The Year 1989 in Review: Fun Facts, Trivia, and Historic Highlights

This quick read is a collection of fun facts, trivia, and historic events from the year 1989. Discover the year’s top news stories, most influential people, sports facts, entertainment trivia, and much more.

1. Until January 20, 1989, Ronald Reagan was the 40th U.S. president, and George H. W. Bush was the nation’s 43rd vice president. On that day, George H. W. Bush was inaugurated as the 41st president of the United States, and Dan Quayle became the nation’s 44th vice president.
2. The U.S. unemployment rate averaged 5.4%, the nation’s inflation rate was 4.82%, and the average retail price for a gallon of gas was $1.00.
3. The average annual household income was $26,440, the average cost of a new home was $148,000, and there were 93,347,000 households in the United States.
4. At the grocery store, Armour bacon cost $1.29 for a one-pound package, three pounds of bananas were $1.00, and Sealtest ice cream was $1.99 for a half gallon. Skippy peanut butter was $1.69 for a 14-ounce jar, strawberries were 99 cents a pint, and Bertolli olive oil cost $8.99 for the three-liter size.
5. For one second during 1989, the time was 01:23:45, 6-7-89.
6. On January 8, the Broadway musical 42nd Street closed after 3,486 performances.
7. On January 20, President Ronald Reagan left office alive, even though he was elected in a year that ended in zero. For nearly 150 years, every U.S. president elected in a year divisible by 20—from William Henry Harrison to John F. Kennedy—had died in office. Ronald Reagan, however, broke the presidential curse by living out his two terms.
8. On January 26, AT&T announced that it lost $167 billion in 1988, which was the company’s first loss in 102 years.
9. On February 7, residents of Ipswich, Australia, reported seeing a "rain of sardines" that covered the countryside with thousands of fish.
10. On February 22, 46-year-old Maryanne Profeta of Brooklyn won $26.9 million in the New York Lotto. She chose the numbers 1, 5, 12, 19, 44, and 50.
11. On March 1, Iceland lifted the ban on full-strength beer, which had been in effect since 1915, when the country banned all alcoholic drinks. According to Reykjavik Excursions, prohibition was abolished in Iceland in 1935, “but beer remained banned because some believed it made people drink more, and its cultural ties with Denmark were considered unpatriotic after Iceland gained independence.”
12. On March 12, Tim Berners-Lee, a British computer scientist, proposed the World Wide Web (WWW) as a way of sharing information between computers.
13. On March 22, NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle announced plans to retire after 29 years on the job.
14. On March 29, at the 61st Academy Awards, Rain Man won an Oscar for Best Picture, and Barry Levinson (Rain Man) won an Oscar for Best Director. Dustin Hoffman (Rain Man) won an Oscar for Best Actor, and Jodie Foster (The Accused) won an Oscar for Best Actress.
15. On May 11, the 217th and final episode of the TV soap Dynasty (ABC) was broadcast.
16. On May 14, 36 million people watched the final episode of the sitcom Family Ties (NBC).
17. On June 14, Queen Elizabeth II conferred an honorary knighthood on former U.S. President Ronald Reagan, “the highest honor Britain can give a foreigner.”
18. On July 5, the pilot episode of Seinfeld, originally titled The Seinfeld Chronicles, was aired on NBC.
19. On July 20, Phoenix’s overnight low was 93°F, which was the highest overnight low on record in the U.S. up until that time.
20. On August 6, the Broadway musical Oh! Calcutta! closed after 5,959 performances.
21. On August 25, Pete Rose was banned from baseball for life. History.com confirms that "It was known in baseball circles since the 1970s that Pete Rose had a gambling issue. Although at first he bet only on horse races and football games, allegations surfaced in early 1989 that Rose was not only betting on baseball but also on his team. Although Rose continued to proclaim his innocence, he was eventually persuaded to accept a settlement that included a lifetime ban from the game."
22. On September 15, the U.S. Senate voted “to ban smoking on all domestic airline flights, rolling over the objections of tobacco-state lawmakers and illustrating a sweeping change in society's attitudes toward smoking and health.”
23. On September 17, at the 41st Primetime Emmy Awards, Cheers (NBC) won an Emmy for Outstanding Comedy Series, and L.A. Law (NBC) won an Emmy for Outstanding Drama Series. Richard Mulligan (Empty Nest) won an Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series, and Candice Bergen (Murphy Brown) won an Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series.
