Hey there, it's Kathy. I just wanted to let you know that you can listen to History of the 90s

early and ad-free on Amazon music included with Prime.

There are some years when it seems like the world has gone a bit mad.

1995 was one of those years.

Deadly terrorist attacks in the U.S. and Japan shocked the world, while an assassination

in Israel ended any hope for peace in the Middle East. Meantime, high-profile murder trials

fascinated the public in Los Angeles and Toronto, and Quebec came within a hair of separating

from Canada. I'm Kathy Kanzora, and this is History of the 90s, a podcast about a decade that changed the world.

In this episode, we'll take a look back at those stories and several others, as we count down

10 of the most memorable events of 1995.

And a warning, many of these stories contain graphic images and depictions of violence.

So please listen with care.

Number 10. The Release of Windows 95.

When Microsoft's user-friendly operating system was released on August 24, 1995,

it was arguably the most consequential event in modern computing history.

Midway through the decade, less than a quarter of households in the U.S. had a personal computer.

That's because PCs were still only mostly being used by tech-savvy computer nerds.

But Windows 95 changed that.

It transformed the way the world used computers by making the experience more accessible

to the everyday user.

And in the process, it made Bill Gates the richest man in the world.

Among other things, the Windows 95 update added the now famous start button, the first

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