Inventions & Breakthroughs of May 1981
Gadgets, lab surprises, odd bets, and future-shocks from this slice of the calendar.
1 
Personal Computer (IBM PC)
2 
Graphical User Interface Concept
3 
Word Processing Software (Microsoft Word)
4 
Digital Camera Prototype Commercialization
5 
Medical Infusion Pump
6 
Local Area Network Expansion
7 
Portable Video Game Console
8 
Computer-Aided Manufacturing Software
9 
Speech Recognition System Improvement
10 
Reusable Space Shuttle Program
The Sounds of
Popular recordings and roots/country selections associated with the year
HEADLINES ON May 5, 1981
Full News Archive
- Headline: Citizens Voice Concerns Directly to Mayor. Impact: This outpouring of complaints triggered a bizarre butterfly effect, leading to an underground movement where New Yorkers began to communicate with pigeons to express their grievances. By 2030, urban pigeons had become the unofficial spokesbirds of the city.. Fact: Did you know that in the 1800s, New Yorkers used to complain to the Mayor by sending letters tied to bricks? They didn’t have email, but they sure had a sense of postal creativity!.
- Headline: Babenço's 'Pixote': Street Life Unfiltered. Impact: The film 'Pixote' inspired a generation of filmmakers and social activists, leading to a surprisingly high number of movies where street children become superheroes, culminating in a bizarre cinematic universe where kids in capes battle broken streetlights and uncollected garbage.. Fact: Fun fact: 'Pixote' was so raw that it was rumored to have been filmed using a documentary crew that accidentally wandered off during a lunch break. They just rolled with it!.
Wall Street Time Machine
The Right Call: If you'd invested $1,000 in any one of these companies in 1981, here's what the stored 2025 dataset estimates.
Rank #2
INTC
Intel
Price in 1981
$0.23
2025 dataset value
$155,194
Intel - If you invested $1,000 in 1981, it would be worth $155,194 today (155.2x return)
🦸 Top 5 Comics
Daredevil #181
$2,600
Uncanny X-Men #141
$1,000
Marvel Graphic Novel #1
$42,000
Moon Knight #1
$250
Saga of the Swamp Thing #1
$300
🧸 Top 5 Toys
Rubik's Cube
$150.00
LEGO Space Sets
$400.00
My Little Pony
$150.00
He-Man and the Masters of the Universe
$150.00
Smurfs Figurines
$150.00
🎮 Top 5 Video Games
Donkey Kong
$300.00
Pac-Man
$1,500.00
Frogger
$50.00
Galaga
$262.70
Ms. Pac-Man
$33,400.00
⚾ Top 5 Trading Cards
1981 Topps Joe Montana Rookie Card
$76,250
1981 Fleer Fernando Valenzuela Rookie Card
$400
1981 Donruss Tim Raines Rookie Card
$1,200.00
1981 Topps Magic Johnson and Larry Bird Card
$427,000
1981 O-Pee-Chee Wayne Gretzky
$2,000