🧠 Inventions of 1984
Breakthroughs and everyday innovations from the year.
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
The biggest hits of the year — Top 10 Pop & Country chart toppers
HEADLINES ON February 4, 1984
Full News Archive
- Headline: Celebrating Innovators in Hall of Fame. Impact: These four inventors, while being inducted posthumously, set off a chain reaction of innovation. Had they not invented their respective gadgets, we might still be communicating via smoke signals and carrier pigeons. Just imagine the pigeon unions demanding better working conditions!. Fact: Fun fact: The National Inventors Hall of Fame is basically the geeky version of the Oscars, minus the red carpet and the drama—unless you count the drama of who forgot their invention at home..
Wall Street Time Machine
The Right Call: If you'd invested $1,000 in any one of these companies in 1984, here's what it would be worth in 2025.
Rank #1
WMT
Walmart
Price in 1984
$0.23
Value in 2025
$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
Value in 2025
$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
Value in 2025
$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