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1980 Science and Technology:
Science in the 1980s was better then any other time period. Things were invented like interferon, and the Binary Star System. -
1980 Science and Technology: Internet
The internet was invented in the 1980s. It helped change the world by giving us a new way of communicating. -
Miracle on Ice
At the 1980 Winter Olympics the Soviet and American teams were playing a hockey game with the Soviets in the lead. Halfway into the final period, the Americans and Soviets tied while minutes later the American team scored again and won the game. The victory was a source of national pride. -
Fashion and Entertainment: Video Games
Video games began getting very popular in the early 1980s. Games like Tetris, Pac-Man, and Missile Command were among the most popular. In 1989 Nintendoshipped more than nine million game units. -
Fashion and Entertainment: Books
In the year 1980 nine billion dollars were spent on books. In the year 1989 more than nineteen billion dollars were spent on books. The books The Bonfire of the Vanities, The Indian in the Cupboard, and The Empire Strikes Back were all published in the 1980s. -
1980s Science and Technology
Many outbreaks in 1980 caused scientists to create new vaccines. One of the first ones invented in 1980 was for hepatitis B. -
President Carter declines the 1980 Summer Olympics
President Carter refused for American teams to participate in the 1980 summer Olympic Games in Moscow because the Soviets invaded Afghanistan.this angered many athletes and some would never be able to participate in the Olympics. -
World Events: Mt. St. Helens
Mt. St. Helens is a composite volcano located in the southern range of Washington. It is a 40,000 year old active volcano that has had 4 extended periods of volcanic activity. Its eruption on May 18, 1980 was the worst volcanic disaster in U.S. history but it offered scientists an opportunity to examine a large volcanic eruption. 25 people were confirmed dead but there were more missing. -
Science and technology: Pac Man
Pac-Man was introduced to the world in 1980. It changed the world by giving us a new way to have fun. -
1980 Science and Technology: Compact Disks
The Compact Disk was invented in the 1980s by Phillips and Sony. Created for storing information on. -
1980 Science and Technology:AIDS Awareness
October is national AIDS awareness month. AIDS awareness got really popular in the 1980s. AIDS awareness was invented to help us understand the real ricks of AIDS. -
Murder of John Lennon
John Lennon, an ex-member of the Beatles, was shot seven times by Mark David Chapman, a crazed fan. His death made national headlines. -
World Events: American Hostages Freed
Throughout 1980, Americans tied yellow ribbins around trees, porches, and sign posts to support American hostages in Iran. Mohammed Reza Pahlavi got sick and came to the U.S. for medical treatment. This made Iranians angry and they seized the U.S. Embassy in Tehran. They took Embassy staff members hostage. The hostages were blindfolded and beaten. They were freed on January 20, 1981 and Americans celebrated with a parade on January 30, 1981. -
1980 Science and Technology:HDTV
Introduced in 1981 by Japan. Made for clearer and better television viewing. -
1980 Science and Technology: Space Shuttle Program
The Space Shuttle Program was created to give us more information about space. After many trial and errors they were finally able to sucessfully launch a shuttle into space. -
1980 Science and Technology: Disposable Contact Lenses
Contact lenses were invented in 1508 but weren't moist enough to wear for long periods of time. So in 1981 the moisture was able to be kept in for long periods of time. -
Baseball Strike
Many MLB players went on strike over their salaries. This strike lasted for about a month, cancelled 713 games, and angered many fans. Players lost $30 million in wages while team owners lost $166 in revenue. -
1980 Science and Technology: Cable Television
Cable T.V. was invented by John and Margret Walson. It improved America by giving us a new form of entertainment. -
Fashion and Entertainment: Rubik's Cube
Emo Rubix invented the Rubik's cube. In July of 1981 over ten million Rubik's Cubes had been sold. In June of 1982 Minh Thai of L.A completed the Rubik 's Cube in 22.95 seconds. The Rubik's Cube holds the record as the world's best-selling puzzle toy. -
Fashion and Entertainment: MTV
The first music video to ever play on MTV was The Buggles' music video of, "Video killed the Radio Star". MTV is still heavily watched today. -
Fashion and Entertainment: The Oprah Winfrey Show
Talk shows began getting popular in the 1980s. The Oprah Winfrey Show was one of the first big talk shows of the decade. Oprahc's show would run for twenty-five years ending in 2011. In the twenty-five years the show ran there was 682 episodes. -
World Events: First Woman Appointed to the U.S Supreme Court
On July 7, 1981 Ronald Reagan nominated Sandra Day O'Conner to be the first woman on the Supreme Court. She was confirmed by the Senate on September 21, 1981 with a 99 for and 0 against vote. She served for 25 years and Samuel Alito filled her seat on January 31, 2006. -
Fashion and Entertainment: Cats the musical
The play Cats features dancing, singing, and poetry. This play is based on T.S. Eliots book, Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats. The original London cast recording of CATS won the 1982 Grammy Award for Best Cast Album. -
World Events: Ronald Reagan Elected
Ronald Reagan was born on February 6, 1911 in Tampico, Illinois. He beat Jimmy Carter in the 1981 presidential election and took him out of office. The country's economy declined during his presidency and it was the worst recession in 40 years. His second term ended in 1989 and he died 15 years later on June 5, 2004 in Los Angeles. -
World Events: Reagan Assasination Attempt
