When Did It Happen? Trivia Quiz

Answer: 1966

The Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) governs football internationally. (If you live in the USA, here football refers to soccer, not American football). In 1966, the World Cup was held in England from July 11 to July 30, 1966. In the final, England beat West Germany 4-2 to win their first World Cup.

Indira Gandhi worked as a personal assistant to her father, Jawaharlal Nehru, in the 1950s. Her father was the first Prime Minister of India. Near the end of the decade, she was president of Congress (a political party in India). In January 1966, she was elected Prime Minister, but some leaders thought that because she was female, she would be weak. During her first year, the media often called her "Goongi goodiya" (Hindi for dumb doll).

She served as Prime Minister from 1966 until 1984. During her time in office, she worked on removing poverty from India and also fought to remove the caste system from political divisions. She also led the country to win the India-Pakistan War of 1971. On October 31, 1984, two of her bodyguards assassinated her. They said it was revenge for Operation Blue Star, a few months before. The operation was to remove armed Sikh separatists from the Golden Temple.

"Pet Sounds" was the Beach Boys' eleventh studio album. Brian Wilson and guest lyricist Tony Asher were the main songwriters for the album. The album had seven tracks on side one and six tracks on side two. Some of these songs include: "Wouldn't It Be Nice," Sloop John B," "God Only Knows," and "I Just Wasn't Made for These Times." The album peaked at number ten in the USA, but reached number two in the United Kingdom.

Answer: 1990

The English rock band New Order released their song "World in Motion" with the England national football team. The song was credited as ENGLANDneworder. The song reached number one on the UK Singles Chart. It was written for the team's 1990 FIFA World Cup.

On February 10, 1990, in Las Cruces, New Mexico, Stephanie C. Senac (age 34) was getting ready to open the bowling alley with her daughter, Melissia (age 12), and Melissia's friend, Amy Houser (age 13). The girls were going to work in the bowling alley's daycare that day. Ida Houguin was already in the kitchen at the alley when two men walked into the building. One put a gun to Houser's head and moved her to Senac's office. In the office, the other gunman was holding Senac and the two children. They then stole between $4000 and $5000 from the safe.

Steve Teran, the pin mechanic, came in. He had his two children with him (ages two and six), planning to have them go to daycare since he did not have a babysitter that day. He did not see anyone, so he went to Senac's office and found the gunman holding them all in the office. The gunman shot all seven people, then set the office on fire before they left. The fire was reported at 8:33 am that morning, and when officers arrived, Amy Houser, Paula Holguin, and Steve Teran were already dead. Valerie Teran died on the way to the hospital. Melissia, who was shot five times, called 9-1-1 from the office phone, saving some of their lives. Senac died nine years later due to complications from injuries. The two men, as of 2015, have not been found, and the investigation continues. In 2016, Steve Teran's brother expressed that he did not understand how this was never solved. He said, "Numerous people saw these gunmen, so someone out there knows something, and they need to come forward."

On June 7, 1990, in Orlando, Florida, Universal Studios Florida opened. The theme park is owned by NBCUniversal. It is themed after the entertainment industry with rides, shows, and attractions related to movies and TV shows, such as the Back to the Future ride, which was open from 1991 until 2007. Universal Studios Florida was the first theme park to open in the Universal Orlando Resort. It was opened due to Universal Studios Hollywood being so successful in California.

Answer: 1981

Bucks Fizz is an English pop group. They were formed in January 1981 for Eurovision 1981. The group won the Eurovision Song Contest with their song "Making Your Mind Up." They became popular around the world (but not in the USA).

In 1981, Chris Brasher and John Disley founded the London Marathon. Except during COVID, it is usually held in April. The course starts at Blackheath, London, and the participants run around the River Thames, ending at The Mall, London (a ceremonial roadway in Westminster, London). There are different levels of the race as well, such as the mass marathon, the professional marathon, and the elite level for wheelchair users.

Bob Marley was born on February 6, 1945, in Nine Mile, Jamaica. He is considered one of the pioneers of the Jamaican reggae music genre. He was also known for being a Rastafarian, an outspoken supporter of social reforms, and an advocate for making cannabis legal. He started his music career in 1963 in a group he formed called The Teenagers. Two years later, their debut album "The Wailing Wailers" was released. It included the hit song "One Love." The group released 11 more studio albums and changed the name of the group to Bob Marley and the Wailers. It was at this time that Marley became a Rastafarian, and the group focused more on reggae music. On December 3, 1976, someone attempted to assassinate him in Jamaica. It was believed to be politically motivated.