24. On October 15, evangelist Billy Graham received the 1,900th star on Hollywood Boulevard for his work “as a minister of the Gospel using radio, television, and film.” He was the first clergyman to be honored with a star.
25. On October 17, the Loma Prieta earthquake hit the San Francisco Bay Area, killing 67 people and causing over $5 billion in damage. Two of the hardest-hit areas were San Francisco’s Marina District and Watsonville, a city located 88 miles from San Francisco and several miles from the quake’s epicenter. The quake struck at 5:04 PM PST, just before the start of the third game of the World Series, which was being played at San Francisco's Candlestick Park between the San Francisco Giants and Oakland Athletics.
26. On November 11, the Berlin Wall opened to travel from East to West Berlin. The next day, celebrating Germans began to tear the wall down.
27. On December 3, President Bush and Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev announced that the Cold War was over.
28. On December 17, the animated sitcom, The Simpsons, premiered on Fox. The first broadcast was the Christmas episode titled Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire.
29. On December 22, the temperature plunged to -4°F in Oklahoma City, -6°F in Tulsa, -12°F in Pittsburgh, -18°F in Denver, -23°F in Kansas City, -42°F in Scottsbluff, Nebraska, -47°F in Hardin, Montana, and -60°F in Black Hills, South Dakota.
30. On December 29, Jane Pauley bid farewell to NBC’s The Today Show, following “a nostalgic review of her 13 years on the early morning NBC news program.”
31. American farms used about 47.4 million tons of commercial fertilizer in 1989.
32. Hershey's reduced the size of the ever-popular Hershey bar to 1.55 ounces.
33. As part of its grand-opening celebration, Smith’s Dairy in Orrville, Ohio, made a 1,891.69-gallon milkshake—setting a world record.
34. Best-selling books: A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving, California Gold by John Jakes, and Caribbean by James A. Michener
35. Most popular television shows: The Cosby Show (NBC), Roseanne (ABC), Cheers (NBC), A Different World (NBC), and America's Funniest Home Videos (ABC)
36. Highest-grossing films: Batman, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Lethal Weapon 2, and Honey, I Shrunk the Kids
37. Popular horror films for the year: Shocker, Pet Sematary, Society, Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan, and A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child
38. Biggest pop music artists: Babyface, Bette Midler, Bobby Brown, Cher, Debbie Gibson, Donny Osmond, Janet Jackson, Madonna, Michael Jackson, Natalie Cole, Paula Abdul, Phil Collins, Poison, Prince, Quincy Jones, Regina Belle, Stephanie Mills, Vanessa Williams, and Whitney Houston
39. Popular songs: Wind Beneath My Wings (Bette Midler), Giving You the Best That I Got (Anita Baker), and Cherish (Madonna)
40. In 1989 as well, the words "air quotes," "bcc," "blueway," "button bar," "caffeinate," "cybersecurity," "eco-friendly," "GMO," "hypertext markup language (HTML)," "right-click," "showrunner," and "viral marketing" all appeared in print for the first time.
41. Kentucky Derby winner: Sunday Silence
42. NBA champions: Detroit Pistons
43. NCAA basketball champions: Michigan
44. NCAA football champs: Miami
45. Stanley Cup champs: Calgary Flames
46. Super Bowl XXVII champions: San Francisco 49ers
47. U.S. Open Golf winner: Curtis Strange
48. World Series champions: Oakland Athletics
49. Finally, the cost of a 30-second Super Bowl ad in 1989 was $675,000.

References:

1. https://www.foodreference.com/html/html/food-history-1986.html
2. http://fbibler.chez.com/tvstats/by_5_yr_period/top_programs_1985-1990.html
3. https://www.mclib.info/Research/Local-History-Genealogy/Historic-Prices
4. https://www.musicoutfitters.com/topsongs/1989.htm
5. https://tinybeans.com/80s-food-you-will-recognize/slide/31/
6. https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/life/g25135266/iconic-stores-no-longer-around/
7. https://www.onthisday.com/events/date/1989
8. https://www.infoplease.com/year/1989
9. https://popculturemadness.com/1989-trivia-fun-facts-and-history/
10. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1989_in_the_United_States

Disclaimer: In writing and editing this article, Gregory DeVictor has made every effort to ensure historical accuracy and not to mislead his audience. In addition, the contents of this article, including text, graphics, and captions, are for general informational purposes only.

© 2026 Gregory DeVictor