1283: Headlines

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Headlines

Title text: 1916: 'PHYSICIST DAD' TURNS HIS ATTENTION TO GRAVITY, AND YOU WON'T BELIEVE WHAT HE FINDS. [PICS] [NSFW]

Explanation

This explanation may be incomplete or incorrect: If you can address this issue, please edit the page! Thanks.

• In 1905, Albert Einstein published his Annus Mirabilis papers, which laid the groundwork for much of modern physics.
• 1912 is, of course, the year of the the sinking of the RMS Titanic.
• 1920 is the year that the Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution was passed, guaranteeing voting rights for women in all US states.
• 1928 is when penicillin was discovered.
• 1929 is a reference to the Wall Street Crash of 1929, the largest stock market crash in history and the beginning of the Great Depression.
• 1945 is the year that World War 2 ended. It's also the year that many war crimes committed by Nazi Germany were discovered or declassified.
• In 1948, the Soviet Union established the Berlin Blockade, preventing food and other critical supplies from reaching occupied Berlin. In response, Western forces organized the Berlin Airlift.
• 1955 is the year that the Polio vaccine was developed.
• In 1957 the Soviet Union launched Sputnik 1, the world's first artificial satellite.
• In 1968, Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy were both assassinated.
• 1969 is the year that Apollo 11 performed the first manned lunar landing.
• In 1986, the Space Shuttle Challenger exploded one minute into its launch. See Space Shuttle Challenger disaster for details.
• 1989 marked the Fall of the Berlin Wall.

Transcript

This transcript is incomplete. Please help editing it! Thanks.

20th Century Headlines

Rewritten to get more clicks

1905 - How a shocking new theory, discovered by a dad, proves scientists are wrong about everything!

1912 - 6 Titanic survivors who should have died

1920 - 17 things that will be outlawed now that women can vote

1928 - This one weird mold kills all germs

1929 - Most embarrassing reactions to the stock market crash [GIFS]

1945 -

1948 -

1955 -

1957 -

1968 -

1969 -

1986 -

1989 -

Jan 1, 1990 -

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Discussion

"1912 is, of course, the year of the the sinking of the RMS Titanic." I don't think this is such a given fact that people know when the Titanic sank. I'm removing the "of course". And someone should add an explanation for how these titles are supposed to get more clicks, and what "getting more clicks" even means or worth. I'd do it myself, but I'm on my phone... on second thought, let me boot my laptop... 95.35.58.162 06:31, 28 October 2013 (UTC)

Okay, I added a short explanation for now. Someone should fix it, add mentions to NSFW photo articles and list articles (5 easy ways to add 10 years to your life expectancy!). I'm out. 95.35.58.162 07:10, 28 October 2013 (UTC)

Don’t you think the 1916 headline is a reference to the fatness of someone’s mom? Quoti (talk) 07:28, 28 October 2013 (UTC)

fat mom (married to physicist dad?) and gravity: Gravitational Mass. Perhaps he found pictures of her down in the gravity well? What do you think? 195.37.42.200 16:20, 28 October 2013 (UTC)

Surely "1916 :'PHYSICIST DAD' TURNS HIS ATTENTION TO GRAVITY" is a second reference to Einstein?[1] Wwoods (talk) 07:47, 28 October 2013 (UTC)

"1986 - This video of a terminally ill child watching the Challenger launch will break your heart" - Probably has something to do with the Chernobyl nuclear meltdown as well? 212.123.0.8 (talk) (please sign your comments with ~~~~)

I don't think so. The child is probably American. Xhfz (talk) 12:38, 28 October 2013 (UTC)

The Challenger was in January. Chernobyl was in April. No one watching the Challenger launch was sick from Chernobyl, because it hadn't happened yet.108.162.215.61 19:21, 22 February 2014 (UTC)

"Jan 1st 1990: 500 signs you're a 90s kid" - Can somebody explain this one? This is the only one I, and so far explainxkcd, cannot link to a specific historical event. Or is this supposed to be an example of an attention grabbing headline on a day nothing happened?--108.17.2.71 13:05, 28 October 2013 (UTC)

I think it is making fun of sensational news - making news out of nothing. Here, on the very first day of the 90's, the newspapers already have 500 signs that you are a 90's kid. But nothing has actually happened so far. Sayno2quat (talk) 13:16, 28 October 2013 (UTC)

Alternatively, it can be written as, "20 signs you're a 70s kid" 108.162.212.200 15:54, 5 November 2013 (UTC)

I changed the line about the 1929 crash being "the largest stock market crash in history" to "the most devastating stock market crash", as it wasn't the largest. By points, it's not even worth mentioning. By percentage (which is more important anyway), it ranks second to the 1987 crash. In 1929, the crash was 13% in one day, and 24% over two days. The 1987 crash was 22% in one day, and 30% over five days. JamesCurran (talk) 15:55, 28 October 2013 (UTC)

And by sticking to the formula "the most (something) in (something)" you are inadvertently falling into the sensationalist language this cartoon mocks. (At least with checked facts) 173.245.53.110 14:26, 30 October 2013 (UTC)

"1969 - Last peek at Naked Singularities. [NSFW]" --FbFree --128.135.70.205 15:59, 28 October 2013 (UTC)

This seems like a subtle dig at Cracked.com 76.79.82.50 17:28, 28 October 2013 (UTC)

And Buzzfeed and Huffington Post and so on... (And not so subtle.) --Jeff (talk) 17:47, 28 October 2013 (UTC)

John Gordon Mein, the United States Ambassador to Guatemala, were also assassinated in 1968. he was "the first United States ambassador to be assassinated while serving in office". --valepert (talk) 18:14, 28 October 2013 (UTC)

Am I the only one who wants to read these articles? 108.162.246.117 04:04, 1 November 2013 (UTC)

Kennedy was assassinated in 1963, not '68. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assassination_of_John_F._Kennedy 173.245.52.197 17:45, 24 November 2013 (UTC)

Please don't mix up Robert F. Kennedy with John Fitzgerald Kennedy (JFK). I did revert your edit.--Dgbrt (talk) 19:53, 24 November 2013 (UTC)

And just for some more understanding: 1968 has been the most terrible year for the United States. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated far after LBJ did sign the Civil Rights Act of 1964 originally proposed by JFK. Robert F. Kennedy was assassinated while he was running as a candidate for the Democratic Party (United States) for the 1968 President election. Massive student protest did occur at that year, mainly caused by the Vietnam War. That year was a horror for every US citizen, and even more.--Dgbrt (talk) 20:20, 24 November 2013 (UTC)

I saw this in Reader's Digest, specifically (named by date): 1912, 1920, 1928, 1929, 1948, 1969, and 1989. I just found this yesterday. --173.245.56.85 23:46, 12 February 2014 (UTC)