82 decades trivia questions from the 50s to the 2010s
Seven decade rounds, from the 1950s to the 2010s, covering the music, films, news, space flights and sport of each ten years. Play one decade for a themed party or run them in order; every answer links to its source.
Updated
The 1950s
Which singer, later called the King of Rock and Roll, started a musical revolution in 1954?
easy
Elvis Presley
The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame dates his breakthrough to 1954 and calls him the first anointed King of Rock & Roll.
Source: Rock & Roll Hall of Fame https://www.rockhall.com/inductees/elvis-presley
According to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, which St. Louis guitarist was second only to Elvis in shaping rock and roll?
medium
Chuck Berry
The Hall says that after Elvis, only Chuck Berry had more influence on how rock and roll formed.
Source: Rock & Roll Hall of Fame https://www.rockhall.com/inductees/chuck-berry
Which 17-year-old singer had the number-one song on the very first US Hot 100 singles chart in August 1958, with "Poor Little Fool"?
medium
Ricky Nelson
"Poor Little Fool" topped the first Hot 100, published in August 1958.
Source: Billboard https://www.billboard.com/pro/8468557hot-100-ricky-nelson-poor-little-fool-rewinding-the-charts-1958/
Which Italian song, better known as "Volare", won the first Grammy Award for Record of the Year in 1959?
hard
"Nel Blu Dipinto Di Blu", by Domenico Modugno
It won Record of the Year at the 1st Grammy Awards, held in 1959.
Source: Recording Academy https://www.grammy.com/awards/1st-annual-grammy-awards
Which 1959 Bible epic won 11 Oscars, a record at the time?
medium
Ben-Hur
Its 11 wins broke the record of nine set the year before by Gigi.
Source: Wikipedia (the Academy's site could not be read) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/32nd_Academy_Awards
Who was arrested in Montgomery, Alabama, on December 1, 1955, for refusing to give up her seat on a bus?
easy
Rosa Parks
She was charged under a city law that segregated buses, and her arrest set off the Montgomery bus boycott.
Source: National Archives https://www.archives.gov/education/lessons/rosa-parks
Which 1954 Supreme Court case ruled that segregating public schools by race was unconstitutional?
medium
Brown v. Board of Education
The Court held on May 17, 1954, that separate schools broke the 14th Amendment.
Source: National Archives https://www.archives.gov/milestone-documents/brown-v-board-of-education
In May 1953, Edmund Hillary and which Sherpa climber made the first successful ascent of Mount Everest?
medium
Tenzing Norgay
The two reached the summit together on 29 May 1953.
Source: Royal Geographical Society https://www.rgs.org/schools/resources-for-schools/mountains-volcanoes-and-earthquakes/mount-everest
In April 1955, Jonas Salk's vaccine against which disease was announced to be safe and effective?
medium
Polio
The results of the 1954 national trial on about one million children were announced on April 12, 1955.
Source: Salk Institute https://www.salk.edu/about/history-of-salk/jonas-salk/
What was the first satellite launched by the United States, in January 1958?
medium
Explorer 1
It launched from Cape Canaveral on January 31, 1958, and became America's first satellite in orbit.
Source: NASA https://www.nasa.gov/history/60-years-ago-explorer-1-becomes-americas-first-satellite/
In what year did NASA officially begin operating?
easy
1958
NASA opened on October 1, 1958, the same year America's first satellite reached orbit.
Source: NASA https://www.nasa.gov/history/60-years-ago-explorer-1-becomes-americas-first-satellite/
The 1960s
Who became the first human to orbit Earth, on April 12, 1961?
easy
Yuri Gagarin
The Soviet cosmonaut made one orbit in his Vostok 1 spacecraft.
Source: NASA https://science.nasa.gov/resource/yuri-gagarin-first-human-in-space/
In 1962, John Glenn became the first American to orbit Earth. What did he name his spacecraft?
hard
Friendship 7
Glenn made three orbits on the Mercury-Atlas 6 mission in the capsule he named Friendship 7.
Source: NASA https://www.nasa.gov/history/60-years-ago-john-glenn-the-first-american-to-orbit-the-earth-aboard-friendship-7/
What was the name of the Apollo 11 lunar module that landed on the Moon in July 1969?
medium
Eagle
Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed in Eagle, while the command module stayed in orbit.
Source: NASA https://www.nasa.gov/mission/apollo-11/
At which Washington, D.C., landmark did Martin Luther King Jr. give his "I have a dream" speech in 1963?
easy
The Lincoln Memorial
About 250,000 marchers gathered there for the March on Washington.
