Q 01/05

Which astronaut became the first American woman in space on Challenger's STS-7 flight, aged just 32?

A) Judith Resnik

B) Kathryn Sullivan

C) Sally Ride

D) Shannon Lucid

Answer · why

C) Sally Ride

Sally Ride was only the third woman in space, after two Soviet cosmonauts, and NASA engineers infamously asked whether 100 tampons would be enough for...

Q 02/05

Which Star Wars film, released on 25 May, was the year's highest-grossing film worldwide?

A) The Empire Strikes Back

B) Return of the Jedi

C) The Phantom Menace

D) Revenge of the Sith

Answer · why

B) Return of the Jedi

Return of the Jedi grossed $374 million worldwide in its first run, and the title Revenge of the Jedi had been dropped only in December 1982.

Q 03/05

Which series ended with a 2½-hour finale watched by 106 million Americans on CBS, a record that stood until 2010?

A) M*A*S*H

B) Dallas

C) Cheers

D) Happy Days

Answer · why

A) M*A*S*H

M*A*S*H's 'Goodbye, Farewell and Amen' let CBS sell 30-second ad slots for $450,000 each, more than NBC charged during that year's Super Bowl.

Q 04/05

Which robbery at a Heathrow warehouse netted three tonnes of gold from a gang expecting £1 million in pesetas?

A) Security Express

B) Knightsbridge

C) Hatton Garden

D) Brink's-Mat

Answer · why

D) Brink's-Mat

Brink's-Mat's £26 million haul was partly laundered by Kenneth Noye, who melted the bars down and mixed in copper to disguise where the gold had come ...

Q 05/05

Which trio of future Labour leaders won their first Commons seats in June's Thatcher landslide?

A) Blair, Brown and Corbyn

B) Smith, Blair and Miliband

C) Brown, Miliband and Starmer

D) Smith, Brown and Corbyn

Answer · why

A) Blair, Brown and Corbyn

Blair, Brown and Corbyn arrived as Labour shed over three million votes on a manifesto Gerald Kaufman called 'the longest suicide note in history'.