While you chewed your Betty Rubble vitamin, what else happened in 1996?
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The Good Men Project classifies the Guyhood demographic from age 18-24. This means 1996 holds significance, whether as your birth year or your early childhood. Let’s look back at some random events from 1996. In Part 1 of this 2 part series, we’ll examine cultural snippets between January 1996-June 1996.
January 1996
1- Betty Rubble is introduced as the newest Flintstones vitamin after being overlooked for nearly 20 years. The “who is hotter”, Wilma or Betty, battle intensifies. Fast forward to more recently, and in the 2012 Family Guy episode “Burning Down the Bayit“, Stewie Griffin tells Brian about a baby rave where he ‘dropped’ a Flintstones chewable (a “purple Betty”) that sent him flying.
3- Motorolla releases the StarTac Mobile Phone, priced around $1000, that includes an innovative clamshell design, is one of the first to include vibrate notification technology, and allows SMS text. Today, you are probably reading this on your phone that you received free with your cell plan. If it has a clamshell design, others might be teasing you.
26- First Lady Hillary Clinton testifies before a grand jury concerning possible involvement in the Whitewater scandal surrounding her husband, President Bill Clinton. In 2016, Hillary Clinton is likely to campaign for the presidential seat.
February 1996
10- The IBM computer, “Deep Blue”, is the first to defeat a reigning human chess champion (Gary Kasparov). In February 2011, IBM’s “Watson” crushed all Jeopardy opponents, including Ken Jennings winner of 74 straight games. Unfortunately after each event, once unplugged, “Deep Blue” and “Watson” were unavailable for comment.
28- Alanis Morrisette wins Album of Year for “Jagged Little Pill” at the Grammy’s. She is the youngest ever to win this award until surpassed by Taylor Swift in 2010. In 2014, producers Vivek J. Tiwary and Arvind Ethan David expect to debut “Jagged Little Pill” on Broadway.
March 1996
7- The first images of Pluto’s surface are captured by the Hubble Telescope. Yes, our solar system actually had nine planets when you were born. Now, Pluto is labeled, politically incorrectly some might argue, as a “dwarf planet.”
21- A wave of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE), or “mad cow disease”, ravages Britian’s cattle and human beef consumers. The European Union bans the British export of beef. The ban is not lifted until 2006. Perhaps in high school you read Libba Bray’s Going Bovine in which the main character suffers from mad cow disease, meets a punk angel named Dulcie, and stumbles across a death-obsessed garden gnome at a college party.
April 1996
3- Serial murderer, Ted Kaczynski (aka The Unabomber) is arrested by the FBI in his remote cabin outside Lincoln, Montana. In September, 2013, a similar looking (although hairless) man, Walter White (aka Heisenberg) is found dead of a gunshot wound inside a meth lab being run by Neo-Nazis. White’s manifesto has not yet been found.
15- The 100th Boston Marathon is won by Moses Tanui of Kenya and Uta Pippig of Germany. As the running of the 2014 Boston Marathon approaches, ‘Boston Strong’ athletes and spectators will converge with mixed emotions, remembering the lives lost during the terrorist attack at the finish line just one year ago.
May 1996
20- In the case of Romer vs. Evans, Colorado’s Amendment 2 is found unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court. This ruling reinforces the rights of lesbians, gay men, and bisexuals to not experience governmental discrimination. As of 2014, 16 states and the District of Columbia now have same sex marriage laws on the books.
30- Senior Fellow, Thomas Gale Moore, of Stanford University’s Hoover Institution releases “GLOBAL WARMING: A Boon to Humans and Other Animals.” In the article’s conclusion, the author states,
“Based on history, however, global warming is likely to be positive for most of mankind while the additional carbon, rain, and warmth should also promote plant growth that can sustain an expanding world population.”
Today, the debate over climate change and its effects rages on.
June 1996
12- The Communications Decency Act of 1996, intended to regulate the rise of pornography on the Internet, has portions struck down by federal judges in Philadelphia. The court cites free speech infringement. In 2014, depending on the source, it is reported that between 3%-40% of the Internet consists of pornography.
28- The Constitution of Ukraine is signed into law. As you read this, the Ukrainian/Russian conflict unfolds before us. Crimea voted on Monday, March 17 to secede from the Ukraine. The world watches to see if peace can be attained.
I feel it’s appropriate to end Part 1 here, and reflect.
In the spirit of The Good Men Project, hopefully one or more items you read will spark dialogue. Join the conversation.
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Image credit: Lisa Brewster/flickr
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The post 1996: Guyhood … the Early Years (Part 1) appeared first on The Good Men Project.
