Fun ’80s Quiz: If You Lived in the Eighties, Ace This!

News Quiz for Jan. 3, 2022: 12 fun ’80s quiz trivia questions with multiple answers and reliably sourced news facts on 80’s politics, entertainment, technology, and sports. What was Archbishop Desmond Tutu most famous for in the eighties? What was Willow’s day job In the 1988 movie Willow? And which TV channel launched in 1981 with NASA footage of the moon landing? Take the Eighties Quiz!

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80’s Quiz

2022 Quizzes: 12 Eighties-themed multiple-choice general knowledge trivia questions with answers and fun facts from 2021 and 2022. Click “Start Quiz.”

1 / 12

1. Which of these games was available on the first Nintendo console in the US in 1985?

Photo: GerdeeX, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Super Mario Bros.

Pokémon.

Tetris.

King Kong.

The Nintendo Entertainment System was first released in North America on Sept. 27, 1986. It featured 17 launch titles, including Super Mario Bros. Masayuki Uemura, who developed the Nintendo Entertainment System that started a global revolution in-home gaming, died on Dec. 9, 2021. He was 78.

2 / 12

2. Who’s the NBA’s career leader in total points?

Photo: Frank Bryan, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons, colorized.

Giannis Antetokounmpo.

Ray Allen.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

Carmelo Anthony.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is the NBA’s career leader in total points, with an average of 24.6 points per game, in 20 seasons with the Milwaukee Bucks (1969-70 to 1974-75) and the Los Angeles Lakers (1975-76 to 1988-89), and 38,387 points in total.

3 / 12

3. Which TV channel launched in 1981 with NASA footage of the historic Apollo 11 landing?

Photo: Neil A. Armstrong, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

MTV.

Discovery.

CNN.

ESPN.

NASA footage of the historic Apollo 11 landing on the moon in 1969, with footage of the 1981 launch countdown of the Columbia space shuttle, and the MTV flag, were the first images to appear on MTV when it launched, on Aug 1, 1981. The moon landing images were shown right before airing the then music station’s first music video – the Buggles’ “Video Killed the Radio Star.”

MTV Moon Person visits NASA

On Sunday, Aug 1, 2021, MTV celebrated its 40th anniversary by revealing a large-scale “Moon Person” during a ceremony at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida. In an interview with The Associated Press, MTV Entertainment President and CEO Chris McCarthy said space travel imagery fits well with its young audience’s spirit.

4 / 12

4. What was Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu most famous for in the Eighties?

Photo: the University of Mount Union, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Being South Africa’s first Black president.

Campaigning to end South African apartheid.

Being South Africa’s leader in exile.

Being the leader in the American civil rights movement.

Most famous for opposing apartheid in South Africa and helping the country’s peaceful transition to majority rule, Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu died on Dec. 26, 2021, at age 90. He had won the 1984 Nobel Peace Prize and was Bishop of Johannesburg from 1985 to 1986 and then Archbishop of Cape Town from 1986 to 1996, in both cases being the first black African to hold the position.

What was Desmond Tutu’s Position on LGBTQ+ issues?

Tutu criticized South African President Thabo Mbeki for denying HIV/AIDS and preventing the government from distributing life-saving treatments. He also compared a proposed law criminalizing homosexuality in Uganda to apartheid South Africa’s laws that banned inter-racial sexual relations.

5 / 12

5. What were the Geneva summits of 1955 and 1985?

Photo: White House Photographic Collection, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

They were an effort to ease the cold war.

It was a coalition of 25 human rights NGOs.

They were the meetings of the seven country leaders with the largest advanced economies.

They were an effort to end World Wars I & II.

Meeting in Geneva in 1955, the U.S., France, Britain, and the Soviet Union leaders sought to end the Cold War. As this didn’t exactly work out, in 1985, US President Ronald Reagan and Soviet General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev met for a second Geneva Summit to hold talks on international diplomatic relations and the Cold War arms race.

