The 1980s
Arcade tokens, mixtapes, and the smell of a fresh VHS.
West and East show different things - switch to see the other childhood.
What happened in the 1980s
The Iran-Iraq War begins
One of the late 20th century’s most destructive conflicts begins, shaping Middle East politics for years to come.
First Space Shuttle Columbia mission
NASA opens a new era of reusable spaceflight with the launch of Columbia.
The compact disc reaches consumers
Music starts moving into the digital era as CDs begin transforming home listening.
The Internet adopts its modern foundation
ARPANET’s switch to TCP/IP becomes a foundational step toward the modern Internet.
The 1980s catalogue
Games, films, animation and hardware, drawn from Wikidata.
Games
Films
Animation
Handle it in 3D
Objects from this decade, hand-built in Three.js.
Rubik's Cube
Invented in Hungary and a worldwide obsession by the early 80s. Click the cube for a spin.
Game Boy
Nintendo's handheld that started it all. Use the D-pad to move, A to jump, B to reset.
Simon
The four-colour memory game that defined early electronic toys. Click the centre to start, then repeat the flashing sequence. It gets one step longer and a little faster every round.
This week
Release anniversaries from this decade, in the next seven days.
