December 16th, 1988

What happened on this date?

Notable events that occurred on December 16th, 1988.

• Disco singer "Sylvester" dies from AIDS.
• Rain Man (1988) is released in cinemas.

Born on December 16th, 1988.

People who were born on this exact date.

• Mats Hummels: German soccer player.

Top songs.

These songs were on top of the music charts in the United States and the United Kingdom on December 16th, 1988.

• United States: Look Away - Chicago
• United Kingdom: Mistletoe And Wine - Cliff Richard

Take me back to December 16th, 1988!

Let's take a walk down memory lane.

The date is December 16th, 1988, and it's a Friday. Anyone born today will have the star sign Sagittarius. Most people have "that Friday feeling" and are looking forward to the weekend.

The Christmas season of 1988 is in full swing. People are putting up their decorations and festive songs are playing on the radio. In America, the song Look Away by Chicago is at the top of the singles charts. Over in the UK, Mistletoe And Wine by Cliff Richard is the number-one hit song.

Ronald Reagan is the President of the United States, and the movie The Naked Gun is at the top of the box office. Margaret Thatcher is the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. In fashion, women are wearing sweater dresses, short skirts, small shoulder pads, animal print, long full wool coats, and bulky sweaters. Meanwhile, men are wearing tracksuits, sweatshirts, Nike Air Jordan shoes, and denim.

It's 1988, so the airwaves are being dominated by music artists such as Phil Collins, Bobby McFerrin, the Pet Shop Boys, Belinda Carlisle and Rick Astley. If you were to travel back to this day, notable figures such as Sugar Ray Robinson, Ruhollah Khomeini, Mel Blanc, and Paul C would all still be alive. On TV, people are watching popular shows such as "Only Fools and Horses", "Sherlock Holmes", "Charles in Charge", and "21 Jump Street".

Meanwhile, gamers are playing titles such as "Missile Command", "Top Gun", "Maniac Mansion ", and "Altered Beast". Kids and teenagers are watching TV shows such as "The Smurfs", "The World of David the Gnome", "Garfield and Friends", and "Roseanne". Popular toys at the moment include Garbage Pail Kids (trading cards), Mr Frosty, Jenga, and Koosh Ball.

News topics, nostalgic fads, and pop culture events.

These are news stories, trending topics, and fads that were popular on December 16th, 1988.

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  Christmas 1988.

  The Christmas period of 1988 was in full swing by this stage. The decorations were up, festive music was playing on the radio, people were feeling stressed, retail stores were filled with shoppers, and everyone was making plans for the big day.

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  Gangsta rap is becoming a thing.

  West Coast gangsta pap was beginning to take off. On August 8th, 1988, N.W.A released their iconic album "Straight Outta Compton."

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  1988 in music.

  Popular music artists in 1988 included George Michael, INXS, George Harrison, Rick Astley, Guns N' Roses, Whitney Houston, Belinda Carlisle, Tiffany and Breathe.

• 

  Who were the best NBA players in 1988?

  The best NBA players in 1988 were Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Akeem Olajuwon, Charles Barkley and Larry Bird.

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  1988 in movies.

  Movies released in 1988 included Rain Man, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Coming to America, Big, Twins, Crocodile Dundee II, Die Hard, Beetlejuice, The Land Before Time and Bloodsport.

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  Best soccer players in the world.

  In 1988, the best soccer players were Marco van Basten, Ruud Gullit, Diego Maradona, Frank Rijkaard, Oleksiy Mykhaylychenko, Ronald Koeman, Lothar Matthäus, Gianluca Vialli, Franco Baresi, Jürgen Klinsmann and Oleksandr Zavarov.

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  Rain Man.

  "Rain Man" won the Academy Award for Best Picture in 1988.

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  The Endangered Earth.

  "The Endangered Earth" was named Time Person of the Year in 1988. The piece highlighted humanity's carelessness towards nature, pollution, and the depletion of the ozone layer.

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  Bobby McFerrin - "Don't Worry, Be Happy"

  The song "Don't Worry, Be Happy" by Bobby McFerrin won a Grammy for 1988's Song of the Year.

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  The Scrunchie is becoming fashionable.

  A new elastic hair tie called the "scrunchie" became fashionable in the late 1980s.

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  Late 1980s fashion.

  The mini skirt became extremely popular. Shoulder pads became increasingly smaller. Popular clothing included reversible inside-out coats, bright-colored shoes with thin heels, berets, lacy gloves, rugby sweatshirts, sweater dresses, jumpsuits, capri leggings, bike shorts, and skirts worn with leggings. Colors included neon hues, plum, gold, and bright wines.

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  People are buying waterbeds.

  Waterbeds became a huge fad during the late 1980s. Although they were invented in the 1970s, they didn't reach their heyday until the 1980s. In 1986 and 1987, nearly a quarter of all beds sold were filled with water.

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  VCRs have become a common household item.

  VCRs became a common household item in the mid-1980s. By that stage, prices had started to drop. This device gave people the ability to play VCR tapes and record TV programs and movies.

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  The Nintendo Entertainment System.

  During the second half of the 1980s, the Nintendo Entertainment System became one of the most popular video game consoles in the world. Releases for the NES included Duck Hunt, The Legend of Zelda, and Super Mario Bros.

