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

It will not be back until mid-2061; ESA's Giotto probe photographed its nucleus that March.

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

At least 350,000 people were resettled and traces of the fallout reached nearly every country in the northern hemisphere.

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

US Navy divers found the crew compartment on the seabed six weeks later.

Q 04/05

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

A) Top Gun

B) Aliens

C) Crocodile Dundee

D) Platoon

Answer · why

A) Top Gun

Kenny Loggins' Danger Zone helped push the soundtrack to seven million US sales.

Q 05/05

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

A) England

B) Brazil

C) West Germany

D) Italy

Answer · why

A) England

Four minutes later he dribbled past the whole team for the 'Goal of the Century'; Argentina won the tournament.