After that, he moved to London, England. He was diagnosed with acral lentiginous melanoma (a form of skin cancer) in 1977. He died on May 11, 1981, at the age of 36 in Miami, Florida. He was headed back to Jamaica at the time, but the plane landed in Miami as his vital organs were failing. The cancer had spread to both his lungs and brain. He was inducted posthumously into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994.

Answer: 1962

"West Side Story" starred Natalie Wood as Maria and Richard Beymer as Tony. The musical was loosely based on William Shakespeare's play "Romeo and Juliet." Marnie Nixon dubbed the singing for Wood, and Jimmy Bryant dubbed for Beymer. Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins directed the film, which won ten of the eleven Oscars it was nominated for. Along with Best Picture, it also won for Best Supporting Actor (George Chakiris, as Bernardo) and Best Supporting Actress (Rita Moreno as Anita).

In 1951, Norma Rae Moretson got a contract with Fox, and her name was changed to Marilyn Monroe. She quickly became a popular actress, appearing in films such as "Monkey Business" and "Clash by Night." There was a scandal when it was revealed she posed nude before she became an actress; however, this only helped her popularity. By 1953, she started getting leading roles in movies such as "Niagara" and "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes." Frustrated with being typecast as a "dumb blond," Monroe was suspended by Fox after she refused a role. In 1954, she returned to star in one of her biggest movies, "The Seven Year Itch."

In 1955, she founded her own production company and studied under Lee Strasberg at the Actors Studio. However, later that same year, Fox gave her a new contract, giving her more control and more money. In 1956, she starred in "Bus Stop." She won a Golden Globe for her film "Some Like It Hot" in 1959. In 1961, she starred in her final completed film, "The Misfits." Monroe died on August 4, 1962, from a barbiturate overdose, which was ruled "a probable suicide." She was 36. However, whether she killed herself or was murdered has remained a controversy.

Peter Fechter was born on January 14, 1944, in Berlin, Germany, near the end of WWII. When he was 14, he graduated from school as a bricklayer. When the war ended, Germany was divided into East Germany and West Germany. His sister, now married, lived in West Germany. For a while, they went back and forth from East Germany to West Germany to visit his sister. Then, in 1961, the Berlin Wall was built, and people could not go from one side to the other. Fechter was denied a legal trip crossing the border to visit his sister. On August 17, 1962, Fechter and his friend Helmut Kulbeik attempted to get across. Kulbeik made it across, and Fechter was shot in front of hundreds of witnesses. He fell off the wall to his death on the East German side. He was 18 years old. Sadly, he was not yet dead when he fell and screamed for help, but no one would help him. The police from West Germany threw him bandages, but he couldn't reach them and bled to death. In 1997, the East German guards, Rolf Friedrich and Erich Schreiber, were convicted of manslaughter.

Answer: 1992

Tennis player Andre Agassi was the number one tennis player in men's singles for close to two years. In 1999, he was the year-end number one. He also won an Olympic gold medal in 1996, 17 Master titles, and in 1990, 1992, and 1995, he was part of the Davis Cup teams for the United States, to name some of his accomplishments. In 1992, he won the Wimbledon Title for the first and last time. He retired from professional tennis in 2006.

On October 3, 1992, Sinead O'Connor was the musical guest on "Saturday Night Live." She performed a cover version of Bob Marley's 1976 song, "War." At the end of the song, she held up a picture of Pope John Paul II and yelled, "Fight the real enemy" as she ripped up the photograph and threw the pieces onto the floor. She was one of the first to come out against the Catholic Church for abusing children. It caused a great controversy, and complaints came from the Catholic Church and the Anti-Defamation League. It also hurt O'Connor's career, but she said she did not regret what she did. O'Connor died in 2023 from complications of COPD and asthma. People, having learned about the Catholic Church covering up the abuse that was going on, started to support Sinead O'Connor's actions that, while she was alive, they criticized.

On December 16, 1992, the Constitution of the Czech Republic was adopted by the Czech National Council. It is the supreme law of the Czech Republic. On January 1, 1993, it became effective. It replaced the 1960 Constitution of Czechoslovakia. Czechoslovakia split into two countries, the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic. The split was peaceful.

