# Yeah, yeah, you remember when you heard about 9/11 and the Challenger explosion. Tell us about... **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 1, 2016, 11:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yeah-yeah-you-remember-when-you-heard-about-9-11-and-the-challenger-explosion-tell-us-about/744835 "2016-02-01T11:37:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![River\_Hippie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/river_hippie/32/26_2.png) [@River\_Hippie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/River_Hippie)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2016, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yeah-yeah-you-remember-when-you-heard-about-9-11-and-the-challenger-explosion-tell-us-about/744835/21 "2016-02-02T01:12:06Z")
> [@River\_Hippie](#): > > Standing in the electronics department of J.C. Penny’s, watching the US team beat the Russians in the Olympics. What was that, 1980? HOCKEY, meant to put the word _hockey_ in there some where. ---
**Author:** ![P-man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/p-man/32/3606_2.png) [@P-man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/P-man)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2016, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yeah-yeah-you-remember-when-you-heard-about-9-11-and-the-challenger-explosion-tell-us-about/744835/22 "2016-02-02T01:12:16Z")
> [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](#): > > …your recollections of first hearing about much lesser events. Something - or someone - who nobody else 'round these parts would have any memory of. > > I will start with this. For some inexplicable reason, I distinctly recall hearing of the death of **Frank Sutton** (Sgt. Carter from Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.). > > He died of a heart attack at the young age of 50. Having been a big Gomer fan, I was shocked. This was 41 years ago. > > You’re up. > mmm > ETA: Whoops, didn’t mean to post this in IMHO. Didn’t Joe Flynn (Captain Wallace “Leadbottom” Binghamton) die around the same time? ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2016, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yeah-yeah-you-remember-when-you-heard-about-9-11-and-the-challenger-explosion-tell-us-about/744835/23 "2016-02-02T02:06:02Z")
I remember watching CNN when they announced that Iraq had just invaded Kuwait. ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2016, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yeah-yeah-you-remember-when-you-heard-about-9-11-and-the-challenger-explosion-tell-us-about/744835/24 "2016-02-02T02:22:55Z")
I think at least half of the respondents here misunderstood the OP. mmm ---
**Author:** ![Isamu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/7c8e57/32.png) [@Isamu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isamu)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2016, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yeah-yeah-you-remember-when-you-heard-about-9-11-and-the-challenger-explosion-tell-us-about/744835/25 "2016-02-02T02:32:54Z")
I remember I was at work on July 12th, 2006, in my old office, surfing the internets when I saw the Habbo Raid. I Nevar Forget! ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2016, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yeah-yeah-you-remember-when-you-heard-about-9-11-and-the-challenger-explosion-tell-us-about/744835/26 "2016-02-02T02:36:50Z")
Death of Jerry García on Aug 9 1995, I was at the Chateau Frontenac in Quebec City for a conference and of course doing the scanning of the TV to find the English-language channels. ---
**Author:** ![jsquire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ce73a5/32.png) [@jsquire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsquire)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2016, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yeah-yeah-you-remember-when-you-heard-about-9-11-and-the-challenger-explosion-tell-us-about/744835/27 "2016-02-02T03:33:16Z")
I remember where I was when I heard that Butch Reynolds finally broke the 400 meter world record. This was the summer of '88, it had stood since the '68 Olympics. ---
**Author:** ![fachverwirrt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/94ad74/32.png) [@fachverwirrt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fachverwirrt)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2016, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yeah-yeah-you-remember-when-you-heard-about-9-11-and-the-challenger-explosion-tell-us-about/744835/28 "2016-02-02T03:51:24Z")
I was in a voice lesson my senior year in college when I found out that Robert Shaw (the choral conductor, not the guy from Jaws) had died. Another student popped into the studio to tell us. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2016, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yeah-yeah-you-remember-when-you-heard-about-9-11-and-the-challenger-explosion-tell-us-about/744835/29 "2016-02-02T03:56:00Z")
