48 Fun Facts About 1982

Into which river did Air Florida Flight 90 fall after hitting a Washington bridge?

The Potomac swallowed the jet, and bystander Lenny Skutnik dove into the icy river to pull a survivor to shore.

Which rocker bit the head off a bat on stage in Des Moines in January 1982?

Ozzy Osbourne thought the bat was a rubber toy, and afterward he needed medical care over the risk of rabies.

Who won Super Bowl XVI in January 1982?

The San Francisco 49ers won 26–21, helped by a third-quarter goal-line stand that kept the Bengals out of the end zone.

Elk Cloner, one of the first computer viruses to spread in the wild, infected which machines?

High school student Rich Skrenta wrote Elk Cloner for the Apple II as a prank, slipping it onto game disks to trick his friends.

Which country formed a confederation with Senegal in February 1982?

The Gambia's President Dawda Jawara had called in Senegalese troops to crush a 1981 coup attempt, and the confederation followed months later.

Which British airline collapsed in February 1982?

Freddie Laker sued rival airlines, accusing them of a price war to drive Laker Airways out of business, and they paid millions to settle.

Which oil platform sank off Newfoundland in February 1982, killing all 84 aboard?

A giant wave smashed a porthole in the Ocean Ranger's ballast control room, and seawater crippled the controls before the rig toppled.

Which Walt Disney World theme park opened in Florida on October 1, 1982?

Walt Disney had imagined Epcot as a real city of the future, but after his death the company built a theme park inspired by his ideas instead.

Who was found guilty in 1982 of trying to murder his wife Sunny?

Claus von Bülow's conviction was overturned on appeal, and a second jury acquitted him.

Which film won Best Picture at the Oscars held in March 1982?

Chariots of Fire's screenwriter, Colin Welland, collected his own Oscar that night by declaring, 'The British are coming!'

Which freshman hit the winning jumper for North Carolina in the 1982 NCAA final?

Michael Jordan hit the winner, but it was teammate James Worthy who was named the Final Four's most outstanding player.

Where did Space Shuttle Columbia land in March 1982, the only shuttle landing ever made there?

Rain flooded Columbia's planned runway at Edwards Air Force Base, so STS-3 touched down at White Sands, New Mexico, instead.

Which painkiller brand was laced with cyanide in the 1982 Chicago-area poisonings that killed seven people?

Tylenol bottles were pulled from shelves across the US, and the murders led to tamper-evident packaging and federal anti-tampering laws.

What did Canada gain on April 17, 1982, by proclamation on Parliament Hill?

Queen Elizabeth II proclaimed Canada's patriated constitution in Ottawa, though Quebec's government refused to endorse it.

Which 17-year-old German singer won the 1982 Eurovision Song Contest?

Nicole won her country's first Eurovision, then sang her winning reprise in German, English, French and Dutch.

From which territory did Israel complete its withdrawal in April 1982?

Israel returned the Sinai Peninsula to Egypt under their 1979 peace treaty, bulldozing its settlement town of Yamit on the way out.

Which US city hosted the 1982 World's Fair?

A 1980 Wall Street Journal story had called Knoxville, Tennessee, a 'scruffy little city', and locals later turned 'Scruffy City' into a proud nickname.

Which Argentine cruiser was sunk by HMS Conqueror on May 2, 1982?

The General Belgrano was outside Britain's exclusion zone when it was torpedoed, so critics disputed whether sinking it was justified.

Which 24-hour cable network launched on May 2, 1982?

The Weather Channel's co-founder, TV weatherman John Coleman, later insisted that global warming was a scam.

Which British destroyer was hit by an Exocet missile on May 4, 1982?

HMS Sheffield never went to action stations or fired chaff as the missiles closed in, a board of inquiry later found.

Which Formula One driver was killed in qualifying for the 1982 Belgian Grand Prix?

Gilles Villeneuve died two weeks after feeling betrayed by teammate Didier Pironi, who snatched a last-lap win from him at the San Marino Grand Prix.

Which English club won the 1982 European Cup, beating Bayern Munich 1–0?

Aston Villa lost goalkeeper Jimmy Rimmer to injury in the opening minutes, and his barely used replacement, Nigel Spink, kept a clean sheet.

Which country became NATO's 16th member in 1982?

Four years later, Spain held a referendum on whether to remain in NATO, and voters chose to stay in.

Which sitcom premiered on NBC in September 1982 and ran for 11 seasons?

