1989
CULTURE & HISTORY QUICK HITS
Heidi's flashback to age 15 takes her to 1989. What was the world like back then?
WE WERE TALKING ABOUT...
*President Ronald Reagan left office alive, even though he was elected in a year that ended in zero. For nearly 150 years, every U.S. president who was elected in a year divisible by 20—from William Henry Harrison to John F. Kennedy—had died in office.
*The Cold War ended, and the Berlin Wall came down.
The World Series earthquake struck the San Francisco Bay Area, and the Exxon Valdez disaster changed the oil industry forever.
*Temperatures plunged to record lows from Pittsburgh to Denver, and Phoenix had the highest overnight low on record.
*The FDA approved the fat substitute Simplesse, and Hershey's reduced the size of the Hershey bar to 1.55 ounces.
*Michael and Ashley were favorite baby names, Club sandwiches and sugar cookies were food trends, and perms and spandex were all the rage.
*Evangelist Billy Graham received the 1,900th star on Hollywood Boulevard.
*The Cosby Show (NBC) was the most popular TV series, Batman was the highest-grossing film, and Look Away was the top song on the charts.
*The pilot episode of Seinfeld aired on NBC, The Simpsons premiered on Fox, and the Broadway musical Oh! Calcutta! closed after 5,959 performances.
*The I Love Lucy Christmas episode was shown for the first time in 30 years.
*Unemployment averaged 5.4%, inflation was 4.82%, and the minimum wage was $3.35 an hour.
*The retail price for a gallon of gas averaged $1.00.
*In the year 1989, a loaf of white bread cost 61 cents, strawberries were 99 cents a pint, and eggs were 79 cents a dozen.
*Here are some sports facts from 1989: The San Francisco 49ers were the Super Bowl champs, the Oakland Athletics won the World Series, and the Calgary Flames clinched the Stanley Cup.
"I CARRIED THE WATERMELON" (IYKYK)
Listen with caution! Commencement will never be the same!