this was the year that dared to ask what
happens to us in the future
welcome to watchmojo.com and today we’re
counting down our picks for the top 10
events of 1985 but it wasn’t the taste
of New Coke that people didn’t like it
was the idea of it for this list
we’ll be looking at events from each
half decade ranging from the fields of
pop culture natural disasters medical
breakthroughs sports and political
happenings and we’re basing our choices
on a mix of their significance at the
time and their lasting impact today now
B Barry and his about militia have
control of all of the TWA hostages who
have been taken off the plane in Beirut
this is part of a series of videos
spanning the decades number 10 the
Armero tragedy uranus crater 16 thousand
feet above sea level
erupted despite nearly a year’s warning
up to 25 thousand lives were lost
following the eruption of the Nevado del
Ruiz volcano in central Colombia when
seismic activity began occurring in
November of 1984 many ignored the danger
as the volcano had been dormant for
almost 70 years
when disaster finally did strike in 1985
the extent of the eruption initially
went unnoticed due to a storm our
marrows mayor and the town’s priest both
assured the public they were safe and
citizens were advised to stay indoors
aerial reconnaissance of the region
showed that the mudslides covered a 20
square mile area 85% of our maril had
vanished
however the eruption actually triggered
lava induced mud and landslides but
since these took a few hours to reach
our marrow the unfortunate truth is that
much of the town could have evacuated
had they been adequately warned number 9
the sinking of the Rainbow Warrior
waikumete a hub
July the 7th 1985 the Rainbow Warrior is
welcomed by a flotilla of small boats to
put an end to the Greenpeace protests of
French nuclear tests in the South
Pacific
two bombs less than ten minutes apart
were detonated as of 1138 p.m. and blew
a car-sized hole through the hull of the
Greenpeace ship Rainbow Warrior which
was docked in New Zealand at 11:40 9:00
p.m. the ship sunk and at least one
person photographer Fernando Pereira was
killed by drowning
investigators deemed the attack a
criminal act and soon found French
agents captain Dominique Piaf and major
Alain masa who were posing as Swiss
tourists responsible two of the Bombers
captured by New Zealand were jailed for
10 years but served only two although
attempts were made to deny and even
cover up the incident the French
government was eventually forced to pay
Greenpeace over 8 million dollars in
compensation my family and I pretty much
accepted what happened in 85 but that
doesn’t mean that we’re going to forgive
and forget
number 8 the professional debut of Mike
Tyson Mike Tyson was like the hottest
up-and-coming fighter that we had seen
since the young cash is quite at 18
years of age and at a muscular 214
pounds Mike Tyson made his professional
boxing debut against heavyweight Hector
Mercedes in what would become typical
fashion for him the upstart defeated
Mercedes by TKO in a mere 107 seconds
trained by cous D’Amato Tyson relied on
a Picabo technique and sheer
intimidation which proved to be as
effective as his right hook right
uppercut combo this is as bad as I’ve
ever seen Donnie long look with my
sister
Wow Tyson would go on to fight 14 more
times in 1985 winning all 14 and earning
the heavyweight title in 1986 while
Mercedes would retire in 1995 with a 1
and 10 record Alfred I guess is the only
man and this one may not go much longer
is crushing right hand since all arson
down number 7 the North American launch
of the NES the Nintendo action said
including the control deck with double
game pack and zapping light gun for just
$99.99 at Toys R Us by 1985 the gaming
market in North America was all but dead
so it’s no surprise that despite strong
sales in Japan retailers were hesitant
to stock the newfangled Nintendo
Entertainment System Nintendo was
undeterred however and opted for a small
launch in New York City the toughest
market they could think of and separated
the brand from the pack by banking on
newbie friendly jargon game accurate box
artwork and innovative gadgets such as
the zapper while offering stores a no
risk stocking policy Nintendo’s efforts
paid off and by the end of 1986 console
sales had crossed 1 million units
number six the hole in the ozone layer
the Sun seems delicious ultraviolet
radiation but that killjoy ozone layer
blocks out the deadly rays although
scientists had confirmed the existence