Cheers ranked near the bottom of the ratings after its premiere, but NBC entertainment chief Brandon Tartikoff saved it from cancellation.

Which Israeli defense minister led the June 1982 invasion of Lebanon?

Ariel Sharon was forced out as defense minister in 1983 after an Israeli inquiry found him personally responsible for failing to prevent the Sabra and Shatila massacre.

Who won the 1982 NBA Finals?

The Los Angeles Lakers won under Pat Riley, promoted in November 1981 after Magic Johnson's complaints helped get coach Paul Westhead fired.

Which Spielberg film of June 1982 was the biggest box-office hit for the next 11 years?

Steven Spielberg called E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial a very personal story about how he felt when his parents broke up.

Which tech pioneer bankrolled the US Festival rock concerts in Southern California over Labor Day weekend 1982?

Steve Wozniak lost millions on the US Festival, yet he staged a second one in 1983.

Who won the 1982 World Cup final 3–1?

Italy's Paolo Rossi finished as the tournament's top scorer with six goals, soon after returning from a ban over a betting scandal.

Who became King of Saudi Arabia in June 1982 on the death of his brother Khalid?

After Iraq invaded Kuwait in 1990, Fahd invited American-led troops into Saudi Arabia to defend it, drawing sharp criticism at home.

Which Argentine leader resigned in June 1982, days after his forces surrendered in the Falklands?

Leopoldo Galtieri was later jailed for mishandling the war, then pardoned by President Carlos Menem in 1989.

British Airways Flight 9 lost all four engines in June 1982 after flying through what?

Volcanic ash from Indonesia's Mount Galunggung choked the engines, and Captain Eric Moody calmly told passengers, 'We have a small problem.'

Which actor was killed in a July 1982 helicopter accident while filming a Twilight Zone movie?

Vic Morrow died along with two child actors, and director John Landis was later tried for involuntary manslaughter and acquitted.

In which country were the first commercial compact discs pressed, in August 1982?

The first commercial CDs were pressed in Germany, and their 74-minute length was reportedly chosen so one disc could hold Beethoven's Ninth.

Which country announced in August 1982 that it could not pay its foreign debt?

Mexico's announcement set off a debt crisis that turned the 1980s into a 'lost decade' across Latin America.

Which princess died in September 1982 after a car crash?

Grace of Monaco is thought to have suffered a stroke while driving, sending her car off a mountain road with her daughter Stéphanie beside her.

Who proposed the :-) and :-( emoticons on a Carnegie Mellon message board in September 1982?

Scott Fahlman suggested :-) as a joke marker because readers on the board kept missing sarcasm and posting long rebuttals.

Which Tudor warship was raised from the Solent in October 1982?

Henry VIII's flagship had sunk in 1545.

What was Canada's July 1 holiday called before it was renamed in 1982?

Dominion Day became Canada Day through a private member's bill that sped through the House of Commons in July 1982.

Which Socialist leader became prime minister in Madrid after the October 1982 election?

Felipe González made European integration the cornerstone of his foreign policy and took his country into the European Community.

Who succeeded Leonid Brezhnev as Soviet leader in November 1982?

As KGB chief, Yuri Andropov had opposed sending Soviet troops into Poland.

Which Polish leader was released from 11 months of internment in November 1982?

Lech Wałęsa won the 1983 Nobel Peace Prize, but his wife, Danuta, collected it and read his acceptance speech in his place.

'The Play', a five-lateral kickoff return through a marching band, decided which 1982 college football game?

The Stanford band had run onto the field thinking the game was over, so California's Kevin Moen dashed through the musicians to score.

Which album, released in late 1982, became the best-selling album of all time?

Thriller's videos for 'Billie Jean' and 'Beat It' helped break MTV's near-total lack of Black artists.

Which state carried out the first US execution by lethal injection, in December 1982?

Oklahoma passed the first lethal injection law in 1977, but Texas, which adopted the method a day later, was first to use it, executing Charlie Brooks Jr.

What did Time magazine name its 'Machine of the Year' for 1982, in place of a person?

Time's cover story described a stampede into the personal computer business, with giant IBM among the newcomers.

Which Italian bread was created in 1982 in Adria, near Venice?

Ciabatta was created because sandwiches made on imported French baguettes were taking business from Italian bakers.

Which 1982 film was one of the first features to use extensive computer-generated imagery?

Tron's director said the Academy snubbed its visual effects because using computers was cheating, and it got no effects nomination.