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Ask HN: Defining Moments in History?

1 points by BrentRitterbeck ↗ HN
I just finished watching a clip on CBS's Sunday Morning about Walter Cronkite. One of the pieces was his coverage on the moon landings. Immediately after that, I tried to think of truly remarkable moments of history that have occurred during my life (25 years) that are anywhere near man landing on the moon. Besides the Internet, which can't be traced to a single day, the only thing that comes to mind is 9/11, and that's certainly not a good defining moment. Does anyone have an candidates for defining moments within the last 25 years?

10 comments

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david927
Nov. 9, 1989: Berlin Wall fell

April, 1989: Tiananmen Square

Dec. 31, 2007: European Union drops all borders (EU countries have essentially become like U.S. states)

Jan. 20, 2009: Barack Obama sworn in as US President

BrentRitterbeck
I have thought about all of those, but they don't rise to the same level as the moon landing.

EDIT: The Berlin Wall would eventually come down at some point even if the Soviet Union was not on the verge of collapse. Tiananmen Square was a tragic event, but these types of events happen periodically. The European Union is the closest that comes to what I was looking for. Obama's election was just another day for me.

What I am looking for are things that people thought were truely impossible, something so remarkable that it took your breath away, either for the good or the bad.

david927
The Berlin Wall falling was much more important than the moon landing. The latter inspired us, but the former changed everything for a huge portion of the world.
whatusername
You could say the honour perhaps should perhaps lie with either: Sputnik I, Sputnik II, Vostok I (or Wright Brothers/Kitty Hawk I guess) - but I would contend that in a few thousand years time (and the fall of a few more empires) - the Berlin Wall will lose it's significance
ErrantX
I'd say the EU was the least like it...

The Moon Landing / Space Race was all about the pomp and drama - it was a race. I'd say the Berlin Wall had that level of impact.

The EU? No one really noticed that - and their still arguing over it.

I suppose it depends on how we define a "defining moment".

BrentRitterbeck
I will give you that, but think about what it took to get man to the moon. You can say without a doubt that nothing like that had ever been done before. That's why I say the EU was almost there, but it doesn't meet the "never been done before" level.

EDIT: Before man on the moon, I think the event that previously rose to that same level was the first atomic bomb. Before that, Kitty Hawk. That's the level of significance that I am talking about, the moments that make you go "holy crap!" Now that I think about it, the EU is not even close. Sputnik doesn't even rise to the level of significance I am looking for, though it certainly comes close.

mbenjaminsmith
A lot of the things that amaze me - 500$ 2.5Ghz PCs for one - took decades to happen.
ErrantX
6 June 1944 (D-Day)

(potentially Dunkirk would count more)

justlearning
Dissolving of USSR - I think everything in our current world politics changed after the end of the cold war and more sharply after end of USSR. Until then any nation had to choose between 'his bitch or my bitch'. Two nations trying to win over each other stomping over other nations... (USSR-goes-to-Afghanistan,US-defends-Afghanistan, US-befriends-Irag-to depose-islamic revolution in Iran, USSR extends help to Iran, US defends, S.Korea, USSR considers its duty to defend N.Korea, US befriends Pakistan, USSR naturally is India's best friend...and so on) I think these two gigantic monolithic worshiping of idealisms messed up with our world in all ways and the effects which we overlook.

The downfall of USSR also in a trickle effect that gave birth to the well networked terrorist organization, we all know of (i don't want to go into the history and move away from the question...look it up)

Only because the USSR dissolved and the cold war ended, we had "world is flat" and "globalization", else we all would be mid stream of both governments hacking the other's network and the internet being US internet and the russian internet. Now we have both nations working together in the space station.

That and surely the Berlin wall, End of Apartheid in South Africa(Nelson Mandella), Romanian Revolution of 1989(Ceausescu), end of Iranian monarchy(iranian revolution,Khomeni)

...and windows 95! :)