Shortly after Ronald Reagan was elected president, 25 year old John Hinckly Jr. open fired on him around 2:25 by the side door of the washington Hilton Hotel. He used a .22 caliber revolver and one of the 6 bullets fired hit Reagan in the lung. 3 others were injured in the shooting. He was taken to the hospital and the bullet was removed. He made a remarkable recovery. -
NFL Strike
This strike was similar to the Baseball Strike of 1981. Half of the season's game were called off. -
1980 Science and Technology: Computers
Computers were invented for communication among people. One of the best computers in the 1980s was the TRS 80 PC1. -
World Events: Vietnam Veteran's Memorial
Maya Ying Lin's design was chosen through a contest. It consists of black, polished granite set into the Earth and contains the names of 58,000 men who died or remain missing in Vietnam. In 1993, a Vietnam Wome's Memorial was added, honoring the women of Vietnam. -
Fashion and Entertainment: Motion pictures
Movies and other leisure activities were very popular in the 1980s. In the year 1980 2.7 billion dollars were spent on movie tickets but in the year 1989 more than five billion dollars was spent on tickets. Some movies that came out in the 1980s were E.T, The Empire Strikes Back, and Back to the Future. -
1980 Science and Technology: Gene Mapping
Gene Mapping was invented to figure out whos genes were in a persons body. It was a huge breakthrough in science because it gave us information never even thought of before. -
1980 Science and Technology: Camcoders
Camcoders were invented in 1980. Instead of disposible cameras, camcorders record instead of taking pictures. -
1980 Science and Technology:Disposable Cameras
The disposable camera was invented in 1983. One of the first cameras was the Polaroid. -
Fashion and ENtertainment: Hip-hop dancing
Hip-hop dancing is usually associated with rap music, hooded sweatshirts, baggy pants, brand-name sneakers, backwards hats, and signiture haircuts. Afrika Bambaataa created Zulu Nation because he believed that competing in art, dance, and music would keep violent gangs from fighting in the streets. -
Fashion and Entertainment: Cabbage Patch Dolls
In 1983 Cabbage Patch Dolls were featured on the cover of Newsweek. By the end of 1983 almost three million dolls had been "adopted." In 1985 Christopher Xavier became the first Cabbage Patch Kid in space. -
1980 Science and Technology: Doppler Radar
Doppler Radar was invented for giving us information about weather. It is a large help for indicating wether or not there are storms, tornadoes, and or hurricanes. -
Fashion and Entertainment: Clothing styles
Fashion in the 1980s ranged from the "punk look" to the "preppy look". Princess Diana and Madonna were two major fashion influences. Leg warmers, men's earrings, and skinny jeans were all very popular in the 1980s. -
1980 Science and Technology: Apple Macintosh
Apple Macintosh was invented in 1984 by Steve Jobs. Invetned for using the internet and researching. -
Live Aid concert
1.5 billion people in 152 countries were watching the live-aid concert in Philidelphia and London to help raised money for famine relief in Africa. The concert raised 70 million dollars. -
Farm Aid concert
Held in Champaign, Illinos, this concert raised between 8 to 9 million dollars to help American farmers. Many famous singers attended. -
1980 Science and Technology: Challenger Explosion
The Challenger was supposed to be the first ever shuttle to go into space. It exploded 73 seconds after lift-off because of an o-ring coming off of the gas tank. -
Assasination Attempt on the Pope
23 year old Turkish Terrorist Mehmet Ali Agca shot the Pope 3 times. The Pope was in a slow moving convertable. He required a six hour operation to remove the bullets. 2 bystanders were also injured. -
1986 World Series
During the tenth inning of the game six, the NY Mets vs. the Boston Red Sox, the Mets pulled off an amazing victory. Only one strike away from losing, Mookie Wilson hits a ground ball toward first base and the first baseman failed to catch it. Ray Knight on third rushes to home and wins the game for the Mets. -
1987 World Series
The Minnesota Twins and the St. Louis Cardinals played the first indoor World Series. The Twins won the World Series four games to three. Before the World Series, they had a 150-1 chance of winning. -
World Events: Arms Treaty Reduction
The U.S. and the Soviet Union felt threatened by eachother and became locked in a cold war. Both countries built up large armies and weapons. Ronald Reagan and General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev met in Washington to sign the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) treaty. They agreed to destroy over 2,000 intermediate and short-range nuclear missles in Europe. This was one of several agreements between the two countries. -
World Events: Tragedy over Scotland
Pan Am Flight 103 blew up over Lockerbie, Scotland. All 259 passengers and crew members were killed. 11 people on the ground in Lockerbie were aslo killed. Libyan Terrorists were to blame. They had a bomb hidden in a radio-cassette player. -
Baseball game canceled from earthquake
Right before the San Francisco Giants and the Oakland Athletics were about to play each other, a 7.1 magnitude earthquake occured at 5:04 PM in San Francisco. This earthquake became known as the Loma Prieta earthquake. -
World Events: Fall of the Berlin Wall
The fall of the Berlin Wall was a sign that the Cold War was coming to an end. The Berlin Wall divided West and East Berlin. It was built so East Germans couldn't leave west through Berlin. It was equipped with guard towers and machine guns and thousands of people were either killed of arrested for trying to escape. The Soviet Union begun to lose power and on November 9, 1989 the East German government opened the wall. People from both sides celebrated by smashing the wall.
