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)
