1986 History, Facts, and Trivia
Quick Facts from 1986
- World Changing Event: The Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant reactor #4 exploded on April 26, 1986, in the Soviet Union. The blast and resulting radiation exposed an estimated 500,000 to 6,000,000 people to dangerous levels of radiation. The USSR actively suppressed information about the severity of the disaster — and even forged a letter claiming the U.S. government was exaggerating it.
- Top Song: “That’s What Friends Are For” by Dionne Warwick featuring Elton John, Gladys Knight, and Stevie Wonder
- Must-See Movies: Top Gun, Pretty in Pink, Little Shop of Horrors, Crocodile Dundee, Stand by Me, and Ferris Bueller’s Day Off
- Most Famous American: Paul Hogan — Crocodile Dundee made him an overnight international sensation
- Notable Books: Love You Forever by Robert Munsch, It by Stephen King, and Lake Wobegon Days by Garrison Keillor
- Cabbage Patch Kid: $29.97 | AA Batteries (4-pack): $3.38
- The Funny Guy: Robin Williams
- The Disaster: Space Shuttle Challenger disintegrated 73 seconds after launch on January 28, killing all seven crew members. Millions of schoolchildren watched it happen live because teacher Christa McAuliffe was on board.
- Super Bowl XX ad cost: $550,000 for 30 seconds
Top Ten Baby Names of 1986
Girls: Jessica, Ashley, Amanda, Jennifer, Sarah
Boys: Michael, Christopher, Matthew, Joshua, David
Fashion Icons and Sex Symbols
Christie Brinkley, Elle Macpherson
Hollywood Hunks and Leading Men
Tom Cruise, Michael Hutchence, Mickey Rourke, Paul Newman
The Quotes
“With heart, faith, and steel. In the end, there can only be one.” — Sean Connery, Highlander
“I feel the need — the need for speed!” — Tom Cruise and Anthony Edwards, Top Gun
“Pork. The other white meat.” — National Pork Board campaign, 1986
“Yeah… that’s the ticket.” — Jon Lovitz as Tommy Flanagan, Saturday Night Live
“I’m not a doctor, but I play one on TV.” — Vicks cough syrup commercial, widely parodied throughout 1986
“Be afraid. Be very afraid.” — Geena Davis, The Fly
Time Magazine Person of the Year
Dr. David Ho — though this was the 1987 award for work done in 1986. Time’s actual 1986 Person of the Year was Corazon Aquino, the first female president of the Philippines, who led a peaceful revolution that ousted Ferdinand Marcos.
Miss America and Miss USA
Miss America: Susan Akin, Meridian, MS
Miss USA: Christy Fichtner, Texas
The Hero
Neerja Bhanot (September 7, 1963 – September 5, 1986) was the senior flight attendant aboard Pan Am Flight 73 on September 5, 1986. The plane was at Karachi airport in Pakistan when four hijackers boarded and held 380 passengers and 13 crew members hostage for 17 hours.
When the hijackers demanded the passports of American passengers to use as leverage, Bhanot collected and hid them — stuffing them under seat cushions, flushing them down toilets, and disposing of them before the hijackers could act. Unable to identify the Americans, the hijackers lost their primary bargaining chip.
As the situation escalated with shooting and explosions, Bhanot opened the emergency escape doors and guided passengers out of the plane. She was one of the last to remain. A hijacker grabbed her by her ponytail and shot her at point-blank range while she was shielding three children from gunfire. She died two days before her 23rd birthday. She is credited with saving the majority of the passengers and crew. She was posthumously awarded India’s highest peacetime civilian honor.
The Little-Recognized Invention
Jim Moylan invented the gas tank indicator arrow — the small triangle on your dashboard gauge showing which side your fuel cap is on — in 1986. It debuted in select Ford models in 1989. He chose not to patent it. Every other manufacturer copied it, and now virtually every car in the world has one.
The Tragedies
Space Shuttle Challenger broke apart 73 seconds after launch on January 28, 1986, killing all seven crew members: Francis Scobee, Michael Smith, Ronald McNair, Ellison Onizuka, Judith Resnik, Gregory Jarvis, and Christa McAuliffe. McAuliffe was to be the first teacher in space. Thousands of schools had tuned in live.
Lake Nyos in Cameroon experienced a catastrophic limnic eruption on August 21, 1986, releasing a massive cloud of CO2 that suffocated over 1,700 people in nearby villages overnight — one of the strangest natural disasters in recorded history.
The Scandals
The phrase “going postal” originated from a mass shooting on August 20, 1986, when U.S. Postal Service employee Patrick Sherrill opened fire at his workplace in Edmond, Oklahoma, killing 14 people before taking his own life.
Iran-Contra: Several members of the Reagan administration secretly sold arms to Iran — a designated enemy — and used the proceeds to fund the Contras, anti-communist rebels in Nicaragua, in direct violation of a congressional ban.