Answer: 2001

The Nepalese royal massacre happened on June 1, 2001, at the Narayanhiti Palace in Nepal. Birendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev became King Birendra in 1972. He inherited the crown when his father, King Mahendra, died. At that time, Nepal had an absolute monarchy called the Panchayat system. In 1990, the People's Movement ended this system, and Nepal became a constitutional monarchy. Birendra was popular in Nepal and well respected.

On June 1, 2001, it was his son Dipendra who hosted the family dinner. As to why he killed his parents, the motive is uncertain. The majority, however, speculate it had to do with the Nepalese princess Devyani Rana, whom he was dating at the time. It is believed he wanted to marry her, but his parents were not supportive. Others suspect Dipendra was unhappy his father relinquished his absolute monarchy power. At the event, he was sent to his room either for arguing with his parents or not receiving his father. He talked to Devyani on the phone while in his room, and then returned in army fatigues with a submachine gun. He shot his dad in the neck and stomach, and then left again. He returned with a cold Commando carbine and killed his father, his mother, his uncle, the Prince Dhirendra, and five other relatives. He then shot himself in the head, slipped into a coma, and died three days later.

In 2001, a week after the 9/11 attacks, letters with anthrax spores were sent to senators Tom Daschle and Patrick Leahy, as well as multiple media offices. Five people died, and seventeen more were infected with this bacterial infection. With 9/11 having been recent, at first the attacks were blamed on Al-Qaeda. Then, Steven Hatfill was a suspect as he was a bioweapons expert. After years of investigation, they were linked to Bruce Edwards Ivins in 2005. He was put under surveillance by the FBI, who said he was "an extremely sensitive suspect in the 2001 anthrax attacks." He ended his own life on July 29, 2008.

An iPod was a portable media player. The first one came out on November 10, 2001. There had been MP3 players since 1997, but Apple improved the product as they found them to be "big and clunky or small and useless." Vinnie Chieco, a freelance copywriter, came up with the name iPod. He got the idea from the movie "2001: A Space Odyssey," which has the line, "Open the pod bay doors, Hal." This referred to the EVA Pods of the Discovery One spaceship. The iPod was discontinued in 2022.

Answer: 1972

William Friedkin directed the 1971 movie "The French Connection." The movie starred Gene Hackman, Roy Scheider, and Fernando Rey. Rey plays Alain Charnier, a French heroin smuggler. Hackman and Scheider are detectives Jimmy "Popeye" Doyle and Buddy "Cloudy" Russo. They are trying to catch Charnier before he can smuggle millions of dollars' worth of heroin into the United States. The movie was nominated for eight Oscars and won five of those. They won for Best Actor (Hackman), Best Director (Friedkin), Best Film Editing (Gerald B. Greenberg), Best Adapted Screenplay (Ernest Tidyman), and Best Picture at the 1972 Oscars held on April 10, 1972.

On June 12, 1972, Al Copeland founded Popeyes in Arabi, Louisiana. It was originally called Chicken on the Run. Copeland wanted to compete with Kentucky Fried Chicken, and in 1975, it was renamed Popeyes Famous Fried Chicken. In 1991, the company filed for bankruptcy. Copeland said he got the name Popeyes from the character played by Gene Hackman in "The French Connection."

Atari co-founder Nolan Bushnell asked Alan Alcorn to create a training game. He, along with the other co-founder, Ted Dabney, was extremely impressed by this ping pong-like video game. Pong was based on the Magnavox Odyssey, which was the first home video game console. Magnavox sued Atari because of this. At first, the company had trouble getting backing for Pong, as banks thought it looked like pinball. At that time, pinball was associated with the Mafia. Wells Fargo finally agreed to back them, so they could have an assembly line to mass-produce the game. Pong was officially announced on November 29, 1972.

Answer: 2003

"Gigli" is a romantic comedy that starred Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez. Martin Brest directed the movie. The story is about a mobster in Los Angeles working with a female enforcer to guard the brother of a federal prosecutor whom he kidnapped. The movie was released on August 1, 2003, and received significant negative publicity. The movie cost $75.6 million and grossed only $7.3 million.

The Golden Raspberry Awards, or as they are commonly known, The Razzies, were created in 1980. It is a parody award that good-naturedly teases those who gave bad performances, or movies that are really bad. They are usually held the day before the Academy Awards. In 2003, "Gigli" won a Razzie for worst movie.

