| 65 million Americans read daily newspapers. 750 TV stations and over 7,500 radio stations in operation. Gold hits record high of $875 per ounce. EPA Superfund created to clean up toxic waste sites. Japan surpasses US as world's largest auto producer. Double-digit inflation continues; prices rise 12.4 percent. |
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| IBM Personal Computer marketed. Pres. Reagan fires 12,000 striking air traffic controllers. Public debt hits $1 trillion; prime rate reaches 21.5 percent. First class postal rates go to 20¢. U.S. population hits 228 million. |
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| Court order breaks up monopoly of AT&T. USA Today, first general-interest newspaper introduced. 2.9 million women operate businesses. Computer "mouse" introduced by Apple. |
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| Martin Luther King's birth date becomes national holiday. Cell phones available to motorists, cost $3,000. Cabbage Patch dolls become overnight sensation. |
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| Pres. Reagan re-elected. Laser disc computer data storage system available. Trivial Pursuit game has sales of $777 million. Average price of single-family house tops $101,000. |
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| Coca-Cola introduces new formula Coke; quickly recalled. U.S. becomes net debtor nation first time since 1914; debt tops $2 million. First genetically engineered microorganisms licensed for commercial purposes. Supreme Court upholds affirmative action hiring quotas. New York transit fares rise from 75¢ to $1. |
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| Sears celebrates its 100th anniversary. Office Depot, first office supply warehouse store, opens in Florida. |
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| Supercomputer capable of 1,720 billion computations per second goes online. Clean water bill passed to address pollution of estuaries and rainwater. Stock market plunges 508 points in one day (Oct 19) largest drop in history. Trade deficit hits record $16.5 billion. |
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| Robots used for picking fruit. 1 million fax machines produced. U.S. automakers produce 13 million cars and trucks. U.S. savings and loans lose $13.44 billion. |
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| Warner Communications and Time, Inc. merge. Exxon tanker runs aground off Alaska coastline; worst oil spill ever. Stock market plunges 190.58 points, 2nd largest drop in history. Feds spend $159 billion to bail out savings and loan industry. |
Note: Material adapted from "The Value of a Dollar, 1860-2004." Third Edition, Scott Derks, Grey House Publishing.
