1981 History, Trivia and Fun Facts

• Battle of the Sexes: Sandra Day O'Connor was appointed to serve on the US Supreme Court, the first female on the court.
• The Top Song was Physical by Olivia Newton John
• The Big Movies included Raiders of the Lost Ark, On Golden Pond and Superman II
• Price of a postage stamp in 1981: 18 cents*
  *20 cents effective November 20, 1981
  Rubick's Cube: $3.99
• The World Population was ~ 5,304,000,000
• The longest professional baseball game lasted 33 innings- 8 hours and 25 minutes, in 1981 between The Pawtucket Red Sox and the Rochester Red Wings, from the Triple-A International League. Pawtucket won 3-2.
• And... The Chicken Dance was written by Werner Thomas in Switzerland, in the 1950s. It reached the dance floors in America in 1980.

Pulitzer Prize-winning Washington Post reporter Janet Cooke made up a story about an 8-year-old herion addict named Jimmy. He didn't exist, but her pleas that he could have existed didn't stop her from getting in trouble.

Although similar stories were told over a century before, the 1981 publication of Jan Harold Brunvand's book, The Vanishing Hitchhiker, brought the 'Vanishing Hitchhiker' urban myth into mainstream Popular Culture.

Harvard professor Roger Fisher proposed implanting nuclear launch codes in a volunteer so that the President would have to kill an innocent person before firing. The Pentagon rejected the idea fearing the President would not go through with it even if it was necessary.

Ronald Reagan fired 11,345 air traffic controllers after they refused to end their strike and subsequently banned them from federal service for life.

A couple sued AC/DC in 1981 for $250,000 because their telephone number is in the song Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap resulting in hundreds of prank calls. The song's 36-24-36 digits were followed by a "hey!", which to his clients sounded like an "8".

Electric Avenue by Eddy Grant is actually a song about the 1981 Brixton Riot in London.

Konrad Kujau sold the fraudulent Hitler Diaries to a West German newsmagazine for $3.2 million in 1981.

When a then-unknown Prince opened up for the Rolling Stones on the first of two nights in LA in 1981, the crowd threw beer cans at him and booed him off the stage within the first 20 minutes of his set. He came on the stage wearing nothing but bikini briefs and a trench coat.

The Stanley Cup Champions 1963 Toronto Maple Leafs, 1972 Boston Bruins and 1981 New York Islanders have their engravings misspelled as Leaes, BQSTQN and Ilanders, respectively. There are also several player name errors.

The small Spanish town of Huéscar declared war on Denmark in 1809. They simply forget they were at war for the next 172 years and only signed a peace treaty when a local historian rediscovered the declaration of war in 1981.

Jack Henry Abbott was a felon/murderer/bank robber who wrote In the Belly of the Beast while in prison. Norman Mailer and other vouched for him... he was released and stabbed an employee at a restaurant who told him he could not use the employee's rest room. Back in prison, he killed himself in 2002.

Atari's first world tournament in 1981 didn't go so well with initial winning checks bouncing, low participation and contestants having to use their own quarters for games

Actress Drowning Death: Actress Natalie Wood died, apparently falling overboard after a day/night sailing with hubby Robert Wagner and mutual friend Christopher Walken.

Actor Injury Death: William Holden was drunk, fell and cut his head open. He didn't realize how injured he was, didn't call for help, and died from the what should have been a fairly easy stiching.

Pop Star Automobile Death: Harry Chapin

A man named Roger Fischer had an idea for a volunteer to have ICBM launch codes put in their chest cavity. In the event of an emergency, the volunteer would carry a knife to be killed with. It was meant to force the personal killing of one man to start the impersonal killing of millions.

Woman's World began publication

Computer Gaming World Magazine (1981-2006)

Shape began publication

Elle began publication

Health began publication

(according to boxofficemojo)
1. Raiders of the Lost Ark
2. On Golden Pond
3. Superman II
4. Arthur
5. Stripes
6. The Cannonball Run
7. Chariots Of Fire
8. For Your Eyes Only
9. The Four Seasons
10. Time Bandits
*In 1981, 8 of the top 10 grossing movies were original stories; in 2011, none of the top 10 were original stories.

Absence of Malice, An American Werewolf in London, Arthur, Bustin Loose, The Cannonball Run, Chariots of Fire, Clash of the Titans, Endless Love, The Evil Dead, Excalibur, For Your Eyes Only, The Four Seasons, The Fox and the Hound, The Great Muppet Caper, History of the World Part I, Mad Max II: The Road WArrior, Mommie Dearest, Neighbors, On Golden Pond, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Reds, Scanners, Sharkey's Machine, Stripes, Superman II, Taps, Tarzan, the Ape Man, Time Bandits