1988 The Hubble Space Telescope Goes into operation
to explore deep space and is still in full use today mapping our universe.
A bomb is exploded on Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie in Scotland. Also
Prozac is sold for the first time as an anti-depressant some of the great
movies that year included Rain Man, Die Hard and A Fish Called Wanda
Cost of Living 1988
How Much things cost in 1988
Yearly Inflation Rate USA 4.08%
Year End Close Dow Jones Industrial Average 2168
Interest Rates Year End Federal Reserve 10.50%
Average Cost of new house $91,600.00
Average Income per year $24,450.00
Average Monthly Rent $420.00
Average Price for new car $10,400.00
1 gallon of gas 91 cents
Movie Ticket $3.50
US Postage Stamp 24 cents
Dozen Eggs 65 cents
What Events Happened in 1988
- After 8 years and 1.5 million dead the Iran -- Iraq war ends
- Iraq carries out Poison Gas Attack On Kurds
- Earthquake in Armenia Kills 60,000
- Suspected Libyan terrorist bomb explodes on Pan Am jet over Lockerbie in Scotland killing all 259 on board and 11 on the ground
- Australia celebrates its bicentennial.
- A new drug Crack appears ( A derivative of Cocaine ) and is increasingly found in US Cities
- UK SAS kill suspected IRA bombers in Gibraltar
- The English Pound Note ceases to be legal Tender
- Salmonella is found in Eggs in Britain causing problems for British Farmers
- Laws restricting opening times for UK Pubs are changed allowing Pubs to stay open all day
- 34 people die in the Clapham Rail Crash
- Widespread strikes in Poland by Solidarity Supporters
- Archaeologists uncover the original Globe Theater in London
- Soviet Red Army withdraws from Afghanistan.
- A Soviet Union School Bus is Hijacked
- Panama leader General Manual Antonio Noriega, is charged with drug smuggling and money laundering
- Yasser Arafat is invited to address the U.N. General Assembly
- Piper Alpha drilling platform in the North Sea is destroyed by explosions and fires killing 165 oil workers and 2 rescue mariners.
- The Summer Olympics are held in Seoul, South Korea
- The USS Vincennes shoots down Iranian passenger jet Flight 655
- Prince Charles escapes avalanche in Switzerland
- The Winter Olympic Games are held in Calgary, Alberta, Canada
- Hurricane Gilbert devastated
Jamaica, it turns towards Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula two days later
Popular Culture 1988
- Prozac makes its debut in the United States
- Televangelist Jim Bakker Scandal
- The Simpson's seen on TV for the first time
- British Government Stops Publication
in Britain of Spycatcher Book
Popular Films
- Rain Man
- Who Framed Roger Rabbit
- Big
- Twins
- Crocodile Dundee II
- Die Hard
- The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!
- Beetlejuice
- Dangerous Liaisons
- A Fish Called Wanda
- Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood
Popular Musicians
- Enya
- Robert Palmer
- Erasure
- Kylie Minogue
- U2
- The Beach Boys
- Bros
- Michael Jackson with " Dirty Diana "
- Gloria Estefan
- Chicago with " Look Away "
- George Michael with " Father Figure "
- Guns N' Roses
- George Harrison
Technology 1988
- First transatlantic fiber optic cable laid able to carry 40,000 telephone calls simultaneously
- Stephen Hawking Publishes " A Brief History Of Time "
- The first major computer virus infects computers connected to the Internet.
- The Hubble Space Telescope is put into operation
- The US Stealth Bomber is unveiled
- Using Carbon Dating it is established that the Turin Shroud Can Not Be the Burial Cloth of Christ
- The Antidepressant Prozac introduced which quickly became the market leader for treating depression
Inventions Invented by Inventors and Country (or attributed to First Use)
- Laser Eye Surgery USA