Q 01/05

Which famous visitor made its once-in-a-lifetime pass through the inner Solar System in 1986?

A) Halley's Comet

B) Hale-Bopp

C) Comet Hyakutake

D) Comet Encke

Answer · why

A) Halley's Comet

Halley's Comet was met by ESA's Giotto probe, which flew within 600 km of its nucleus and found a very dark surface with bright jets of gas and dust b...

Q 02/05

Which nuclear power plant suffered the world's worst reactor disaster on April 26, 1986?

A) Chernobyl

B) Fukushima

C) Three Mile Island

D) Windscale

Answer · why

A) Chernobyl

Chernobyl stayed secret for two days, until its fallout set off radiation alarms at a nuclear plant in Sweden and the Soviet government was pressed in...

Q 03/05

Which schoolteacher was among the seven crew killed on Space Shuttle Challenger in 1986?

A) Christa McAuliffe

B) Judith Resnik

C) Sally Ride

D) Barbara Morgan

Answer · why

A) Christa McAuliffe

Christa McAuliffe was chosen from more than 11,000 teachers who applied, and she planned to teach two lessons from orbit for broadcast to America's cl...

Q 04/05

Which film was the highest-grossing movie in the world in 1986?

A) Top Gun

B) The Karate Kid Part II

C) Crocodile Dundee

D) Platoon

Answer · why

A) Top Gun

Top Gun made naval aviation look so good that Navy recruiters in some cities manned tables outside cinemas to catch would-be pilots on their way out.

Q 05/05

Diego Maradona scored his 'Hand of God' goal in June 1986 against which team?

A) Brazil

B) England

C) West Germany

D) Italy

Answer · why

B) England

England lost the quarter-final 2-1. Minutes after the handball, Maradona ran from his own half past a string of defenders to score the 'Goal of the Ce...