June 11, 1991

A Big Mac cost $2.19 that summer of 1991, and the Dow Jones sat at 3,169 — a peace deal ending Angola's 16-year civil war was signed, signaling that the Cold War's proxy conflicts were finally winding down. On American screens and radio stations, Arnold Schwarzenegger's "Terminator 2: Judgment Day" was the summer's dominant film, while Paula Abdul's "Rush Rush" held the top spot on the Billboard Hot 100 for weeks. On June 23, Sega released "Sonic the Hedgehog" for the Sega Genesis, launching a character that would directly challenge Nintendo's Mario as the face of home video gaming for the next decade.