On November 22, 2003, England and Australia's rugby team played in the final match for the Rugby World Cup. Both teams were undefeated when they played each other. There were 82,957 people in attendance at the match, and over 20 million watching on TV. The regular game ended in a tie, 14-14, so they went into extra time. The final score was 20-17 with England winning.

The Concorde was a joint development between Sud Aviation and the British Aircraft Corporation. Its first flight was on March 2, 1969. There were 20 Concorde jets made in all. The Concorde had a narrow fuselage that allowed the seats to be four abreast. From the beginning, they were expensive to operate and maintain. The last Concorde flight was on November 26, 2003,

Answer: 1961

Cheddi Berret Jagan was born on March 22, 1918. On January 1, 1950, he founded the People's Progressive Party with his wife, Janet, and Forbes Burnham. He became the first Prime Minister of British Guiana on September 5, 1961. This led to a lot of racially motivated violence. Also, he wanted to increase taxes to lower the national deficit, and it greatly impacted the Afro-Guyanese community.

When re-elections came in 1964, it was believed his wife was a Communist, and he was a Communist supporter. He publicly supported the Cuban Revolution. Then in 1964, the British government wanted another election to be held (before Guyana got its independence). Elections were held in December 1964 amid much violence. Close to 200 people were murdered, with another thousand injured. Guyana became independent in May 1966, and in 1992, Jagan was elected president of the country. On February 15, 1997, Jagan had a heart attack. He died on March 6, 1997, at the age of 78.

Enos, the chimpanzee, was born around 1957. On November 29, 1961, he was sent into space by NASA. He went on the Mercury-Atlas 5. He was the second chimp sent into space, following Ham, the Chimp. He was the first chimp to orbit the Earth. He completed the orbit in 1 hour and 28½ minutes. He was supposed to do two orbits, but only did three due to technical problems. Enos died on November 4, 1962, from shigellosis, a bacterial infection of the intestines. According to pathologists, his time in space was not a factor contributing to his illness.

Julia Scarlett Elizabeth Louis-Dreyfus was born on January 13, 1961. She is best known for playing Elaine Benes on "Seinfeld," from 1989 to 1998. She was also on "Saturday Night Live" from 1982 to 1985. She is also a breast cancer survivor, and she is an environmental activist.

Answer: 1991

Eugene Maurice Orowitz was born on October 31, 1936, in Queens, New York City, NY. He grew up in Collingswood, New Jersey, in a town with only one other Jewish family and many anti-Semites. HE explained later that he did not date because "no Christian father in the town would allow his daughter to go out with a Jew." His childhood was also rough because his mother, Peggy, tried multiple times to end her life. The stress caused him to become a bedwetter, which his mother tried to combat by putting his sheets out on the line for his friends to see. In 1976, he created the TV movie "The Loneliest Runner," which was semi-autobiographical. Orowitch was an excellent athlete and had a scholarship to the University of Southern California. Unfortunately, he tore the ligaments in his shoulder, and his scholarship ended when his days as a college athlete also ended.

So, he considered show business and changed his name to one that sounded less Jewish. He randomly found the name Michael Landon in the phone book. His first role was that of Clyde Meacham in a TV series from 1957 called "Luke and the Tenderfoot." The series only lasted two episodes. However, he went on to have multiple successful TV series: "Bonanza," where he played Little Joe Cartwright from 1959 to 1973, "Little House on the Prairie," where he played Charles Ingalls from 1974 until 1983, and "Highway to Heaven," where he played Jonathan Smith from 1984 to 1989. He was also a successful director, writer, and producer. Landon died on July 1, 1991, from pancreatic cancer. He was 54 years old.

In 1985, Terry A. Anderson, an American journalist, was taken hostage by Shia Hezbollah in Lebanon. He was abducted shortly after a tennis match in Beirut. He was part of the Associated Press and in Lebanon as the chief Middle Eastern correspondent. He was moved from place to place during the six years and nine months he was a POW. He was finally released on December 4, 1991.

On September 17, 1991, "Home Improvement" debuted on ABC. The show, which ran until May 25, 1999, starred Tim Allen as Tim Taylor, host of "Tool Time," and his family. His wife Jill was played by Patricia Richardson. His children Brad, Randy, and Mark were played by Zachery Ty Bryan, Jonathan Taylor Thomas, and Taran Noah Smith.