What historical event do you remember? - Page 2

Sava · May 5, 2003, 10:30

Challenger, I was 6.

oedo · May 5, 2003, 10:33

Quote:

Originally posted by paiktis22
I quite vividly remember east Berlin. We visited before the wall collapsed. West Berlin = Jungle. East Berlin = Paradise (but they didn't have cokes in restaurants).

that´s strange. I always thought it was other way round. I lived in East Berlin (1971-1982), West Berlin (1982-1990) and unified Berlin (after 1990) and I could swear that East Berlin has been the worst of them.

I remember all historical events after Sevilla 1982.

Bereta_Eder · May 5, 2003, 10:42

oedo, not to the eyes of the visitor.

To me west Berlin seemed an industrialized urban jungle. Big traffic, drunks and drunk addicts on the streets, (for some reason punks - as in rock punks - seemed to have found a home there), huge ugly buildings, noize... you felt insecure. (or I did but I was little).

East Berlin was quiet, nice low buildings, quite streets, not congested, I also distinctively remember lots of bookstores, peace and quiet in general.

The only thing I didn;t like was when I ordered a coke and they didn't have it

But they had something that tasted like this.

The walk from west to east Berlin through a turning and turning corridor and multiple checkpoints was a journey all in itself too.

Sava · May 5, 2003, 10:52

East Berlin a paradise?

Bereta_Eder · May 5, 2003, 10:57

Yep, that's how it seemed. Especially compared to west Berlin.

Sava · May 5, 2003, 10:59

paiktis, you are forcing me to agree with DD on your status as a troll.... DON'T MAKE ME DO IT!

Bereta_Eder · May 5, 2003, 11:02

You can feel what you want

This is not a troll. It's how it looked. Why does that surprises you?

Have you ever been there yourself Sava?

Saras · May 5, 2003, 11:02

East Berlin = Stasi.

Bereta_Eder · May 5, 2003, 11:06

east Berlin = Paradise.

Hint: That's how it looked.

Sava · May 5, 2003, 11:08

Quote:

Originally posted by paiktis22
You can feel what you want

This is not a troll. It's how it looked. Why does that surprises you?

Have you ever been there yourself Sava?

No, part of my great-uncle Dragy's family was trapped in East Germany until 1980. There's a reason so many people escaped those Soviet Bloc countries.

Bereta_Eder · May 5, 2003, 11:09

Well I've been there and it looked fabulous

Sava · May 5, 2003, 11:11

Quote:

Originally posted by paiktis22
Well I've been there and it looked fabulous

Because all "undesirables" were probably rounded up by the Secret Police.

Bereta_Eder · May 5, 2003, 11:15

I just say what I saw

On a relevant note the streets seemed relatively empty compared to west Berlin. (not that that was any difficult and compared to the chaotic wildness and drugged angst that prevailed in west Berlin, a very welcomed change to the casual visitor).

Rogan Josh · May 5, 2003, 11:20

The first thing I can remember (news wise) was the Felklands War. (I do also remember Thatcher getting voted in which was a wee bit earlier, but not so historic.)

General Ludd · May 5, 2003, 11:30

Quote:

Originally posted by Lazarus and the Gimp

The Chernobyl meltdown was in 1986. Are you sure you remember it?

Yes, as I said, I mostly just remembered the effect it had on my family as they watched it on television. I have always had a vague memory of that event but didn't realise what it actually was untill seeing the same footage years later.

oedo · May 5, 2003, 11:34

Quote:

Originally posted by paiktis22
oedo, not to the eyes of the visitor.

To me west Berlin seemed an industrialized urban jungle. Big traffic, drunks and drunk addicts on the streets, (for some reason punks - as in rock punks - seemed to have found a home there), huge ugly buildings, noize... you felt insecure. (or I did but I was little).

East Berlin was quiet, nice low buildings, quite streets, not congested, I also distinctively remember lots of bookstores, peace and quiet in general.

The only thing I didn;t like was when I ordered a coke and they didn't have it

But they had something that tasted like this.

The walk from west to east Berlin through a turning and turning corridor and multiple checkpoints was a journey all in itself too.

yes, that´s right. EB is the more interesting place because it contains almost the whole historical Berlin.
before the Berlin wall fell, EB was truly a far more quiet place. the day I moved to WB, one of the first things I noticed was that there are way more cars. everything was faster and louder
... and more colorized. that day I also realized what a boring and grey place EB actually was. after the fall of the wall we had a lot to build up in EB again. most of the houses were nothing but ruins, just with people living inside. but meanwhile it became a nice place to live.

oh, and most likely the drink you ordered was club cola. it´s still available here but only few people like it...

DAVOUT · May 5, 2003, 11:37

What resembles more to an historical event that I witnessed and, to a very small extent participated in, was in 1961 a revolt against the government organized by four generals. They intended to take over the power in order to prevent the Algeria from becoming independent. I was a draftee in Bône (now Annaba), at the head quarter of an army corps. We were informed by the public radio during the night that the coup had started in Alger, and that the next step will be to drop several elite regiments of parachutists near Paris.
On the morning, receiving no information or orders from the officers, with my friends we decided not to move until we were told on which side was the general commanding the corps, and we just sat down. Half an hour later, the colonel arrived and declared that the General Ailleret was faithful to the Republic and its government. Satisfied, we went to work. Two hours later a combat regiment took care of the protection of the head quarter, and eventually the coup was a complete failure.
Interestingly, it appeared that the early decision made by the general Ailleret had a significant importance in the outcome and on his career: he was promoted Commander in Chief in Algeria a few weeks later, and before the end of the year Commander of the whole French Army.
I like to think that our attitude, which, as we learn later, was emulated by most of the draftees serving in Algeria, was a precious information for the general at that time, and a few lines in his memories let me think that I am not totally wrong.

