, who was originally called 'Jumpman.' The game was designed by Shigeru Miyamoto and saved Nintendo of America from potential bankruptcy.

What 1989 animated film, released by Disney, marked the beginning of the 'Disney Renaissance' era?

The Little Mermaid (1989) revitalized Disney animation after years of underperformance. Its success kicked off the Disney Renaissance, leading to Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, and The Lion King.

Which country did Argentina fight in the 1982 Falklands War?

The Falklands War lasted from April to June 1982. Argentina invaded the British-held Falkland Islands, but Britain sent a naval task force 8,000 miles to reclaim them, winning in 74 days.

Which 1980s fitness icon popularized aerobics through a bestselling series of workout videos?

Jane Fonda's Workout (1982) was the first non-theatrical home video to top the sales charts; her workout tape series went on to sell some 17 million copies.

Whose unsold cartridges of a 1982 Spielberg-film game were buried in a New Mexico landfill?

Atari dumped truckloads of unsold E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial cartridges in an Alamogordo, New Mexico landfill in September 1983; Howard Scott Warshaw had built the game in about five weeks, and a 2014 dig confirmed the burial.

Which 1983 film about a computer hacker who nearly starts World War III starred Matthew Broderick?

WarGames (1983) stars Matthew Broderick as David Lightman, who dials into NORAD's WOPR supercomputer thinking it is a games company and nearly triggers nuclear war.

What was the 1985 charity single recorded by a supergroup of artists as USA for Africa?

'We Are the World' was written by Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie and performed by USA for Africa. The recording session at A&M Studios on January 28, 1985, brought together 46 of music's biggest stars.

Which 1984 Apple product was the first mass-market personal computer with a GUI and mouse?

The Macintosh 128K launched on 24 January 1984 at $2,495; unlike Apple's $9,995 Lisa of 1983, it sold in volume and brought the mouse-driven graphical interface to a mass market.

In what year did the Tiananmen Square protests take place in Beijing, China?

The Tiananmen Square protests ran from April to 4 June 1989, when the army cleared the square; the 'Tank Man' photograph was taken on 5 June 1989.

Which 1980s show featured wisecracking alien Gordon Shumway crash-landing with a suburban family?

Puppeteer Paul Fusco co-created the show; ALF's home planet Melmac was destroyed by nuclear war, and he only survived because he was away on Orbit Guard duty.

Which 1985 Dire Straits song, with the lyric 'I want my MTV', had a pioneering computer-animated video?

'Money for Nothing' (1985), co-written with Sting, who sings 'I want my MTV', topped the US Hot 100 for three weeks and won the 1986 Grammy for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group.