The Biden-Putin Geneva Summit of 2021 Fact

US President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin held a third Geneva summit on June 16, 2021. The two leaders discussed face-to-face the escalating tensions between the US and Russia in the first months of the Biden administration.

6 / 12

6. In which administration did the late George Shultz serve as the secretary of State?

Photo: Cmichel67, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Under George Bush.

Under Richard Nixon.

Under Ronald Reagan.

Under Dwight Eisenhower.

R.I.P George Shultz. Reagan’s secretary of state also served under Eisenhower (as Secretary of Labor) and Nixon (as director of the Office of Management and Budget, and then as Treasury secretary). He was 100 when he passed away on Sunday, Feb. 7, 2021.

7 / 12

7. In the third “Live in Front of a Studio Audience” special, recreating 80s TV Shows “The Facts of Life” and “Diff’rent Strokes” in 2021, who played Edna Garrett?

Screenshot: Live in Front of a Studio Audience: The Facts of Life / ABC

Aunt Lydia from “A Handmaid’s Tale.”

Aunt Petunia from “Harry Potter.”

Aunt Jackie from “Roseanne.”

Aunt Becky from “Full House.”

Ann Dowd, known as the intimidating Aunt Lydia in “A Handmaid’s Tale,” portrayed housekeeper turned housemother for boarding students Edna Garrett, the shared character of “The Facts of Life” and “Diff’rent Strokes,” on ABC’s “Live in Front of a Studio Audience” special, Dec. 7, 2021. The special is now available on HULU.

What happened to the original Mrs. Garrett?

Mrs. G was played by actress Charlotte Rae, who died from bone cancer at her home in Los Angeles, California, on Aug. 5, 2018. She was 92 years old.

8 / 12

8. In the hit Broadway (and 1982 film) musical “Annie,” what’s the name of Annie’s dog?

Screenshot: Annie, Columbia Pictures

Sunny.

Oliver.

Sandy.

Simba.

Annie’s dog is named Sandy in the hit Broadway musical “Annie.” The character also appears in the two films based on the musical.

What’s “Annie Live!”?

“Annie Live!” is the tale of the young orphan and her dog during the 1930s’ Depression in a live musical form, which aired on NBC on Dec. 2, 2021. It’s NBC’s first live musical since 2018’s “Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert.”

9 / 12

9. In which city does the ’80s movie hit Ghostbusters take place?

Screenshot: Ghostbusters: Afterlife / Sony Pictures

The Big Apple.

Tinsel town.

Motor City.

Sin City.

1984’s movie Ghostbusters takes place in New York City, AKA The Big Apple.

Ghostbusters 2021

Sony Pictures’ trailer for “Ghostbusters: Afterlife” was released on July 27, 2021. Starring Finn Wolfhard, McKenna Grace, Carrie Coon, and Paul Rudd, “Ghostbusters: Afterlife” was released on Nov. 11. The film’s director, and co-writer, is Jason Reitman (Juno), son of the original Ghostbusters director Ivan Reitman. Watch the trailer.

10 / 12

10. 1986 American coming-of-age movie “Stand By Me” is based on a novella, “The Body,” by whom?

Screenshot: Stand By Me / Columbia Pictures

Charles Dickens

Edgar Allan Poe

Stephen King

Truman Capote

Stand by Me is based on Stephen King’s 1982 novella The Body, with the film’s title derived from Ben E. King’s song.

Stand By Me 2021 Fact

2021 is the 35th anniversary of Rob Reiner’s Stand by Me. One of the film’s stars, Wil Wheaton, told Yahoo Entertainment in an interview published on Friday, May 21, 2021, about the abuse he experienced from his mother Debbie, a former actress, and his father Richard, a medical specialist. The then 14-year-old actor said that this experience significantly influenced his role in the film.

11 / 12

11. How many years after ABBA’s 1981 album “The Visitors” was their album “Voyage” recorded?

Screenshot: ABBA on YouTube

10.

14.

