Happy 30th birthday, Tetris! The dropping-block game that kicked off a puzzle gaming craze was released on June 6, 1984. Its Russian folk music soundtrack became an earworm for players everywhere, and it was instrumental in launching the success of mobile gaming when it hit the Game Boy in 1989.
Tetris led to a number of spinoffs, and its DNA is found in games from Dr. Mario to Candy Crush. It even spawned a medical term, the Tetris effect.
Tetris has made the rounds in pop culture, too. Here are our five favorite appearances of those colorful tetriminos in pop culture:
1. ‘The Simpsons’
In a 2003 episode from the show’s 14th season, Homer uses familiar block-stacking tricks to get all his family’s stuff packed into a car. “This is what all those hours of playing Tetris were for,” he says before twisting and turning family members to fit.
2. ‘Office Space’
Mike Judge’s 1999 takedown of soul-crushing cubicle culture includes many scenes of bored employees. In one, Peter (Ron Livingston) passes the time like so many office workers before him: by playing Tetris. [http://img195.imageshack.us/img195/5732/officespacetetris.jpg] instead of working.
3. ‘Family Guy’
Because “Family Guy” leaves no pop-culture stone unturned, the show had to pay tribute to Tetris. This 2006 clip mocks the frustrating feeling when you get just that right piece . . . and then blow it.
4. ‘Futurama’
Another Fox animated show took on Tetris in this 1999 episode from the show’s original run. While exploring a bot planet, Fry and Leela see a wall being built out of tetriminos, only to have it disappear when a long piece slides into the hole, like it does in the game.
5. Beyoncé
The reigning queen of pop has a soft spot for those falling bricks. In 2009, she told “Entertainment Weekly” that she grew up playing Tetris.
Now that you’re all hopped up on Tetris trivia, stop doing anything productive today and play the game yourself. A free version is available at freetetris.org.