Source: Nobel Prize https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace/1964/king/facts/
Which US president signed the Civil Rights Act into law on July 2, 1964?
medium
Lyndon B. Johnson
He signed it a few hours after Congress passed it; it banned discrimination in public places and in employment.
Source: National Archives https://www.archives.gov/milestone-documents/civil-rights-act
Which Liverpool band led the British Invasion of the American charts in the 1960s?
easy
The Beatles
John, Paul, George and Ringo started the wave of British bands that swept the US.
Source: Rock & Roll Hall of Fame https://www.rockhall.com/inductees/beatles
Which Beatles album won Album of the Year at the 1968 Grammy Awards?
medium
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
The 1967 album won the top album award at the 10th Grammys.
Source: Recording Academy https://www.grammy.com/awards/10th-annual-grammy-awards
Which 1960s group, with Diana Ross, Mary Wilson and Florence Ballard, was so popular it rivaled the Beatles?
medium
The Supremes
The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame calls them their label's most commercially successful girl group.
Source: Rock & Roll Hall of Fame https://www.rockhall.com/inductees/supremes
Which bossa nova hit by Stan Getz and Astrud Gilberto won Record of the Year at the 1965 Grammys?
hard
"The Girl from Ipanema"
It won the award at the 7th Grammy Awards.
Source: Recording Academy https://www.grammy.com/awards/7th-annual-grammy-awards
In October 1962, President Kennedy ordered a naval quarantine of which island after Soviet missile sites were found there?
medium
Cuba
The standoff became known as the Cuban Missile Crisis.
Source: US State Department, Office of the Historian https://history.state.gov/milestones/1961-1968/cuban-missile-crisis
Which 1965 musical won the Oscar for Best Picture?
easy
The Sound of Music
It won Best Picture at the 38th Academy Awards, held in 1966.
Source: Wikipedia (the Academy's site could not be read) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/38th_Academy_Awards
Which country hosted and won the 1966 soccer World Cup?
medium
England
England beat West Germany in the final for its first and only World Cup title.
Source: Wikipedia (FIFA's site could not be read) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1966_FIFA_World_Cup
The 1970s
Which yearly event for the environment was first held on April 22, 1970?
easy
Earth Day
Each April 22 marks the anniversary of the first Earth Day and of the modern environmental movement.
Source: EARTHDAY.ORG https://www.earthday.org/history/
Which Simon & Garfunkel song and album won both Record and Album of the Year at the 1971 Grammys?
medium
"Bridge Over Troubled Water"
The song and the album of the same name took both top awards at the 13th Grammys.
Source: Recording Academy https://www.grammy.com/awards/13th-annual-grammy-awards
What was the name of America's first space station, launched in May 1973?
medium
Skylab
It lifted off on the last Saturn V rocket and hosted three crews in 1973 and 1974.
Source: NASA https://www.nasa.gov/history/50-years-ago-the-launch-of-skylab-americas-first-space-station/
Who, in August 1974, became the first US president to resign?
easy
Richard Nixon
Facing impeachment over the Watergate scandal, he resigned on August 9, 1974.
Source: National Archives https://prologue.blogs.archives.gov/2024/08/06/nixon-resigns/
Which Swedish group of Agnetha, Björn, Benny and Anni-Frid ruled pop in the 1970s?
easy
ABBA
Their string of hits in the seventies later inspired a musical and a film.
Source: Rock & Roll Hall of Fame https://www.rockhall.com/inductees/abba
Which disco film soundtrack, led by the Bee Gees, won Album of the Year at the 1979 Grammys?
medium
Saturday Night Fever
The soundtrack won the top album award at the 21st Grammys.
Source: Recording Academy https://www.grammy.com/awards/21st-annual-grammy-awards
Which 1972 crime film starring Marlon Brando won the Oscar for Best Picture?
medium
The Godfather
It won Best Picture at the 45th Academy Awards, held in 1973.
Source: Wikipedia (the Academy's site could not be read) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/45th_Academy_Awards
At the 1976 Montreal Olympics, which 14-year-old gymnast was the first to be awarded a perfect score of 10?
medium
Nadia Comăneci
The Romanian gymnast earned seven perfect 10s at those Games.
