A Look Back at 1984 Trivia Quiz

Answer: Bernhard Goetz

On December 22, four youths approached Bernhard Goetz on the NYC subway. As they surrounded him and asked him for money, he pulled out a weapon and opened fire, hitting all four. Goetz said to one of the youths, Darrell Cabey, "You don't look so bad ... here's another," and fired a shot that paralyzed Cabey.

After turning himself in two weeks later, Goetz was acquitted of all charges except one for illegal gun possession. Cabey sued Goetz and won a $43 million judgment. Each of the other three youths has subsequently been convicted of other unrelated serious crimes.

Answer: Crosby, Stills and Nash's "Teach Your Children"

The Walter Mondale campaign actually used the CSN song "Teach Your Children" in an ad showing missiles being launched. The music was intercut with an announcer contrasting President Reagan's arms buildup with the policies of his predecessors, and a voiceover of Mondale stating his positions on arms control. Ronald Reagan alluded to "Pink Houses" and "Born in the USA" in his campaign speeches, although he backed off doing so after it was made clear to his campaign that neither Mellencamp nor Springsteen supported his policies.

Answer: Yuri Andropov, Ethel Merman, Peter Lawford

Andropov, Merman, and Lawford died on February 9, February 15, and December 24 respectively. The other people listed died on:

June 20 (Weismuller), June 30 (Hellman), November 11 (King);

January 14 (Kroc), April 1 (Gaye), August 25 (Capote);

May 16 (Kaufman), August 5 (Burton), October 21 (Gandhi).

Answer: Steve Alford

Coach Knight included Steve Alford from his Indiana team as the youngest member of the Olympic squad. Karl Malone and Charles Barkley were the final two cuts Knight made in assembling a team that he said he wanted to be "not the best players, just the best team." John Stockton was an alternate. Counting those three, plus Patrick Ewing and Michael Jordan, who were on the team, Knight could have had at least five future hall-of-famers available to him.

They beat Spain 96-65 for the gold medal, two rounds after their closest game, a 78-67 win over West Germany. Five of their eight games were won by 30 or more points.

Answer: Home of the Big Bun

The ads made 80-year-old Clara Peller, their star who had never acted before, internationally famous. The ads typically had two or more old people staring quizically at a tiny hamburger, as they made comments like, "Yes, what a big fluffy bun." At that point, Clara would snap "Where's the beef?"

Answer: He kept his candidacy alive into the convention

Gary Hart shocked prohibitive Democratic front-runner Walter Mondale by winning the New Hampshire primary, and six of the eight "Super Tuesday" contests. Hart went on to win several important midwestern primaries and the California primary, but by June, Mondale had won enough delegates to assure himself of the nomination. "Welcome to overtime," responded Hart. "The one thing that can be said about this nomination contest is that it is not over." He would not concede and placed his name in nomination at the convention.

The Donna Rice matter played a role in his 1988 candidacy, not the 1984 campaign.

Answer: When Doves Cry - Prince

Prince's "When Doves Cry" spent five weeks (July 7 - August 10) at Number One. Next best was "Karma Chameleon" with four weeks at the top of the charts. "Like a Virgin" spent six consecutive weeks at #1 - but only two of those were in 1984; the remaining time was the first four weeks of 1985.

Answer: Preparing for his weekly radio address

On August 11, President Reagan was preparing to give his weekly radio address when he made the comments, unaware that a live microphone was in the room picking up the sound. The remarks caused the Soviets to put their military on high alert, and Reagan's lead over his Democratic rival Walter Mondale to decline.

A September White House meeting between Reagan and Soviet foreign minister Andrei Gromyko calmed the matter.

Answer: Jackson arranged Goodman's release from Syria

Robert Goodman, a lieutenant in the U.S. Navy, was flying a bombing mission over Syrian positions in Lebanon when he was shot down and captured in late 1983. Jesse Jackson, running for the Democratic nomination for President, announced on December 29, 1983, that he would fly to Syria to try to free the pilot.

He secured Goodman's release on January 3, and the two of them were recognized at the White House by President Reagan on the following day.

Answer: Los Angeles Lakers

The Lakers, arguably the dominant NBA team of the 1980s, lost to Philadelphia in 1983 and to Boston in 1984 in the NBA finals. As for the other teams, the Redskins were the defending Super Bowl champions coming into 1984, before losing the 1984 Super Bowl to the Los Angeles Raiders, the New York Islanders were the defending NHL champions before losing the 1984 Stanley Cup to the Edmonton Oilers, and the Detroit Tigers beat the San Diego Padres to win the 1984 World Series.