The Murder of Vincent Chin and How It Changed America

July 15, 2021

Lillie Chin (mother of Vincent Chin, who was clubbed to death by two white men in June 1982) breaks down as a relative (left) helps her walk while leaving Detroit’s ...

Life Was Cheap In The U.S.S.R.: The 1982 Salang Tunnel Disaster

June 3, 2021

Local residents walk along with a donkey carrying water pots after heavy snowfall in Khanozai area some 75 kms in northeast of the provincial capital Quett...

Beautiful Stars Of The '80s Who Still Excite Today

May 25, 2021

Everyone who came of age in the 1980s has a special connection to the favorite stars of the era. Whether they found comfort in the goth aesthetic of Winona Ryder or the c...

A History Of Post-It Notes: When Were They Invented And Why?

April 6, 2021

Post-it Notes manufactured by 3M. (Scott Olson/Getty Images) Want to remind yourself to pick up your dry cleaning? A visual brainstorming tool for your next...

1988: U.S. Supreme Court Defends Right To Satirize Public Figures

February 24, 2021

In 1988, the king of filth went head-to-head with the leader of the moral majority in the Supreme Court, battling over what could and couldn't be sai...

Challenger Disaster: What Happened To The Space Shuttle And Why Did It Fail?

January 28, 2021

Space Shuttle Challenger explodes shortly after take-off. (NASA/Wikimedia Commons) On a clear, blue January morning in 1986, NASA's space sh...

Budd Dwyer: His TV Suicide And Everything That Led Up To It

January 22, 2021

On January 22, 1987, Robert Budd Dwyer, the acting Pennsylvania state treasurer, pulled out a .357 Magnum during a press conference, put it in his mouth, an...

Black Monday: 1987's Stock Market Crash When The World Lost $1.7 Trillion

October 19, 2020

A young man reads a copy of the Evening Standard outside the Royal Exchange in London, with a headline referring to that day's stock market crash...

North And South Korea Open Their Borders For 1985 Family Reunion Program

September 20, 2020

Relations between North and South Korea have been fraught since the end of World War II, when the countries were separated by the Demilitarized...

Super Mario Bros.: Stories, Facts, And Trivia You Didn't Know About The Video Game

September 12, 2020

Released in 1985, Super Mario Bros. began as the last gasp of the cartridge era for Nintendo and became the game by which everything ...

The Menendez Brothers: What Did They Do And Who Killed Their Parents In 1989?

August 20, 2020

On August 20th, 1989, Lyle Menendez placed a frantic call to 911. He cried that “someone” had killed his parents as his brother Erik screamed i...

Harmonic Convergence: Planets Aligning In Real-Life Started Today In 1987

August 16, 2020

Everyone sit down, close your eyes, and say "Ommmmmmmmm." In 1987, the call for the world's first synchronized global peace meditation went ou...

This Is Why 675,000 AT&T Employees Went On Strike In 1983

August 7, 2020

(Kenneth Han/Wikimedia Commons) On August 7, 1983, phone service across the country was interrupted when 675,000 workers at AT&T went on strike following a bre...

The Grim Sleeper: A Serial Killer Who Was Caught By A Slice Of Pizza

June 23, 2020

Beginning in the 1980s, a serial killer stalked the women of South-Central Los Angeles for nearly two decades. The Grim Sleeper, known as Lonnie Fr...

Action Park: America's First Deadly, Infamous Theme Park

January 6, 2020

Children romp around at the water park on a hot summer's day. (Photo by Richard Koll/picture alliance via Getty Images) You expect a fun day at your local amuse...

Baby Fae, A Baboon Heart, And Bioethics

November 11, 2019

On October 14, 1984, a tiny, premature, and the very sick baby was born in California. Although her birth certificate listed her name as Stephanie Fae Beauclair, she became kno...

David Bowie Shared His Invisible Mask

October 12, 2019

You may remember David Bowie as the innovative and influential English singer, songwriter, and actor who elevated rock concerts to a theatrical level and tragically died in 2016 ...