1980
1980s Era
Act I
The World Stage
1980
4.4B
people on Earth when this year began
Today
8.2B
+3.8B more people since
🇺🇸
US President
Jimmy Carter / Ronald Reagan
🇬🇧
UK Prime Minister
Margaret Thatcher
🇺🇳
UN Secretary-General
Kurt Waldheim
Defining Moments
John Lennon assassinated
CNN launches
US boycotts Moscow Olympics
Mount St. Helens erupts
Pac-Man released
Act II
Culture & Entertainment
#1 Movie
Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back
Oscar Best Picture: Ordinary People
- 🎥 The Empire Strikes Back
- 🎥 9 to 5
- 🎥 Stir Crazy
Top TV Shows
- 📺 Dallas
- 📺 M*A*S*H
- 📺 The Dukes of Hazzard
Notable Books
- 📚 The Name of the Rose - Umberto Eco
Act III
Technology & Science
First 1GB hard drive (IBM)
Sony Walkman (1979)
Rubik's Cube craze
Space
Voyager 1 reaches Saturn
Nobel Peace Prize
Adolfo Pérez Esquivel
Nobel Physics
James Cronin & Val Fitch
Act IV
Cost of Living
Gas / Gallon
$1.19
Today: $3.50
Milk / Gallon
$2.16
Today: $4.15
Movie Ticket
$2.69
Today: $11.75
Average Home
$68,700
Today: $420,000
New Car
$7,200
Today: $49,500
Postage Stamp
$0.15
Today: $0.73
Average Salary
$14,500 / year (min wage: $3.1/hr)
Act V
Sports Champions
World Series
Philadelphia Phillies
NBA Finals
Los Angeles Lakers
Super Bowl
Pittsburgh Steelers (SB XIV)
Act VI
Our Planet
CO₂ Levels
0
parts per million
Today: 422 ppm
Temperature Anomaly
+0.26°C
vs. pre-industrial average
Today: +1.45°C
Life Expectancy
73.7 years