Can You Ace This Quiz About Life Pre-1985?

By: Khadija Leon
Estimated Completion Time
2 min
Can You Ace This Quiz About Life Pre-1985?
Image: By Rob Boudon from New York City, USA, via Wikimedia Commons

About This Quiz

Generation X, much like the previous Baby Boomers, and succeeded by Millennials, is a demographic born between the mid-1960s to the early 1980s. Also referred to a "latchkey kids," people who grew up during that time were known for growing up with little parental supervision, often returning home from school to an empty home. 

They were also known for being independent, artistic, and family-oriented. On the negative side, they have been called slackers and are also blamed for the current state of affairs in the western hemisphere. 

Like all generations, Generation X had its fads and trends; from Farrah Fawcett's hair and bikini to mood rings. From and tie-dye to VHS tapes, MTV, pagers, and shows like "The Dukes of Hazard" and "The Brady Bunch." There were many things that made this generation one of the most fun. 

How well would you be able to identify some of the most iconic things, people, and events from the Generation X era? Will your results show that you are a true Gen Xer, or will it show that you were not around during that time? The only way to find out just how much you know about it is to take this quiz! 

Neon
Shutterstock
Who or what is this?
Flagpole sitting
Neon
Neon was all the rage in the early- to mid-1980s. Most of the colors included hot pink, acid green, bright orange, and yellow. Everything from clothing to accessories to shoes was created in these bright hues which might have been one of the reasons​ why people wore sunglasses at night.
Stick ball
Drive in theaters

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Disco
Shutterstock
Who or what is this?
Swing dance
Hood ornaments
Disco
Disco is a genre of music which was extremely popular beginning​ in the 1970s. It first emerged in the urban night scene and soon made its way into the homes of many Americans as artists like Donna Summers, the Village People, and the Bee Gees started producing these types of songs.
Mah jongg

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The Dukes of Hazzard 1979
CBS
Who or what is this?
The Dukes of Hazzard
"The Dukes of Hazzard" is an American comedy television series which aired on CBS from 1979 to 1985. The series was inspired by the film, "Moonrunners," which was created by the same person and features many of the same characters and concepts.
Miniature golf
Stamp collecting
Betty Boop

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Camaros
TheSmokingTire
Who or what is this?
Dance marathons
Flappers
Camaro
The Chevrolet Camaro is an American automobile classified as both a pony and muscle car. The car first went on sale in 1967 to compete with the Ford Mustang. The sixth generation of the car went into production in 2016 and is still being produced.
Monopoly

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Pogo Stick
n/a
Who or what is this?
Smurfs
Silly putty
Slinky
Pogo stick
Pogo sticks are a type of toy used for jumping off the ground while in a standing position. Based on a spring stilt created in 1891, the modern stick was designed and patented in 1957 but only became popular in the 1970s. The popular device led to the creation of an extreme sport called extreme pogo.

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Ginger
YouTube
Who or what is this?
Cloche hat
Gilligan's Island
"Gilligan’s Island" is an American sitcom which aired on CBS from 1964 to 1967. It follows a group of seven people who are shipwrecked on an island. Viewers watched as the characters struggled to find ways to escape from the island.
Pea shooter
PEZ

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The Shining
Warner Bros.
Who or what is this?
The Shining
"The Shining" is a 1980 horror film based on a 1977 Stephen King novel with the same name. It follows a writer, his wife and their son, Danny, who stay at an isolated hotel in the hopes of curing his writer’s block. Once there, Danny begins to have psychic premonitions which only worsen with time.
Zoot suits
Bratz
Auto-Tune

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Hip Hop
Shutterstock
Who or what is this?
Hip Hop
Hip hop music, simply called hip-hop, is a genre of music developed by inner-city African-Americans in the 1970s. It consists of a rhythmic beat which can either be accompanied by rapping or singing. The genre is typically associated with graffiti, break dancing, and beatboxing.
Beyblade
Emo
Grillz

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Uno (game)
averagemastermind
Who or what is this?
Low rise jeans
Livestrong wristbands
Uno
Uno, which is Spanish for the word one, is an American card game developed by Merle Robbins in 1971. The game was a part of the ‘Crazy Eights’ family of card games and is a shedding-type of card game.
Paintball

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M*A*S*H
The Movie DB
Who or what is this?
Play Station
M*A*S*H
M*A*S*H is an American television series which aired from 1972 to 1983 and was based on a 1968 novel called MASH: A Novel About Three Army Doctors, and the 1970 film, "MASH." The series followed a group of doctors and supporting staff stationed at a surgical hospital during the Korean War.
Segway
Thongs

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Apollo 11
Wikicommons
Who or what is this?
Wireless camera phones
Trucker hats
Blankets with sleeves
Apollo 11
Apollo 11 was the name of the space flight in which the first two human beings landed on the moon. The ship, which carried Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin, landed on July 20, 1969. The first step on the moon was documented the following day.

