Fun Facts for the Year 1986 Trivia Quiz

Answer: Challenger

Not a great way to start the year. The Space Shuttle Challenger flying its tenth mission broke up 73 seconds into the flight. All seven crew members were killed though there is debate as to whether all the deaths were instantaneous or whether they died when the Shuttle hit the Atlantic Ocean.

The disaster was caused after an O-ring seal in the right solid rocket booster (SRB) failed at liftoff permitting hot gas from within the solid rocket motor to compromise the external fuel tank. The disaster resulted in a 32-month hiatus in the shuttle program.

The ensuing investigation revealed that NASA managers had known of a potentially catastrophic flaw in the O-rings since 1977 and disregarded warnings from engineers about the dangers of launching in low temperatures.

The launch was viewed by a large audience across the world, partly because of the presence of Christa McAuliffe the first female teacher in space. Columbia, Discovery and Endeavor were names of other space shuttle vehicles.

Answer: New York Mets

The Mets defeated the Red Sox in seven games to claim their third baseball world championship. The Red Sox had not won a world series since 1918 a drought allegedly the result of Boston selling its best player Babe (the "Bambino") Ruth (then a top left-handed pitcher) to the hated New York Yankees for cash.

In 1986 the Sox took a 3-2 lead into game six. With two outs and the game tied in the 10th inning Harold "Mookie" Wilson hit a slow ground ball to Red Sox first baseman Bill Buckner. Buckner missed the ball as it inexplicably passed through his legs and the Mets went on to win the game.

The demoralized Sox lost game seven 8-5 and the "curse" lived on. As a life long Mets fan I am forever embarrassed to say I turned the game off in the top of the tenth to go to a movie and only later learned my beloved Mets had made the remarkable comeback.

It was not until 2004 that Boston was able to lift the "curse" and win the championship.

Answer: Paul Newman

Paul Newman was nominated for seven academy awards without a win before securing his Oscar for "The Color of Money", a sequel of sorts to the 1961 classic "The Hustler" for which Newman was nominated but did not win the award. While not considered Newman's most deserving role, his return to play the now aging pool hustler "Fast" Eddie Felsen mentoring a brash young Tom Cruise won over critics and academy voters.

The great Peter O'Toole despite many iconic performances managed eight nominations and no wins. Richard Burton followed closely with seven fruitless nominations. All of these legends however pale in comparison with Roland Anderson who received 14 nominations for Art Direction and lost each time.

Answer: American Girls

Pleasant Rowland, a former schoolteacher and children's book writer, decided to combine high quality 18" dolls with books, clothes and accessories integrated into tales of historical significance. The first "American Girl" collection introduced nine-year-old fictional heroines who lived during important times in America's past, providing "girl-sized" views of significant events that helped shape the United States. Should you happen to be a parent to a 8-12 or so year old girl you have likely been acquainted with the American Girl dolls, as well as fellow doll brands Cabbage Patch Kids, Polly Pocket and Dear America dolls (by Madame Alexander).

Answer: Halley's Comet

Halley's Comet is the Earth's best-known comet and passes by our planet every 76 years. Halley's comet is clearly visible to the naked eye from Earth, and thus the only naked-eye comet that might appear twice in a human lifetime. Halley's returns to the inner Solar System have been observed and recorded by astronomers since 240 BCE. Record of the comet's appearances were made by Chinese, Babylonian, and European chroniclers, but were not connected as reappearances of the same object.

The comet's periodicity was first determined in 1705 by English astronomer Edmund Halley, after whom it is now named. Halley's Comet last appeared in 1986 and will next appear in mid-2061.

Interestingly, the Lexell comet, last seen in the 1770's, is considered the closest comet to pass by earth - at a mere 1.4 million miles distance.

Answer: Chernobyl

In the early hours of April 26 1986, a combination of testing errors caused an explosion at the Chernobyl nuclear power station in northern Ukraine. During a radioactive fire that burned for 10 days, 190 tons of toxic materials were expelled into the atmosphere.

The wind blew much of the radioactive material into the neighboring country of Belarus. 27 years later, the people of Belarus, Russia and the Ukraine continue to suffer medically, economically, environmentally and socially from the effects of the disaster.

The Bhopal disaster was a chemical spill in India in 1984. Three Mile Island was the partial meltdown of a nuclear reactor in Pennsylvania in 1979. The Fukushima Daichi reactor was shutdown due to damage caused by the 2011 Japanese earthquake.

Answer: Sledgehammer

Peter Gabriel was the lead singer and along with Mike Rutherford and Tony Banks, a founder of the rock music group "Genesis". While leading Genesis Gabriel was known for his flamboyant costumes and elaborate concert staging. In 1975 he left the band and set out on a solo career. Gabriel achieved minor success with his first four solo albums and created some memorable music with such songs as "Salisbury Hill" and "Shock the Monkey" but it was his 1986 release entitled "So" that vaulted his career to new heights. Combining innovative claymation, stop motion and pixilation techniques, Gabriel created an award-winning music video that propelled the song "Sledgehammer" to the top of the US music charts. Appropriately, Gabriel's song reached number 1 for the week of July 26, 1986 replacing his old band, Genesis' song "Invisible Touch" as the top US single.

Answer: He was assassinated on the streets of Stockholm

Sven Olof Joachim Palme was the leader of Sweden's Social Democratic Party from 1969 until his death in 1986. He served as Prime Minister twice, from 1969-1976 when his party lost the majority in the Swedish Parliament and then again from 1982 until death in 1986. Politically Palme was a proponent of civil and human rights and a staunch opponent of apartheid and authoritarian regimes.

His polices of non-alignment during the Cold War period frustrated both the US and USSR. Palme was shot while walking on the streets of Sweden's capital on February 28, 1986 by an unknown gunman and Palme became the first modern Swedish politician to be assassinated.

In 1988 a petty criminal named Christer Pettersson was convicted of the murder; but his conviction was overturned on appeal in 1989.

Despite numerous speculative theories as to the motive or identity of the gunman the case has not been solved.

Answer: Argentina

Argentina won its second World Cup by defeating West Germany in the finals 3-2. However the story of the Cup was Argentina's 2-1 semi-final win over England. Just four years from the end of the Falklands War the two sides met in Mexico with a chance at the finals on the line.

After a goalless first half Argentine Captain Diego Maradona score a controversial goal. The English players protested the goal was the result of an illegal deflection from Maradona's hand. The goal counted. After the game the "hand touch" was clearly shown on replay and even Maradona seemed to admit the fact when he said the goal was scored "un poco con la cabeza de Maradona y otro poco con la mano de Dios" ("a little with the head of Maradona and a little with the hand of God").

The game was sealed, however, four minutes later when Maradona swept nearly the length of the pitch weaving past most of the English defenders to score a second goal. This goal is often considered the "Goal of the Century" and cemented both the trip to the finals for Argentina but also World Cup immortality for Maradona.

Answer: Elena Kagan

Justice Sotomayor is the first Hispanic person to serve on the Court and Justice O'Connor was the first female. Justice Kagan is the first person appointed to the US Supreme Court who was born after 1960 and the first to have graduated law school in the 1980's.

After graduating law school magna cum laude, Ms. Kagan served as a professor at the University of Chicago School of Law and later was Dean of her alma mater, Harvard Law School. Justice Kagan served as Solicitor General for President Obama before being appointed to the Court in August 2010. Consistent with my other quizzes and despite the increase in feelings of inadequacy, the author of this quiz also graduated from law school in 1986, and just in case anyone gets confused is not yet a Justice of the US Supreme Court.