Time Warp: 1986

On September 29 1986, I celebrated my fifth birthday.  Here's a quick look at some of the things that were making headlines that year.  

1986 Recap

• January 28: Just seventy-three seconds after its launch from Kennedy Space Center, the space shuttle Challenger explodes.  All seven astronauts aboard the spacecraft lose their lives (1, 2).

• April 26: In what is still considered the deadliest and costliest nuclear disaster in history, a reactor facility at the Soviet Union's Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant explodes.  The nearby town of Pripyat Ukraine is evacuated and abandoned; today, it is a ghost town (3, 4).  

• April 27: A Home Box Office (HBO) broadcast of "The Falcon And The Snowman" is interrupted by broadcast pirate "Captain Midnight".  Instead of the scheduled movie, viewers in the eastern half of the US see color bars, and a message protesting against what the intruder believes to be unreasonably expensive access fees.  The interruption lasts for four and a half minutes (5).  

• October 27: The New York Mets win the 1986 World Series, defeating the Boston Red Sox four games to three.  It is the second world championship for the Mets, who also won in 1969.  New York will appear in two more World Series (2000 and 2015), but lose both (to the New York Yankees and Kansas City Royals, respectively) (6, 7).  

• October 28: The one hundredth anniversary of the dedication of the Statue of Liberty ("Liberty Enlightening the World") is celebrated (8).  

Next up, we'll take a look at 1991; the year that saw me turn ten years old.  

Sources:

1. "What Happened In 1986 - Significant Events, Prices, 35 Years Ago Top Movies, TV And Music". Thepeoplehistory.Com, https://www.thepeoplehistory.com/1986.html. Accessed 1 Sept 2021.

2. Cable News Network. 1986 Space Shuttle Challenger Explosion: CNN's Live Broadcast. 2011, https://youtu.be/AfnvFnzs91s. Accessed 1 Sept 2021.

3. "Chernobyl Disaster - Wikipedia". En.Wikipedia.Org, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chernobyl_disaster. Accessed 1 Sept 2021.

4. American Broadcasting Company. ABC News Broadcast During Chernobyl Nuclear Disaster | April 1986 | HD. 2019, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QlYcD2gG9aY. Accessed 1 Sept 2021.

5. "Captain Midnight Broadcast Signal Intrusion - Wikipedia". En.Wikipedia.Org, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Captain_Midnight_broadcast_signal_intrusion. Accessed 1 Sept 2021.

6. "1986 World Series - Wikipedia". En.Wikipedia.Org, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1986_World_Series. Accessed 1 Sept 2021.

7. Major League Baseball (from original broadcast of the National Broadcasting Company). 1986 WS Gm7: Mets Win Their 2nd World Series. 2014, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ox07Hcb6SYk.  Accessed 1 Sept 2021.

8. "Historical Events In October 1986". Onthisday.Com, https://www.onthisday.com/events/date/1986/october. Accessed 1 Sept 2021.