Saturday, April 14, 2018

THE YEAR 1985



Cost Of Living

Yearly Inflation Rate ― 3.55% 
Year End Close Dow Jones Industrial Average ― 1546 
Interest Rates Year End Federal Reserve ― 10.75% 
Median Price Of and Existing Home ― $75,500 
Average Income per year ― $22,100.00 
Average Monthly Rent ― $375.00 
Average Price for new car ― $9,005.00 
Gallon of gas ― $1.09 
Movie Ticket ― $2.75 
US Postage Stamp ― 22 cents 
Bacon per pound ― $1.65 
Rib Eye Steak Lb ― $3.89 


Events of 1985


The Eastern halves of the United States and Canada faced some of the coldest temperatures ever recorded in the 20th century as an arctic air mass moves through the continent. According to meteorologists the cold wave occurred as a result of a polar vortex moving further south than what was usually observed and being coupled with a high pressure system. The cold snap lasted from January 20th to the 22nd and resulted in record-breaking cold temperatures as far south as Florida.

Volcanic Eruption in the town of Armero in Colombia kills 25,000.


TWA Flight 847 is hijacked by Hezbollah. on June 14th.

EgyptAir Flight 648 is hijacked and ends in the loss of 56 passengers during the commando raid to rescue them.

The Italian Cruise Liner "Achille Lauro" is hijacked by Palestinian TerroristsItaly
Terrorist gunman shoot passengers at Rome and Vienna airports.

After sixteen years of being closed under the rule of Francisco Franco in 1969, the border between Gibraltar and Spain was officially reopened during February of 1985. The border had been closed by Franco after tensions heightened between Spain and Britain over the status of Gibraltar. Spain had previously eased restrictions in 1982, allowing pedestrians to cross over the border but it was still tightly controlled as only Spanish citizens and residents of Gibraltar were allowed to cross. Opening the gates to all travelers in 1985 was a decision made by Spain to garner support for joining the European Community.

The popular comic strip “Calvin and Hobbes” makes its debut during November of 1985. Created by Bill Watterson, “Calvin and Hobbes” followed the adventures of a young boy, Calvin, and his stuffed animal tiger, Hobbes, while also exploring social, scientific, and philosophical ideas and issues. The comic was originally shown in 250 newspapers but expanded to over 2,000 newspapers at its most popular point. The strip ended in December of 1995 but is still used in papers throughout the world.

The Greenpeace ship Rainbow Warrior is sunk when French agents plant a bomb on the hull killing Photographer Fernando Pereira.
1. French Agents From the French foreign intelligence services arrive in New Zealand
2. French DGSE agent Christine Cabon, posing as environmentalist Frederique Bonlieu, volunteered for the Greenpeace office in Auckland.
3. Cabon gathers intelligence information crucial to the sinking.
4. July 10th DGSE divers beneath the Rainbow Warrior attached two limpet mines and detonated them 10 minutes apart.
5. Following the capture and trial French foreign intelligence services (DGSE) agents Captain Dominique Prieur and Commander Alain Mafart – posing as married couple 'Sophie and Alain Turenge' and having Swiss passports pleaded guilty to manslaughter and were sentenced to 10 years imprisonment on November 22, 1985.
The sinking was designed to sink the flagship of the Greenpeace fleet, the Rainbow Warrior in the port of Auckland, New Zealand, to prevent her from interfering in a nuclear test in Moruroa authorized by top French Officicials.

Route 66 is removed from the United States Highway System.
1. Established in 1926, Route 66 was one of the first highways created in the United States Highway System.
2. Immortalized in television, film, song, and literature, the iconic road spanned a total of 2,448 miles in length, running from Chicago, Illinois to Santa Monica, California.
3. The road traveled through parts of Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and California and was a popular path through the American Southwest during the 1920's until the 1960's.
4. It soon fell into disrepair as it was replaced by the Interstate system.
5. During June of 1985 the historic Route 66 was officially removed from the United States Highway System.

In March of 1985, Mikhail Gorbachev became the leader of the Soviet Union after the death of former leader Konstantin Chernenko. Gorbachev became a transformative figure in the USSR as he ushered in new domestic and foreign policy reforms in an attempt to salvage the crumbling Communist system. One of the important decisions that he made was agreeing to nuclear disarmament deals with the United States, some of the first steps towards ending the Cold War. By the early 1990’s, his reforms had worked too well and the Soviet Union was dissolved. He resigned in 1991 as the transition to democracy began.

