1983 Trivia, Fun Facts and History |
Quick Facts from 1983:
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Notable events that took place in 1983:
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Top Ten Baby Names of 1983: Jennifer, Jessica, Amanda, Ashley, Sarah, Michael, Chris, Topher, Matthew, David, Joshua |
The Hotties and Fashion Icons: Loni Anderson, Catherine Bach, Kim Basinger, Jennifer Beals, Jacqueline Bisset, Christie Brinkley, Anne Carlisle, Phoebe Cates, Joan Collins, Lydia Cornell, Linda Evans, Farrah Fawcett, Deborah Foreman, Daryl Hannah, Goldie Hawn, Grace Jones, Nastassja Kinski, Jessica Lange, Heather Locklear, Madonna, Stevie Nicks, Dolly Parton, Victoria Principal, Betsy Russell, Brooke Shields, Suzanne Somers, Cheryl Tiegs, Heather Thomas, Mary Woronov, Sean Young |
Hollywood Hunks and Leading Men: Tom Cruise, Burt Reynolds, John Travolta, Richard Gere, Sean Connery |
“The Quotes:” “Go ahead, make my day” – Clint Eastwood in Sudden Impact “Say hello to my little friend!” “Would you like to play a game?” |
Time Magazine’s Men of the Year: Ronald Reagan and Yuri Andropov |
Miss America: Debra Maffett (Anaheim, CA) |
Miss USA: Julie Hayek (California) |
The Good Stuff: Jim Thorpe regained his 1912 decathlon and pentathlon Olympic Gold Medals, 30 years after his death. They were originally taken from him because it was revealed that he played professional minor-league baseball for a season in 1908. Captain Bob Pearson landed Flight 143, piloting an Air Canada Boeing 767, at the RCAF Station Gimli, a closed air force base, with several mechanical failures going on, and NO FUEL. |
>The Scandals: Germany’s Der Stern magazine obtained Adolf Hitler’s secret diaries. After announcing them, and showing them to the world, it was discovered that they were fake. Korean Air flight 007 was shot down over Soviet airspace without warning. |
Pop Star Death: Karen Carpenter (eating disorder) The word ‘anorexia’ entered the American vocabulary. |
Pop Culture News: Scarface (1983) staring Al Pacino is a remake of the 1932 original film about Italian immigrant Antonio “Tony” Camonte, a Chicago gangster, both based on a 1929 novel of the same name by Armitage Trai, based on Al Capone. Actor Kevin Costner was ‘the dead guy in the opening of the film The Big Chill, but we never saw his face. In 1983’s Return of the Jedi, for the speeder chase, Garrett Brown walked through the forest shooting at less than one frame per second. By walking at about 5 mph and projecting the footage at 24 frame/s, the motion seen in the film appeared as if it were moving at around 120 mph. In their 1983 film Monty Python’s the Meaning of Life, the Pythons defined the meaning of life as “Try to be nice to people, avoid eating fat, read a good book every now and then, get some walking in, and try to live together in peace and harmony with people of all creeds and nations.” In a 1983 court case, the New York Times conceded that their ‘Bestseller List’ is not “objective factual content” or a comprehensive list of the country’s best-selling books but admitted it was ‘editorial content.’ Austria does not usually allow dual citizenship, but they made a special exception for Arnold Schwarzenegger in 1983 when he became a US citizen. In 1983, Russian Lieutenant Colonel Stanislav Petrov heroically prevented a full retaliatory nuclear attack against the United States and NATO allies when his Oko nuclear early warning system detected 6 missiles coming from the US and immediately declared it a false alarm. Peter Reyn-Bardt confessed to the murder and dismemberment of his wife in 1983 after a corpse was discovered in the town peat bog. The body was then dated to 1740 AD, and Reyn-Bardt tried to retract his confession but was still convicted. Donna Griffiths started sneezing on January 13th,1981 and didn’t stop until September 16th, 1983(997th day). It’s estimated she sneezed 1 million times in the first 365 days. The 1983 United States Invasion of Grenada was planned using a tourist map and a copy of The Economist. The lowest reliably measured temperature on Earth was −128.6 °F, recorded in Antarctica in 1983. The modern computer mouse was invented. The first videogame console with the possibility to install videogames over the internet was the Atari 2600 in 1983. Purina’s Chuck Wagon dog food was given a promotional video game for the Atari 2600 called “Chase the Chuck Wagon”. It could only be received by proof of purchase labels and now a very collectible Atari 2600 video game. Video game revenues peaked at around $3.2 billion in 1983, then fell to around $100 