Inventions & Breakthroughs of January 1984
Gadgets, lab surprises, odd bets, and future-shocks from this slice of the calendar.
1 
Graphical User Interface Computer (Macintosh)
2 
Inkjet Printer (Consumer)
3 
Medical DNA Fingerprinting
4 
Compact Laptop Computer
5 
Digital Music Synthesizer
6 
Video Cassette Rental System
7 
Speech-to-Text Software
8 
Advanced Prosthetic Limb Control
9 
Optical Fiber Network Expansion
10 
Personal Desktop Publishing
The Sounds of
Popular recordings and roots/country selections associated with the year
HEADLINES ON January 20, 1984
Full News Archive
- Headline: The Loveless: A 50s-Style Rebellion. Impact: The motorcycle toughs caused a small town to adopt a 'no fun' policy, which ironically sparked a nationwide trend of small towns becoming cultural black holes. Now, every time a motorcycle roars through a town, an artist moves to the city instead.. Fact: This '50s-style tough-guy aesthetic inspired countless movies, leading to a generation of people who think wearing leather and sunglasses indoors is a personality..
- Headline: City Island's Boatyard Project Overcomes Challenges. Impact: The Boatyard project, despite its setbacks, became the slowest real estate project in history, inspiring future developers to take their sweet time and make procrastination an art form. Thanks to this, we now have the ‘maybe next decade’ housing market.. Fact: Real estate developers have a secret code for setbacks: they call it 'creative delays.' It's basically the adult version of 'the dog ate my homework.'.
- Headline: Truffaut's Last Film: 'Confidentially Yours'. Impact: Truffaut's last film became a forgotten relic, leading to a series of poorly made knock-offs that resulted in cinema's obsession with remakes and reboots. We owe a lot of cringe-worthy films to this moment.. Fact: This film was so flat that it’s rumored to have been used as a measuring tool for future directors to determine how not to make a movie. If only they listened!.
Wall Street Time Machine
The Right Call: If you'd invested $1,000 in any one of these companies in 1984, here's what the stored 2025 dataset estimates.
Rank #1
WMT
Walmart
Price in 1984
$0.23
2025 dataset value
$490,961
Walmart - If you invested $1,000 in 1984, it would be worth $490,961 today (491.0x return)
Rank #2
JNJ
Johnson & Johnson
Price in 1984
$0.94
2025 dataset value
$222,603
Johnson & Johnson - If you invested $1,000 in 1984, it would be worth $222,603 today (222.6x return)
Rank #3
MCD
McDonald's
Price in 1984
$1.18
2025 dataset value
$271,190
McDonald's - If you invested $1,000 in 1984, it would be worth $271,190 today (271.2x return)
🦸 Top 5 Comics
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #1
$100,000
Secret Wars #8
$150
The New Teen Titans #1
$200
Saga of the Swamp Thing #25
$60
Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars #1
$300
🧸 Top 5 Toys
Transformers
$1,200.00
Cabbage Patch Kids
$150.00
Voltron
$200.00
Masters of the Universe: He-Man
$150.00
G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero
$143.75
🎮 Top 5 Video Games
Tetris
$1,000.00
Duck Hunt
$275.00
Marble Madness
$100.00
Boulder Dash
$100.00
Kung-Fu Master
$200.00
⚾ Top 5 Trading Cards
Don Mattingly Rookie Card #8
$3,000
Dan Marino Rookie Card #123
$30,000
John Elway Rookie Card #63
$15,250
Darryl Strawberry Rookie Card #182
$200
Hulk Hogan Rookie Card #1
$41,000