🧠 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
The Sounds of
The biggest hits of the year — Top 10 Pop & Country chart toppers
HEADLINES ON October 28, 1981
Full News Archive
- Headline: 'LOOKER' Unveils a Tech Nightmare. Impact: The release of 'LOOKER' set off a chain reaction in the tech industry, leading to the creation of surveillance systems that are now used by nosy neighbors and overzealous parents alike. Who knew a movie about a sinister computer would make people more comfortable with being watched 24/7?. Fact: Did you know that 'LOOKER' was ahead of its time? If only the characters had known that turning off their computers would’ve been easier than turning off the plot twists!.
- Headline: Halloween II: A Horror Classic Unleashed. Impact: The success of 'HALLOWEEN II' resulted in a decade-long boom in slasher films, which ultimately convinced millions that hospitals are the worst places to be on Halloween. Thanks, Michael Myers, for the lifelong trauma!. Fact: Fun fact: 'HALLOWEEN II' was so influential that it convinced a generation of viewers that the scariest thing about hospitals wasn’t the diseases, but the prospect of running into a serial killer in scrubs!.
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