40.

4.

2021’s “Voyage” is the first ABBA album with new songs since “The Visitors” in 1981, released before the band split. ABBA Gold, a greatest hits compilation initially released in 1992, passed its 1000th week on the UK Album Chart in July 2021.

Are ABBA reuniting on stage?

The new album launches a new ABBA concert show – also called Voyage – featuring digital representations of the four band members created by motion-capture technology. From May 2022, fans will have a chance to catch the ABBA avatars (AKA ABBAtars) accompanied by a live band at a purpose-built ABBA Arena in London’s Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park.

12 / 12

12. In the 1988 movie “Willow,” what was Willow’s day job?

A queen.

A princess.

A soldier.

A farmer.

In the 1988 movie,  Willow is a reluctant farmer who protects a baby from a tyrannical queen. A new Willow series started streaming on Disney+ on Nov. 30, 2022, starring the original Willow, Warwick Davis.

Exactly. In the 1988 movie,  Willow is a reluctant farmer who protects a baby from a tyrannical queen. A new Willow series started streaming on Disney+ on Nov. 30, 2022, starring the original Willow, Warwick Davis.

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’80s Quiz Questions List

• In the 1988 movie "Willow," what was Willow's day job?

  A soldier.

  A queen.

  A princess.

  A farmer.

  In which administration did the late George Shultz serve as the secretary of State?

  Photo: Cmichel67, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

  Under George Bush.

  Under Ronald Reagan.

  Under Richard Nixon.

  Under Dwight Eisenhower.

  1986 American coming-of-age movie “Stand By Me” is based on a novella, “The Body,” by whom?

  Screenshot: Stand By Me / Columbia Pictures

  Edgar Allan Poe

  Charles Dickens

  Truman Capote

  Stephen King

  What were the Geneva summits of 1955 and 1985?

  Photo: White House Photographic Collection, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

  They were an effort to ease the cold war.

  They were an effort to end World Wars I & II.

  It was a coalition of 25 human rights NGOs.

  They were the meetings of the seven country leaders with the largest advanced economies.

  In which city does the '80s movie hit Ghostbusters take place?

  Screenshot: Ghostbusters: Afterlife / Sony Pictures

  Sin City.

  The Big Apple.

  Motor City.

  Tinsel town.

  Which TV channel launched in 1981 with NASA footage of the historic Apollo 11 landing?

  Photo: Neil A. Armstrong, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

  Discovery.

  ESPN.

  CNN.

  MTV.

  Who's the NBA's career leader in total points?

  Photo: Frank Bryan, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons, colorized.

  Carmelo Anthony.

  Giannis Antetokounmpo.

  Ray Allen.

  Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

  How many years after ABBA’s 1981 album "The Visitors" was their album "Voyage" recorded?

  Screenshot: ABBA on YouTube

  4.

  10.

  14.

  40.

  In the hit Broadway (and 1982 film) musical "Annie," what's the name of Annie's dog?

  Screenshot: Annie, Columbia Pictures

  Sandy.

  Simba.

  Sunny.

  Oliver.

  In the third "Live in Front of a Studio Audience" special, recreating 80s TV Shows "The Facts of Life" and "Diff'rent Strokes" in 2021, who played Edna Garrett?

  Screenshot: Live in Front of a Studio Audience: The Facts of Life / ABC

  Aunt Lydia from “A Handmaid's Tale.”

  Aunt Petunia from “Harry Potter.”

  Aunt Becky from “Full House.”

  Aunt Jackie from “Roseanne.”

  Which of these games was available on the first Nintendo console in the US in 1985?

  Photo: GerdeeX, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

  Super Mario Bros.

  King Kong.

  Tetris.

  Pokémon.

  What was Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu most famous for in the Eighties?

  Photo: the University of Mount Union, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

  Campaigning to end South African apartheid.

  Being South Africa’s leader in exile.

  Being South Africa’s first Black president.

  Being the leader in the American civil rights movement.

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