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John Hughes movies
Warner Bros.
Who or what is this?
Scooby-Doo bracelets
Sticker books
John Hughes movies
John Hughes was an American film director and producer who is best known for directing some of the most successful films to be released in the early 1980s. Some of them include "National Lampoon’s Vacation," "Mr. Mom," "Weird Science," "Sixteen Candles," and "The Breakfast Club."
Star Wars

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Ouija board
Universal Pictures
Who or what is this?
Ouija board
The Ouija board, often called the spirit board, is a flat board marked with the letters of the alphabet, the numbers 0-9, and the words yes, no, and goodbye. They were first used in the 1890s as a way to contact supernatural and paranormal beings, but only rose to prominence when the appeared in a string of movies between the 1960s and late 1980s.
Poodle skirt
Snap bracelets
Sock hops

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The Brady Bunch
Youtube
Who or what is this?
Tamagotchi
The Brady Bunch
"The Brady Bunch" was an American sitcom which aired from September 1969 to March 1974. The series was centered around a large blended family of two parents and six children going along their regular lives. The series was so popular, it inspired multiple spin-offs and a film.
Conical bras
Beatniks

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Water beds
Aquaglow Waterbeds via Youtube
Who or what is this?
Pokemon cards
Drive-in theaters
Angry birds
Waterbed
Waterbeds or water mattresses are a type of bed or mattress filled with water. Originally intended for medical purposes in the 19th century, the modern version of the bed became extremely popular in the late 1970s and mid-1980s.

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Magic 8-ball
Shutterstock
Who or what is this?
Shag bands
Magic 8 Ball
The Magic 8 Ball is a fortune-telling toy developed and manufactured by Mattel in the 1950s. The ball was used by people looking for advice. Answers ranged from “it is certain,” “outlook not so good,” “concentrate and ask again,” and “don’t count on it."
Cronuts
Boom boxes

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Big hair
Loepsie
Who or what is this?
Push pops
Big hair
Big hair is a group of hairstyles which are focused on voluminous and largely styled hair occupying a lot of the space around the head. The term originated in the late 1970s when the style first became popular, and since then, has been used to describe many types of styles.
Dubstep
Denim

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Leg warmers
Wiki commons
Who or what is this?
Leg warmers
Leg warmers are a type of covering worn on the lower legs. Much like a pair of socks (but thicker), these footless covers went all the way up to the knee and thighs. They were also worn by dancers and in the 1980s, people began wearing them over many different types of clothing.
Breath strips
Duck Dynasty
Friendship bracelets

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Madonna
YouTube
Who or what is this?
Gel pens
Food truck
He-Man
Madonna
Madonna (Louise Ciccone) is an American singer and songwriter who has been called the “Queen of Pop” since the 1980s. During that time and to this date, she has been known for pushing the boundaries both in her fashion choices and her music.

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Led Zeppelin
n/a
Who or what is this?
Fruit winders
GIFs
Led Zeppelin
Led Zepplin was an English rock band formed in 1968. It consisted of Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, John Paul Jones and John Bonham. Some of their most popular songs include “Stairway to Heaven” (1971), “Black Dog” (1971) and “Whole Lotta Love” (1969).
Horror movies

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Minidresses
Bonnie Simon
Who or what is this?
Teeth gems
Mini dress
A minidress is a type of dress which is very short with the hemline located at the mid-thigh or higher level. They were very popular from the mid-1960s​, especially when paired with go-go boots. This type of dress is still worn today and there is even a micro version.
Grumpy cat
Koosh Ball

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Tie dye
Austin Robinson
Who or what is this?
Beyblades
Selfies
Tie-dye
Tie-dye is a term invented in the mid-1960s and referred to a dyeing technique in which clothing or cloth was folded, pleated, or crumpled, then bound by string and​ dyed. The technique was created centuries ago but was extremely popular in the 1960s and 1970s.
Strawberry shortcake

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Duncan Yo Yo
n/a
Who or what is this?
Beanie babies
Shake weights
Yo-yo
Yo-yo is a winding toy which consists of an axle attached to two disks and a string looped around the axle. The exact date of when it was invented is unclear, but it was extremely popular from the late 1960s to the 1980s.
Smurfs

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Pagers
n/a
Who or what is this?
Shiny pants
Pager
Much like the modern cellphone, pagers (or beepers) were wireless telecommunications devices that received voice and alphanumerical messages. They were developed sometime between the 1950s and 1960s and were widely used throughout the 1980s and 1990s.
Twerking
Vans shoes

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MadBalls
YouTube
Who or what is this?
Avril Lavigne
Zumba
Trivial pursuit
Madballs
Madballs are a series of rubber balls created by AmToy in the 1980s. The tennis ball-sized toys were known for using gross humor in the look and packaging. The toyline later inspired its own television series, video game, and comic book series.

