1980s Trivia Questions With Answers From Year 1982
Who is convicted of being the Freeway Killer in
California?
A: William Bonin.
The Commodore 64 8-bit home computer is launched in Las
Vegas and becomes what?
A: The all-time best-selling single personal computer model.
Shortly after takeoff, Air Florida Flight 90 crashes into
what?
A: Washington, D.C.'s 14th Street Bridge.
Four Northrop T-38 aircraft of the United States Air Force
Thunderbirds Demonstration Squadron do what?
A: They crash at Indian Springs Air Force Auxiliary Field,
Nevada, killing all 4
pilots.
Who gets elected President of Finland?
A: Mauno Koivisto.
The first computer virus, the Elk Cloner, was written by
whom?
A: 15-year old Rich Skrenta.
Syrian president Hafez al-Assad orders the
army to purge
the city of Harran of what?
A: The Muslim Brotherhood.
What happens to the oil platform
Ocean Ranger?
A: It sinks during a storm off the coast of Newfoundland, killing all 84 rig
workers aboard.
The European Court of Human Rights rules what?
A: That teachers who cane, belt or tase children against the wishes of their
parents are in breach of the Human Rights Convention.
Where are the 54th Academy Awards, hosted by Johnny Carson,
held?
A: At the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles, California.
Argentina invades and occupies the what?
A: The Falkland Islands.
Who wins the Eurovision Song Contest 1982 for
Germany, with
the song Ein Bisschen Frieden?
A: German singer Nicole.
Israel completes its withdrawal from the Sinai Peninsula in
accordance with what?
A: The Egyptian–Israeli Peace Treaty of 1979.
May 1 – A crowd of over 100,000 attends the first day of
the 1982 what in Knoxville, Tennessee?
A: World's Fair.
The nuclear submarine HMS Conqueror sinks what ship?
A: The Argentine cruiser General Belgrano, killing 323 sailors.
What television program airs on cable television for the
first time?
A: The Weather Channel.
HMS Sheffield is hit by a what?
A: An exocet missile which sinks it and 20 sailors die.
Spanish priest Juan María Fernández y Krohn tries to do
what?
A: Stab Pope John Paul II with a bayonet during the latter's pilgrimage to the
shrine at Fatima.
Who is appointed to the Secretariat of the Communist Party
of the Soviet Union?
A: KGB head Yuri Andropov.
British ships HMS Coventry and SS Atlantic Conveyor are
what?
A: Sunk during the Falklands War.
Pope John Paul II's visit to the United Kingdom is what?
A: The first by a reigning pope.
Spain becomes the 16th member of NATO and the first nation
to enter the alliance since when?
A: West Germany's admission in 1955.
Forces under Israeli Defense Minister Ariel Sharon invade
where?
A: Southern Lebanon.
The United Nations Security Council votes to what?
A: Demand that Israel withdraw its troops from Lebanon.
A rally against nuclear weapons draws how many people New
York City's Central Park?
A: to750,000.
How does the Falklands war end?
A: Formal surrender of Argentine forces, and liberation of the Falkland
Islanders.
Larry Walters, a.k.a. Lawn Chair Larry, flies how high
above Long Beach, California, in a lawn chair with weather balloons attached?
A: 16,000 feet (4,900 m).
Italy beats whom 3–1 to win the 1982 FIFA World Cup in
Spain?
A: West Germany.
On a movie set, the Twilight Zone, what actor dies in a
helicopter stunt accident?
A: Vic Morrow.
The Chicago Tylenol murders occur when 7 people in the
Chicago area die after ingesting what?
A: Capsules laced with potassium cyanide.
The leader of Poland's outlawed Solidarity movement, Lech Wałęsa, is released from what?
A: 11 months of internment near the Soviet border.
Who becomes Prime Minister of Japan?
A: Yasuhiro Nakasone.
Michael Jackson releases what
album?
A: Thriller, the biggest selling album of all time.
Miguel de la Madrid takes office as what?
A: President of Mexico.