January 9

1793

Jean-Pierre Blanchard conducts the first hot air balloon flight in the Americas.

Balloonatics

Do you want a balloon... quiz?

  1. What is the name of the old man in Up who ties thousands of balloons to his house?
  2. What German band became one-hit wonders in the United States with "99 Red Balloons"?
  3. What animal makes up the bulk of your defenses in the Bloons Tower Defense video game franchise?
  4. Who is Falcon Heene?
  5. What American city held its first International Balloon Fiesta in 1972?
  1. Carl Fredricksen
  2. Nena
  3. Monkeys
  4. The supposedly missing child in the Balloon Boy hoax
  5. Albuquerque, New Mexico

1935

Bob Denver, aka Gilligan, is born in New Rochelle, New York.

That's My Island!

What country owns these islands?

Just Off the Coast

  1. Puerto Rico
  2. Iwo Jima
  3. Sardinia
  4. The Canary Islands
  5. Aruba

Starting to Take Atoll on You

  1. The Azores
  2. Easter Island
  3. The Faeroe Islands
  4. Phuket
  5. The Galapagos Islands

Lost at Sea

  1. Svalbard
  2. Baffin Island
  3. Corfu
  4. Cozumel
  5. Gotland

Just Off the Coast

  1. United States
  2. Japan
  3. Italy
  4. Spain
  5. The Netherlands

Starting to Take Atoll on You

  1. Portugal
  2. Chile
  3. Denmark
  4. Thailand
  5. Ecuador

Lost at Sea

  1. Norway
  2. Canada
  3. Greece
  4. Mexico
  5. Sweden

1984

Van Halen releases their album 1984, which featured hits like "Panama" and "Jump".

Literally 1984

This quiz about 1984 is doubleplusgood!

  1. What series based on books by Rev. W. Awdry broadcast its first episodes in the United Kingdom in 1984?
  2. Who lost the 1984 presidential election?
  3. Who won the 1984 World Series?
  4. Who did the Portland Trail Blazers select 2nd overall in the 1984 NBA draft, right between Hakeem Olajuwon and Michael Jordan?
  5. What principality nestled between Switzerland and Austria gave women the right to vote in 1984?
  6. Where were the 1984 Summer Olympics hosted (and boycotted by the Soviet Union)?
  7. What did Bruce McCandless II and Robert L. Stewart do in 1984 to make them famous?
  8. What prime minister was assassinated in 1984 by their own security guards?
  9. What conference known for talks about technology, entertainment, and design was founded in 1984?
  10. What slogan did Wendy's debut in 1984?
  11. What pizza chain was founded in Jeffersontown, Kentucky in 1984?
  12. The Terminator hit theaters in 1984. According to the film's sequel, what year did Skynet take over?
  1. Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends
  2. Walter Mondale
  3. The Detroit Tigers
  4. Sam Bowie
  5. Liechtenstein
  6. Los Angeles
  7. The first untethered space walk
  8. Indira Gandhi
  9. TED
  10. "Where's the beef?"
  11. Papa John's
  12. 1997
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