Nelson Mandela was in jail.

admin — Mon, 10 Dec 2012 18:12:08 +0000

The anti-apartheid activist was released from prison in 1990 and elected President of South Africa in 1994.

Buckling up became law.

admin — Mon, 10 Dec 2012 17:49:22 +0000

In 1985, six states passed laws requiring seatbelt use while driving.

“Mobile” phones weighed 11 pounds.

admin — Mon, 10 Dec 2012 17:34:04 +0000

This Mobira Talkman was introduced by Nokia in 1984.

Run-DMC earned hip-hop’s first platinum album.

admin — Mon, 10 Dec 2012 17:08:50 +0000

The honor went to their 1985 album “King of Rock.”

Chernobyl was a fully functioning power plant.

admin — Mon, 10 Dec 2012 17:01:18 +0000

The plant melted down in 1986, causing catastrophic damage. The site will remain uninhabitable for another 20,000 years.

The ozone hole was discovered.

admin — Thu, 06 Dec 2012 21:58:56 +0000

Scientists determined that chemicals called CFCs were causing the hole. The chemicals have since been globally banned and the hole’s size has stabilized.

New Coke made its ill-fated entrance to the market.

admin — Thu, 06 Dec 2012 21:47:03 +0000

The new product attempt remains one of marketing’s greatest cautionary tales.

The first ever .com domain name was registered.

admin — Thu, 06 Dec 2012 21:34:35 +0000

Today, almost 200 million active domains are registered. Over 84 million of those are .com domains.

The Apple Macintosh made its debut.

admin — Thu, 06 Dec 2012 21:08:43 +0000

It cost $2,495, and had a CPU speed of 8 megahertz. A modern cell phone is about 187 times faster.

The world was shocked to find that the princess was in another castle.

admin — Thu, 06 Dec 2012 20:47:53 +0000

The Super Mario Bros. were born in 1985.