of a hole in the ozone above Antarctica
in December of 1984 those findings were
not made public until May of 1985 Gaia
you also know all over the South Pole it
is bigger than ever
dangerous radiation is pouring in
however it was not until August
following an atmospheric sciences
conference in Prague that the news
became a mainstream media sensation what
the ozone hole does is it allows more
ultraviolet light through to the surface
now that’s a problem for living things
at the surface mostly in fact for us
that the whole seemingly came out of
nowhere was a major cause for concern as
the ozone layer absorbs harmful and
potentially cancer-causing solar
ultraviolet radiation one chlorine
molecule a little cycle can destroy
thousands of ozone molecules scientists
linked the whole to the release of
chlorofluorocarbons or CFCs into the
atmosphere which forces ozone a form of
oxygen to disperse in the stratosphere
an unprecedented display of
international cooperation to protect the
world’s environment the Montreal
Protocol signed today aims at stopping
the deterioration of the ozone layer in
the atmosphere number five the RCA
buyout ge acquires NBC RCA yesterday was
taken over merged they’re calling it a
merger it was one of those gun to the
head mergers ladies and gentlemen
following a year of speculation
regarding the future of our see a fellow
electronics giant General Electric
acquired the company for a whopping six
point two eight billion dollars which
was the largest merger outside of the
oil industry at the time
although GE previously owned RCA until
1930 and while both companies produced
consumer electronics and developed
defense technology GE was only after a
single RCA holding in the 80s NBC the
actual transaction closed in 1986 but
the announcement itself was made the
year before and made headlines in
various news outlets starting in that
year GE had long wanted to enter the
broadcasting market and the merger
netted them not only NBC but five
affiliate stations as well not that
everyone was exactly thrilled about it
I’m thrilled about it no you’re not you
hate it yeah I heard today that GE
originally owned RCA we don’t care we
don’t want to be taken over by GE what
are these knuckleheads gonna do when
they get it here number four the release
of Windows 1.0 just $99 that’s white 5th
$99 it’s an incredible value but it’s
true
requiring a minimum of 256 kilobytes of
memory and a hundred bucks Windows 1.0
finally hit the market in 1985 the
operating system codenamed interface
manager was first presented to the
public on November 10th 1983 and was
originally intended to be released in
April of 1985 however Microsoft delayed
the release on two occasions and also
denied ever announcing a release date at
all hello computer just use the keyboard
retrospectively groundbreaking the OS
was seen as a dud by many critics owing
to its over reliance on the mouse and
because the interface was actually made
of tiles not Windows and honestly who
the hell wants tiles but whatever it was
it was here to stay order today P o box
too late 6 gos accepting lagrasta number
3 the Geneva summit that all started
here on Lake Geneva in November 1985 a
tidal wave of ice melting analogies came
into effect when American President
Ronald Reagan and
soviet general secretary Mikhail
Gorbachev met during the Geneva summit
after innumerable media photos Reagan
assured Gorbachev into a side room there
accompanied only by an interpreter on
each side the two leaders had their
first chance to size each other up the
meeting marked the first time the two
respective nations had met in eight
years and although it was not
confirmation of all-out peace it was
certainly a step in the right direction
both leaders also understood that
successful symmetry was a process to be
worked and over time both leaders agreed
to a 50% reduction in nuclear arms to
prevent an arms race in space to work
together on nuclear fusion power and not
much else
but at least the world didn’t end and
that’s always good right we cannot
afford to let confusion complicate
things further we must be clear with
each other and direct we must pay each
other the tribute of candor number two
Live Aid
viewed by 1.9 billion people in 150
countries and utilizing 13 satellites
Live Aid ultimately raised over 125
million dollars in aid for
famine-stricken Ethiopia
the fuck take down the brainchild of Bob
Geldof and Midge yer Live Aid was the
spiritual follow-up to the band aid