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  The Commodore 64.

  The Commodore 64 was dominating the home computer market.

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  Computers are replacing typewriters.

  Desktop computers were beginning to replace typewriters in offices.

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  TV remotes.

  Although TV remotes existed, many homes didn't have one. Infrared technology was still relatively new.

• 

  Wallpaper.

  Wallpaper was extremely common in people's homes throughout the 1970s and 1980s. It wasn't until the mid-late 1980s that "modernism" started to creep in.

Facts.

Basic facts and information about this date:

• 34 years, 5 months, and 11 days have passed since December 16th, 1988.
• Week Number: This date occurred during Week 50 of 1988.
• Leap Year: 1988 was a leap year, which means that it contained 366 days instead of 365 (with an extra day in February).
• Age: People born on December 16th, 1988, are now 34 years old.
• Generation: People born in 1988 belong to the Generation Y (Millennial) generation.
• Unix Timestamp: The Unix Timestamp for this date is 598233600.

Personality traits.

Check out our personality summary for people who were born on December 16th, 1988.

What are your strengths and weaknesses?

View Personality Summary

Around this time.

Notable events that happened close to December 16th, 1988.

• November 16th, 1988: Benazir Bhutto is elected as the new Prime Minister of Pakistan.
• November 18th, 1988: The animated movie The Land Before Time (1988) is released in movie theaters.
• November 19th, 1988: 9-year-old Michaela Garecht is abducted in Hayward, California.
• December 2nd, 1988: The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! (1988) is released.
• December 2nd, 1988: Benazir Bhutto becomes the new Prime Minister of Pakistan.
• December 4th, 1988: Actor Gary Busey suffers permanent brain damage in a motorcycle accident.
• December 5th, 1988: Christian Televangelist Jim Bakker is indicted on charges of fraud.
• December 6th, 1988: American singer Roy Orbison dies from a heart attack at the age of 52.
• December 8th, 1988: Five people are killed when a US Air Force jet crashes into an apartment complex in Remscheid, Germany.
• December 9th, 1988: The film Mississippi Burning (1988) is released.
• December 9th, 1988: The movie Twins (1988) is released.
• December 12th, 1988: 35 people are killed after two trains collide near Clapham Junction railway station in London.
• This date: December 16th, 1988
• December 21st, 1988: Pan Am Flight 103 is blown up by terrorists as it flies over Lockerbie in Scotland. 270 people are killed.
• December 22nd, 1988: Trade union leader and environmentalist, Chico Mendes, is assassinated in Xapuri, Brazil.
• January 5th, 1989: Pop star Madonna files for divorce from actor Senn Penn for the second and final time.
• January 10th, 1989: American rock band Guns N' Roses release their song "Paradise City".

Horoscope, birthstone, and birth flower information.

Zodiac and birthstone information.

NEW! Check out our personality summary image for this birth date.

• Zodiac Sign (Astrology): Anyone born on December 16th, 1988, will have the star sign Sagittarius.
• Zodiac Element: Fire.
• Chinese Zodiac Animal: In the Chinese Zodiac, 1988 was the year of the Dragon (Yang Earth).
• The Life Path Number for this date is 9.
• Native American Zodiac: December 16th, 1988 falls under the Owl.
• Birthstone: A person during the month of December will have the birthstones Tanzanite, Zircon and Turquoise.
• Birth flower (December): The Narcissus and the Holly.

Photos of late 1980s fashion.

Photographs of late 1980s fashion and hairstyles.

Cars in 1988.

1988 saw the introduction of cars such as the Buick Reatta, the Ford Probe, the Opel Vectra, the Honda Concerto, the Audi V8 and the Volkswagen Passat B3.

Were you born on this date?

If you were born on this date, then it is unlikely that you will remember anything from the year 1988.

This is because humans find it difficult to retrieve memories of their early childhood.

If you are looking for some childhood nostalgia, then you should check out December 16th, 1994, instead.

Weather on December 16th, 1988.

Historical weather information for December 16th, 1988.

• Dublin, Ireland: It was 10.0 degrees Celsius. It was a dry day. It was a mostly sunny day.
• New York, USA: Temperature: 18.8 degrees Fahrenheit. -7.33 degrees Celsius. Precipitation: 0cm.
• London, England: Temperature: 7.5 degrees Celsius.

Conception dates.

Conception estimates for this date.

Warning! These conception dates are based on broad estimates.

• A baby that was born on December 16th, 1988 was most likely conceived around March 25th, 1988.
• The due date for a baby that was conceived on December 16th, 1988 is close to September 8th, 1989.

How old was I?

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Time difference & statistics.

Here are some fun statistics about December 16th, 1988.

• A total of 12,581 days have passed since this date.
• 1,797 weeks have passed.
• 1,086,994,800 seconds have passed since the December 16th, 1988.
• If you were born on this day, your heart has beated approximately 1,268,160,600 times.
• Since December 16th, 1988, the Earth has travelled approximately 560,889,316,800 miles through space.
• If you were born on this day, your eyes have blinked approximately 181,165,800 times.
• If you were born on this day, you have taken approximately 93,481,553 steps. That's about 41,547 miles!
• Since this date, 13,043,938 meteors have entered the Earth's atmosphere!
• How many years ago was 1988?

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