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This community is dedicated to the music, movies, television, games, radio, and pop culture that defined the 1980s. It is a place for people who lived the decade and for those who appreciate what made it unforgettable. Guests are welcome to browse selected discussions, while full participation requires registration. You can create a standard forum account or sign in using your Facebook or Google account for faster access. Explore current conversations, share your memories, and take part in a community built around real 80s experiences.

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  1. On This Day: May 5, 1980 - SAS Ends the Iranian Embassy Siege in London

    On This Day: May 5, 1980 - SAS Ends the Iranian Embassy Siege in London

    On May 5, 1980, British Special Air Service forces stormed the Iranian Embassy in London, ending a tense six day hostage crisis. The siege began when six armed men took 26 hostages inside the embassy, demanding autonomy for Iran’s Khuzestan Province. The standoff gripped the UK and was broadcast...
  2. On This Day: May 5, 1981 - Bobby Sands Dies After 66 Day Hunger Strike

    On This Day: May 5, 1981 - Bobby Sands Dies After 66 Day Hunger Strike

    On May 5, 1981, Bobby Sands died at the age of 27 in a prison hospital after a 66 day hunger strike. A member of the Provisional Irish Republican Army, Sands was imprisoned in Northern Ireland's Maze Prison for firearms possession and became the central figure in a hunger strike protesting the...
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    • Category: On This Day in 80s News
  3. On This Day: May 4, 1988 - PEPCON Explosion Rocks Henderson, Nevada

    On This Day: May 4, 1988 - PEPCON Explosion Rocks Henderson, Nevada

    On May 4, 1988, a massive explosion occurred at the PEPCON chemical plant in Henderson, Nevada, where ammonium perchlorate used for space shuttle fuel was being stored. The disaster killed 2 people, injured 372 others, and caused over 100 million dollars in property damage. The explosion was so...
  4. On This Day: May 2, 1986 - The City of Chernobyl Is Evacuated

    On This Day: May 2, 1986 - The City of Chernobyl Is Evacuated

    On May 2, 1986, six days after the explosion at Reactor 4 of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, the city of Chernobyl was officially evacuated. While the nearby town of Pripyat had been evacuated on April 27, the full evacuation of surrounding areas including the city of Chernobyl itself took...
  5. On This Day: May 2, 1989 - Hungary Begins Dismantling Its Border Fence With Austria

    On This Day: May 2, 1989 - Hungary Begins Dismantling Its Border Fence With Austria

    On May 2, 1989, Hungary began dismantling its border fence with Austria, a quiet but historic move that signaled the beginning of the end for the Iron Curtain. The opening allowed East Germans to cross into Austria and defect to the West, bypassing the heavily guarded Berlin Wall. This moment...
  6. On This Day: May 2, 1982 - The Weather Channel Makes Its Debut

    On This Day: May 2, 1982 - The Weather Channel Makes Its Debut

    On May 2, 1982, The Weather Channel made its official debut, launching as the first 24 hour television network dedicated entirely to weather reporting and forecasting. Founded by meteorologist John Coleman and entrepreneur Frank Batten, the channel changed how Americans consumed daily weather...
  7. On This Day: May 2, 1984 - Jack Barry, Host of Joker’s Wild, Passes Away

    On This Day: May 2, 1984 - Jack Barry, Host of Joker’s Wild, Passes Away

    On May 2, 1984, Jack Barry, the longtime host of the popular game show Joker’s Wild, passed away at the age of 66 from cardiac arrest. Barry had been a major figure in American television since the 1950s, both as a host and producer. Despite facing setbacks earlier in his career during the game...
  8. On This Day: May 1, 1989 - Police Mistake Michael Jackson for a Suspicious Shopper

    On This Day: May 1, 1989 - Police Mistake Michael Jackson for a Suspicious Shopper

    On May 1, 1989, police were called to a jewelry store in California after employees reported a suspicious man behaving oddly. When officers arrived, they discovered that the man in question was actually Michael Jackson shopping in disguise to avoid being recognized. Michael often wore elaborate...
  9. On This Day: May 1, 1984 - Mick Fleetwood Files for Bankruptcy

    On This Day: May 1, 1984 - Mick Fleetwood Files for Bankruptcy

    On May 1, 1984, Mick Fleetwood, the drummer and co-founder of Fleetwood Mac, officially filed for bankruptcy. Despite the band's enormous success through the late 70s and early 80s, Fleetwood’s financial troubles were caused by years of heavy spending, bad investments, and personal challenges...
  10. On This Day: May 1, 1989 - Disney-MGM Studios Opens at Walt Disney World

    On This Day: May 1, 1989 - Disney-MGM Studios Opens at Walt Disney World

    On May 1, 1989, Disney-MGM Studios officially opened at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida. The new theme park combined the magic of Hollywood with the excitement of a working production studio, offering visitors a behind-the-scenes look at how movies and television shows were made. At its...
  11. On This Day: May 1, 1983 - Sydney Entertainment Centre Opens in Australia

