Q 01/05

MTV opened in 1981 with images of which event?

A) Woodstock

B) Apollo 11

C) JFK's inauguration

D) Altamont

Answer · why

B) Apollo 11

Apollo 11 moon landing footage, restyled with MTV's logo, opened the channel and aired at the top of every hour; it lives on as the VMAs' Moonman trop...

Q 02/05

Which Michael Jackson album is the best-selling album of all time worldwide?

A) Bad

B) Thriller

C) Off the Wall

D) Dangerous

Answer · why

B) Thriller

Thriller's title-track video got made only after Jackson's label refused to fund it: MTV and Showtime helped pay by buying a making-of documentary.

Q 03/05

Which song opened MTV when it launched in 1981?

A) Video Killed the Radio Star by The Buggles

B) You Better Run by Pat Benatar

C) Hungry Like the Wolf by Duran Duran

D) Turning Japanese by The Vapors

Answer · why

A) Video Killed the Radio Star by The Buggles

Video Killed the Radio Star by The Buggles was co-written by Bruce Woolley, who left during recording and cut his own version with his band, the Camer...

Q 04/05

In 'Back to the Future,' what speed must the DeLorean reach to travel through time?

A) 40 mph

B) 88 mph

C) 180 mph

D) 400 mph

Answer · why

B) 88 mph

88 mph was more than a real car's speedometer could show, since a 1979 US law capped speedometers at 85 mph, so the Back to the Future crew built a cu...

Q 05/05

Who directed the 1982 film 'E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial'?

A) George Lucas

B) Ridley Scott

C) James Cameron

D) Steven Spielberg

Answer · why

D) Steven Spielberg

Steven Spielberg based E.T. on an imaginary alien friend he dreamed up as a boy to fill the void after his parents divorced.