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Quiz about What Happened in  1970s edition
Quiz about What Happened in  1970s edition

What Happened in ...? (1970s edition) Quiz


Put on your polyester, slip some disco on the turntable and get ready for the 1970's!

A multiple-choice quiz by john_sunseri. Estimated time: 5 mins.
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Author
john_sunseri
Time
5 mins
Type
Multiple Choice
Quiz #
321,721
Updated
Dec 03 21
# Qns
10
Difficulty
Average
Avg Score
8 / 10
Plays
8878
Awards
Top 5% quiz!
Last 3 plays: rlandi1 (9/10), kitter96 (9/10), Guest 24 (7/10).
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Question 1 of 10
1. What happened in 1970? An oxygen tank on Apollo 13 exploded and forced its astronauts to abort their mission and try to make it back to Earth, Soviet novelist Alexander Solzhenitsyn won the Nobel Prize for Literature, four protesters were killed at Kent State University, and in London a 27-year old musician from Seattle died in the Samarkand Hotel. Who was he? Hint


Question 2 of 10
2. What happened in 1971? Austrian Kurt Waldheim became Secretary General of the United Nations, Charles Manson and three of his followers were found guilty of murder, William Peter Blatty wrote "The Exorcist", and a new stock market index made its debut. Which one? Hint


Question 3 of 10
3. What happened in 1972? Eleven Israeli athletes were murdered at the Olympics in Munich, five burglars were arrested at the Watergate Hotel complex, Britain imposed direct rule on Northern Ireland, and Ceylon changed its name. What was the new country called? Hint


Question 4 of 10
4. What happened in 1973? The Miami Dolphins wrapped up the first perfect season in NFL history and beat the Washington Redskins 14-7 in the Super Bowl, a New York Criminal Court called the movie "Deep Throat" "indisputably and irredeemably obscene", Gerald Ford replaced Spiro Agnew as the American Vice-President, and Pink Floyd released an album that would stay on the charts for over fourteen years and sell 45 million copies. What's the album? Hint


Question 5 of 10
5. What happened in 1974? Patricia Hearst was kidnapped and joined the Symbionese Liberation Army, Hank Aaron set the record for lifetime home runs with 715 (he finished his career with 755), Nixon resigned as President after the Watergate cover-up, and a young novelist from Maine published his first book, about a "girl possessed of a terrifying power". Who was the novelist? Hint


Question 6 of 10
6. What happened in 1975? James Clavell wrote "Shôgun", Bobby Fischer gave up his world chess championship, Communist forces overran South Vietnam and captured Saigon, and George Carlin hosted the first episode of a new television program. What was the show? Hint


Question 7 of 10
7. What happened in 1976? The United States celebrated its 200th birthday, the Soviet Union won 13 gold medals at the Innsbruck Olympics, Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak created the Apple Computer Company, and the first outbreak of a particular disease occurred during a convention in Philadelphia. What was the disease? Hint


Question 8 of 10
8. What happened in 1977? Menachem Begin became Israel's sixth Prime Minister, rings were discovered around the planet Uranus, Elvis Presley died, and David Berkowitz was arrested in Yonkers, New York. What was Berkowitz better known as? Hint


Question 9 of 10
9. What happened in 1978? A Gutenberg Bible was sold for $2 million in a New York auction, Japanese explorer Naomi Uemura became the first person to reach the North Pole solo, the comic strip "Garfield" made its premiere, and a baseball player who would later set the all-time record reached 3,000 base hits. Who was he? Hint


Question 10 of 10
10. What happened in 1979? Margaret Thatcher became the Prime Minister of Britain and the Ayatollah Khomeini became the leader of Iran, Jimmy Carter was attacked by a rabbit (really!), Pope John Paul II became the first pontiff to visit a Communist country when he went to Poland, and there was a partial core meltdown in an American nuclear power plant. Where was it? Hint



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Most Recent Scores
Oct 29 2024 : rlandi1: 9/10
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Score Distribution

quiz
Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. What happened in 1970? An oxygen tank on Apollo 13 exploded and forced its astronauts to abort their mission and try to make it back to Earth, Soviet novelist Alexander Solzhenitsyn won the Nobel Prize for Literature, four protesters were killed at Kent State University, and in London a 27-year old musician from Seattle died in the Samarkand Hotel. Who was he?

Answer: Jimi Hendrix

Jimi Hendrix, whom many consider to have been the greatest guitarist in rock history, played his first gig in the basement of a synagogue. He was kicked out between sets due to his crazy playing. The circumstances surrounding his death are murky--it seems clear that he asphyxiated after an overdose of sleeping pills and alcohol, but there were so many contradictory statements by his then-girlfriend (and only witness) that it's unclear exactly what happened that night at the Samarkand.
2. What happened in 1971? Austrian Kurt Waldheim became Secretary General of the United Nations, Charles Manson and three of his followers were found guilty of murder, William Peter Blatty wrote "The Exorcist", and a new stock market index made its debut. Which one?

Answer: Nasdaq Composite

'NASDAQ' was originally an acronym for National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations, but the exchange says that the initials are now obsolete. The composite index has become the exchange with more volume of trades than any other.

The Nikkei 225 (Japan) began to be calculated in 1950, the Dow Jones started way back in 1896, and the S&P was born in 1957.
3. What happened in 1972? Eleven Israeli athletes were murdered at the Olympics in Munich, five burglars were arrested at the Watergate Hotel complex, Britain imposed direct rule on Northern Ireland, and Ceylon changed its name. What was the new country called?

