What else did the 80s give us?
1. First cell phone was invented by Motorola. It weighed more than 30 ounces and was dubbed the “brick phone.” FYI: There are now more cellphones than people in the USA.
2. First television evangelists, Jim and Tammy Baker. They became celebrities with their Praise the Lord show and Christian theme park, Heritage USA. But they became bigger celebrities when their empire collapsed and they became headline news. Jim Baker was sentenced to 45 years in prison for fraud. Heritage USA was closed down and PTL went bankrupt. (Ironically, Jim Baker and Tammy divorced and he remarried while in prison and when he got out he started the Jim Baker Show, which airs on TCT and other Christian networks and he founded ‘Morningside,’ in Branson, MO, which looks an awful lot like Heritage USA. The show is mostly an hour long infomercial showcasing whatever products Baker thinks he can sell, ranging from generators to freeze-dried food).
3. Dallas becomes national obsession, especially during the infamous “Who Shot J.R.?” episode. 
The show had 350 million viewers in 57 countries. Dynasty was also a hugely popular show during this era. It was also the first tv show to launch its own fashion line, which was sold at Bloomingdale’s. But the Ewings were SO much more fun to watch than than the Colbys, don’t you think?
4. Ronald Reagan wins election in 1984 with more electoral votes than any president in history and serves four more years during which time he makes the legendary speech “Tear Down This Wall!” This helps sway officials to tear down the Berlin Wall. First, the German Democratic Republic declared that all citizens could visit West Germany and West Berlin in 1989, then the wall started coming down and Germany ultimately reunified. Reagan is also responsible for first nuclear weapons treaty being signed in December 1987. More than 2,500 missiles are dismantled. He is also credited with bringing back optimism and “life is good” philosophy.
5. What and who are we watching, listening to, and reading? Charlie Sheen and Michael Douglas star in blockbuster, Wall Street, in 1987. Michael J. Fox stars in Family Ties and Back to the Future series. The first Back to the Future topped the box office at $210,610,000 (beating Rambo II and Rocky IV). Other memorable and popular tv shows and movies from the 80s include: The Cosby Show, The Simpsons, Knight Rider (apparently made David Hasselhoff a huge star in Europe), Roseanne, Cheers, Golden Girls, Magnum P.I., Mash, Rambo movies, Fast Times at Ridgemont High, St. Elmo’s Fire (the Brat Pack), E.T., Sixteen Candles, and The Breakfast Club. Top songs/musicians: Call Me (Blondie), Fame (Irene Cara), Whip It (Devo), Pina Colada Song (Rupert Holmes), and Another One Bites The Dust (Queen). Top-selling fiction books of the 1980s: The Bourne Identity (Robert Ludlum), Firestarter (Stephen King), Rage of Angels (Sidney Sheldon), The Covenant (James Michener), and Hollywood Husbands (Jackie Collins).
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