The Year I was Born…

  • There was a solar eclipse.
  • The Ash Wednesday bushfires happened, killing over seventy people, the highest loss of life in a bushfire in Australian history.
  • The Australian dollar was floated by then-Finance minister Paul Keating.
  • Bob Hawke became prime minister.
  • Chrysler began producing the first minivans.
  • DeLorean, the creators of the Back To The Future car, shut down.
  • The Disney Channel was founded, the first corporate channel.
  • Nintendo’s Famicom went on sale.
  • The final episode of M*A*S*H* aired, setting all kinds of hella records.
  • Some movie called Flashdance came out.
  • Ronald Reagan made GPS available for civilian use, for seven years.
  • Herge, the creator of Tintin, died.
  • The IRA carbombed Christmas shoppers, toora loora loora.
  • Also in Ireland, the largest prison escape in British History happened.
  • Martin Luthor King Jr day was established.
  • McDonalds McLaunched The McNugget.
  • The Moonwalk (Michael Jackson’s one, not Neil Armstrong’s) became public knowledge.
  • Otto Messmer, the creator of Felix the cat, died.
  • The Red Hot Chilli Peppers launched their first album.
  • Another movie, named Return of the Jedi came out, and people just cannot get over that.
  • The Bill started to air.
  • True Internet began (ARPANet fully converted to TCP/IP).
  • The United States suffered excessive rainfall that led to water shortages, because, well, I dunno.
  • Games Workshop’s first major title, Warhammer, launched
  • Wheel of Fortune began syndication and it has never stopped.