charity single and involved over 65 acts
on stages in London and Philadelphia
No
musically the star of the day was Phil
Collins who played both venues and
pulled triple duty as a solo artist and
drummer for both Eric Clapton and Led
Zeppelin while bono literally saved a
woman’s life and Queen gave the
performance of their career
before we unveil our number one pick
here are some honorable mentions
you telling me you built a time machine
out of a DeLorean the way I see it if
you’re gonna build a time machine into a
car why not do it some style until this
photograph for 73 years what happened
when the Titanic hit bottom had been a
mystery
that Paul Castellano is dead is of
interest to us because of who he
appeared to be the head of a crime
family
number one the FDA approves aids blood
testing
Bobby Campbell of San Francisco and
Billy Walker of New York both suffer
from a mysterious newly discovered
disease which affects mostly homosexual
men although AIDS had long been in the
public consciousness 1985 was a
watershed year for the illness that year
the FDA approved blood tests aimed at
preventing tainted blood donations and
the first international conference on
aids was held in Atlanta Georgia in
April a victim of a is a homosexual who
was told to take a leave from his job I
heard through the grapevine that you
know there were people that were up you
know nervous about my being around
stereotypes and misconceptions about the
virus still held strong for example fire
departments ceased using the kiss of
life while Church is worried that aids
could be spread through communion wine
and insurance companies spurred their
own outcry when they began screening for
the disease movie star Rock Hudson died
at his Coldwater Canyon home this
morning his publicist says that the
movie star’s body has already been
cremated however it was the AIDS related
death of actor Rock Hudson on October
2nd that finally gave a public face to
the disease and changed the narrative
forever I’m angry because there hasn’t
been enough research for AIDS
and gay people suffering it’s outrageous
do you agree with our list what do you
think is the most memorable event from
1985 for more like gnarly top 10s
published every day be sure to subscribe
to watchmojo.com
happens to us in the future
welcome to watchmojo.com and today we’re
counting down our picks for the top 10
events of 1985 but it wasn’t the taste
of New Coke that people didn’t like it
was the idea of it for this list
we’ll be looking at events from each
half decade ranging from the fields of
pop culture natural disasters medical
breakthroughs sports and political
happenings and we’re basing our choices
on a mix of their significance at the
time and their lasting impact today now
B Barry and his about militia have
control of all of the TWA hostages who
have been taken off the plane in Beirut
this is part of a series of videos
spanning the decades number 10 the
Armero tragedy uranus crater 16 thousand
feet above sea level
erupted despite nearly a year’s warning
up to 25 thousand lives were lost
following the eruption of the Nevado del
Ruiz volcano in central Colombia when
seismic activity began occurring in
November of 1984 many ignored the danger
as the volcano had been dormant for
almost 70 years
when disaster finally did strike in 1985
the extent of the eruption initially
went unnoticed due to a storm our
marrows mayor and the town’s priest both
assured the public they were safe and
citizens were advised to stay indoors
aerial reconnaissance of the region
showed that the mudslides covered a 20
square mile area 85% of our maril had
vanished
however the eruption actually triggered
lava induced mud and landslides but
since these took a few hours to reach
our marrow the unfortunate truth is that
much of the town could have evacuated
had they been adequately warned number 9
the sinking of the Rainbow Warrior
waikumete a hub
July the 7th 1985 the Rainbow Warrior is
welcomed by a flotilla of small boats to
put an end to the Greenpeace protests of
French nuclear tests in the South
Pacific
two bombs less than ten minutes apart
were detonated as of 1138 p.m. and blew
a car-sized hole through the hull of the
Greenpeace ship Rainbow Warrior which
was docked in New Zealand at 11:40 9:00
p.m. the ship sunk and at least one
person photographer Fernando Pereira was
killed by drowning
investigators deemed the attack a
criminal act and soon found French
agents captain Dominique Piaf and major
Alain masa who were posing as Swiss
