The year is 1989 and SJ is launched

1989 was a significant year—culturally, scientifically, and politically. Some say it provided the perfect bookend to the ‘80s. It was the setting in which STAMPING Journal®, originally titled Stamping Quarterly, was launched. Do you remember …?

Culturally

Movies. National Lampoon’s movie “Christmas Vacation” with Chevy Chase and Beverly D’Angelo chronicling the Griswold family’s Christmas premiered and changed the holiday forever. “Good Morning, Vietnam” brought both humor and war drama; “Big” and “Moonstruck” delighted; the first of the “Batman” remade series showed; and “The Little Mermaid” premiered, grossing more than $211 million worldwide.

Music. The sounds of “Don’t Worry Be Happy,” “She Drives Me Crazy,” “Nick of Time,” and “Wind Beneath My Wings” dominated airplay. George Michael preached “Faith”; Michael Bolton pined “How Am I Supposed to Live Without You”; and Mike and the Mechanics warned in “The Living Years.” Taylor Swift was born and later named her best-selling album after her birth year.

Books. Stephen Hawking won acclaim for “A Brief History of Time,” while Salman Rushdie received death threats and a $3 million bounty his head for his “The Satanic Verses.” Amy Tan’s “The Joy Luck Club” was made into a film; Wendy Wasserstein won a Pulitzer Prize for “The Heidi Chronicles”; while Robert Fulghum reminded us that “All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten.”

Television. The medium was still basically four channels. The No. 1-rated show was “The Cosby Show” followed by “Roseanne,” which is interesting considering that the former show’s lead actor is now in prison and the latter has relaunched without its title role actress. “Cheers” could always cheer us up, and ran for 11 seasons. “60 Minutes” managed to delve into current events without a whisper of political monikers. “The Simpsons” debuted.

Techno-Eco-Scientifically

Some of the most significant technology and events occurred.

Internet. The World Wide Web (WWW) was first launched in the public domain by CERN scientist Tim Berners-Lee.

GPS. The first global positioning system (GPS) satellite was put into orbit.

Cold Fusion. Stanley Pons and Martin Fleischmann announced that they had achieved cold fusion at the University of Utah.

Climate Change. Scientists commenced discussion around climate change precipitated by NASA scientist James Hansen’s Senate testimony warning about climate change.

Exxon Valdez Oil Spill. The worst oil spill in U.S. history to date occurred when the supertanker Exxon Valdez ran aground in Prince William Sound, Alaska, spilling 11 million gallons of oil along 730 miles of coastline.

San Francisco Earthquake. An earthquake measuring 6.9 on the Richter scale hit the San Francisco area. The quake killed 57 people and caused nearly $10 billion in damages.

Dino Egg. A 150-million-year-old fossil egg was found in Utah with a fossilized dinosaur embryo inside, the oldest dinosaur egg yet found in the Northern Hemisphere.

Politically

Democracy and its pursuit were at the center of many events.

Berlin Wall. A new government in East Berlin announced the end of all travel restrictions, and soon thousands of Berliners dismantled the Berlin Wall that had divided the city for 27 years.

Russian Election. In its first free elections in Russia, 190 million elected Boris Yeltsin.

Solidarity in Poland. Pro-democracy party Solidarity won elections in Poland.

Tiananmen Square. Pro-democracy protests in Tiananmen Square led to the Tiananmen Square Massacre as Chinese troops opened fire on pro-democracy supporters, including students, in Beijing.

Chemical Weapon Ban. 140 nations agreed to ban chemical weapons.

Nobel Peace Prize. The 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, religious and political leader of Tibet, won the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to liberate Tibetans from China without violence.