> [@Ludovic](#): > > I remember being in a college classroom when I first heard about the Oklahoma City bombing. I, as well as several others, thought that hey, at least we won’t have to hear about the OJ trial for a month or so. I heard about it on “All Things Considered” while driving home from work. Guess how long OJ was booted from the top of the news? TWO DAYS. :mad: There’s a heavily publicized docudrama movie airing right now about it. Who are the people who think anyone cares, anyway? ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2016, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yeah-yeah-you-remember-when-you-heard-about-9-11-and-the-challenger-explosion-tell-us-about/744835/30 "2016-02-02T03:59:35Z")
> [@CairoCarol](#): > > Michael Jackson Farrah Fawcett died earlier that same day; however, hers was not a surprise. I definitely remember when I found out what killed Michael Jackson. My brother left a message on my Facebook wall asking me, “What is propofol?” I was working at a hospital where we dispensed it by the case, and nobody ever thought that would be a household word. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2016, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yeah-yeah-you-remember-when-you-heard-about-9-11-and-the-challenger-explosion-tell-us-about/744835/31 "2016-02-02T04:09:35Z")
Here’s another for me. I remember when Obama was announced as the winner in 2008. In my case, my TV was on C-SPAN because they were broadcasting the coverage from the CBC, which didn’t have commentators running their mouths nonstop, and they scooped CNN by about 10 seconds. 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2016, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yeah-yeah-you-remember-when-you-heard-about-9-11-and-the-challenger-explosion-tell-us-about/744835/32 "2016-02-02T04:56:10Z")
I remember hearing about Harry Chapin being killed. I had a clock radio that I listened to Casey Kasem and American Top 40 on every Saturday morning starting at 8 AM as I stayed in bed (late 70s into mid80s). I actually didn’t know too much of his music at the time, but “Sequel” was popular shortly before he died. Looking at Wikipedia, I see he died on a Thursday just after noon, but I know I heard about it on a Saturday morning (heh, that’s one of his songs!). I’m guessing they talked about it on American Top 40. > [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](#): > > I will start with this. For some inexplicable reason, I distinctly recall hearing of the death of **Frank Sutton** (Sgt. Carter from Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.). A funny one - sometime in the early 2000s, my mom found out Alan Ladd was dead. “Alan Ladd is dead?!” Alan Ladd had of course died in 1964. ---
**Author:** ![JpnDude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/838e76/32.png) [@JpnDude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JpnDude)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2016, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yeah-yeah-you-remember-when-you-heard-about-9-11-and-the-challenger-explosion-tell-us-about/744835/33 "2016-02-02T05:01:36Z")
November 7th, 1991: Magic Johnson announces he’s got HIV and will retire. I was a sophomore at uni and it was just days before my birthday. I had just gotten out of my last class for the day and called my girlfriend by pay phone in another city. She broke the news to me. As a big Lakers fan, I was in shock and actually cried while I was on the phone with her. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2016, 5:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yeah-yeah-you-remember-when-you-heard-about-9-11-and-the-challenger-explosion-tell-us-about/744835/34 "2016-02-02T05:34:16Z")
When I found out Kurt Cobain died. My friend and I were hanging out at my house, either in the living room or my room, watching TV pr whatever and my mom came in and asked us “Do you guys know who Kurt Cobain is?” And we were like, yeah, Nirvana. Then she told us about how he’d shot himself and we were like, WHAT?!?! So we turned on MTV (yes, seriously). I also remember watching SNL when Sinead O’Connor tore up the picture of the Pope. I was like, “WTF?” ---
**Author:** ![PapSett](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ecc23a/32.png) [@PapSett](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PapSett)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2016, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yeah-yeah-you-remember-when-you-heard-about-9-11-and-the-challenger-explosion-tell-us-about/744835/35 "2016-02-02T13:55:54Z")
8When Freddie Prinze died, I was sound asleep. My mother opened my bedroom door to tell me there was no school because it had snowed. I rolled over and started to drift off again and she then added: “Oh, Freddie Prinze is dead, he shot himself.” I was suddenly wide awake an shot up in bed, sure I had mis-heard her, saying “Huh? What?” but she just closed the door and left. My mother was like that. I turned on the radio to hear the news and sure enough, she was right. I cried. ---