Bereta_Eder · May 5, 2003, 11:39

Quote:

Originally posted by oedo

the day I moved to WB, one of the first things I noticed was that there are way more cars. everything was faster and louder
... and more colorized. that day I also realized what a boring and grey place EB actually was.

I can understand it seemed that way to you. But for me having had my fill of places like this and west Berlin being everything "western societies" were exagerated to the n- th degree (social problesm associated with them included to say the least), I liked the peace and quit of east Berlin that to seemed gray to you

Bosh · May 5, 2003, 11:50

Hmmmmmm, I remember being annoyed that coverage of Tianamin Square inturrupted Muppet Babies and my mom telling me about the Berlin Wall and me not caring.
Most important was me leading the Democratis in 2nd grade campaigning. This mostly involved drawing an ass on Bush I's head at every opportunity.

Shi Huangdi · May 5, 2003, 11:54

I remember being told about Gulf War I when I was little and dreading the fact that we were at war.. I remember people being pissed off at Clinton, and then Government Shutdown that was the beginning of Clinton's widespread popularity. I started actively foollowing the news sometime during Clinton's second term from which I probably remember most stuff that happened

Dauphin · May 5, 2003, 11:57

Quote:

Originally posted by Rogan Josh
I do also remember Thatcher getting voted in which was a wee bit earlier, but not so historic.

The first female PM of the UK, and the first female leader of a Western democracy. Na, nothing historic there.

Agathon · May 5, 2003, 12:00

For a singel event I think it would be Elvis' death.

But before that I remember watching the Montreal Olympics. I must have been nearly 4 years old and I wanted to marry Nadia Comenici

Bereta_Eder · May 5, 2003, 12:01

Quote:

The first female PM of the UK, and the first female leader of a Western democracy. Na, nothing historic there.

Thoroughly Justifying the most extreme phalocratic prejudisms of even the darkest of Taliban.

I'll take the Scandinavians any day.

SlowwHand · May 5, 2003, 12:02

Would have to be Kennedy vs. Nixon.

SpencerH · May 5, 2003, 12:04

England winning the world cup (yes I consider it a historical event).

Cronkite giving the news of the war with the body count behind him sometime between 67-69. I dont remember if it was a daily, monthly, or ytd count or whatever but I do remember it. Pretty morbid.

Flubber · May 5, 2003, 12:19

Born in 1968 and the first big event I recall was the 1972 Russia- Canada hockey series ( hey I'm Canadian, what do you expect). My actual recollection is pretty fuzzy and I really just remember a lot of exuberance but I have seen game tapes enough times that I can now replay the series winning goal.

My first geopolitical memories are of the the 1070s oil crises. I don't really remember the vietnam events and most of the events cited by other posters happened while I was in college and I remember them all. I was actually studying political science at the time the Berlin wall fell and one professor ended up revamping the curriculum as we went to keep pace with events.

Some of the MOST VIVID events for me

the shooting of president Reagan
Tianimen Square
the Berlin wall

but I have pretty clear memories of pretty much every major distorical event since around 1980. Some hit you harder than others and some I remember clearly even though they are hardly historical or important ( the wedding of Charles and Diana for example)

Boris Godunov · May 5, 2003, 12:59

Born in 1976, I vividly remember when Reagan was shot in 1981. After that, I can remember the 1984 Presidential election, the 1986 Challenger disaster, and easily remember the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989.

The only major historical event I've witnessed first-hand was a doozy - September 11th.

Urban Ranger · May 5, 2003, 13:03

Does anybody remeber the Union Carbide accident at Bhopal, India? It was truly horrendous - 15,000 killed

Willem · May 5, 2003, 14:39

Quote:

Originally posted by Urban Ranger
Does anybody remeber the Union Carbide accident at Bhopal, India? It was truly horrendous - 15,000 killed

Now that you mention it, yes I do, though the details are somewhat fuzzy.

Another thing I recall was the race riots in the US during the sixties. One day my parents brought me and a couple of kids to Buffalo to see the zoo there and almost everywhere we went there were National Guards in the streets, bunkered down behind sand bags at key intersections with very large machine guns, and driving around in trucks full of them.

Since that was the first time I'd ever been to the States, it didn't leave me with a very good impression of the country. It struck me as being a very dangerous place to live, and I was in no hurry to ever go back after we left. I was very relieved when we finally returned home. Maybe that's one reason why I have a tendency to not like America, my first impression was most definitely a negative one.

ranskaldan · May 5, 2003, 17:31

Damn. Now I feel young.

Earliest I remember is the 1990 Asian Games in Beijing, followed by the Gulf War, then the fall of the USSR.
(I don't actually remember any images from the Gulf War - but for the other two I remember seeing them on TV.)

I don't remember the fall of the Berlin Wall nor the overthrow of Ceausescu, even though these were apparently very sensational in China at the time.

In '89 the tanks going into Tian'anmen square passed by the suburbs where we lived, and I was apparently brought out to see because everyone was watching them roll by.

But I don't remember this at all. (I was one month from turning three.)