Answer: Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka is about 20 miles off the Indian coast, and its demographics include the majority Sinhalese and the minority Tamils. The country won its independence from Britain in 1948, and has become a popular vacation spot for tourists. In 1960, then-Ceylon elected the world's first female Prime Minister, Sirimavo Ratwatte Dias Bandaranaike.
4. What happened in 1973? The Miami Dolphins wrapped up the first perfect season in NFL history and beat the Washington Redskins 14-7 in the Super Bowl, a New York Criminal Court called the movie "Deep Throat" "indisputably and irredeemably obscene", Gerald Ford replaced Spiro Agnew as the American Vice-President, and Pink Floyd released an album that would stay on the charts for over fourteen years and sell 45 million copies. What's the album?

Answer: The Dark Side of the Moon

"The Dark Side of the Moon" was Floyd's sixth album, and contained such classic songs as "Money", "Us and Them" and "Brain Damage". The album cover, with its prism dispersing a ray of light, was named by VH1 (in 2003) the fourth-best cover of all time. Most importantly, the act Milli Vanilli sampled "Money" on their own track of the same name.

EDIT: That last bit was sarcasm.
5. What happened in 1974? Patricia Hearst was kidnapped and joined the Symbionese Liberation Army, Hank Aaron set the record for lifetime home runs with 715 (he finished his career with 755), Nixon resigned as President after the Watergate cover-up, and a young novelist from Maine published his first book, about a "girl possessed of a terrifying power". Who was the novelist?

Answer: Stephen King

"Carrie" was King's first novel to be sold, but he had written several others that publishers had turned down. "Carrie" might have been destined for the same fate--the author wrote the first chapter, didn't think it was very good, and threw it away. His wife (novelist Tabitha King, nee Spruce) dug the papers out of the garbage can, read them, and told him that he needed to finish the book and submit it. And the rest is history--Stephen King has sold more than 350 million copies of his books, won the Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters, and had several Oscar-winning adaptations of his work filmed.
6. What happened in 1975? James Clavell wrote "Shôgun", Bobby Fischer gave up his world chess championship, Communist forces overran South Vietnam and captured Saigon, and George Carlin hosted the first episode of a new television program. What was the show?

Answer: Saturday Night Live

"Saturday Night Live", created by Lorne Michaels, was originally a replacement for reruns of Johnny Carson's "Tonight Show", and the original title was "NBC's Saturday Night" (they'd change it to the current title in 1976). That first episode featured musical guests Billy Preston and Janis Ian, and the cast members were Dan Aykroyd, John Belushi, Chevy Chase, George Coe, Jane Curtin, Garrett Morris, Laraine Newman, Michael O'Donoghue and Gilda Radner.
7. What happened in 1976? The United States celebrated its 200th birthday, the Soviet Union won 13 gold medals at the Innsbruck Olympics, Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak created the Apple Computer Company, and the first outbreak of a particular disease occurred during a convention in Philadelphia. What was the disease?

Answer: Legionnaires' disease

The convention was for the American Legion, and was held at the Bellevue Stratford hotel. 34 people died and 221 received medical treatment to deal with the infectious bacterial disease (scientific name: Legionellosis).

Curiously, there WAS a big Ebola outbreak (the first ever seen) in 1976 as well, but that was in Zaire.
8. What happened in 1977? Menachem Begin became Israel's sixth Prime Minister, rings were discovered around the planet Uranus, Elvis Presley died, and David Berkowitz was arrested in Yonkers, New York. What was Berkowitz better known as?

Answer: Son of Sam

Berkowitz confessed to six murders, but later recanted and said that he was part of a Satanic cult and that others were involved with the killings. Of course, he also said that his neighbor's dog told him to murder people, so his credibility isn't what it might be.

The name "Son of Sam" came from a letter Berkowitz left in a street near the murders of Alexander Esau and Valentina Suriani--it read, in part, "But I am a monster. I am the "Son of Sam." I am a little brat. When father Sam gets drunk he gets mean."
9. What happened in 1978? A Gutenberg Bible was sold for $2 million in a New York auction, Japanese explorer Naomi Uemura became the first person to reach the North Pole solo, the comic strip "Garfield" made its premiere, and a baseball player who would later set the all-time record reached 3,000 base hits. Who was he?

Answer: Pete Rose

"Charlie Hustle" owns many Major League Baseball records, including most hits (4,256), and won three World Series. He also made 17 All-Star games, at five different positions. One of the best players of all time, Rose became involved in scandal when it was discovered that he'd been betting on baseball games while managing the Reds, and he received a lifetime ban from baseball, meaning that he's not in the Hall of Fame.
10. What happened in 1979? Margaret Thatcher became the Prime Minister of Britain and the Ayatollah Khomeini became the leader of Iran, Jimmy Carter was attacked by a rabbit (really!), Pope John Paul II became the first pontiff to visit a Communist country when he went to Poland, and there was a partial core meltdown in an American nuclear power plant. Where was it?

Answer: Three Mile Island, Pennsylvania

Twelve days previous to the meltdown at Three Mile Island in Pennsylvania, the movie "The China Syndrome" (which detailed an accident at a nuclear reactor) was released, leading to a public outcry and the cancellation of the construction of 51 planned nuclear reactors in America.

The Three Mile Island event released 13 million curies of radioactive gases into the atmosphere, but the situation was brought under control within five days.
Source: Author john_sunseri

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor bloomsby before going online.
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