Biggest news stories of your lifetime

Agreed. I don't get it. Don't think it even belongs in the same conversation with the other events discussed here.

 

Diana's death certainly occupied a lot of airtime. Maybe people are just quantifying the coverage. The press sure made it seem important.

If so, that's on us.

 

Same with OJ.

 

I wasn't personally affected by Princess Di's death. Ditto O.J., though I do rememeber my junior year history teacher turning the radio on so we could hear the verdict being read. Roger Craig's daughter sure cheered.

 

There were elements of race and fame and domestic violence and the cost of justice in America that, I think, elevated O.J. above a standard-issue tabloid peep show. I really believe that.

 

Sure, but it doesn't even sniff my Top 10?

 

Well, I got the understanding we were talking about specific EVENTS and their impact (Long-term and short-term), rather than trends (which would be an interesting thread all its own).

When I say trends I mean things that don't happen overnight, like development of the internet, cell phones/smart phones, drug war, rise of Islam, AIDS crisis, long-term recession, climate change, etc.

 

Headlines should have been:

"Princess Dies."

 

Dec. 19, 1990: Alyssa Milano turns 18.

 

Top 5 major world news events that had an impact on my life:

1. Hurricane Katrina. My community and I were right in the middle of it.

2. 9/11. Led directly to my son spending this Christmas in Afghanistan.

3. JFK. I was living in Houston at the time.

4. Munich Olympics. Was on my way to the church for my best friend's funeral when we heard the news that they were all killed.

5. Challenger explosion. A teacher from our area was next in line to fly that mission, if Christa McAuliffe had not been able to.

 

Chronologically (of those I remember)

Watergate
Munich Olympics (obviously just a link in a chain, but the first link I was aware of)
Soviet Union breaks up
The Internet
9/11

 

This list could go a lot of ways, but I always thought Kent State should be very high since our troops killed our citizens on our soil.

Newton would be down on the list, though. It's tragic, but Katrina and 9/11 would push it down the list for me.