80s Pop Culture
This colorful plastic toy, a cube with six colored faces, became a worldwide craze for twisting and solving.
What is the Rubik’s Cube?
This 1980 Winter Olympics event saw the U.S. hockey team defeat the Soviet Union in an upset called the “Miracle on Ice.”
Answer: What is the Lake Placid Olympics?
This company released the first commercially successful personal computer, the PC, in 1981.
What is IBM?
This artist’s 1983 hit “Billie Jean” helped make him the King of Pop.
Who is Michael Jackson?
This 1982 film about a young boy befriending an alien grossed over $400 million worldwide.
What is E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial?
This fashion trend involved leg warmers, neon colors, and big hair, often seen in aerobics classes.
What is 80s fitness fashion (or aerobics fashion)?
This British leader, known as the “Iron Lady,” became Prime Minister in 1979 and led through much of the 80s.
Who is Margaret Thatcher?
This portable music player, introduced by Sony in 1979, became an 80s icon for music on the go.
What is the Walkman?
This 1985 charity single, written by Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie, featured dozens of stars to aid famine relief.
What is “We Are the World”?
This 1985 time-travel comedy featured a DeLorean and a teen named Marty McFly.
What is Back to the Future?
This TV show about a wealthy Colorado family, the Carringtons, defined 80s soap opera drama.
What is Dynasty?
In 1986, this space shuttle tragically exploded 73 seconds after launch, killing all seven crew members.
What is the Challenger?
This 1980s video game console, known as the Famicom in Japan, revived the gaming industry with titles like Super Mario Bros.
What is the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES)?
This British band’s 1983 hit “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)” defined synth-pop.
Who are Eurythmics?
This 1986 action film starred Tom Cruise as a naval aviator named Maverick.
What is Top Gun?
This iconic 80s toy line featured small, colorful bear figures with symbols on their bellies.
What are Care Bears?
This 1989 event symbolized the end of the Cold War as East and West Germans began demolishing it.
What is the Berlin Wall?
This computer, released by Apple in 1984, introduced a graphical user interface and a mouse to the masses.
What is the Macintosh?
This 1987 song by Rick Astley became an internet meme decades later for “never gonna give you up.”
What is “Never Gonna Give You Up”?
This 1989 adventure, the third in its series, saw Indiana Jones search for the Holy Grail.
What is Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade?
This 1980s hairstyle, combining a flattop with long sides, was popularized by punk and new wave subcultures.
What is a mullet?
This 1986 nuclear disaster in the Soviet Union released radioactive fallout across Europe.
Answer: What is Chernobyl?
This early internet precursor, developed in the 1980s, allowed universities and researchers to share data.
What is ARPANET?
This 1980s female artist, known for “Like a Virgin,” became a global icon for her provocative style.
Who is Madonna?
This 1984 horror-comedy about a team battling supernatural entities coined the phrase, “Who you gonna call?”
What is Ghostbusters?