Cleveland, Ohio’s Balloonfest released 1.5 million balloons simultaneously on September 27, 1986, in an attempt to break a world record. The balloons caused chaos — disrupting a Coast Guard search-and-rescue operation, and triggering a lawsuit after two fishermen drowned and their bodies were found amid the deflated balloons. Guinness never officially recognized the event.
The Tonight Show host Johnny Carson’s close friend, Joan Rivers, launched a competing late-night talk show on Fox. Carson considered it a personal betrayal and never spoke to her again.
Bobby Ewing walked out of the shower alive. The entire previous season of Dallas had been a dream. This remains one of the most infamous plot twists — and cop-outs — in television history.
A 12-member Florida jury got stuck in the courthouse elevator for 20 minutes while hearing a case against the Otis elevator company. Otis lost, paying $135,000.
We Lost in 1986
Desi Arnaz, actor and co-creator of I Love Lucy, died on December 2, age 69
Cary Grant, actor — died November 29, age 82
James Cagney, actor — died March 30, age 86
Georgia O’Keeffe, painter — died March 6, age 98Â
Orson Welles — died October 10, 1985 (his voice appeared in The Transformers animated film released in 1986 — his final performance)
Len Bias, NBA first-round draft pick by the Boston Celtics — died of a cocaine overdose two days after being drafted, age 22
Cliff Burton, bassist of Metallica, died in a tour bus accident in Sweden on September 27, age 24
Pop Culture Facts and History
Andy Warhol’s final work before his death was the cover art for Aretha Franklin’s 1986 album Aretha.
The Wave — the crowd ripple now seen at every sporting event — was brought to worldwide attention during the 1986 FIFA World Cup in Mexico.
The word “Walkman” entered the Oxford English Dictionary in 1986. The device itself had been available since 1979.
Teacher Pleasant Rowland created the first American Girl dolls in 1986. Mattel acquired the line in 1998.
Burning Man started in 1986 on Baker Beach in San Francisco with 35 attendees and no admission fee. It later moved to the Black Rock Desert in Nevada.
James Cameron pitched Aliens to studio executives by walking in, writing the word “Alien” on a whiteboard, then adding an “s” and slowly turning the “s” into a dollar sign. He got the green light.
Steve Jobs purchased the computer graphics division of Lucasfilm in 1986 for $10 million and renamed it Pixar. Both Lucasfilm and Pixar are now subsidiaries of The Walt Disney Company.
Geraldo Rivera’s live TV special The Mystery of Al Capone’s Vaults was the most-watched live television event of 1986, with 30 million viewers. After two hours of buildup, the vault — hidden beneath Chicago’s Lexington Hotel — contained nothing but dirt and an old stop sign.
A California produce plant owner discovered that misshapen carrots could be trimmed and rounded into small uniform pieces, creating the baby carrot in 1986. They became an instant grocery staple.
While teaching marine biology in 1986, Stephen Hillenburg was asked to create an educational comic about anthropomorphized sea creatures. He named one character “Bob the Sponge.” He later adapted these characters into SpongeBob SquarePants.
Aerosmith and Run-DMC recorded a collaboration of “Walk This Way” in 1986 — one of the first major fusions of rock and hip-hop, and widely credited with helping bring rap into mainstream radio.
Two men attacked CBS anchor Dan Rather on a New York street in 1986, repeatedly demanding “Kenneth, what is the frequency?” The attackers were never identified. R.E.M. later turned the phrase into the song “What’s the Frequency, Kenneth?” — the first song ever to debut at #1 on the Billboard Modern Rock Chart.
Peter Gabriel’s stop-motion music video for “Sledgehammer” revolutionized video production and became the most-played video on MTV at the time.
Harrods, a small restaurant in Otorohanga, New Zealand, was threatened with a lawsuit by the famous London department store of the same name. The town responded by renaming itself Harrodsville and renaming all its businesses “Harrods.”
Orson Welles provided his final voice performance as Unicron in the 1986 animated film The Transformers: The Movie. He died before its release.
Mets fan Mike Sergio parachuted onto the Shea Stadium field during Game 6 of the 1986 World Series. He was jailed for 21 days and sentenced to 500 hours of community service. He refused to name the pilot who flew him in. The Mets won that game.
In 1986, Danny Heep became the first player in World Series history to serve as a designated hitter with the initials D.H.
Top Gun increased U.S. Navy recruitment applications by 500% following its release.
Five-year-old Levan Merritt fell into the gorilla enclosure at Durrell Wildlife Park in Jersey, England, and lost consciousness. A silverback gorilla named Jambo stood guard over the boy, gently stroking him and placing himself between the child and the other gorillas. The footage was broadcast worldwide and significantly changed public perception of gorillas.
