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Rubik's Cube
In the 1980's, Erno Rubik from Hungary released an invention that would fascinate people around the world. His invention was called the Rubik's cube. The reason the Rubik's cube was so significant is because it was so popular during that time because of its endless possible positions and its challenge of solving it. People wanted to have the status as a genius just by solving it. -
Pac-Man Video Game Release
Pac-man was released in May of 1980. When it came out it was an arcade game that was developed by Namco and it also first came out in Japan. The reason this was significant is because when it did it became an icon of arcade games and also the 80's pop-culture. Pac-man made it's own market that went beyond video games and also came out with toys, clothes, and books along with cartoons and even food products. -
Ted Turner Establishes CNN
On June 1, 1980, A new news cable network was released by Ted Turner as the first 24 hour cable network. The reason this was so significant was because it changed the idea that news could only be told and reported at certain times of the day because now it was available all the time. -
John Lennon Assasination
John Lennon was assassinated in December of 1980 by Mark David Chapman with a gun. After 4 gunshot wounds he was pronounced dead at the Roosevelt Hospital. The reason this event was significant was because it caused a loss of one of the most influential musical artists at the time and he was also a very successful man, being in one of the most famous bands in history, the Beatles. -
New Plague: AIDS
in 1981, the virus that causes aids was discovered when there was a report that 5 men had developed a odd and unknown immune deficiency. This was significant because the disease was now known nationwide and it scared a lot of people and also affected many people and their families. -
IBM's Personal Computers
IBM released a new piece of technology called the Personal Computer in August of 1981, also commonly known as the IBM PC. The reason this event was significant was because it was the first computer that was smaller then those computers previous and it also was able to process information faster. It could also hook up to the TV, Process text and was affordable for people to purchase. -
E.T. Movie Released
In June of 1982 the movie E.T. was released. The movie is a science fiction fantasy that was produced and directed by Steven Spielberg. Why the release of this movie was significant was because at the time people thought it was the greatest science fiction film that was every created and that it had a great story about friendship ever made. -
Michael Jackson Releases "Thriller"
Michael Jackson released the iconic song "Thriller" on November 30th, 1982. This was Jackson's 6th studio album. Over the year, Thriller became the world's best selling album and also won a record-breaking number of 8 Grammy awards. Also, his album was one of the first to use music videos as a successful promotional tool. -
Sally Ride becomes First American Women in Space
On June 18th, 1983 Sally ride road on the space shuttle Challenger and then became the first American women to go into space. Sally made 2 other shuttle flights and later also became a champion for science education. The reason this event was significant was because no other women astronaut had ever been to space before so it was an incredible event for the first women to go into space. -
PG-13 Movie Rating Created
On July 1st, 1984 the MPAA introduced the new rating for movies, PG-13. Before there was only 3 initial categories which included, G, M and R. But, then they created the rating PG-13 which meant that the film "may be inappropriate for children under the age of 13". The first movie to be rated PG-13 was Red Dawn. -
Hole in Ozone Layer Discovered
In 1985, there was a report in a newspaper that there was a discovery of the antarctic "ozone hole" by scientists named Gardiner and Shanklin. The reason this was significant was because it came as a shock to the scientific community because the observed decline in the polar ozone was larger then anyone had thought before. -
Terrorist Attack Hijack TWA Flight 847
In June of 1985, TWA Flight 847 that was flying from Athens to Rome was taken over by Shiite Hezbollah who was a terrorist, and 2 others who were carrying grenades and a 9-mm. pistol. They made a forced landing into landin Beirut, Lebanon. The reason this was so significant was because it was a traumatic experience for anyone and everyone who was on the plan and all of them were held hostages until June 30th. -
Wreck of the Titanic Found
In September of 1985, The remains of the wreck from the Titanic were found 400 miles east of Newfoundland in the North Atlantic. Argo was investigation debris that were on the ocean floor and it suddenly came across one of the Titanic boilers. It was lying at a depth of 13,000 feet. The reason why this was significant was because when they found it, they explored the wreckage and it helped shed new light of the 1912 sinking of the titanic. -
