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177 free 1970s trivia questions with answers — history quiz, new questions added Aug 2026.
50 free 1970s trivia questions with answers. This 70's trivia quiz is built to be played, not to stump: fifty easy 70s trivia questions and answers about the decade of disco, Watergate, Star Wars, the Bicentennial, bell-bottoms, Pong and the first Earth Day. Most questions sit at the easy end, with a handful of medium ones near the finish so the room still has something to argue about. It works for a family night where grandparents lived through the decade and the kids know it from movies, for a retro-themed party, or as a gentle opening round of trivia from the 70s for a pub quiz. Every answer comes with a short explanation, so you learn why the era looked, sounded and smelled the way it did. Every question is checked against a primary source and shows its citation once you have answered.
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Q 01Which musical group had a major hit with the soundtrack for the 1977 film *Saturday Night Fever*?
Bee Gees
The Bee Gees wrote and performed the soundtrack's biggest hits, including 'Stayin' Alive' and 'Night Fever'; the album topped the Billboard 200 for 24 weeks in 1978.
Q 02Who directed the 1971 crime thriller *The French Connection*?
William Friedkin
William Friedkin won an Academy Award for Best Director for *The French Connection*, a film recognized for its gritty realism and iconic car chase scene.
Q 03In what year did the Watergate break-in at Democratic headquarters occur?
1972
The break-in at the Watergate complex happened on June 17, 1972; the burglars were tied to Nixon's re-election campaign, and the cover-up forced his resignation in August 1974.
Q 04In what year were the twin Voyager probes launched?
1977
The timing exploited a rare planetary alignment that let one probe swing past Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune; both craft are now in interstellar space.
Q 05Which 3D combination puzzle did a Hungarian architecture professor invent in 1974?
Rubik's Cube
The Rubik's Cube, originally called the 'Magic Cube,' was invented by Ernő Rubik in 1974 as a teaching tool for three-dimensional geometry.
Q 06Who directed One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975), which won five Oscars including Best Picture?
Miloš Forman
Miloš Forman directed it; the film swept the 'Big Five' Oscars (Picture, Director, Actor, Actress, Adapted Screenplay), the first to do so since It Happened One Night in 1934.
Q 07The Apollo 13 mission, famous for its in-flight emergency, launched in what year?
1970
The Apollo 13 mission launched on April 11, 1970, and despite an oxygen tank explosion, the crew safely returned to Earth.
Q 08In what year was Apple Computer Company co-founded by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and Ronald Wayne?
1976
Apple Computer Company was founded on April 1, 1976, by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and Ronald Wayne, initially to market Wozniak's Apple I desktop computer.
Q 09Which film starring John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John was the highest-grossing film of 1978?
Grease
Grease, released in June 1978 with Travolta as Danny and Newton-John as Sandy, was the year's top-grossing film in the US and the highest-grossing movie musical to that point.
Q 10What is the period of widespread UK strikes between late 1978 and early 1979 famously called?
The Winter of Discontent
The 'Winter of Discontent' refers to the period between late September 1978 and February 1979 in the UK, characterized by widespread strikes protesting wage limits set by the Labour government.
Q 11Which 1977 Fleetwood Mac album features 'Go Your Own Way' and 'Dreams'?
Rumours
Rumours, recorded as the McVies and Buckingham and Nicks were splitting up, won Album of the Year at the 1978 Grammys and spent 31 weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard 200.
Q 12Who directed the acclaimed 1972 crime drama 'The Godfather,' based on Mario Puzo's novel?
Francis Ford Coppola
Francis Ford Coppola directed 'The Godfather,' which was released in 1972. The film, starring Marlon Brando and Al Pacino, is considered one of the greatest and most influential films ever made.
Q 13Which US president resigned on 9 August 1974, the only one ever to do so, amid the Watergate scandal?
Richard Nixon
Q 21'Bohemian Rhapsody' by Queen, a groundbreaking rock anthem, was released on which album in 1975?
A Night at the Opera
'Bohemian Rhapsody' appeared on A Night at the Opera (November 1975), its title taken from a Marx Brothers film; the single ran nearly six minutes and spent nine weeks at UK number one.
Q 22Which science fiction epic, directed by George Lucas, first premiered in 1977?
