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50 free The 1980s trivia questions with answers. The 1980s trivia lives in two places on BrainPickle. This page is the shorter set; the main quiz is The 80s trivia, with our deepest question pool on the topic and a source behind every answer.
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Q 01What 1982 Steven Spielberg film follows a young boy who befriends an alien stranded on Earth?
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial
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.
Q 02Which pop star released the album 'Thriller' in 1982, which became the best-selling album of all time?
Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson's 'Thriller' has sold over 70 million copies worldwide, featuring hits like 'Billie Jean,' 'Beat It,' and the title track.
Q 03What famous barrier fell on November 9, 1989, symbolizing the end of the Cold War?
The Berlin Wall
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.
Q 04Which handheld music device, introduced by Sony in 1979, became a 1980s phenomenon?
Walkman
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.
Q 05In 'Back to the Future' (1985), what speed must the DeLorean reach to travel through time?
88 mph
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.
Q 06Which arcade video game, released in 1980 by Namco, features a yellow character eating dots in a maze?
Pac-Man
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.
Q 07The 1980 'Who Shot J.R.?' cliffhanger came from which primetime soap about a Texas oil family?
Dallas
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.
Q 08Which twisting puzzle, invented by a Hungarian architecture professor, became a craze in the early 1980s?
Rubik's Cube
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.
Q 09Which U.S. president survived an assassination attempt in March 1981, just 69 days into his first term?
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Reagan was shot by John Hinckley Jr. on March 30, 1981. Reagan famously quipped to surgeons, 'I hope you're all Republicans.'
Q 10Which accessory became a 1980s aerobics fashion trend after 'Fame' and 'Flashdance'?
Leg warmers
Leg warmers, originally worn by dancers to keep calf muscles warm, became street fashion after Fame (1980) and Flashdance (1983) fed the aerobics craze.
Q 11Which 1984 comedy features parapsychologists starting a ghost-catching business in New York?
Ghostbusters
Ghostbusters (1984) starred Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, and Harold Ramis. Its theme song by Ray Parker Jr. hit #1 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Q 12What was Madonna wearing when she performed 'Like a Virgin' at the first MTV Video Music Awards?
A wedding dress
She wore a bustier-and-wedding-gown combination with her 'Boy Toy' belt and rolled around the stage revealing lace stockings and a garter.
Q 13What Soviet nuclear disaster on April 26, 1986 became history's worst nuclear accident?
Chernobyl
Q 21Which TV show featured undercover detectives Sonny Crockett and Ricardo Tubbs?
Miami Vice
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.
Q 22Prince released a film and album with the same name in 1984. What was it called?
Purple Rain
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.
Q 23Which Space Shuttle broke apart 73 seconds after launch on January 28, 1986?
Challenger
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.
Q 14Which British Prime Minister, known as the 'Iron Lady,' served throughout most of the 1980s?
Margaret Thatcher
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.
Q 15Which Boston bar "where everybody knows your name" was the setting for a hit 1980s sitcom?
Cheers
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.
Q 16Which console, released in North America in 1985, revived the gaming industry after the 1983 crash?
Nintendo Entertainment System (NES)
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.
Q 17Which dolls, each with a name and adoption certificate, caused shopping frenzies in 1983?
Cabbage Patch Kids
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.
Q 18Which 1984 Chicago Bulls draftee is widely regarded as the greatest basketball player ever?
Michael Jordan
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.
Q 19What clothing feature defined the broad silhouette of 1980s power dressing?
Shoulder pads
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'.
Q 20Which 1986 Tom Cruise film featured fighter pilots at the United States Navy's elite training school?
Top Gun
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.
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.
Q 24Apple's Ridley Scott-directed '1984' ad had its only US national airing during which event?
Super Bowl XVIII
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.
Q 25Which 1985 John Hughes film has five students from different cliques spending a Saturday in detention?
The Breakfast Club
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.
Q 26Which 1983 cartoon featured He-Man defending Eternia with the cry 'By the power of Grayskull!'?
Masters of the Universe
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.
Q 27Whose single-season NHL scoring mark did Wayne Gretzky shatter in 1981-82 on the way to 92 goals?
Phil Esposito
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.
Q 28Which 1986 Bon Jovi song about the working-class couple Tommy and Gina spent four weeks at #1?
Livin' on a Prayer
'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.
Q 29Which 1980s series followed vigilante ex-commandos led by George Peppard's cigar-chomping colonel?
The A-Team
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.'
Q 30What was the name of Michael Knight's talking car in the 1980s series 'Knight Rider'?
KITT
KITT was a modified 1982 Pontiac Trans Am designed by customizer Michael Scheffe; its evil prototype twin KARR appeared in two episodes.