million by 1985 (a drop of almost 97 percent). The crash abruptly ended what is retrospectively considered the second generation of console video gaming in North America. As a consequence of the Video game crash of 1983, Atari discreetly buried much of its excess stock, as well as an unsold stock of earlier games, in a landfill near Alamogordo, New Mexico. Redondo Beach, CA, adopted the Goodyear Blimp as the city’s official bird in 1983. Lake Mead, the reservoir behind Hoover dam in Nevada/Arizona, hasn’t been at full capacity since 1983. In 1966 Dick Shulze founded his stereo store, “The Sound of Music.” In 1983, he renamed it “Best Buy” and started the current chain of home electronics stores. All of NBC’s 1983 fall shows were canceled by the end of their first season. This is the first and only time this has happened in television history. Michael Jackson’s Thriller album was the best-selling album in the U.S. for 2 years straight, sold 32 million copies worldwide by 1983, and was certified 34x Platinum by the RIAA in 2021, making it one of only two albums ever to get more than 3x Diamond certified. The Eagles Greatest Hits (1971–1975) is number one. Sally Ride became the first American woman in Space. At the time, reporters asked her questions like “Do you cry when things go wrong on the job?” and “Will the flight affect your reproductive organs?” J. Crew began selling through a mail-order catalog. The oldest continuous trophy in sports is America’s Cup. It started in 1851, with Americans winning for 132 consecutive years until Australia took the Cup in 1983. The 1983 Dodge Caravan was the first car with built-in cup holders. In 1983, the city of Redondo Beach, California, adopted the Goodyear Blimp as the official city bird. Walter Johnson’s record of 3508 career strikeouts stood for nearly 50 years before 3 different pitchers (Ryan, Carlton, & Perry) each broke the record in the 1983 season. Troy Aikman was Oklahoma’s 1983 high school typing champion. Cost of a Superbowl ad in 1983: $400,000 |
The Habit: Showing off your Swatch Watches, showing off your Break Dancing moves, Wacky Wallwalkers were octo-shaped sticky toys that could be tossed against a wall, then slowly ‘slime’ their way down. |
1st appearances & 1983’s Most Popular Christmas gifts, toys and presents: Nintendo Entertainment System, My Little Pony, Care Bears, WereBears stuffed bears, Cabbage Patch Kids were the must-have Christmas toy. |
Popular and Best-selling Books From 1983: Cathedral by Raymond Carver Changes by Danielle Steel Christine by Stephen King Hollywood Wives by Jackie Collins The Little Drummer Girl by John le Carré The Lonesome Gods by Louis L’Amour The Loser by Thomas Bernhard Mistral’s Daughter by Judith Krantz The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco Peek-a-Boo, I See You by Joan Phillips Poland by James A. Michener Pet Sematary by Stephen King Poland by James Michner Return of the Jedi by James Kahn Space by James Michner Star Wars: Return of the Jedi by Joan D. Vinge White Gold Wielder by Stephen R. Donaldson Winter’s Tale by Mark Helprin |
Broadway Show – La Cage aux Folles (Musical) Opened on August 21, 1983, and Closed: November 15, 1987 |
Best Film Oscar Winner: Gandhi (presented in 1983) |
The Big Movies: (according to boxofficemojo) 1. Return Of The Jedi 2. Terms of Endearment 3. Flashdance 4. Trading Places 5. WarGames 6. Octopussy 7. Sudden Impact 8. Staying Alive 9. Mr. Mom 10. Risky Business |
1983 Most Popular TV shows: 1. Dallas (CBS) 2. 60 Minutes (CBS) 3. Dynasty (ABC) 4. The A-Team (NBC) 5. Simon & Simon (CBS) 6. Magnum, P.I. (CBS) 7. Falcon Crest (CBS) 8. Kate & Allie (CBS) 9. Hotel (ABC) 10. Cagney & Lacey (CBS) |
1983 Billboard Number One Songs: December 18, 1982 – January 14, 1983: Maneater – Hall & Oates January 15 – February 11: February 12 – February 18: February 19 – March 4: March 5 – April 22: April 23 – April 29: April 30 – May 20: May 21 – May 27: May 28 – July 8: July 9 – September 2: September 3 – September 9: September 10 – September 23: September 24 – September 30: October 1 – October 28: October 29 – November 11: November 12 – December 9: December 10, 1983 – January 20, 1984: |
Sports: World Series Champions: Baltimore Orioles Superbowl XVII Champions: Washington Redskins NBA Champions: Philadelphia 76ers Stanley Cup Champs: New York Islanders U.S. Open Golf Larry Nelson U.S. Tennis: (Men/Ladies) Jimmy Connors/Martina Navratilova Wimbledon (Men/Women): John McEnroe/Martina Navratilova NCAA Football Champions: Miami NCAA Basketball Champions: North Carolina State Kentucky Derby: Sunny’s Halo |