Star Wars
Star Wars opened on 25 May 1977 and quickly became a surprise blockbuster; the 'Episode IV – A New Hope' subtitle was added later.
Q 23What fashion item, characterized by a flare from the knee down, was a defining trend of the 1970s?
Bell-bottoms
Richard Nixon resigned amid an impeachment process over his administration's involvement in the Watergate scandal.
Q 14Which soul singer released What's Going On, his eleventh studio album, on Motown's Tamla label in May 1971?
Marvin Gaye
Marvin Gaye's title track was initially resisted by Motown boss Berry Gordy as too political; the album has since topped Rolling Stone's list of the greatest of all time.
Q 15Which Japanese company released the arcade hit Space Invaders in 1978?
Taito
Designer Tomohiro Nishikado went uncredited at first because anonymity was written into his contract; Midway handled the game's overseas release.
Q 16In what year did the Kent State shootings, a tragic event during Vietnam War protests, occur?
1970
The Kent State shootings occurred on May 4, 1970, when the Ohio National Guard opened fire on unarmed college students during a rally against the Vietnam War and the U.S. invasion of Cambodia.
Q 17The Eagles released their highly successful album 'Hotel California' in which year?
1976
It came out on December 8, 1976 on vinyl, cassette and 8-track, the first Eagles album with Joe Walsh in the line-up.
Q 18Which long-running series set during the Korean War premiered in 1972?
M*A*S*H
M*A*S*H, set at the 4077th Mobile Army Surgical Hospital, ran 11 seasons from 1972 to 1983; its finale drew about 106 million US viewers, a record for a scripted episode.
Q 19The famous boxing match known as 'The Rumble in the Jungle' featured Muhammad Ali against which opponent?
George Foreman
Ali beat George Foreman by eighth-round knockout in Kinshasa, Zaire, on 30 October 1974, using his rope-a-dope tactic to exhaust the heavily favoured champion.
Q 20Who served as the 39th President of the United States from 1977 to 1981?
Jimmy Carter
Jimmy Carter, a Democrat, served as the 39th President from January 20, 1977, to January 20, 1981, after defeating incumbent Gerald Ford in the 1976 election.
They began as sailors' wear; the Royal Navy kept true bell-bottoms in its 'square rig' uniform until 1977, when it switched to conventional flares.
Q 24What is the 1973 shock called in which OAPEC's embargo during the Yom Kippur War quadrupled a key commodity's price?
The oil crisis
The oil crisis took a barrel from about $3 to nearly $12 by the time the embargo was lifted in March 1974, and the shortage sparked the US gas-guzzler backlash.
Q 25Which Swedish pop group had 1970s hits 'Dancing Queen' and 'Waterloo'?
ABBA
ABBA won the 1974 Eurovision Song Contest for Sweden with 'Waterloo'; 'Dancing Queen' topped the US Billboard Hot 100 in April 1977, the group's only American number one.
Q 26What groundbreaking computer, often considered the first personal computer, was introduced in 1975?
Altair 8800
The Altair 8800, introduced in 1975, is widely recognized as the spark that ignited the personal computer revolution, inspiring many early computer enthusiasts and entrepreneurs.
Q 27Which Queens-set American sitcom explored social and political issues through Archie Bunker?
All in the Family
'All in the Family,' which aired from 1971 to 1979, was a groundbreaking sitcom known for tackling controversial social and political themes through the perspective of its bigoted but lovable patriarch, Archie Bunker.
Q 28Which glam rock musician released 'Ziggy Stardust' and 'Aladdin Sane' in the early 1970s?
David Bowie
He lived as Ziggy Stardust on stage through 1972 and 1973, the years the two albums came out, at the height of early-1970s glam.
Q 29Which 1975 Steven Spielberg film is regarded as the prototypical summer blockbuster?
Jaws
Jaws opened on 20 June 1975 with a then-unusual wide release backed by TV advertising and became the first film to gross $100 million at the US box office.
Q 30Which famous discotheque in New York City became synonymous with 1970s nightlife and celebrity culture?
Studio 54
Studio 54, which opened in 1977, was a legendary New York City nightclub that became the epicenter of disco and celebrity culture in the late 1970s, known for its exclusivity and extravagant parties.