1970s Quiz – Printable Version
20 multiple-choice questions with an explained answer key, ready to print.
Print the sheet (or save it as a PDF from the print window), hand it out, then mark it together using the answer page: every answer is explained. Perfect for a party, a birthday, a classroom, a care home or a team activity.
Name: ………………………………Score: ……… / 20
- Which Steven Spielberg film, released in 1975, features a shark terrorizing an American beach town?
- A. Close Encounters of the Third Kind
- B. Jaws
- C. E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial
- D. King Kong
- Which political scandal forced US President Richard Nixon to resign in 1974?
- A. The Watergate scandal
- B. The Iran-Contra affair
- C. The Teapot Dome scandal
- D. The Lewinsky affair
- Which Franco-British supersonic airliner made its first commercial flight in 1976?
- A. The Boeing 747
- B. Concorde
- C. The Airbus A300
- D. The Tupolev Tu-144
- Which computer company, founded in 1976 by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak in a California garage, launched one of the first personal computers?
- A. IBM
- B. Microsoft
- C. Apple
- D. Commodore
- Which British band, with songs like 'Anarchy in the UK', became a leading force of the punk rock movement in the late 1970s?
- A. The Clash
- B. Sex Pistols
- C. Ramones
- D. The Damned
- Which nuclear accident occurred in 1979 at a power plant in Pennsylvania, USA?
- A. The Chernobyl disaster
- B. The Three Mile Island accident
- C. The Fukushima disaster
- D. The Kyshtym disaster
- Which Japanese arcade video game, released in 1978, was a massive hit and helped launch the 'shoot'em up' genre?
- A. Pac-Man
- B. Space Invaders
- C. Galaga
- D. Donkey Kong
- Which American space station, launched in 1973, broke apart as it fell back to Earth in 1979, causing worldwide concern?
- A. Skylab
- B. Mir
- C. The ISS
- D. Salyut
- Which French health minister championed the 1975 law decriminalising abortion in France?
- A. Françoise Giroud
- B. Simone de Beauvoir
- C. Simone Veil
- D. Édith Cresson
- In 1974, which product was the very first item scanned with a barcode in an American supermarket?
- A. A bottle of Coca-Cola
- B. A box of cereal
- C. A jar of peanut butter
- D. A pack of chewing gum
- Which American rock band performed in make-up as characters (the Demon, the Starchild, the Catman…)?
- A. Aerosmith
- B. Alice Cooper
- C. Van Halen
- D. Kiss
- Which Japanese character, created in 1974, is a little white cat with no mouth?
- A. Pikachu
- B. Doraemon
- C. Hello Kitty
- D. Totoro
- Which actor plays the lead in 'The Mad Adventures of Rabbi Jacob' (1973), with its famous Hasidic dances?
- A. Bourvil
- B. Jean-Paul Belmondo
- C. Pierre Richard
- D. Louis de Funès
- In 1976, against which club did AS Saint-Étienne lose the European Cup final, hitting the famous 'square goalposts' twice?
- A. Real Madrid
- B. Bayern Munich
- C. Liverpool
- D. Ajax Amsterdam
- Which game, published in 1974, launched role-playing games with its twenty-sided dice and 'Dungeon Master'?
- A. Dungeons & Dragons
- B. Warhammer
- C. Magic: The Gathering
- D. Cluedo
- Which oil tanker ran aground in March 1978 off Portsall, Brittany, causing a huge oil spill?
- A. The Erika
- B. The Torrey Canyon
- C. The Amoco Cadiz
- D. The Exxon Valdez
- Which leader, founder of the People's Republic of China, died in 1976?
- A. Mao Zedong
- B. Deng Xiaoping
- C. Zhou Enlai
- D. Sun Yat-sen
- Which Jamaican singer brought reggae to the whole world with songs like "No Woman, No Cry" (1974)?
- A. Jimmy Cliff
- B. Bob Marley
- C. Peter Tosh
- D. Harry Belafonte
- Which American swimmer won seven gold medals at the 1972 Munich Olympics?
- A. Michael Phelps
- B. Johnny Weissmuller
- C. Matt Biondi
- D. Mark Spitz
- Which TV cops (1975) drove a red Ford Gran Torino with a white stripe?
- A. CHiPs
- B. Columbo and Kojak
- C. Starsky and Hutch
- D. Miami Vice
Answer key — 1970s Quiz
- B. JawsJaws, directed by Steven Spielberg and released in 1975, is widely regarded as the first great summer blockbuster.
- A. The Watergate scandalThe Watergate scandal, which came to light starting in 1972, led to Richard Nixon's resignation in August 1974.
- B. ConcordeConcorde, the result of Franco-British cooperation, made its first commercial flight in January 1976.
- C. AppleApple, founded in 1976 by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak, released the Apple I and then the Apple II, among the first personal computers for the mass market.
- B. Sex PistolsThe Sex Pistols, with provocative songs like 'Anarchy in the UK', embodied the explosion of the British punk movement in the late 1970s.
- B. The Three Mile Island accidentThe Three Mile Island accident, which occurred in Pennsylvania in 1979, remains the most serious civilian nuclear accident in US history.
- B. Space InvadersSpace Invaders, released in 1978 by Taito, was a phenomenal success and is regarded as one of the founding games of the 'shoot'em up' genre.
- A. SkylabSkylab, the first US space station, made an uncontrolled re-entry in July 1979, scattering debris over Australia.
- C. Simone VeilShe defended her bill before an almost entirely male National Assembly, facing extraordinarily violent attacks.
- D. A pack of chewing gumThat pack of Wrigley's gum, rung up in Ohio, is now displayed in a museum.
- D. KissFor years, the members never appeared in public without make-up.
- C. Hello KittyHer lack of a mouth supposedly lets everyone project their own feelings onto her.
- D. Louis de FunèsMr Pivert, a short-tempered, bigoted industrialist, has to pass himself off as a rabbi: a comedy that mocks prejudice.
- B. Bayern MunichBeaten 1-0 in Glasgow, 'Les Verts' were welcomed as heroes on the Champs-Élysées.
- A. Dungeons & DragonsCreated by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson, it lets players embody heroes in an imaginary world narrated by the Dungeon Master.
- C. The Amoco CadizMore than 220,000 tonnes of oil fouled some 360 km of Breton coastline.
- A. Mao ZedongMao proclaimed the People's Republic in 1949 in Tiananmen Square.
- B. Bob MarleyWith his band The Wailers, Bob Marley became a global icon before his death in 1981, aged 36.
- D. Mark SpitzMark Spitz won his seven titles with seven world records. His single-Games gold record was only beaten by Michael Phelps in 2008.
- C. Starsky and HutchThe car, nicknamed the "striped tomato", almost became the show's third hero.