Source: Wikipedia (the Olympic site could not be read) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nadia_Com%C4%83neci
Which twin NASA space probes launched in the summer of 1977 and later left the solar system's bubble?
medium
Voyager 1 and Voyager 2
They launched weeks apart in 1977, flew past the giant planets and later became the first spacecraft to reach interstellar space.
Source: NASA https://science.nasa.gov/mission/voyager/mission-overview/
In 1978, the world's first baby was born using which fertility treatment?
medium
In vitro fertilization (IVF)
Robert Edwards later won the 2010 Nobel Prize in medicine for developing the method.
Source: Nobel Prize https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/medicine/2010/edwards/facts/
Who became Britain's first female prime minister, in 1979?
easy
Margaret Thatcher
Her Conservative Party won the 1979 general election.
Source: GOV.UK https://www.gov.uk/government/history/past-prime-ministers/margaret-thatcher
Which nun, known for her work with the poor in Calcutta, won the 1979 Nobel Peace Prize?
medium
Mother Teresa
She and her helpers ran homes for orphans and the dying in Calcutta, India.
Source: Nobel Prize https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace/1979/teresa/facts/
The 1980s
Which volcano in Washington State lost about 1,300 feet from its top when it erupted in 1980?
medium
Mount St. Helens
A huge landslide removed the summit during the May 18, 1980, eruption.
Source: USGS https://www.usgs.gov/volcanoes/mount-st.-helens
At the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, the US men's hockey team beat the Soviet Union. What is that game called?
easy
The Miracle on Ice
The American college players beat the favored Soviet team on February 22, 1980.
Source: Wikipedia (the Olympic site could not be read) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miracle_on_Ice
Which space shuttle flew the first shuttle mission, in April 1981?
medium
Columbia
Columbia launched on April 12, 1981, exactly 20 years after Yuri Gagarin's flight.
Source: NASA https://www.nasa.gov/mission/sts-1/
Who became the first American woman in space, in June 1983?
easy
Sally Ride
She flew on the shuttle Challenger on mission STS-7.
Source: NASA https://www.nasa.gov/history/sally-ride-first-american-woman-in-space/
Which Michael Jackson album won Album of the Year at the 1984 Grammys?
easy
Thriller
Thriller also gave him Record of the Year that night for "Beat It".
Source: Recording Academy https://www.grammy.com/awards/26th-annual-grammy-awards
Which Tina Turner song won Record of the Year at the 1985 Grammys?
medium
"What's Love Got to Do with It"
It beat songs by Bruce Springsteen and Cyndi Lauper for the award.
Source: Recording Academy https://www.grammy.com/awards/27th-annual-grammy-awards
Which 1985 charity single, produced by Quincy Jones, won Record of the Year at the 1986 Grammys?
medium
"We Are the World"
The all-star recording raised money for famine relief in Africa and won the top record award.
Source: Recording Academy https://www.grammy.com/awards/28th-annual-grammy-awards
What was the title of Prince's 1984 film?
medium
Purple Rain
The film shared its title with his hit album and song of the same year.
Source: Rock & Roll Hall of Fame https://www.rockhall.com/inductees/prince
At the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, which American athlete matched Jesse Owens by winning four gold medals?
medium
Carl Lewis
He won the 100 m, 200 m, 4 x 100 m relay and long jump.
Source: Wikipedia (the Olympic site could not be read) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1984_Summer_Olympics
In 1987, who became the first woman inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame?
medium
Aretha Franklin
The Queen of Soul was inducted in the Hall's second year of inductions.
Source: Rock & Roll Hall of Fame https://www.rockhall.com/inductees/aretha-franklin
In Steven Spielberg's 1982 film E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, what is the name of the boy who hides the alien?
easy
Elliott
Elliott shows the creature to his brother and sister, and they keep it secret from their mother.
Source: American Film Institute https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/moviedetails/67140
In what year did the Berlin Wall fall?
easy
1989
Germans celebrated at the wall in November 1989 as the border opened.
Source: US State Department, Office of the Historian https://history.state.gov/milestones/1989-1992/fall-of-communism
The 1990s
Which Seattle band's 1991 album Nevermind brought grunge into the mainstream?
easy
Nirvana
Nevermind, with "Smells Like Teen Spirit", started a wave of Pacific Northwest rock.
Source: Rock & Roll Hall of Fame https://www.rockhall.com/inductees/nirvana
On December 25, 1991, the hammer and sickle flag was lowered for the last time. Which country did it belong to?
medium
The Soviet Union
The flag came down as the Soviet Union dissolved at the end of 1991.