tourists responsible two of the Bombers
captured by New Zealand were jailed for
10 years but served only two although
attempts were made to deny and even
cover up the incident the French
government was eventually forced to pay
Greenpeace over 8 million dollars in
compensation my family and I pretty much
accepted what happened in 85 but that
doesn’t mean that we’re going to forgive
and forget
number 8 the professional debut of Mike
Tyson Mike Tyson was like the hottest
up-and-coming fighter that we had seen
since the young cash is quite at 18
years of age and at a muscular 214
pounds Mike Tyson made his professional
boxing debut against heavyweight Hector
Mercedes in what would become typical
fashion for him the upstart defeated
Mercedes by TKO in a mere 107 seconds
trained by cous D’Amato Tyson relied on
a Picabo technique and sheer
intimidation which proved to be as
effective as his right hook right
uppercut combo this is as bad as I’ve
ever seen Donnie long look with my
sister
Wow Tyson would go on to fight 14 more
times in 1985 winning all 14 and earning
the heavyweight title in 1986 while
Mercedes would retire in 1995 with a 1
and 10 record Alfred I guess is the only
man and this one may not go much longer
is crushing right hand since all arson
down number 7 the North American launch
of the NES the Nintendo action said
including the control deck with double
game pack and zapping light gun for just
$99.99 at Toys R Us by 1985 the gaming
market in North America was all but dead
so it’s no surprise that despite strong
sales in Japan retailers were hesitant
to stock the newfangled Nintendo
Entertainment System Nintendo was
undeterred however and opted for a small
launch in New York City the toughest
market they could think of and separated
the brand from the pack by banking on
newbie friendly jargon game accurate box
artwork and innovative gadgets such as
the zapper while offering stores a no
risk stocking policy Nintendo’s efforts
paid off and by the end of 1986 console
sales had crossed 1 million units
number six the hole in the ozone layer
the Sun seems delicious ultraviolet
radiation but that killjoy ozone layer
blocks out the deadly rays although
scientists had confirmed the existence
of a hole in the ozone above Antarctica
in December of 1984 those findings were
not made public until May of 1985 Gaia
you also know all over the South Pole it
is bigger than ever
dangerous radiation is pouring in
however it was not until August
following an atmospheric sciences
conference in Prague that the news
became a mainstream media sensation what
the ozone hole does is it allows more
ultraviolet light through to the surface
now that’s a problem for living things
at the surface mostly in fact for us
that the whole seemingly came out of
nowhere was a major cause for concern as
the ozone layer absorbs harmful and
potentially cancer-causing solar
ultraviolet radiation one chlorine
molecule a little cycle can destroy
thousands of ozone molecules scientists
linked the whole to the release of
chlorofluorocarbons or CFCs into the
atmosphere which forces ozone a form of
oxygen to disperse in the stratosphere
an unprecedented display of
international cooperation to protect the
world’s environment the Montreal
Protocol signed today aims at stopping
the deterioration of the ozone layer in
the atmosphere number five the RCA
buyout ge acquires NBC RCA yesterday was
taken over merged they’re calling it a
merger it was one of those gun to the
head mergers ladies and gentlemen
following a year of speculation
regarding the future of our see a fellow
electronics giant General Electric
acquired the company for a whopping six
point two eight billion dollars which
was the largest merger outside of the
oil industry at the time
although GE previously owned RCA until
1930 and while both companies produced
consumer electronics and developed
defense technology GE was only after a
single RCA holding in the 80s NBC the
actual transaction closed in 1986 but
the announcement itself was made the
year before and made headlines in
various news outlets starting in that
year GE had long wanted to enter the
broadcasting market and the merger
netted them not only NBC but five
affiliate stations as well not that
everyone was exactly thrilled about it
I’m thrilled about it no you’re not you
hate it yeah I heard today that GE
originally owned RCA we don’t care we
don’t want to be taken over by GE what
are these knuckleheads gonna do when
they get it here number four the release
