What is the first BIG news story you were aware of as a kid?

[Casper]

Shamelessly stolen from @Cdubyah's wife on Facebook:

What is the first BIG news story you were aware of as a kid?

 

For me it was the Challenger explosion. 

[Bubba]

Wow.  Now, I feel really old.  The earliest news stories I remember are all from the mid- to late-50s and early 60s.  I remember my Dad and Mom being shocked at the Rosa Parks arrest (over refusing to give up her seat on the bus to a white person) and having long conversations about discrimination, segregation and the resulting bus boycott in Montgomery AL...but they were both Canadian so maybe not so surprising.  I remember the desegregation of the public schools in Little Rock, AR, and the National Guard escorting the little bIack girls into the building.  I remember reading about the push into supersonic flight by the X-2 program.  I remember Gary Powers being shot down and captured by the Soviets.  I remember both my parents discussing the political ramifications of the failed Bay of Pigs invasion, and their fears about a nuclear war between the US and the Soviets during the blockade of Cuba in the early 60s.  They were so concerned about what might happen, they seriously considered leaving the US and going back to their families in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Edited July 21, 2017 by Bubba

[MSerfozo]

I remember watching John Glenn's space mission on TV with my dad.  Yeah, his 1st time in space.  TV only had 3 channels then and they ALL showed the blast off and splashdown live.

And I remember coming home from school in 2nd grade and mom told me President Kennedy had been shot.

Guess I'm old, huh?

[2talltim]

Mine would probably be the attempted assassination of Ronald Reagan. Just remember my mom crying and asking the TV why do people keep wanting to kill the President and dad telling us at the dinner table about all the evil people in the world. I would have been about 6. 

Edited July 21, 2017 by 2talltim

[motocat12]

TWA Flight 847 hijacking

[blue-yamaR6s]

As a kid you don't normally pay attention to news, but for me it was Space Shuttle Challenger that I remember most.

[vf1000ride]

I watched the Challenger accident live on TV when in grade school.  They had TV's in all the classrooms due to a teacher going up on it. 

[cmh_sprint]

Most likely the Iranian hostage crisis. I was probably aware of the end of. Vietnam but don't recall with my age riddled brain. 

[Bad324]

OJ's chase and trial 

[jblosser]

The moon landing.  WOSU-tv (Columbus' PBS station) interviewed some of us in kindergarten about it.

[Strictly Street]

moon, jfk

[Tpoppa]

10 hours ago, cmh_sprint said:

Most likely the Iranian hostage crisis. 

These shirts and buttons became popular during that time

[Tonik]

That one day @Casper didn't break anything.

#FakeNews

[Tpoppa]

I remember when Lincoln was shot.  Fucking Booth:(

[ReconRat]

Bubba has my list. I go back in time too. One stood out, the news as a kid was constant about fall out shelters and how to "duck and cover". Probably why my generation believes in survival tactics. But the shocker was the Cuban missile crisis, Bay of Pigs and U.S. naval blockade of Cuba. Not everyone realizes just how serious that was. It was the brink of war. As a kid I watched a constant flow of aircraft moving South, rail lines full of armor and artillery, and roads full of tactical convoys. It started with all the B-47s deploying South from Rickenbacker AFB immediately. I watched them go. It never ended, till the situation calmed down. Other than that, the JFK assassination, the invasions of Eastern European nations by the Soviet Union, and the First Man on the Moon. Stepping on the Moon really was an "all of Mankind" thing.

[cmh_sprint]

51 minutes ago, ReconRat said:

Bubba has my list. I go back in time too. One stood out, the news as a kid was constant about fall out shelters and how to "duck and cover". Probably why my generation believes in survival tactics. But the shocker was the Cuban missile crisis, Bay of Pigs and U.S. naval blockade of Cuba. Not everyone realizes just how serious that was. It was the brink of war. As a kid I watched a constant flow of aircraft moving South, rail lines full of armor and artillery, and roads full of tactical convoys. It started with all the B-47s deploying South from Rickenbacker AFB immediately. I watched them go. It never ended, till the situation calmed down. Other than that, the JFK assassination, the invasions of Eastern European nations by the Soviet Union, and the First Man on the Moon. Stepping on the Moon really was an "all of Mankind" thing.

My wife's uncle was on the heavy cruiser Newport News that was a part of the blockade. The stories that he has told us about whole event are amazing and terrifying. The movie Thirteen Days is about the Cuban missile crisis and is one of my favorites.  

[TimTheAzn]

9/11

[snot]

22 hours ago, vf1000ride said:

I watched the Challenger accident live on TV when in grade school.  They had TV's in all the classrooms due to a teacher going up on it. 

Our school did the same thing.

[zx3vfr]

On 7/21/2017 at 10:02 PM, Bad324 said:

OJ's chase and trial 

This

[hiro]

On 7/21/2017 at 4:43 PM, Casper said:

For me it was the Challenger explosion. 

That's the first that came to mind. Unlikely to be the actual first though.

Edited July 23, 2017 by hiro

[hiro]

On 7/21/2017 at 6:02 PM, 2talltim said:

Mine would probably be the attempted assassination of Ronald Reagan. Just remember my mom crying and asking the TV why do people keep wanting to kill the President and dad telling us at the dinner table about all the evil people in the world. I would have been about 6. 

OK, I remember that now. New oldest compared to the Challenger explosion.

[hiro]

16 hours ago, Tpoppa said:

I remember when Lincoln was shot.  Fucking Booth:(

Booth is in my wife's family tree. I need something special for my tree, so don't mess with me and go to a theatre.

[motocat12]

5 hours ago, hiro said:

Booth is in my wife's family tree. I need something special for my tree, so don't mess with me and go to a theatre.

How many pages was the thread for you to pick a wife?

[JustinNck1]

I don't have that great of a memory, but I would say 9/11. I was in 5th grade and I remember watching it at school.

[ScubaCinci]

On 7/21/2017 at 6:02 PM, 2talltim said:

Mine would probably be the attempted assassination of Ronald Reagan. Just remember my mom crying and asking the TV why do people keep wanting to kill the President and dad telling us at the dinner table about all the evil people in the world. I would have been about 6. 

This...I just remember it being a big deal but not exactly where I was when I heard it. The next would be the Challenger disaster. I was getting off the school bus and the bus driver told us which was a weird way to find out. I ran in the house and watched the coverage.