Like in other year in history, there were good times and bad, creation and destruction, discovery, shock and awe, and life and death.

The first CD player is sold in Japan, and Sony launches the first consumer compact disc player (model CDP-101). The Commodore 64 is released and goes on to sell over 20 million computers until 1994.

A computer scientist, Scott Fahlman, from Carnegie Mellon University first suggested the use of Smiley or emoticon as a way of expressing emotion in an email. :-)

Freeware is first used by Andrew Fluegelman and Jim Knopf to distribute their application which allowed programs to be copied. In 1984, the distribution of this type of software changed from freeware to shareware, which the name was thought up by Bob Wallace.

Time Magazine's Man of The Year is given for the first time to a non-human - THE COMPUTER.  

The Weather Channel airs on U.S. cable television for the first time.

A severe recession begins in the United States.

The largest cash robbery in history occurs in New York when $9.8 million dollars is stolen from an armored car.

A wave of terrorist attacks happens in France by Carlos the Jackal.

The Serial killer Clifford Robert Olson is convicted and given 11 concurrent life sentences for the murder of 11 children in Canada.

20 million Elm Trees die in the UK through Dutch Elm Disease, and the world's largest oil rig, The Ocean Ranger, sinks in the north Atlantic.

The first commercial use of genetic engineering is launched when human insulin produced by bacteria is marketed for diabetes, and at the University of Utah, 61-year-old retired dentist Barney Clark becomes the first person to receive a permanent artificial heart,designed by Robert Jarvik. He will live for 112 days with the device.

The Tylenol scare is sparked when 7 people in the Chicago area die after ingesting capsules laced with potassium cyanide.

An earthquake and volcanic eruption at El Chichón in southern Mexico kills thousands.

Cold Sunday was a meteorological event which took place on January 17 when unprecedentedly cold air swept down from Canada and plunged temperatures across much of the United States far below existing all-time record lows. On April 6, a blizzard unprecedented in size for April dumps 1-2 feet of snow on the northeastern U.S., closing schools and businesses, snarling traffic, and canceling several major league baseball games.

On March 10th, all 9 planets align on the same side of the Sun, and the longest Lunar eclipse of the 20th century took place on July 6, lasting 106 minutes.

On Nov 13, The Vietnam Veterans Memorial is dedicated in Washington, D.C., after a march to its site by thousands of Vietnam War veterans.

Prince William was born on June 21.

American actor and comedian John Belushi dies of a drug overdose on March 5, at The Château Marmont in Los Angeles, and screen legend Grace Kelly - Princess Grace of Monaco, dies on in car crash on September 14th.

Wonderful movies such as E.T., Poltergeist, Tron, 48 Hrs., Fast Times at Ridgemont High, and Pink Floyd's The Wall hit theaters while people tune-in to watch shows like Knight Rider and Family Ties on TV.

Graceland, the home of Elvis Presley, opens to the public.

The album Thriller, by Michael Jackson is released, becoming the biggest selling album of all time in entertainment history.

Here are just a few of the songs from this year, taken from Billboard's Hot 100, in no particular order :

1.) Joan Jett & The Blackhearts - I Love Rock 'n Roll

2.) J. Geils Band - Centerfold

3.) The Cars - Shake It Up

4.) The Go-Go's - We Got The Beat

5.) Men At Work - Who Can It Be Now

6.) Journey - Open Arms

7.) J. Geils Band - Freeze Frame

8.) .38 Special - Caught Up In You

9.) The Go-Go's - Our Lips Are Sealed

10.) Flock of Seagulls - I Ran (So Far Away)

11.) Journey - Don't Stop Believing

12.) Crimson & Clover - Joan Jett & The Blackhearts

13.) The Go-Go's - Vacation

14.) The Police - Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic

15.) Van Halen - Oh, Pretty Woman

16.) Loverboy - Working For The Weekend

17.) Foreigner - Waiting For A Girl Like You

18.) Toni Basil - Mickey

19.) Bow Wow Wow - I Want Candy

20.) Modern English - I Melt With You

21.) The Steve Miller Band - Abracadabra

22.) Talking Heads - Burning Down The House

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A/N : This was such a great year for music! Which ones were your favorites, so far? There was so much more that I couldn't post here, but I will add more awesome music that I couldn't include in my regular chapters into bonus chapters, so don't fret. And while the album Thriller was released this year, you won't see the song Thriller on the charts until 1984.

⭐️Please be sure to vote and comment!⭐️

Info on 1982 events, movies, and songs credited to:

http://www.liketotally80s.com/2007/08/80s-capsules-1982/

http://www.thepeoplehistory.com/1982.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billboard_Year-End_Hot_100_singles_of_1982

Now on to 1983...