Remember when....

Here's a snapshot of 1981

Factoids:

President: Ronald Reagan
Vice President: George Bush
U.S. Population: 229,465,714
Life expectancy: 74.1 years
World population: 4.529 billion
Federal spending: $678 billion
Federal debt: $994.8 billion
Median Household Income: $19,074 (in 2010 dollars)
Unemployment: 7.6%
Cost of a first-class stamp: 15 cents
Miss America: Susan Powell (Elk City, Oklahoma)
Miss USA: Kim Seelbrede (Ohio)
AIDS is first identified
IBM introduces first PC runing MS-DOS
FDA approves Nutrasweet
US-Iran agreement frees 52 hostages held in Tehran since 1979
Sandra Day O'Connor nominated to Supreme Court as the first woman
MTV debuts on cable television, running around the clock music videos
John Hinkley Jr. attempts to assassinate President Reagan
Prince Charles and Diana Spencer get married
Pac-Man video game sweeps the nation
Donkey Kong and Frogger video games debut
Space shuttle Columbia is first launched
US Agriculture Department declares ketchup and pickle relish as school lunch vegetables
1981 is MCMLXXXI
Ronald Reagan fired 11,359 striking air-traffic controllers for ignoring his order
Muhammad Ali has his last boxing fight
Delorean cars begin production

Sports

Baseball: World Series, LA Dodgers over NY Yankees 4-2
Basketball: NBA Championship, Boston over Houston 4-2
Basketball: NCAA Championship, Indiana over North Carolina 63-50
Heisman Trophy: Marcus Allen, USC
Hockey: Stanley Cup, NY Islanders over Minnesota 4-1
Football: Super Bowl XV, Oakland defeats Philadelphia 27-10
Football: NCAA Championship, Clemson 12-0-0
Golf: US Open, David Graham
Tennis: Wimbledon women, Chris Evert Lloyd defeats Mandlikova 6-2, 6-2
Tennis: Wimbledon men, John McEnroe defeats B Borg 4-6, 7-6, 7-6, 6-4
Horses: Kentucky Derby, Pleasant Colony

Popular Songs

Don't Stop Believin' - Journey
Let's Groove - Earth, Wind and Fire
Super Freak - Rick James
Give It To Me Baby - Rick James
Jessie's Girl - Rick Springfield
Start Me Up - Rolling Stones
Back In Black - AC/DC
I Love You - Climax Blues Band
Celebration - Kool and The Gang
She's A Bad Mama Jama (She's Built, She's Stacked) - Carl Carlton
Just The Two Of Us - Grover Washington Jr & Bill Withers
Double Dutch Bus - Frankie Smith
Waiting For A Girl Like You - Foreigner
Endless Love - Lionel Richie and Diana Ross
Fantastic Voyage - Lakeside
In The Air Tonight - Phi Collins
Hey Nineteen - Steely Dan
Love T.K.O. - Teddy Pendergrass
We're In This Love Together - Al Jarreau
De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da - Police
Lady (You Bring Me Up) - Commodores
Urgent - Foreigner
The Tide Is High - Blondie
Fire and Ice - Pat Benatar
Our Lips Are Sealed - Go Go's
Same Old Lang Syne - Dan Fogleberg
The Stroke - Billy Squier
Who's Making Love - Blues Brothers
Being With You - Smokey Robinson
Don't Stand So Close To Me - Police
Tempted - Squeeze
Burn Rubber (Why You Wanna Hurt Me) - Gap Band
Guilty - Barbra Streisand and Barry Gibb
Woman - John Lennon
Winner Takes All - Abba
Queen of Hearts - Juice Newton
Controversy - Prince
Rapture - Blondie
9 to 5 - Dolly Parton
America - Neil Diamond
Physical - Olivia Newton John
Treat Me Right - Pat Benatar
Elvira - Oak Ridge Boys
The Old Songs - Barry Manilow
Fashion - David Bowie
No Reply At All - Genesis
All Those Years Ago - George Harrison
Slow Hand - Pointer Sisters
8th Wonder - Sugarhill Gang
My Girl (Gone, Gone, Gone) - Chilliwack