Scott County, Tennessee, technically broke away from the state during the Civil War to remain with the Union and did not officially rejoin until 1986. The secession had lasted 125 years.
King County, Washington — the state’s largest county — had been named after William Rufus DeVane King, a slaveholder and former U.S. Vice President. In 1986, the county council voted to retroactively rename the county after Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., without changing the county’s name.
The Disappointment
Finding out that the entire previous season of Dallas was just Bobby Ewing’s dream — meaning a full year of storylines, character deaths, and plot developments was erased in a single shower scene.
The Habits
On Sunday, May 25, 1986, during Hands Across America, over six million people formed a human chain from New York to California. At 3:00 p.m. EST, radio stations across the country simultaneously played the song “Hands Across America.”
Christmas Gifts, Toys, and First Appearances of 1986
Real Ghostbusters action figures, My Pet Monster, Panini Football stickers, Outburst, Balderdash
Nobel Prize Winners
Physics — Ernst Ruska, Gerd Binnig, and Heinrich Rohrer
Chemistry — Dudley R. Herschbach, Yuan T. Lee, and John C. Polanyi
Medicine — Stanley Cohen and Rita Levi-Montalcini
Literature — Wole Soyinka
Peace — Elie Wiesel
Economics — James M. Buchanan
Popular and Best-Selling Books of 1986
A Perfect Spy — John le Carré
Batman: The Dark Knight Returns — Frank Miller and Klaus Janson
The Bourne Supremacy — Robert Ludlum
Hollywood Husbands — Jackie Collins
I’ll Take Manhattan — Judith Krantz
It — Stephen King
Lake Wobegon Days — Garrison Keillor
Last of the Breed — Louis L’Amour
Lie Down with Lions — Ken Follett
The Mammoth Hunters — Jean M. Auel
Maus: A Survivor’s Tale — Art Spiegelman
The Prince of Tides — Pat Conroy
Red Storm Rising — Tom Clancy
Wanderlust — Danielle Steel
Whirlwind — James Clavell
Broadway and Theater in 1986
The Phantom of the Opera (musical) opened in the West End on October 9, 1986, and is the longest-running musical in Broadway history after transferring to New York in 1988
Me and My Girl (musical) opened on Broadway on August 10, 1986, and closed on December 31, 1989
Best Film Oscar Winner
Out of Africa, directed by Sydney Pollack and starring Meryl Streep and Robert Redford, won Best Picture at the 1986 Academy Awards, presented for the 1985 film year.
The Bomb
Movie: Howard the Duck — produced by George Lucas, adapted from the Marvel Comics character, and widely considered one of the worst films ever made. It lost approximately $37 million. Is it an MCU Film?
TV: The Ellen Burstyn Show was NBC’s most aggressively promoted new sitcom and one of its fastest cancellations.
Top Movies of 1986
- Top Gun
- Crocodile Dundee
- Platoon
- The Karate Kid Part II
- Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home
- Back to School
- Aliens
- The Golden Child
- Ruthless People
- Ferris Bueller’s Day Off
Most Popular TV Shows of 1986
- The Cosby Show (NBC)
- Family Ties (NBC)
- Cheers (NBC)
- Murder, She Wrote (CBS)
- The Golden Girls (NBC)
- 60 Minutes (CBS)
- Night Court (NBC)
- Growing Pains (ABC)
- Moonlighting (ABC)
- Who’s the Boss? (ABC)
1986 Billboard Number One Songs
December 21, 1985 – January 17, 1986: “Say You, Say Me” — Lionel Richie
January 18 – February 14: “That’s What Friends Are For” — Dionne Warwick featuring Elton John, Gladys Knight, and Stevie Wonder
February 15 – February 28: “How Will I Know” — Whitney Houston
March 1 – March 14: “Kyrie” — Mr. Mister
March 15 – March 21: “Sara” — Starship
March 22 – March 28: “These Dreams” — Heart
March 29 – April 18: “Rock Me Amadeus” — Falco
April 19 – May 2: “Kiss” — Prince
May 3 – May 9: “Addicted to Love” — Robert Palmer
May 10 – May 16: “West End Girls” — Pet Shop Boys
May 17 – June 6: “Greatest Love of All” — Whitney Houston
June 7 – June 13: “Live to Tell” — Madonna
June 14 – July 4: “On My Own” — Patti LaBelle and Michael McDonald
July 5 – July 11: “There’ll Be Sad Songs (To Make You Cry)” — Billy Ocean
July 12 – July 18: “Holding Back the Years” — Simply Red
July 19 – July 25: “Invisible Touch” — Genesis
July 26 – August 1: “Sledgehammer” — Peter Gabriel
August 2 – August 15: “The Glory of Love” — Peter Cetera
August 16 – August 29: “Papa Don’t Preach” — Madonna
August 30 – September 5: “Higher Love” — Steve Winwood
September 6 – September 12: “Venus” — Bananarama
September 13 – September 19: “Take My Breath Away” — Berlin
September 20 – October 10: “Stuck with You” — Huey Lewis and the News
October 11 – October 24: “When I Think of You” — Janet Jackson
October 25 – November 7: “True Colors” — Cyndi Lauper
November 8 – November 21: “Amanda” — Boston
November 22 – November 28: “Human” — Human League
November 29 – December 5: “You Give Love a Bad Name” — Bon Jovi
December 6 – December 12: “The Next Time I Fall” — Peter Cetera featuring Amy Grant
December 13 – December 19: “The Way It Is” — Bruce Hornsby and the Range
December 20, 1986 – January 16, 1987: “Walk Like an Egyptian” — The Bangles
1986 had two #1 hits each from Whitney Houston, Madonna, and Peter Cetera — and produced one of the most musically diverse chart years of the decade, ranging from Falco singing in German to Prince to Bananarama to Boston.