Source: US State Department, Office of the Historian https://history.state.gov/milestones/1989-1992/collapse-soviet-union
The treaty that created the European Union in 1993 was signed in which Dutch city?
hard
Maastricht
The Treaty on European Union, known as the Maastricht Treaty, took effect on 1 November 1993.
Source: European Union https://european-union.europa.eu/principles-countries-history/history-eu/1990-99_en
Whitney Houston's "I Will Always Love You" came from the soundtrack of which film, the 1994 Grammy Album of the Year?
medium
The Bodyguard
The song won Record of the Year and The Bodyguard soundtrack won Album of the Year.
Source: Recording Academy https://www.grammy.com/awards/36th-annual-grammy-awards
Which Alanis Morissette album won Album of the Year at the 1996 Grammys?
medium
Jagged Little Pill
It beat Mariah Carey's Daydream for the award.
Source: Recording Academy https://www.grammy.com/awards/38th-annual-grammy-awards
Which Lauryn Hill album won Album of the Year at the 1999 Grammys?
medium
The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill
Her 1998 solo debut took the top album award.
Source: Recording Academy https://www.grammy.com/awards/41st-annual-grammy-awards
What was the name of the sheep born in 1996 that was the first mammal cloned from an adult cell?
easy
Dolly
She was born on 5 July 1996 at the Roslin Institute in Scotland.
Source: University of Edinburgh, Roslin Institute https://www.ed.ac.uk/roslin/about/dolly
What was the name of the small rover that became the first wheeled vehicle on another planet, on Mars in 1997?
medium
Sojourner
The 23-pound rover rolled off the Mars Pathfinder lander in July 1997.
Source: NASA https://www.nasa.gov/history/25-years-ago-mars-pathfinder-launches-to-mars-to-deploy-sojourner-the-first-planetary-rover/
Which 1997 film won 11 Oscars, including Best Picture?
easy
Titanic
Its 11 wins tied the record set by Ben-Hur.
Source: Wikipedia (the Academy's site could not be read) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/70th_Academy_Awards
Which 1994 film starring Tom Hanks won the Oscar for Best Picture?
medium
Forrest Gump
It won six Oscars at the 67th Academy Awards, held in 1995.
Source: Wikipedia (the Academy's site could not be read) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/67th_Academy_Awards
Which country won its first soccer World Cup in 1998, as the host nation?
medium
France
France beat Brazil in the final to win its first title.
Source: Wikipedia (FIFA's site could not be read) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1998_FIFA_World_Cup
The 2000s
In November 2000, the Expedition 1 crew arrived at which orbiting laboratory, where people have lived ever since?
medium
The International Space Station
American Bill Shepherd and Russians Yuri Gidzenko and Sergei Krikalev arrived on November 2, 2000.
Source: NASA https://www.nasa.gov/history/space-station-20th-expedition-1-arrives-at-the-international-space-station/
On 1 January 2002, the banknotes and coins of which new currency went into circulation across much of Europe?
easy
The euro
The euro was launched in 1999, but for its first three years it was used only for accounting and electronic payments.
Source: European Central Bank https://www.ecb.europa.eu/euro/intro/html/index.en.html
Which international science project announced an essentially complete sequence of human DNA in April 2003?
medium
The Human Genome Project
The project ran from 1990 to 2003 and finished two years early.
Source: National Human Genome Research Institute https://www.genome.gov/about-genomics/educational-resources/fact-sheets/human-genome-project
Which twin NASA rovers landed on Mars in January 2004?
medium
Spirit and Opportunity
They landed three weeks apart on opposite sides of Mars and were built to last about three months.
Source: NASA https://science.nasa.gov/mission/mer-opportunity/
In 2006, Pluto was reclassified as what?
easy
A dwarf planet
The International Astronomical Union made the change after similar worlds were found in the Kuiper Belt.
Source: NASA https://science.nasa.gov/dwarf-planets/pluto/facts/
Which giant particle accelerator at CERN, a 27-kilometer ring, first started up in September 2008?
hard
The Large Hadron Collider
It is the newest and largest machine in CERN's accelerator complex.
Source: CERN https://home.cern/science/accelerators/large-hadron-collider
How many gold medals did Michael Phelps win at the 2008 Beijing Olympics?
easy
Eight
That broke Mark Spitz's 1972 record of seven golds at one Games.