Space Shuttle Challenger Explodes
In 1986, the Space Shuttle Challenger exploded after 73 seconds of liftoff and the cause was because of rapid deceleration. The explosion of this space craft killed all 7 crew members which consisted of 5 NASA astronauts and two Payload Specailists. Everything was eventually recovered from the ocean floor after a search. -
U.S.S.R. Launches Mir Space Station
Mir Space Station was launched by Russia on February 20th, 1986. And it became a legend in it's own time reflecting Russia's space glories. Mir was in orbit in space for 15 years which was 3 times its estimated lifetime. It outlasted the Soviet Union that launched it into space in the first place. -
U.S. Bombs Libya
The U.S. bombed Libya in April of 1986, and was code named Operation El Dorado Canyon. There were airstrikes that were aimed against Libya and was carried out by the U.S. Air force, U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps. There was 40 Libyan deaths and one U.S. plane was shot down. The reason this was significant was because of the overall bombing and also one of the Libyans that was killed was a baby girl was was reported to be Gaddafi's daughter. -
Oprah Winfrey Show Gets National Syndication
In September of 1986, the Oprah Winfrey Show aired nationally. The show was an American talk show that was highly influential and popular during the time. Many of the topics that were discussed on the show penetrated into the American pop-cultural consciousness. The reason this show was so significant was because it broke barriers of what could and couldn't be said on national television and shocked a lot of people. -
Iran-Contra Scandal Unfolds
During this time, there was a report that the U.S. had been secretly selling arms to Iran, and after this news became public. The U.S. took millions of dollars from the weapons sale and routed them and guns to Contra guerrillas in Nicaragua. The reason this was significant was because the U.S. was apart of illegal trading. -
New York Stock Exchange Suffers Huge Drop on "Black Monday"
On Monday October 19th, 1987, stock markets around the world crashed which droped a lot of value in things in a short amount of time. It started on Hong Kong and then spread to West Europe and then to the U.S. This Monday was then after referred to as "Black Monday" This is significant because it was the worst stock market crash that happened around the world -
World Wide Web Invented
The World Wide Web (WWW) was invented by Tim Berners-Lee who was a British scientist who worked at CERN. It was originally built to help with automatic information sharing between scientists around the world. This was significant because people were then able to access important documents and also create their own servers and it was a huge leap for technology during that time. -
Exxon Valdez Spills Millions of Gallons of Oil on Coastline
Exxon Valdez the tanker, that was grounded on Bligh Reef in Alaska, ruptured it's hull and then spilled nearly 11 million gallons of Prudhoe Bay crude oil into a body of water in Prince William Sound. A oil tanker that was owned by Exxon Shipping company that was headed for Long Beach, California stuck a reef and then released oil into the water. This is significant because it is considered to be one of the most devastating human-caused environmental disasters that ever happened. -
Students Massacred in China's Tiananmen Square
On June 4th in 1989, Chinese troops came through Tiananmen Square in China (Beijing) and were killing and arresting pro-democracy protesters. A thousand people, mostly Chinese students crowded around central Beijing to protest democracy and wanted the Chinese Communist Party leaders to resign. This event shocked the West and brought denunciations and sanctions from the U.S. -
Berlin Wall Falls
In November of 1989, the East German government announced that all GDR citizens could visit West Germany and West Berlin. Therefore, the Berlin Wall was taken down because now anyone was free to cross over. The actual demolition of the wall began on June 13, 1990. This was significant because for the people of Berlin and Germany this was a big deal to finally be able to become one instead of being separated. And until this day the Berlin wall is one of the biggest symbols of the Cold War. -
Romanian Leader Nicolae Ceausescu and His Wife are Executed
The Romanian leader Nicolae Ceausescu was executed along with his wife on December 25, 1989 by firing squad. Nicolae and his wife were charged with Genocide and also other crimes. This was a significant event because the country that Nicolae was leading wouldn't have to worry about him anymore and it brought peace to them -
Reagan Announces Defense Plan Called "Star Wars"
Ronald Reagan announced a defense plan called "Star Wars" and the plan was to invent and develop technology that would be able to detect and destroy any enemy nuclear missiles. The significance of this event is because it came as a surprise to a lot of people because the idea and technology that Ronald wanted to develop was "decades away from reality" according to The Times.