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Fad Hairstyle
YouTube
Who or what is this?
Farrah Fawcett hair
Farrah Fawcett was an American model and actress best known for her role in the television series, “Charlie’s Angels. She was also known for her iconic hairstyle which rose to prominence in the late 1970s and the 1980s and was one of the most requested styles at salons across the United States.
Beaded chokers
Beezin'
Bottle flipping

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Which Beatles Song Should Be Your Theme Song
YouTube
Who or what is this?
Fishnet tights
Flappy bird
Fire challenge
The Beatles
The Beatles was a Britsh rock band which consisted of John Lennon, George Harrison, Paul McCartney, and Ringo Starr. They are the best-selling band in the history of music and were particularly successful in the mid-1960s​ and the 1970s.

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Battleship
YouTube
Who or what is this?
Shrug
Battleship
Battleship is a type of two-player guessing game where people take turns trying to destroy the opposing player's concealed fleets. The game dates as far back as World War I but was released by Milton Bradley in 1967 as a board game, making it very popular.
Gangnam Style
Ice bucket challenge

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80's Hairstyle
YouTube
Who or what is this?
Selfie stick
Slender Man
Scooby Doo
Mullet
The Mullet, often referred to as “business in the front and party in the back,” is a type of haircut (usually worn by men) which is short in the front and the sides with the back being very long. In the 1970s this style was worn by many people, celebrities included.

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Caprisun
Abdullooz
Who or what is this?
3D movies
Capri Sun
Capri Sun is a brand of juice drinks introduced in 1969. The company was known for selling its products in foil pouches. Distribution began in the 1980s and almost every child who grew up then went to school with them in their lunch boxes.
Ant Farm
Frisbees

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Mood Ring
n/a
Who or what is this?
Mood ring
A mood ring is a type of ring that contains a thermochromic element that changes colors based on the temperature of the wearer’s finger. They were created in 1975 and were one of the most popular fads of the time.
Hula hoop
PEZ
Sideburns

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Knight Rider 1982
The Movie DB
Who or what is this?
Poodle skirt
Lettered sweaters
Knight Rider
"Knight Rider" is an American entertainment franchise consisting of three television series, films, video games, and novels. The original series, which followed a modern-day crime fighter named Michael Knight, aired in 1982 and was a huge success from the very beginning,
Boom boxes

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Mastermind
n/a
Who or what is this?
Denim jackets
Care Bears
Conical bras
Mastermind
Mastermind is a code-breaking two-player game invented in 1970. Players use pegs to guess a code. The game has been said to resemble a century-old game called Bulls and Cows.

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Valley girls
Kelly Doscher
Who or what is this?
Hacky-sack
Valley girls
Valley girls are a socio-economic group of women classically depicted as upper-middle class girls from Los Angeles and the San Fernando Valley. Throughout the 1980s, people knew exactly what the term meant and many young women tried to be just like them.
Beatniks
He-Man

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Tapes
Shutterstock
Who or what is this?
VHS tapes
VHS (Video Home System) cassette tapes were developed in the 1970s and released in the United States in 1977. They were a form of recording that people in the movie and television industry used to distribute films and shows for the general public to purchase. They were also popular with the general public, which used them to record home movies.
Jelly shoes
Horror color shirts
Lace fingerless gloves

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Happy Days
n/a
Who or what is this?
Miami Vice
Nintendo
Happy Days
"Happy Days" is an American television sitcom that aired on ABC from January 1974 to September 1984. The series followed Richie Cunningham and his friends while they attended high school in the 1950s. The series was extremely successful and was the inspiration for a few spin-offs.
Penny Loafers

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Rubik's Cube
Shutterstock
Who or what is this?
Saved by the Bell
Slap bracelet
Smurfs
Rubik's Cube
The Rubik’s Cube is a 3D puzzle invented in 1974 by a Hungarian sculptor. The toy, which is considered to be one of the world’s best-selling toys, consists of six faces each of which has nine same-colored squares, which must be sorted in the same color using a pivoting mechanism.

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Boggle
youtube
Who or what is this?
Rainbow Brite
Popples
Poodle skirt
Boggle
Boggle is a type of word game invented by Allan Turoff and disturbed by the Parker Brothers in 1972. The game used a grid which consisted of 16 lettered dice with which players tried to​ create words using the letters adjacent to each other.

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Go Go Boots
YouTube
Who or what is this?
Go-go boots
Go-go boots are a type of heeled boots typically worn by women. They were first introduced in the mid-1960s and were popular until the late 1970s. Since then, the term has been used to include many different types of boots, both over the knee and mid-calf.
Tetherball
Sock hops
Valley girls

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You Got:
/39
By Rob Boudon from New York City, USA, via Wikimedia Commons