Off-Topic

Again, the Miracle on Ice counts because of the Cold War implications and history.

Almost all important events are important events because they change the course of history. Yesterday will not change the course of history. It was ceremonious. Closure for many. A final chapter to the first book of what's sure to be a series. Great day? Sure. Top 10? Let's just say yesterday was my birthday, and it wasn't even the best present I received (the wife came through big time.)

I agree wholeheartedly with bkmalik's approach on this. Sure, it's debatable whether or not a couple of the lower-tier events on his list are more historically significant. However, it's obvious that people are (understandably) caught up in the moment of this event and once the euphoria settles down, we'll understand it in much more real terms, with the emotional element playing less of a role.

I will admit, however, to chuckling at the idea that this will somehow trivialize the idiots on either end of the political spectrum. 9/11 couldn't do that for more than a couple of weeks - why would this?

Jackie Robinson's first game was a sporting event, parlay. It is more significant than bin laden's death.

Haven't read the entire thread, but IMO the most memorable moment is not one and the same as the most historical moment. The death of Osama Bin Laden is the closing chapter of the defining American moment of the 21st Century (as of now), so it has immense historical significance. But there are tons of people who won't find it as the most resonant experience.

Title of this thread is memorable, not significant. A lot of people here seem to be addressing significance, which the argument can certainly be made (and is probably right) that there are many more significant events in recent history.

Memorable though? You can't convince me there's 20 more memorable events than the death of the guy who was the face and driving force behind #1 on EVERYONE'S list by a military operation that is the stuff of Hollywood action movies.

I'm still trying to sort this out, but I guess the point is that this really isn't a defining moment. It might be the end of the chapter, but it may just be the prelude to bigger events. One of my professors at MD (can't remember his name, crazy hippy, but really smart) gave us the starfish model for Al-Qaeda, basically, the ideology is the center of the starfish, and the terror groups are the "limbs". So, we've cut off one of the limbs, maybe, but the rest will survive. So I doubt this is a turning point in the "War on Terror".

Again, this isn't an attempt to downplay the significance, but in terms of historical resonance, this isn't even close to 9/11 obviously, and I would definitely put Obama's election ahead of it, whether you like his politics or not. I would put Katrina ahead too. I certainly put this in the top 20 though.

I think it's an interesting call as far as whether this or Saddam's capture has more impact. Osama certainly has the more visceral reaction, but I think Saddam will have a more immediate impact as far as its effect on America.

You're only saying this because SMB was a disaster on the scale of 9/11

Historical moments of my life:

1. 9/11
2. Reagan getting shot
3. Challenger
4. Fall of the Berlin Wall
5. Desert Shield/Storm
6. Miracle on Ice
7. 1994 Election
8. Bin Laden killed
9. Financial crisis 2008-Present
10. Indonesian tsunami

Here's seven more memorable events to me from 1968 alone:

March 16 - Vietnam War – My Lai massacre: American troops kill scores of civilians.
April 4 - Martin Luther King, Jr. is shot dead at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee.
April 11 – U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson signs the Civil Rights Act of 1968.
June 5 – U.S. presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy is shot at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles, California by Sirhan Sirhan.
August 22 – Police clash with anti-war protesters in Chicago, Illinois, outside the 1968 Democratic National Convention.
October 16 - In Mexico City, black American athletes Tommie Smith and John Carlos raise their arms in a black power
December 24 – Apollo Program: U.S. spacecraft Apollo 8 enters orbit around the Moon.

Since others are doing it, here are the most memorable news events in my lifetime from my perspective. I'm definitely a lot younger than most of you, and am leaving out events in my lifetime that would obviously fit in this category because I'm too young to remember (Challenger being the main one).

1. 9/11
2. Fall of Berlin Wall
3. Obama election
4. Japan earthquake/tsunami/nuclear crisis (I'm hesitant to put this so high because it's fresh, but I think this be very memorable over time)
5. Columbine
6. Katrina
7. Sumatra earthquake/tsunami
8. VaTech massacre
9. Sadaam captured
10. World Series earthquake

Out of these, I'd say Bin Laden would easily go in the top 5.

Since it happened so close and only a year after 9/11, I personally would have a hard time putting VT over the DC sniper. I had friends there (one was on the rescue squad and told me some of the things he saw due to shared experiences) and we scrambled to locate them with cell phone towers down there being busy but having the schools on lockdown for so long and everyone in the area terrified of being near a window kinda sucked.