President Reagan and Soviet Leader Gorbachev meet for the first time in Switzerland.

Live Aid pop concerts in Philadelphia and London raise over 50 million for famine relief in Ethiopia.
1. The Live Aid Concerts were held during July of 1985.
2. They were a series of rock concerts held to raise funds for famine relief in Ethiopia around the world.
3. They took place in cities including London, Philadelphia, Sydney and Moscow.
4. The concerts attracted close to 200,000 people and by using satellite link-ups and TV broadcasts around the world, they attracted an estimated one billion viewers in 110 countries who watched the concerts performed live.
5. The concerts were organized by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure and they raised over $125 million in relief money for Africa.
6. Notable acts included B.B. King, Bob Dylan, Cher, David Bowie, Duran Duran, Elton John, Hall & Oates, Lionel Richie, Madonna, Paul McCartney, Queen, Run-DMC, and U2.

An 8.1 Richter scale earthquake strikes Mexico City. More than 9,000 people are killed,UK



Other Events of 1985
  • The first group of Japanese astronauts are chosen during August of 1985. Mamoru Mohri, Chiaki Mukai, and Takao Doi became Japan’s first astronauts after being carefully selected by the National Space Development Agency (NASDA) of Japan. The two men, Mamoru Mohri and Tako Doi, and one woman, Chiaki Mukai, were chosen as candidates for participation in future NASA space shuttle missions and all three went on to participate in two future missions each. Mamoru Mohri became the first Japanese astronaut in space in 1992 and Takao Doi went on to be the first Japanese astronaut to conduct a space walk, while Chiaki Mukai was the first Japanese woman in space and also became the first Japanese astronaut to conduct two flights.
  • A joint American-French expedition locates the wreck of the RMS Titanic.
  • President Reagan announces Strategic Defense Weapons ( SDI ) will not impact arms talks
  • The Unabomber kills his first victim
  • New York Stock Exchange Closes For The day For Hurricane Gloria
  • Philadelphia Police drop a bomb containing C-4 and Tovex from a helicopter onto MOVE's residence on May 13th which causes an uncontrolled fire and as a result, 53 houses destroyed
  • Insurance companies begin screening for Aids for life insurance causing outcry by civil liberties groups.
  • The popular film "The Color Purple" premieres.More 
  • Clive Sinclair launches the Sinclair C5 electric tricycle with a maximum speed of 15mph on January 10thJ
  • Boeing 747 Flight 123 crashes into Mount Osutaka, Japan
  • Mafia Boss Paul Castellano is shot on orders of John J. Gotti
  • Crowd Violence Erupts during the European Cup Final at Heysel Stadium in Brussels causing a wall to collapse killing 39 football fans
  • In April of 1985, Coca-Cola introduced “New Coke” in what many observers declared to be the worst marketing blunder in history. At the time, Coca-Cola was a 99 year old company looking for a way to update itself and they chose to do so by changing the original formula of their iconic soft drink. They created a sweeter version that had been preferred in taste tests, but fans of the brand protested the decision in an overwhelmingly negative response. Within three months Coca-Cola announced it would return to the old formula and tried to re-brand the drink as Coca-Cola “Classic” and New Coke quickly disappeared.
  • A massive car bomb in Beirut, Lebanon leaves 175 injured and 45 people dead
  • South Africa Invades AngolaSouth Africa
  • Riots and protests continue in Townships In South Africa against apartheid policies
  • United States -- Michael Jordan
  • Michael Jordan is named as the NBA's "Rookie of the Year."

Technology
  • The Food and Drug Administration approves a blood test for AIDS,
  • The first .Com domain name, symbolics.com, is registered by the Symbolics corporation. However, .edu domains, for educational institutions, still predominate over the commercial .com ones
  • Microsoft Corporation releases the first version of Windows, Windows 1.0.
  • Switzerland is the first country to bring into law catalytic converters must be fitted to private cars
  • Compact Discs are introduced to American Consumers
  • The space shuttle Atlantis is launched
  • UK Starts screening Blood donations for AIDS
  • British Scientists discover a hole in the earths Ozone Layer
From thepeoplehistory, Wikipedia, and Google

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