of Windows 1.0 just $99 that’s white 5th
$99 it’s an incredible value but it’s
true
requiring a minimum of 256 kilobytes of
memory and a hundred bucks Windows 1.0
finally hit the market in 1985 the
operating system codenamed interface
manager was first presented to the
public on November 10th 1983 and was
originally intended to be released in
April of 1985 however Microsoft delayed
the release on two occasions and also
denied ever announcing a release date at
all hello computer just use the keyboard
retrospectively groundbreaking the OS
was seen as a dud by many critics owing
to its over reliance on the mouse and
because the interface was actually made
of tiles not Windows and honestly who
the hell wants tiles but whatever it was
it was here to stay order today P o box
too late 6 gos accepting lagrasta number
3 the Geneva summit that all started
here on Lake Geneva in November 1985 a
tidal wave of ice melting analogies came
into effect when American President
Ronald Reagan and
soviet general secretary Mikhail
Gorbachev met during the Geneva summit
after innumerable media photos Reagan
assured Gorbachev into a side room there
accompanied only by an interpreter on
each side the two leaders had their
first chance to size each other up the
meeting marked the first time the two
respective nations had met in eight
years and although it was not
confirmation of all-out peace it was
certainly a step in the right direction
both leaders also understood that
successful symmetry was a process to be
worked and over time both leaders agreed
to a 50% reduction in nuclear arms to
prevent an arms race in space to work
together on nuclear fusion power and not
much else
but at least the world didn’t end and
that’s always good right we cannot
afford to let confusion complicate
things further we must be clear with
each other and direct we must pay each
other the tribute of candor number two
Live Aid
viewed by 1.9 billion people in 150
countries and utilizing 13 satellites
Live Aid ultimately raised over 125
million dollars in aid for
famine-stricken Ethiopia
the fuck take down the brainchild of Bob
Geldof and Midge yer Live Aid was the
spiritual follow-up to the band aid
charity single and involved over 65 acts
on stages in London and Philadelphia
No
musically the star of the day was Phil
Collins who played both venues and
pulled triple duty as a solo artist and
drummer for both Eric Clapton and Led
Zeppelin while bono literally saved a
woman’s life and Queen gave the
performance of their career
before we unveil our number one pick
here are some honorable mentions
you telling me you built a time machine
out of a DeLorean the way I see it if
you’re gonna build a time machine into a
car why not do it some style until this
photograph for 73 years what happened
when the Titanic hit bottom had been a
mystery
that Paul Castellano is dead is of
interest to us because of who he
appeared to be the head of a crime
family
number one the FDA approves aids blood
testing
Bobby Campbell of San Francisco and
Billy Walker of New York both suffer
from a mysterious newly discovered
disease which affects mostly homosexual
men although AIDS had long been in the
public consciousness 1985 was a
watershed year for the illness that year
the FDA approved blood tests aimed at
preventing tainted blood donations and
the first international conference on
aids was held in Atlanta Georgia in
April a victim of a is a homosexual who
was told to take a leave from his job I
heard through the grapevine that you
know there were people that were up you
know nervous about my being around
stereotypes and misconceptions about the
virus still held strong for example fire
departments ceased using the kiss of
life while Church is worried that aids
could be spread through communion wine
and insurance companies spurred their
own outcry when they began screening for
the disease movie star Rock Hudson died
at his Coldwater Canyon home this
morning his publicist says that the
movie star’s body has already been
cremated however it was the AIDS related
death of actor Rock Hudson on October
2nd that finally gave a public face to
the disease and changed the narrative
forever I’m angry because there hasn’t
been enough research for AIDS
and gay people suffering it’s outrageous
do you agree with our list what do you
think is the most memorable event from
1985 for more like gnarly top 10s
published every day be sure to subscribe
to watchmojo.com
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