16. 1985 - First Grammy Win: With the designation of the Best Reggae album category, Black Uhuru were the first group to ever win the prestigious award. It was for their album, Anthem. 17. 1985 - Marijuana in medicine: Marijuana which was a banned substance at the time, was found to be useful in the treatment of glaucoma. The eye drop Canasol remains one of the greatest Ja- maican inventions to date. 18. June 1986 - The ‘86 Flood: Much like the floods of 1979, the ‘86 floods left many Jamaicans homeless, caused much agricultural damage and resulted in the loss of 50 lives. It also affected some of the same parishes. 19. September 24, 1988 - Hurricane Gilbert: This hurricane was so memorable that even now, older people will refer to periods in the past as “before” or “after Gilbert” instead of using actual dates. The hurricane came accompanied by 2.5ft of rainfall and wind speeds of 140mph which lasted the better part of 12 hours. It was also monumental in that many Jamaicans up to that point had never seen a hurricane and as such the warnings were not taken seriously. Gilbert caused 7 billion dollars of damages 400 million of which was lost by the banana industry specifically. The hurricane left 45 people dead and many homeless. In true Jamaican fashion, music was used as a form of comfort during the trying times for the nation and many songs about the hurricane became popular, especially Lovindeer’s “Wild Gilbert”. 20. 1988 - Calgary Winter Olympic Games: Jamaica made their debut at the Winter Olympic Games in Calgary, Canada. The team of Dudley Stokes, Michael White, Devon Harris and Chris Stokes entered the bobsled competition representing Jamaica. Dudley and Michael finished 30th in the two-man event, and for a sunny island even qualifying for the event is a commendable feat. The quartet, however, will always be remembered for their performance in the four-man event. No, they didn’t win, but after their bobsleigh crashed, the team decided they would push their bobsleigh to the finish line. This was met with much approval from the crowd who cheered as they made their way to the finish line. If this seems oddly familiar to you, you might have seen the 1993 Disney film Cool Runnings which is based on their journey to the Olympic games. 21. July 24, 1991 - Nelson Mandela: The renowned leader of South Africa visited Jamaica with his then-wife Winnie, where the honourary Doctor of Laws degree was bestowed on Mandela who dedicated his life to fighting against apartheid. 22. 1993 - Third Miss World Title for Jamaica: Lisa Hanna who currently serves as a member of parliament and opposition shadow minister, was crowned Miss World in 1993. 23. 1993 - First Annual Reggae Sumfest: The now worldwide musical event, dubbed the greatest Reggae show on earth” had its first staging in 1993. 24. 1994 - The launch of A Website: Jamaica became the first Caribbean country to launch a web- site. Arlene Laing created the http://jamaicatravel.com website, which prompted many other websites including Jamaicans.com which started a year later. Now, searching for Jamaica travel will take you to the informative, https://www.visitjamaica.com/ page. 25. 1996 - First Female Gold Medal - While Jamaica had a few medals under its belt by this time, Deon Hemmings added a treasured first gold medal by the women that the country had been craving for so long. Who would have known it would become the first of 26 and still counting! 26. 1998 - Scripts Spelling Bee: Jodian Maxwell became the first non-American to win the Scripts spelling bee at just 12 years old. Jamaica’s 60th Annive rsary 31