MILLENNIUM NOTEBOOK: 1980-84

The Rubik's Cube, designed in 1974, is marketed in America in 1980, and much of the nation soon becomes obsessed with the puzzle.

Also in 1980, Mount St. Helens in Washington state erupts, setting off fires, mudslides and floods, and killing nearly 60 people.

In 1981, President Reagan is shot while leaving the Washington Hilton. The following year John W. Hinckley Jr. is found guilty of the shooting by reason of insanity.