🧠 Inventions of 1988
Breakthroughs and everyday innovations from the year.
1 
Internet Worm
2 
Portable Laptop Computer
3 
Digital Video Compression Concept
4 
Global Positioning System Civilian Access
5 
Medical Imaging PACS Systems
6 
Touchscreen Interface Prototype
7 
Digital Signal Processor Expansion
8 
Automated Speech Recognition Systems
9 
Electronic Mail Client Software
10 
Reusable Launch Vehicle Studies
HEADLINES ON December 10, 1988
Full News Archive
- Headline: Revolutionizing Home Permanents. Impact: If not for the Gillette Company trying to make home permanents less, well, permanent, we might still be living in a world where every living room resembled a 1980s hair salon. Imagine the butterfly effect: a world without bad hair days and fewer cringe-worthy family photos. You're welcome, future generations.. Fact: Did you know that the phrase 'home perm' is a euphemism for 'I was too cheap to go to a salon'? Gillette was clearly trying to save us all from ourselves..
Wall Street Time Machine
The Right Call: If you'd invested $1,000 in any one of these companies in 1988, here's what it would be worth in 2025.
Rank #1
AAPL
Apple
Price in 1988
$0.31
Value in 2025
$884,238
Apple - If you invested $1,000 in 1988, it would be worth $884,238 today (884.2x return)
Rank #2
MSFT
Microsoft
Price in 1988
$0.24
Value in 2025
$2,037,337
Microsoft - If you invested $1,000 in 1988, it would be worth $2,037,337 today (2037.3x return)
🦸 Top 5 Comics
The Killing Joke
$75
Sandman #1
$500
Batman: A Death in the Family
$150
The Spectre #1
$42,000
Wolverine #1
$1,500
🧸 Top 5 Toys
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Action Figures
$200.00
Super Powers Collection
$150.00
Ghostbusters Proton Pack
$300.00
Polly Pocket
$250.00
Micro Machines
$300.00
🎮 Top 5 Video Games
Super Mario Bros. 3
$120.00
Mega Man 2
$200.00
Dragon Quest III
$200.00
Super Contra
$150.00
Altered Beast
$269.99
⚾ Top 5 Trading Cards
Michael Jordan 1988 Fleer Basketball #17
$250,000
Wayne Gretzky 1988 O-Pee-Chee Hockey #1
$2,040.00
Kenner Starting Lineup Steve Young 1988 Figure Card
$600
Super Mario Bros. 1988 Topps Nintendo Game Pack #1A
$500
Bo Jackson 1988 Topps Baseball #750
$129