Source: Wikipedia (the Olympic site could not be read) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Phelps
Which US president won the Nobel Peace Prize for 2009, less than eight months into his first term?
easy
Barack Obama
The Nobel Committee cited his efforts to strengthen international diplomacy.
Source: Nobel Prize https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace/2009/obama/facts/
Which Norah Jones album won Album of the Year at the 2003 Grammys?
medium
Come Away with Me
Her debut album also gave her Record of the Year for "Don't Know Why".
Source: Recording Academy https://www.grammy.com/awards/45th-annual-grammy-awards
Which Amy Winehouse song won Record of the Year at the 2008 Grammys?
medium
"Rehab"
It won the award at the 50th Grammys.
Source: Recording Academy https://www.grammy.com/awards/50th-annual-grammy-awards
Which 2008 film won eight Oscars, including Best Picture, at the 2009 ceremony?
medium
Slumdog Millionaire
It led the 81st Academy Awards with eight wins.
Source: Wikipedia (the Academy's site could not be read) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/81st_Academy_Awards
The 2010s
Which orbiter flew the last space shuttle mission, in July 2011?
medium
Atlantis
Its landing on July 21, 2011, closed the 30-year shuttle program.
Source: NASA https://www.nasa.gov/history/10-years-ago-sts-135-the-space-shuttles-grand-finale/
Which particle, linked to how other particles get their mass, was discovered at CERN in 2012?
medium
The Higgs boson
Its discovery confirmed the mass-giving Higgs field.
Source: CERN https://home.cern/science/physics/higgs-boson
In March 2013, Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Argentina was elected pope. Which name did he take?
easy
Francis
He was elected the 266th pope on 13 March 2013, at age 76.
Source: The Holy See https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/biography/documents/papa-francesco-biografia-bergoglio.html
Which Pakistani campaigner for girls' education shared the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize?
easy
Malala Yousafzai
She was honored for her fight for every child's right to go to school.
Source: Nobel Prize https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace/2014/yousafzai/facts/
In November 2014, the European Space Agency's Philae became the first spacecraft to land on what kind of object?
hard
A comet
The Rosetta mission delivered Philae to comet 67P on 12 November 2014.
Source: European Space Agency https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/Rosetta
Which NASA spacecraft flew past Pluto in July 2015, taking the first close-up pictures of it?
medium
New Horizons
It flew by Pluto on July 14, 2015, after more than nine years in space.
Source: NASA https://science.nasa.gov/mission/new-horizons/
Which climate treaty did world leaders agree at the COP21 conference in December 2015?
easy
The Paris Agreement
It was reached on 12 December 2015 and aims to keep warming well below 2 degrees Celsius.
Source: United Nations https://www.un.org/en/climatechange/paris-agreement
Which singer-songwriter won the 2016 Nobel Prize in Literature?
medium
Bob Dylan
The prize honored his new poetic expressions within the American song tradition.
Source: Nobel Prize https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/literature/2016/dylan/facts/
Which Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars hit won Record of the Year at the 2016 Grammys?
medium
"Uptown Funk"
It won the award at the 58th Grammys.
Source: Recording Academy https://www.grammy.com/awards/58th-annual-grammy-awards
Which Taylor Swift album won Album of the Year at the 2016 Grammys?
medium
1989
The 2014 album took the top award at the 58th Grammys.
Source: Recording Academy https://www.grammy.com/awards/58th-annual-grammy-awards
The 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro were the first held on which continent?
easy
South America
Rio was the first South American city to host the Games.
Source: Wikipedia (the Olympic site could not be read) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2016_Summer_Olympics
Which 2019 South Korean film became the first non-English-language film to win the Oscar for Best Picture?
medium
Parasite
Bong Joon Ho's film won four Oscars in February 2020, including Best Picture.
Source: Wikipedia (the Academy's site could not be read) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/92nd_Academy_Awards
In April 2019, astronomers released the first ever image of what?
medium
A black hole
The Event Horizon Telescope pictured the supermassive black hole in the galaxy M87 and its shadow.
Source: European Southern Observatory https://www.eso.org/public/news/eso1907/
Plan the round and team scores
8 turns × 60 seconds = 8 minutes of play, plus instructions and breaks.
60
These are adjustable house rules. Pause whenever the group needs more time.
Team 1: 0
Team 2: 0
Use this set with a group
Read a prompt, allow thinking time, then invite an answer or a pass. For a timed round, choose a turn length before starting. A host can keep the printed answers out of view until the round ends.