Sports Champions of 1986
World Series: New York Mets
Super Bowl XX: Chicago Bears
NBA Champions: Boston Celtics
Stanley Cup: Montreal Canadiens
U.S. Open Golf: Ray Floyd
U.S. Open Tennis — Men: Ivan Lendl | Women: Martina Navratilova
Wimbledon — Men: Boris Becker | Women: Martina Navratilova
NCAA Football: Penn State
NCAA Basketball: Louisville
Kentucky Derby: Ferdinand
FIFA World Cup: Argentina
Sports Highlight: The 1986 World Cup in Mexico produced one of the most debated moments in sports history — Diego Maradona scored two goals against England in the quarterfinal. The first was an illegal handball that he later called “the Hand of God.” The second, scored seconds later, is widely considered the greatest goal ever scored.
FAQ — 1986 Trivia, Fun Fact, and Pop Culture History
Q: What was the biggest disaster of 1986?
A: Two catastrophic events defined 1986 — the Space Shuttle Challenger explosion on January 28, which killed all seven crew members 73 seconds after launch, and the Chernobyl nuclear disaster on April 26, which exposed millions to radiation and remains the worst nuclear accident in history.
Q: What was the #1 song of 1986?
A: “That’s What Friends Are For” by Dionne Warwick featuring Elton John, Gladys Knight, and Stevie Wonder was the top Billboard Year-End song of 1986.
Q: What was the biggest movie of 1986?
A: Top Gun, starring Tom Cruise, was the top-grossing film of 1986. It also increased U.S. Navy recruitment applications by 500%.
Q: Who was the hero of Pan Am Flight 73?
A: Neerja Bhanot, a 22-year-old flight attendant, hid American passengers’ passports from hijackers and shielded children from gunfire during the September 1986 hijacking in Karachi. She was shot and killed while protecting three children and was posthumously awarded India’s highest peacetime civilian honor.
Q: What TV plot twist shocked audiences in 1986?
A: Dallas revealed that its entire previous season had been a dream — Bobby Ewing simply walked out of a shower alive, erasing a full year of storylines. It is widely considered one of the most infamous cop-outs in television history.
Q: What new company did Steve Jobs create in 1986?
A: Jobs purchased the computer graphics division of Lucasfilm and renamed it Pixar. It would go on to produce some of the most successful animated films in history.
Q: What was the most-watched live TV event of 1986?
A: Geraldo Rivera’s The Mystery of Al Capone’s Vaults, watched by 30 million viewers. The vault contained nothing but dirt and an old stop sign.
Q: Who won the 1986 FIFA World Cup?
A: Argentina, led by Diego Maradona, defeated West Germany in the final. The tournament is remembered for Maradona’s “Hand of God” goal and his subsequent “Goal of the Century” against England.
Q: What new crowd craze started in 1986?
A: The Wave — the ripple motion performed by crowds in stadiums — was introduced to the world during the 1986 FIFA World Cup in Mexico.
Q: What invention from 1986 is now in every car on the road?
A: The gas tank indicator arrow — the small symbol showing which side your fuel cap is on — was invented by Jim Moylan in 1986. He never patented it, and every other car manufacturer eventually copied it for free.
More 1986 History and Trivia Resources
Most Popular Baby Names (BabyCenter.com)
Popular and Notable Books (popculture.us)
Broadway Shows that Opened in 1986X
1986 Calendar, courtesy of Time and Date.com
Everything 80s Podcast 1986
Fact Monster
1980s, Infoplease.com World History
Millennial Generation (1981-1996)
1986 in Movies (according to IMDB)
1986 Top Movies (according to BoxOfficeMojo)
Retrowaste Vintage Culture
80s Facts About the 80s(Mental Floss)
80s and 90s Classic NES Games (1985-1994)
1980s Slang
1980s Timeline (Security and Exchange Commission)
Wikipedia 1986