    On This Day: May 1, 1983 - Sydney Entertainment Centre Opens in Australia

    On May 1, 1983, the Sydney Entertainment Centre officially opened its doors in Sydney, Australia. Built to host concerts, sporting events, and major entertainment productions, it quickly became one of the premier venues in the country. The Sydney Entertainment Centre attracted some of the...
  12. On This Day: April 30, 1980 - Six Gunmen Storm the Iranian Embassy in London

    On This Day: April 30, 1980 - Six Gunmen Storm the Iranian Embassy in London

    On April 30, 1980, six armed Iranian men stormed the Iranian Embassy in London, taking twenty six people hostage. The attackers were part of a group demanding autonomy for the Khuzestan Province in Iran, and their actions quickly escalated into a major international crisis. The siege lasted for...
  13. On This Day: April 28, 1986 - Soviet Authorities Acknowledge the Chernobyl Disaster

    On This Day: April 28, 1986 - Soviet Authorities Acknowledge the Chernobyl Disaster

    On April 28, 1986, Soviet authorities were forced to publicly acknowledge the Chernobyl disaster after dangerously high levels of radiation were detected at a nuclear power plant in Sweden. The Soviet Union had initially attempted to keep the incident quiet, but the spread of radioactive...
  14. On This Day: April 28, 1986 - USS Enterprise Becomes the First Nuclear-Powered Aircraft Carrier to Visit the Suez Canal

    On This Day: April 28, 1986 - USS Enterprise Becomes the First Nuclear-Powered Aircraft Carrier to Visit the Suez Canal

    On April 28, 1986, the USS Enterprise made history by becoming the first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier to travel through the Suez Canal. This major event demonstrated the evolving strength and mobility of the United States Navy during a tense period of the Cold War. The USS Enterprise was...
  15. On This Day: April 28, 1988 - Clarabelle Lansing Falls from Aloha Airlines Flight 243

    On This Day: April 28, 1988 - Clarabelle Lansing Falls from Aloha Airlines Flight 243

    April 28, 1988 was one of the scariest days in airline history. Aloha Airlines Flight 243 suffered a terrifying mid-air disaster when part of the plane’s fuselage literally ripped open at 24,000 feet. Tragically, flight attendant Clarabelle Lansing was pulled from the aircraft and lost her life...
  16. On This Day: April 26 1982 - Rod Stewart’s Porsche Was Stolen in Los Angeles

    On This Day: April 26 1982 - Rod Stewart’s Porsche Was Stolen in Los Angeles

    On this day April 26 1982, Rod Stewart was the victim of a carjacking in Los Angeles when his $50000 Porsche was stolen during a mugging. The incident happened outside a Hollywood recording studio where Stewart had parked the vehicle before being confronted and robbed. The theft made headlines...
  17. On This Day: April 26, 1986 - The Chernobyl Nuclear Disaster Shocked the World

    On This Day: April 26, 1986 - The Chernobyl Nuclear Disaster Shocked the World

    On this day April 26, 1986, the world’s worst nuclear disaster occurred at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in the Soviet Union. During a late night safety test at Reactor No. 4, a sudden surge of power caused a massive explosion and fire that released radioactive material across large parts of...
  18. On This Day: April 25, 1981 - Radiation Exposure at Tsuruga Nuclear Power Plant

    On This Day: April 25, 1981 - Radiation Exposure at Tsuruga Nuclear Power Plant

    On this day April 25, 1981, over 100 workers were exposed to radiation during a leak at the Tsuruga Nuclear Power Plant in Japan. The incident occurred while maintenance and repairs were being carried out, and it was later revealed that highly radioactive water had overflowed from storage tanks...
  19. On This Day: April 25, 1988 - John Demjanjuk Was Sentenced to Death in Israel

    On This Day: April 25, 1988 - John Demjanjuk Was Sentenced to Death in Israel

    On this day April 25, 1988, former Nazi guard John Demjanjuk was sentenced to death by an Israeli court for war crimes committed during World War II. Holocaust survivors in Israel identified him as the brutal guard known as Ivan the Terrible at the Treblinka extermination camp. The case was one...
  20. On This Day: April 25, 1983 - Pioneer 10 Traveled Beyond Pluto’s Orbit

    On This Day: April 25, 1983 - Pioneer 10 Traveled Beyond Pluto’s Orbit

    On this day April 25, 1983, NASA’s Pioneer 10 became the first spacecraft to travel beyond the orbit of Pluto. Launched in 1972, Pioneer 10 was originally designed to study Jupiter, but it continued to send data long after its primary mission ended. By the time it crossed Pluto’s orbit, Pioneer...
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