Fun Facts about 1985

Ohio adopted a brand of trilobite as the Official State Fossil. Isotelus is the name of an invertebrate creature that was mostly extinct by 1985.

The Chicago Bears won the NFL Championship by whupping the New England Patriots in a game that was extremely Super and played in a stadium shaped remotely like a Bowl if you looked down on it from a great height.

Holmfriour “Hofi” Karlsdottir, the reigning Miss Iceland, won the Miss World Contest the Royal Albert Hall. She was 5' 8" and she smiled a lot.

At the start of the year, a First Class USPS stamp cost .20 USD, or 20 cents. At the end of the year, the same stamp cost .22 USD, a 10% increase.

The Nobel Prize for Peace was awarded to International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War.

According to the Gregorian Calendar, 1985 started on a Tuesday. The previous year, 1984, ended on a Wednesday.

The leader of the Assam Movement in India, Prafulla Kumar Mahanta, was elected the youngest chief minister in the country’s history. He was 32 years old.

The Iditarod Trail dogsled race was won for the first time by a woman, Libby Riddles.

Rock Group Dire Straits played a live concert at Wembly Stadium, on July 10th.

Lacy gloves and fingerless gloves were huge fashion fads for people with hands.

Disney Channel Pop Star and movie actor Ashley Tisdale wads born on July 2nd.

The World Championship of Cricket was captured by India as they defeated Pakistan.

International Youth Year, also referred to as IYY, was staged to focus attention and concern on issues relating to youths. The United Nations General Assembly provided the impetus for this 365 day event.

The DNS (Domain Name System) was introduced and distributed.

José Daniel Ortega Saavedra became the 79th President of Nicaragua.

"We Are The World" was recorded in order to raise awareness and funds for Africa.

In what many sports fans suggest may be the greatest upset of all time in NCAA Men's Basketball championship play, Villanova beat Georgetown 84-75.

The Italian cruise liner Achille Lauro was commandeered by terrorists.They held the ship, and 500 passengers, for 2 days, then surrendered.

Publisher Random House purchased former US President Richard Nixon's memoirs for 3 million dollars.

Major League baseball players went on strike for 2 days in August. The dispute centered on the distribution of TV revenues.

A cyclone struck the Chittagong area of Bangladesh, killing over 10 thousand people.

French Cyclist Bernard Hinault won the Tour de France. Teammate Gred LeMond was second.

Ronald Reagan was sworn in for his second consecutive term in office as The President of The United States.

The Coca Cola corporation introduced New Coke, which was roundly hated and was off the market before the end of the year.

Remains of the RMS Titanic were located at the bottom of the ocean, 73 years after the original sinking.

The computer game Tetris was released into unsuspecting video game arcades.

Bob Geldof organized and staged Live Aid, a concert held in two venues on the same day to raise money for charity.