25 years ago today...

[il Padrino Ute]

the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster occurred. I was in the student union building watching the launch live. The explosion was surreal. There were a few others watching and when it happened, we all looked at each other and one of them said "Did we really see what we just saw?" Even the reporter on CNN was trying to comprehend what had actually happened.

It was definitely an event that I remember exactly where I was and what I was doing when it happened. A sad day indeed.

[YOUTUBE]AfnvFnzs91s[/YOUTUBE]

[CJF]

I was in 7th grade art class when the announcement come over the PA system. Some of the girls in the class started crying. It was uncomfortable.

[The_Tick]

6th Grade. Mr. Robb's class.

The teacher next door came in crying and turned on our TV. Her class had watched it live.

We sat is disbelief for the rest of the day.

[filsdepac]

I remember watching it in school, in kindergarten. My feelings were almost identical as when I saw the towers fall on my mission, in that it seemed fake and I was in complete denial.

[Surfah]

I was in 1st or 2nd grade I think. We didn't get to see it. But I remember Punky Brewster did and that made me sad.

[falafel]

I was in 2nd grade, watching in my class room. I remember my teacher's reaction more than anything. I can still remember the exact layout of the room, where I was sitting, etc.

Sent from my Sprint EVO 4G

[happyone]

I was at work standing in the aisle between the gov't issue gray desks when KSL broke into their broadcast to announce the explosion. My first reaction was disblief.

[Flystripper]

I watched it live in Mrs. Heil's 6th grade class. The whole school was watching it because Christa McAuliffe, the teacher, was going up into space. The class was in total shock. I remember after the explosion our teacher hurried over to the TV quickly turned it off. She then told us what a horrible tragedy had just occurred. Many of us cried at that point. The school sent everyone home early. I still remember it like it was yesterday.

[Lost Student]

I too was in second grade. I guess I wasn't really that traumatized because I don't even remember if we watched it live or not. (Or maybe I've been repressing the memories all these years and now the emotions are close to the surface, about to come boiling over. Hard to tell, really.)

I do remember that my classmate wrote a letter to Pres. Reagan about how sad it was and he wrote back, agreeing with her.

[Clark Addison]

Freshman at BYU. Watched it in W hall on our next door neighbors' TV.

This is one of those moments that all Americans remember, but I think it is especially vivid for people who were in elementary or high school at the time. Many of them were watching live due to the teacher being on board, and for a lot of them it was that single moment that teaches them "Sometimes life is terrible and there's nothing that my parents, teachers, or any other adult can do about it."

[dabrockster]

Here is another video with Christa McAuliffe's parents watching it unfold. How tragic.. You can see it at around 1:30..

[YOUTUBE]5hQL0NWS1Rc&feature=related[/YOUTUBE]

[cougjunkie]

I was only 5 years old and only remember it vaguely. I do however remember the OJ verdict and 9/11.

[NorthwestUteFan]

I was in class. One teacher ran into our room and yelled, "Challenger just blew up!"

Our teacher turned on the TV. I remember him muttering, "I guess THAT is what they think of teachers..."

[Uncle Ted]

I was in a chemistry class at BYU. The teacher was ironically blowing up hydrogen filled balloons that day. My friend came in late, sat down next to me and told me the space shuttle had just blown up.

[TripletDaddy]

Elementary school in class. All classes were watching live.

What amazed me was that within a day or so, there were jokes all over school.

Coca Cola not 7Up, Need Another Seven Astronauts, next Challenger launch at 4th of July, used to teach English now she's History, etc.

How in the world did these jokes travel so quickly, esp without internet or texting? Kids are cruel, but amazingly quick to market.