In 1984 the world was a very different place with many significant changes having taken place in the previous decade or so.
Social Politics
In 1984 the Cold War was still hot. The United States and the Soviet Union were each spending billions on their military forces, while Japan was modernizing its military to restore its position as a global power. The world’s superpowers were still trying to keep up with each other in terms of technology and weapons, and every few years there would be another major arms race which would lead to more rounds of nuclear testing by both sides. In North America, tensions were particularly high between the two countries as they had just witnessed a nuclear war between them only 12 months prior (The Doomsday War). As such, it is not surprising that there was a great deal of mistrust between them at the time.
It is also worth mentioning that 1984 was a year of two major volcanic eruptions. The first was the Mount Redoubt eruption which occurred in Alaska on June 10th, and the second was Mount St. Helens eruption which occurred on May 18th. As a result, there were some major climate changes such as heavy rainfall during the summer in both Canada and the United States. And while it is not clear if this had any effect on what happened next, it did lead to an event that would eventually help break the ice between America and Russia.
Entertainment
1984 was the year that the world’s first ever computer game was invented. The most advanced technology of the time was used to create this revolutionary innovation in gaming. It became a worldwide sensation, taking over every other form of entertainment. However, it never quite took off as developers predicted and by 1985 the market started to decline. In 1986 an upstart company called Microsoft released its own new game that would prove to be a big hit from its inception – Microsoft Flight Simulator. The main reason for this success is due to their first use of 3D graphics, which revolutionized games forever after this release.
Sports
In 1984 the Olympic Winter Games were held in Sarajevo, Bosnia. The Olympics have been held in this city at least twice before (1936 and 1960), but this was the first time that a Winter Olympics had ever been held there. The Olympic games are the world’s second largest sporting event after the FIFA World Cup. The 1984 Summer Olympics were held in Los Angeles, California. USA Gymnastics was one of the largest sponsors of gymnastics events in the 1984 Olympics. The 1984 Olympics were an important step towards the removal of a ban on women’s participation in Olympic competition. The most famous man of 1984 was probably Bruce Jenner, a transgender woman who won the gold medal for Men’s Decathlon. She later appeared on TV as Caitlyn Jenner, an Olympic athlete and American television personality.
