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World Events - 1981
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The world events of the 1980s show that this decade was not just about big hair, cool music and ghastly fashion. As much as people may have fond memories of the 1980s, the year 1981 saw a number of quite terrible events. No wonder the music was so good.
1981
- World tradegy strikes when Bucks Fizz wins the Eurovision Song Contest with Making Your
Mind Up.
- The Rubik's cube craze was running at full steam. See here for more details.
- The first Space Shuttle, Columbia, launches.
- Charles, Prince of Wales decides to take a bride - Lady Diana Spencer or 'Lady Di'. 16
years later she dies in a high speed car accident in Paris.
- Worldwide, 'Raiders of the Lost Ark' was the highest grossing film of 1981
- 1981 doesn't sound too bad so far - except for Buck's Fizz winning Eurovision, but read on...
- In the US, five gay men are disgnosed with a rare form of pneumonia. This particular type
of disease was generally observed in patients with weakened immune systems. Later it was
understood that these were the first US cases of AIDS.
- After all his hard work to bring peace to his country, Egyptian president Anwar Sadat is
assassinated. This ocurred during a military parade and was instigated by army members
that were opposed to Egypt's negotiations with Israel.
- An assasination attempt was made on The Pope. He was shot and injured quiet badly, but lived.
- John Hinkley tries to assasinate US President Ronald Regean. Later in hosptial Regean
quips 'Honey I forgot to duck'. John Hinkley was apparently obsessed with Jodi Foster
after repeteadly watching Taxi Driver and was trying to find ways to get her attention.
- Late in the year, a car bomb is detonated outside the Iraqi Embassy in Beirut. It kills
61 people and is sadly recognised as the first modern suicide bomb.
- France finally decides to join humanity and abolishes capital punishment.
- IBM releases something called a Personal Computer.
- MTV (US) launches and amazingly, understands what the M actually means - and it's not
reality TV. Guess the first song - here is the answer.
Relive past events: World events in 1980.
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