When we’re young, there’s a large number of things that can affect how we grow up , stimuli that shape our minds and cause certain things to stick with us. This is especially true for news stories, which are shocking by nature.
A Twitter thread asked people to share the first major news story they remember as a child, and this list contains those answers.
The Space Shuttle Challenger.
“The Challenger space shuttle exploding. I was in 5th grade and like most teachers, my teacher had it on and we were all watching as the first teacher selected to go to space was speeding up into the sky. Then Challenger exploded.”
John F. Kennedy’s assasination.
“JFK Assassination. Even though I was only 4 1/2 I distinctly remember the day almost hour by hour. I can’t erase the horror written on adult faces around me or how unnerving that is to a small boy.”
The 2008 election.
“Obama’s inauguration, I was like 7 and we watched it in class, I remember Bush being flown out on Marine One and Obama going to the White House I think.”
“So cool to hear – my second job out of college was as a fundraiser on the Obama ’08 campaign, so to hear that it’s someone’s earliest memory is really dope,” someone replied.
The moon landing.
“I was very young, but remember it well! On July 24, 1969, my mother woke me in the middle of the night, and we sat together and watched the news coverage as Neil Armstrong took the first step on the moon.”
Elvis’ death.
“I lived with auntie Margaret and uncle Jim in Leeds. I was leaning on uncle Jim’s chair as he smoked his pipe. The six o’clock news was about the coal mine strikes. It was then announced Elvis Presley had died. Uncle Jim got up and changed the channel so he could watch Tom & Jerry .”
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Year 2000 problem.
“[Y2K]! I was 6/7 and I remember my mom and a lot of other people were worried that something was going to actually go wrong in so we stayed home (which was actually very sweet) instead of going out to celebrate like we usually do.”
Princess Diana’s passing.
“I remember my mom crying when the news broke. It made an impression b/c A) I rarely saw my elders cry and B) I thought a princess only existed in books and movies. I was 8 at the time.”
9/11.
“I was in 6/7grade. I remember going home and watching every adult in tears or terror. As a kid you feel hopeless. You think the world is ending. A couple of my neighbors worked there. The next day we stood outside for hours with candles. So many ppl attended.”
The attempted murder of David Rothenberg.
“1983, David Rothenberg, whose father tried to kill him when he was 6 years old by setting him on fire in a hotel in 1983. I was 8 years old. It rocked my world that a parent could do something so cruel & inhumane to a child.”
The assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.
“I was 7 and sat under the ironing board as my Mom was ironing and crying while she watched it on TV. First time I remember being aware not all was right and safe in my world. Etched on my memory like yesterday.”
The fall of the Berlin wall.
“Berlin wall coming down. I was too young to understand what was happening but I remember the footage so vividly and seeing it over and over again.”
Vietnam drafts.
“I remember the whole family watching TV at my grandparents’ house to see if my uncle’s number would come up to be drafted to serve in Vietnam. I don’t remember details, but I remember the family’s anxiety while watching and relief when he didn’t have to go.”
JonBenet Ramsey’s murder.
“I remember the JonBenet Ramsey case because even though I was only 3 I remember everyone always telling me to stay extra close because I looked similar kinda similar to her and it was a huge deal. Probably the reason I love true crime so much honestly.”
The eruption of Mount St. Helens.
“I was 7, about to turn 8. I remember actually watching news stories about the eruption, about Truman going down with his house, pyroclastic flow, mudslides. I could see the eruption on my birthday that year, before ash turned the sky solid gray.”
The Chernobyl disaster.
“I was in primary school in Romania when we were sent home early, told to shut all windows, put towels against doors & don’t go outside because ‘something bad’ happened across the border in Ukraine. That night the skies were white, there was so much radiation in the air.”
Armero tragedy.
“1985 Volcano Eruption in Armero, Colombia. Killed 20k of the 29k inhabitants of the city. The image of a little girl stuck in the mud trying to be rescued for days was seared into my brain.”
The Clinton-Lewinsky scandal.
“The Lewinsky trial. I was 6 and for some reason, I remember it was absolutely everywhere. I specifically remember all of the magazines at the grocery store checkout.”
The rescue of Jessica McClure.
“Baby Jessica trapped in the well. We got to eat dinner on TV trays in the living room for the first time because we couldn’t stop watching to see when she got pulled out by rescuers.”
Pearl Harbor bombing.
“December 7, 1941, Pearl Harbor bombed. My older brother and I had just exited a movie theater. There was a guy selling papers, he was yelling extra. I would turn 7 in 10 days. My 13 yr old brother bought a paper, that surprised me.”
The O.J. Simpson case.
“O.J. Simpson’s Bronco chase and trial. My grandma and uncle even took me to his house amongst all the madness. I was in elementary school and we had one of our friends sneak into the teachers lounge to the verdict and report back to the rest of us playing kickball.”