Saturday, October 17, 2009

~Flashback 1988~












US and Canada reach free trade agreement (Jan. 2). Background: NAFTA

Pan-Am 747 explodes from terrorist bomb and crashes in Lockerbie, Scotland, killing all 259 aboard and 11 on ground (Dec. 21).

US Navy ship shoots down Iranian airliner in Persian Gulf, mistaking it for jet fighter; 290 killed (July 3).

Economics
US GDP (1998 dollars): $5,049.60 billion
Federal spending: $1064.14 billion
Federal debt: $2601.3 billion
Median Household Income
(current dollars):
$27,225
Consumer Price Index: 118.3
Unemployment: 5.5%
Cost of a first-class stamp: $0.22 ($0.25 as of 4/3/88)

Events

  • Ninety-eight percent of U.S. households have at least one television set.
  • CDs outsell vinyl records for the first time.
  • Ted Turner starts Turner Network Television (TNT) and buys MGM's film library
  • Movies

  • Rain Man, Mississippi Burning, A Fish Called Wanda, Bull Durham






10 comments:

Wall-to-wall books said...

1988, GREAT year! That was the year my daughter was born.

Kitten said...

1988...I won't tell you exactly how old I was, just that I was in middle school and was in love with Jon Bon Jovi...and I was your stereotypical middle school GEEK!!

Wander to the Wayside said...

1988 was a terrible year for us, and I don't remember anything about the music, tv, current events, etc. We had lost our house to foreclosure because the bottom fell out of the construction industry (gosh, that sounds familiar), and moved into a rental owned by David's grandmother. In July 1988, we packed up like the Okies during the dust bowl and moved from Colorado to Georgia (driving a car and a truck) where my cousin said there was work, and it was probably one of the stupidest things we ever did. And our car died on the way and we just left it somewhere in Arkansas. On top of that, we moved our going into ninth grade daughter from her friends and family, and by September she was crying and begging us to put her on a plane back to Colorado.

1988. I would not pick that year to remember or relive!

Mishel (P.S. I Love Books) said...

I love the first second Die Hard movie =)

I was watching The Fifth Element the other day and noticed how good looking Bruce Willis was in that movie. Very young lol

Lisa said...

What a great year for movies! Hair maybe not so much!

Sniffles and Smiles said...

Very, very fun post!!! You left me grinning from ear to ear! Thanks!! ~Janine XO

Missy B. said...

Kip Winger could have done a toothpaste commercial with those white teeth of his...."The whitest teeth in hair metal!" LOL

Louise said...

I graduated in 1988. I remember that Rain Main was a big hit here in Denmark. Also Mississippi Burning, but I didn't get to see that until some years after though (now its one of my favorite movies), but Rain Man was definitely the talk of the town. I also remember not being interested in anything but clothes, boys and music. LOL. Can't remember any political or financial issues at all from 1988...

Wrighty said...

What a great idea! I love the flashbacks although I can't believe I've been around long enough for any part of my life to be the good ole days! This was the year my oldest son was born. It was a lifetime ago but it was also just the blink of an eye. The 80's were lots of fun - the early years were for high school and college (and big hair), the later years were for marriage and kids!

Trisha said...

I was only 8 in 1988 so I don't have many vivid memories of the time, but I will never forget watching Mississippi Burning which my grandfather and mother took me to see. I was so horrified and moved by the film that it has really stuck with me all these years.

On another note, I do remember that my bangs were particularly tall with a beautiful swoop at the top end...Man was I stylish.

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