A Look Back at 1987 Trivia Quiz

Answer: Thirtysomething

"Thirtysomething" first broadcast its sixty painful minutes of self-absorbed yuppie angst on September 29, 1987. ALF and LA Law debuted in September 1986. Roseanne premiered in October 1988.

Answer: Ended his streak of consecutive innings played

On September 14, Baltimore Orioles shortstop Cal Ripken was replaced by a pinch runner in the 8th inning of a game against the Toronto Blue Jays. This ended his record streak of playing in 8,243 consecutive innings, covering 908 games. During the 1995 season, Ripken broke Lou Gehrig's record for consecutive games played.

Answer: Shot himself in the mouth, killing himself

Pennsylvania state treasurer R. Budd Dwyer had been convicted on charges of bribery and corruption. On January 22, the day before he was due to be senetenced, he called a press conference for an "update" on his "status," presumably to resign. He read a rambling statement blasting the state government and those connected with his prosecution, passed private notes out to some of his aides, pulled a .357 Magnum from an envelope, and killed himself.

The speech and the suicide were broadcast live throughout much of Pennsylvania on a day when a blizzard had cancelled school for many children. By not resigning, he died in office, entitling his widow to his pension benefits.

Answer: Why are black people not good swimmers? Because they don't have the buoyancy

Campanis, a longtime Dodger executive who'd been a friend of Jackie Robinson, and who had signed most of the top Dodgers players for the preceding 30 years, appeared on ABC's Nightline program on April 6, the 40th anniversary of Jackie Robinson's first major league game.

He made several awkward statements about blacks in baseball and stumbled over opportunities given to him to clarify his words. Campanis was fired the next day. Dozens of baseball figures, black and white, subsequently came to his defense saying that he was a good man, without prejudice, but the damage had been done to his reputation and he never completely recovered. Campanis died in 1998.

Answer: 1951, up 12%

The stock market had been on a nearly steady increase since 1982, with the DJIA more than tripling in that time. Then in mid-October, things went haywire. From a close of 2508 on October 13, it dropped 95 points, then 58 and 108 points for the remaining days of that week, before its 508-point drop on Black Monday - a 30% loss of value in just six days.

It rose up over 2000 later that week before ending the week at 1951.

Answer: Now your mom threw away your best porno mag

From the Beastie Boys' song "Fight for Your Right (to Party)". For some reason, it was more popular with teenagers than with their parents.

Answer: Miami Herald

Hart, a close second in 1984 as the Democratic nominee in the US presidential election, was a strong front runner for the 1988 election. On May 3, 1987, the Sunday "New York Times" magazine ran a detailed cover story on him. "Follow me around. I don't care. I'm serious," Hart was quoted as saying in response to allegations of womanizing. "If anybody wants to put a tail on me, go ahead.

They'd be very bored." That same day, the "Miami Herald" ran a story detailing how a blonde woman, not his wife, had stayed with him two nights before in his Washington townhouse. Hart withdrew later that week from the Presidential race, later changing his mind and re-entering.

He was not a factor in the 1988 election.

Answer: If Colonel North ripped off the Ayatollah and took $30 million and gave it to the contras, then God bless Colonel North

The "God bless Colonel North" quote was from a December 1986 speech that White House Communications Director Pat Buchanan made to a rally in Miami. The other quotes are all from the Iran-Contra hearings from the summer of 1987: Fawn Hall ("go above the written law"), Oliver North ("stand on my head"), and John Poindexter ("future deniability").

Answer: It was the last World Series game to be played in daytime

The October 24 game, won by Minnesota 12-5 and the third of four indoor games in that Series, was played in the daytime. With all the money being paid to baseball by network television, it's unlikely we'll see another day World Series game again, although a few Series games in 1984 and earlier had been played in the day.

The 1987 World Series was the first one to be played indoors (games 1-2, 6-7 in Minnesota) and the first in which all games were won by the home team.

Answer: Antonin Scalia

Upon the June 26 retirement of Supreme Court justice Lewis Powell, President Reagan nominated highly-regarded Judge Robert Bork to the court. However, Bork's prolific writings as a law professor generated controversy, and a US Senate under Democratic control for the first time in Reagan's presidency rejected the nomination. Reagan then nominated another federal judge, Douglas Ginsburg, to the court. Within nine days, revelations about Ginsburg's past marijuana use forced him to withdraw his name from consideration, and Reagan nominated Anthony Kennedy to the court. Kennedy was unanimously confirmed by the Senate on February 3, 1988.