Billboard Number One Hits

December 27, 1980 - January 30, 1981:
(Just Like) Starting Over - John Lennon
January 31 - February 6:
The Tide Is High - Blondie
February 7 - February 20:
Celebration - Kool & The Gang
February 21 - March 6:
9 to 5 - Dolly Parton
March 7 - March 20:
I Love A Rainy Night - Eddie Rabbitt
March 21 - March 27:
Keep On Loving You - REO Speedwagon
March 28 - April 10:
Rapture - Blondie
April 11 - May 1:
Kiss On My List - Hall & Oates
May 2 - May 15:
Morning Train (Nine To Five) - Sheena Easton
May 16 - July 17:
Bette Davis Eyes - Kim Carnes
July 18 - July 24:
Medley - Stars on 45
July 25 - July 31:
The One That You Love - Air Supply
August 1 - August 14:
Jessie's Girl - Rick Springfield
August 15 - October 16:
Endless Love - Diana Ross & Lionel Richie
October 17 - November 6:
Arthur's Theme (Best That You Can Do) - Christopher Cross
November 7 - November 20:
Private Eyes - Hall & Oates
November 21, 1981 - January 29,1982:
Physical - Olivia Newton-John

Top Albums

High Infidelity - REO Speedwagon
Paradise Theatre - Styx
Mistaken Identity - Kim Carnes
Long Distance Voyager - The Moody Blues
Precious Time - Pat Benatar
Foreigner - Foreigner
Bella Donna - Stevie Nicks
Escape - Journey
Tatoo You - Rolling Stones
For Those About To Rock - AC/DC

Popular Movies

Raiders of the Lost Ark
Chariots of Fire
On Golden Pond
Reds
Atlantic City
Superman II
Arthur
Stripes
The Cannonball Run
For Your Eyes Only
The Four Seasons
Time Bandits
Any Which Way You Can

Academy Awards

Host: Johnny Carson
Best Picture: Ordinary People
Best Director: Robert Redford (Ordinary People)
Best Actor: Robert DeNiro (Raging Bull)
Best Supporting Actor: Timothy Hutton (Ordinary People)
Best Actress: Sissy Spacek (Coal Miner's Daughter)
Best Supporting Acress: Mary Steenburgen (Melvin and Howard)
Cinematography: Geoffrey Unsworth and Ghislain Cloquet (Tess)
Best Original Song: Fame
Best Original Score: Michael Gore (Fame)

Grammy Awards

Record of the Year: Sailing (Christopher Cross)
Best Song: Sailing (Christopher Cross)
Best Album: Christopher Cross (Christopher Cross)
Pop Male Vocalist: Kenny Loggins (This Is It)
Pop Female Vocalist: Bette Midler (The Rose)
Best New Artist of the Year: Christopher Cross
Rock Male Vocalist: Billy Joel (Glass Houses)
Rock Female Vocalist: Pat Benatar (Crimes of Passion)

Emmy Awards

Drama Series: Hill Street Blues
Lead Actor, Drama: Daniel Travanti (Hill Street Blues)
Lead Actress, Drama: Barbara Babcock (Hill Street Blues)
Drama Special: Playing for Time
Comedy: Taxi
Lead Actor, Comedy: Judd Hirsch (Taxi)
Lead Actress, Comedy: Isabel Sanford (The Jeffersons)
Limited Series: Shogun
Informational Series: Steve Allen's Meeting of Minds
Informational Special: The Body Human
Children's Entertainment Series: Captain Kangaroo
Game Show: $20,000 Pyramid
Talk Show: Donahue

Nobel Prizes

Chemistry
- Roald Hoffmann (US) and Kenichi Fukui (Japan), for applying quantum-mechanics theories to predict the course of chemical reactions
Literature
- Elias Canetti
Peace
- Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
Physiology or Medicine
- Roger W. Sperry, David H. Hubel (both US), and Torsten N. Wiesel (Sweden), for studies vital to understanding the organization and functioning of the brain
Physics
- Nicolaas Bloembergen, Arthur L. Schawlow (both US), and Kai M. Siegbahn (Sweden), for developing technologies with lasers and other devices to probe the secrets of complex forms of matter

Pulitzer Prizes

Fiction: A Confederacy of Dunces, John Kennedy Toole
Drama: Crimes of the Heart, Beth Henley
History: American Education: The National Experience 1783 - 1876, Lawrence Cremin
National Reporting: John Crewdson, New York Times, for coverage of illegal aliens
Local Reporting: Longview Daily News, for coverage of Mt. St. Helens
Public Service: Charlotte Observer, for series on "Brown Lung: A Case of Deadly Neglect"