30 things turning 30 in 2019

Some computer programs become as much a part of our day-to-day as the very limbs that are attached to our body. For those of us spending hours at a keyboard each day, Microsoft Office is likely one of them.

According to TIME, the first official version of the Microsoft Office collection of desktop applications (including Excel, Powerpoint, and Word) was released in 1989 for the Mac.

How did we get anything done before then?

Spike Lee’s racially-charged film Do the Right Thing, starring Danny Aiello, Ossie Davis, and Ruby Dee, headed into theaters on June 30, 1989.

It follows the drama and violence that unfolds in Brooklyn’s Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood on the hottest day of the year.

Critics of the film felt that Lee’s portrayal of race relations would incite anger and violence from black audiences, according to History.com, which did not turn out to be the case.

On October 18, 1989, the Galileo spacecraft was launched in an effort to study Jupiter and its “mysterious moons,” according to NASA.

While it did just that, it also provided the only direct observations of a comet colliding with a planet. It was also the first spacecraft to visit an asteroid.

Its mission ended in 2003.

“Strange things are afoot at the Circle K.” Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure, released on February 17, 1989, made ’80s kids look at convenience store parking lots a lot differently.

Starring Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter, the fantastical comedy took audiences through a history lesson in a most bizarre fashion, turning it into a cult classic.

Not something anyone wants to commemorate, the Exxon Valdez oil spill occurred 30 years ago on March 24, leaving 11 million gallons of crude oil in Prince William Sound.

At the time this was the largest oil spill in U.S. history, costing Exxon billions in fines and cleanup costs, according to the Atlantic.

Meg Ryan and Billy Crystal captivated audiences in When Harry Met Sally, which was an instant hit among moviegoers in July 1989.

The story of two unlikely friends turned lovers who experienced years of bad romantic luck was packed with memorable scenes, like the often-parodied lunch between Harry and Sally at a New York deli.

Ryan and Crystal weren’t the first casting choices to play the lead characters.

Albert Brooks, Elizabeth Perkins, Molly Ringwald, and Elizabeth McGovern were all considered but didn’t work out for various reasons.

The Sega Genesis celebrates three decades and was considered the pioneer of the 16-bit video game era.

Prior to its launch in 1989, gaming consoles had 8-bit features.

According to Lifewire, the Genesis did well at retail but still didn’t steal the gaming scene from Nintendo which continued to dominate the North American market.

Hey, at least we have the Genesis to thank for Sonic the Hedgehog.

Pro-democracy protesters, many of whom were students, flocked to Beijing’s Tiananmen Square to make their voices heard.

In a shocking turn of events, on June 4, 1989, the Chinese government instructed troops to storm the square, killing and arresting thousands of protesters.

While some students fought back, others tried to flee the scene, getting caught in a melee that cost a tremendous number of lives.

Amy Tan’s The Joy Luck Club was released in 1989 to critical acclaim.

The story of four Chinese American immigrant families living in San Francisco didn’t start out as a best-seller.

Its publisher, Putnam, was cautious with its initial printing, according to Publisher’s Weekly, using three printings to reach the publication-date figure of 25,000 copies.

In 1993, the book was adapted into a major motion picture for the big screen.

Stephen Covey’s business and self-help book was initially published in 1989, creating a flurry of interest around the genre.

It has sold more than 25 million copies internationally. Interestingly, the audio version of 7 Habits became the first non-fiction audiobook in U.S. history to sell more than a million copies.

This article first appeared on RD.com.