🧠 Inventions of 1981
Breakthroughs and everyday innovations from the year.
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
HEADLINES ON May 22, 1981
Full News Archive
- Headline: Exploring Identity: Lugosi's Unmasking. Impact: If only Lugosi had pursued a career in reality TV instead of fake case studies, we could have avoided a century of terrible vampire movies and ended up with a blockbuster series about thrift-store fashion instead.. Fact: Fun fact: Lugosi's dramatic flair was so intense that even his grocery list would make you question your life choices..
- Headline: The Last Angry Week for Baseball. Impact: This strike could have led to the formation of an alternate universe where all athletes are replaced by highly trained cats, resulting in the most adorable sports league ever. Can you imagine?. Fact: Did you know that the last 'angry week' for baseball led to more people complaining about overpriced hot dogs than actual game scores? Priorities, people!.
- Headline: 'OUTLAND,' CONNERY ON JUPITER'S FRONTIER. Impact: This film might have sparked an intergalactic trend in cowboy hats and space saloons, leading to a bizarre fashion revolution among extraterrestrials. Yeehaw from space!. Fact: Did you know that Sean Connery's space cowboy character almost inspired a new genre: 'Cosmic Westerns'? Thankfully, we dodged that bullet..
Wall Street Time Machine
The Right Call: If you'd invested $1,000 in any one of these companies in 1981, here's what it would be worth in 2025.
Rank #2
INTC
Intel
Price in 1981
$0.23
Value in 2025
$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