Totally Awesome 80s Trivia Questions
Test your knowledge of that bitchin’ decade known as the 1980s.
What do the 1980s mean to you? For some, it’s all about the leg warmers, shoulder pads, and big hair. For others, it might be arcades and Rubik’s Cubes. For still others, Cold War tensions and the fear of nuclear annihilation might spring to mind.
Trivia Game Rules: The Complete Guide
Suffice it to say, there was a lot going on in the 80s. If you think you know it all, give the following list of questions a shot – or print them out and challenge your 80s-obssessed friends to a game of trivia. These questions may not cover everything, but they capture many of the highlights (and lowlights) of a neon-colored era.
Printables
I’ve put together a couple of different PDFs for these 1980s trivia questions. The first has all the questions on one sheet with a separate answer key:
The other PDF has the questions and answers in individual boxes, which can be clipped out for random drawing:
80s Trivia Questions
Here’s the full list of trivia questions covering the fads, fashions, and major events of the 1980s.
Easy
Q: Who wrote and directed the 80s classics Sixteen Candles, the Breakfast Club, and Ferris Bueller’s Day Off?
A: John Hughes.
Q: What was the only state Ronald Reagan didn’t win in the 1984 presidential election?
A: Minnesota.
Q: What professional wrestling event premiered in 1985 and featured a team up of Hulk Hogan and Mr. T?
A: WrestleMania.
Q: What city did the Tylenol poisonings of 1982 take place in?
A: Chicago.
Q: What awards show premiered in 1984 and featured a provocative performance by Madonna?
A: The MTV Video Music Awards.
Q: Why did the United States boycott the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow?
A: To protest the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.
Q: What 1983 made-for-television movie staring Jason Robards depicted the aftermath of a nuclear war?
A: The Day After.
Q: The United States invaded what small island nation in 1983?
A: Grenada.
Q: What slick-fielding professional baseball player was known as “the Wizard of Oz”?
A: Ozzie Smith.
Q: What event sent radiation levels rising throughout Europe on April 26, 1986?
A: The Chernobyl disaster.
Q: What was the best selling album of the 1980s?
A: Thriller.
Medium
Q: What was President Reagan talking about when he said “[they] slipped the surly bonds of earth to touch the face of god”?
A: The Space Shuttle Challenger disaster.
Q: What member of the so-called “Brat Pack” is the brother of actor Charlie Sheen?
A: Emilio Estevez.
Q: The Exxon Valdez oil spill of 1989 took place off the coast of what U.S. state?
A: Alaska.
Q: What was the name of the lightweight, baggy pants that were a staple among 1980s break dancers?
A: Parachute pants.
Q: 1988 Democratic presidential nominee Michael Dukakis was ridiculed for photos showing him riding in what sort of vehicle?
A: A tank.
Q: What was the all-time best selling game on the Atari 2600 console?
A: Pac-Man (sorry, Donkey Kong).
Q: What was U.K. Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher’s nickname, originally given to her by the Soviet press?
A: The Iron Lady.
Q: What popular toy spawned many “speed” competitions, including one organized by the Guinness Book of World Records in 1981?
A: The Rubik’s Cube.
Hard
Q: What was the term for the public hysteria surrounding unsubstantiated claims of devil worship and ritual abuse in the 1980s?
A: Satanic panic.
Q: What short-lived Saturday morning cartoon featured the characters Princess Ariel and Ookla the Mok?
A: Thundarr the Barbarian.
Q: The Montreal Protocol signed by 43 nations in 1987 was concerned with protecting what?
A: The ozone layer.
Q: What 80s sex symbol was a regular on both Dynasty and T.J. Hooker?
A: Heather Locklear.
Q: What meeting of world leaders happened a few weeks after the fall of the Berlin Wall and marked the end of the Cold War?
A: The Malta Summit.
Q: What legendary film composer and Steven Spielberg collaborator created the score for E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial?
A: John Williams.
Q: How long did the Iran hostage crisis last before ending on January 20, 1981: 111 days, 222 days, 333 days, or 444 days?
A: 444 days.