**Author:** ![Soylent\_Juicy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/82dd89/32.png) [@Soylent\_Juicy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Soylent_Juicy)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2016, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yeah-yeah-you-remember-when-you-heard-about-9-11-and-the-challenger-explosion-tell-us-about/744835/36 "2016-02-02T16:08:21Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > I also remember watching SNL when Sinead O’Connor tore up the picture of the Pope. I was like, “WTF?” I saw that too, and I rarely watched Saturday Night Live. I remember the audience was completely silent. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2016, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yeah-yeah-you-remember-when-you-heard-about-9-11-and-the-challenger-explosion-tell-us-about/744835/37 "2016-02-02T16:25:19Z")
> [@Gatopescado](#): > > I was lying in bed, half asleep, when I heard a loud, distant sonic boom. I said to myself, “Humm. I’ll bet there is going to be something big in the news today.” I looked at the clock and made a mental note of the time. > > The sound I heard was the Space Shuttle breaking up during re-entry. Hard to believe, but it was the exact time and about the right place. > > When we woke up (at a decent hour), I told my wife about it, then turned the TV on, and there ya go! The big news! I remember that too… in a sense. I was sound asleep, and under most circumstances, wouldn’t have woke up for another hour. For some reason (I’m guessing it was that sonic boom/bang of the Columbia breaking up) I woke up out of that sound sleep. I sat up, wondering just why I was awake at 8 am exactly, and not a couple of minutes later my housemate comes tearing up the stairs and starts beating on my door telling me to get the hell up, because I’m going to want to see this. He’d told me the day before that he was going to get up early and watch the Columbia pass by, because it was one of the few times it went close enough to see from Dallas. I think he actually watched it break up in person. So I put some pants on, grab my glasses and go downstairs. Housemate points up in the sky to the south (I live in Dallas), and there we see the streaks in the sky. We go in and turn on the news- nothing yet. It took them a little while to come on and start talking about it. The most eerie and creepy thing about it was that it took a LONG time for those streaks to go away. It wasn’t like you saw it break up, and then the streaks were gone a minute or two later at all. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2016, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yeah-yeah-you-remember-when-you-heard-about-9-11-and-the-challenger-explosion-tell-us-about/744835/38 "2016-02-02T17:43:40Z")
I was woken by [Buncefield](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buncefield_fire) exploding. ---
**Author:** ![Pixel\_Dent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/bc8723/32.png) [@Pixel\_Dent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pixel_Dent)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2016, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yeah-yeah-you-remember-when-you-heard-about-9-11-and-the-challenger-explosion-tell-us-about/744835/39 "2016-02-02T18:11:04Z")
During the Solidarity uprising, I remember seeing Bill Murray announce that Russia had invaded Poland during the “goodnight” section of Saturday Night Live. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2016, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yeah-yeah-you-remember-when-you-heard-about-9-11-and-the-challenger-explosion-tell-us-about/744835/40 "2016-02-02T19:01:11Z")
> [@Pixel\_Dent](#): > > During the Solidarity uprising, I remember seeing Bill Murray announce that Russia had invaded Poland during the “goodnight” section of Saturday Night Live. I was a HS senior, and in the midst of all this, I got up one morning and my mother was standing in the kitchen with the newspaper face down. She told me to turn it over and look at it; my first thought was “Poland got nuked”, but instead, the headline was about John Lennon’s murder. When R.E.M. broke up, a lot of people assumed that this would be one of “those moments” for me, and while I do remember what I was doing when I found out, it wasn’t all that monumental for me because I honestly wasn’t all that surprised. FTR, I was at work and checked my personal e-mail, and found one from my brother with a link to a news site. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yeah-yeah-you-remember-when-you-heard-about-9-11-and-the-challenger-explosion-tell-us-about/744835.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yeah-yeah-you-remember-when-you-heard-about-9-11-and-the-challenger-explosion-tell-us-about/744835.md?page=3)