Ideal Electronic Wrist Quiz

Clearly Ideal's Electronic Wrist Quiz hoped to capitalize on the digital watch craze of the late '70's and early '80's.  Unfortunately, what it didn't do was tell time.

Instead it has 20 small discs that fit inside (one at a time) which when viewed through a magnifying lens on the watch offers questions on various trivia topics.  Press a button and the answer lights up on the right.

The "watch" was produced by Alan Landsburg who produced such shows as "In Search Of...", "That's Incredible", "Gimme a Break", and "The Kids from C.A.P.E.R.".

Go out and vote, you bunch of dirty hippies!

In a desperate ploy for attention, the kid in the commercial wins over his father (who scoffs that he could possibly possess the intelligence boasted by his t-shirt) and siblings with his amazing ability to read tiny random facts from his toy watch.

With questions like "Name Fonzie's Cousin", "How Tall is Gary Coleman",  and "Who Does Larry Wilcox's stunts on CHIPs" (it's a trick question!  Larry does his own stunts!), there's a plethora of pop culture trivia to test even the most rabid '80's fanatic.  Try for yourself.  The answer is opposite of the question (no peeking at the other answers!)

"How old is Charles Bronson?" seems like a pretty poor choice for a question on a toy with any kind of expected shelf life.  Today’s answer?  "Dead".

"Who is the Super on 'One Day at a Time'"?  Trick question.  They were all super.

Should a kid really know the name of the main character in "Hair"?

"Who says "Be there or be square"? "Mork".  Mork?  Did he say this once?  I don't recall this being a catch phrase of his.

Having never heard of "Roadie", curiosity lead me down a road that eventually lead to me exclaiming, "Meatloaf made a movie?!"  And it features Alice Cooper?  In the name of all that is holy, how did this happen?

I'm sure Star Wars nerds everywhere would argue that Obi-Wan Kenobi's weapon was not in fact his light saber, but his mastery of The Force.  And, hello,  "Chachi" was one word.  Wait, what's worse, Star Wars nerds or Happy Days nerds?

"Who is the host of 'In Search of...'" seems poignant this weekend. RIP, Leonard.

"What Planet is Mr. Spock From?"  Another sad reminder.

Actually, the original Three Stooges were Moe, Larry and Shemp when they appeared with Ted Healey in vaudville and in their first film, "Soup to Nuts" before Shemp left to pursue a solo career.

"How much does John Belushi weigh?" seems a little personal.  The answer to "Which Beatle appeared on "Saturday Night Live" is incorrect.  George Harrison appeared on the show in 1976.  McCartney appeared in 1980.

"Name the Three Dukes of Hazzard?" is a misleading question.  Uncle Jessie was a Duke too.

It looks like they gave up on the answer to "Name DJ's on WKRP in Cincinnati".  "Venus Flytrap & Dr".

"How many kids are in the Brady Bunch?" "Six".  Man, Oliver gets *no* respect.

You may have noticed, it can be hard to line up the answers with the question.  That resulted in a list of...

 "The Top 10 Wrong Answers That Would Have Made My 1981 Self Giggle"

"Name Arnold and Willis' sister on Different Strokes" - "Walter Matthau"
"Who is Superman's greatest enemy" - "His shadow"
"Who plays Edith on All in the Family" - "Elizabeth Taylor"
"Who knocked out a horse in Blazing Saddles" - "Paul Lynde"
"Who sang Macho Man" - "Miss Lillian"
"What is the real name of Bowser of Sha-na-na" - "Judy Garland"
"Who Does Larry Wilcox's stunts on CHIPS" - "Michael Jackson"
"Who is the oldest Osmond brother" - "Chastity"
"What is Kojak's favorite snack" - "Miss Piggy"
"Who are the parents of Jamie Lee Curtis" - "Starsky and Hutch"