A Totally Gnarly 1980s History Quiz

Answer: CNN

CNN (Cable News Network) is based in Atlanta, Georgia. It launched in 1980 as a twenty-four hour news channel under the leadership of Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld. When it launched, it was the first twenty-four hour television channel anywhere in the world and the first all news channel in the United States.

It officially aired for the first time at five o'clock eastern time on the first of June with an introduction by Ted Turner, which was followed by a newscast by husband and wife team, David Walker and Lois Hart. Criticisms leveled against CNN include the sensationalistic nature of the news, particularly the 'breaking news' segments.

Answer: 1989

On the historic date of the ninth of November, 1989, the border between East and West Germany completely opened. A broadcast was held which actually announced misinformation about the complete opening of the border between East and West Germany. Conditions were to be eased so that East Germans could apply to travel across the border or apply to emigrate to West Germany, but this was not effectively communicated in the press conference. Upon hearing that the border was immediately 'open to everyone', East Germans started gathering at the Wall and eventually the guards relented and allowed the crowds to cross. Crowds of West Germans jumped on top of the Wall and celebrations ensued during what's become known as the 'night the Wall came down.'

Answer: St Paul's Cathedral

The Royal Wedding of Lady Di and Prince Charles took place in July 1981 at St. Paul's Cathedral, London, England. Many royal families from other countries attended, as well as a number of politicians and celebrities. The fairy tale wedding was watched worldwide by an estimated seven hundred and fifty million people.

There were street parties and celebrations throughout the United Kingdom, and crowds of people lined up along the procession route to catch a glimpse of the couple. The couple from the 'wedding of the century' separated in 1992 and divorced in 1996.

Answer: Geraldine Ferraro

Born in New York in 1935, Ferraro was a teacher and a lawyer before being elected to the United States House of Representatives in 1978. She rose through the Democratic Party ranks and was chosen by Presidential candidate Walter Mondale as his running mate in 1984.

She was the first woman to run for a major party for either the President or Vice-President position. As of 2021, she is still one of only four women to do so (the other three being the wrong answers for this question). Mondale and Ferraro were defeated by Ronald Reagan. Ferraro ran for a seat in the Senate in 1992 and 1998, losing both times.

She served as Ambassador to the United Nations Commission on Human Rights for three years and worked on Hillary Clinton's Presidential campaign.

Answer: Baby Jessica

Baby Jessica was only eighteen months old when she fell into a well at her aunt's house in October 1987. The rescue attempt received attention throughout the world and took fifty-six hours. A made for TV movie was made about the rescue and the rescue was broadcast on CNN.

In order to rescue Jessica, a vertical shaft was cut that was parallel to the well, with a horizontal tunnel cut that would intersect with the well and allow a rescuer to get Jessica out. A roofing contractor who was born without a collarbone offered to go into the shaft to rescue her, but a paramedic ended up crawling through the tunnel and rescuing her.

After the incident, she had fifteen surgeries, a toe amputated and a scar on her forehead, but luckily she doesn't remember the ordeal at all.

Answer: Exxon Valdez

The Exxon Valdez incident occurred in Prince William Sound, Alaska in March 1989. The oil tanker struck Bligh Reef and eight of its eleven cargo holds were punctured. As a result, almost eleven million gallons of oil were spilled over the next few days.

The area where this took place was full of wildlife including salmon, seabirds and seals. The spill ended up impacting thirteen hundred miles (twenty one hundred kilometers) of coastline. It was the largest spill in United States history when it happened, and had devastating environmental impacts. Between one hundred thousand and two hundred and fifty thousand seabirds died, as well as whales, otters, seals, bald eagles and innumerable salmon and herring.

The crash was caused by a number of factors that included insufficient supervision, insufficient rest for the crew and improper maneuvering of the vessel. Legislation requiring oil tankers to be double hulled was passed in Alaska in 2015.

Answer: Tiananmen Square

There were widespread protests in China from April to June 1989, following the death of general secretary Hu Yaobang who was pro-reform. Many students took to protesting, breaking through military barricades, gathering in Tiananmen Square and holding hunger strikes.

This went on for weeks until the government declared martial law and the tensions and the protests continued to escalate. Soldiers started using live rounds on protestors, killing and injuring them and this only infuriated people even more.

At the beginning of June, soldiers and tanks surrounded the Square, blocking more students from entering, and demanding that the protestors leave. As the students started to leave they were beaten and a tank drove through a crowd, killing eleven people.

There is an iconic photo from this terrible event, a lone young man standing in front of a row of tanks. As the tanks move, he walks and blocks their path. He was pulled aside by a group of people and the fate of "Tank Man" is not known. There are conflicting stories about his identity and what might have happened to him after.

Some claim he was executed and some claim that he remained unknown and walked away.

Answer: Michael Dukakis

Before running for President, Michael Dukakis was Governor of Massachusetts from 1975 to 1979. He was also Governor of the same state from 1983 to 1991. He was a popular state Governor and decided to run for President in the 1988 election, choosing Lloyd Bentsen as his running mate.

The two campaigned against Republican nominees George H. W. Bush and Dan Quayle. The campaign was tough and Dukakis came across as cold and stoic. He was also portrayed as having psychiatric and mental health problems which were used to disparage him. President Reagan referred to him as an "invalid." Dukakis only won ten states and Washington D.C.

He finished up his term as Governor in 1991 and never ran for office again.

Answer: Titanic

The wreck of the Titanic lies off the coast of Newfoundland, about twelve thousand feet deep (almost four thousand meters deep). The Titanic sank in April 1912 when she collided with an iceberg. Attempts to try to find the wreckage were suggested almost immediately but for various reasons including cost and feasibility of the idea, they were abandoned. Attempts to find the wreckage were undertaken using sonar but were not successful.

In 1985, a French-American venture finally located the wreckage.

The tactic they used abandoned sonar and instead used cameras. Sonar couldn't distinguish between natural and man made debris but cameras could. The ship the crew were on swept back and forth as the camera took pictures and the crew scoured through the pictures.

The approach worked and the historic discovery was made in September 1985.

Answer: Live Aid

Rockers Midge Ure and Bob Geldof organized this benefit concert and fundraising initiative that took place in July 1985. Many of the worlds biggest musicians and celebrities agreed to give their time for a massive concert in order to help with the fundraising efforts for African famine relief.

The two main concerts took place in London, England and Philadelphia, USA and were broadcast throughout the world. There were concerts taking place in other countries such as Canada, Australia and Japan on the same day. An estimated forty percent of the worlds population watched the event that raised millions and millions of pounds.

The event helped to bring humanitarian efforts to the forefront of foreign policy discussions and was a major cultural event, bringing fame and prominence to the performers who participated.