Top TV moments: When Americans huddled around their TVs
The Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attack is by far the most memorable moment shared by television viewers during the past 50 years, a new study concludes.
More: Top moments from TV history (Marty Lederhandler / Associated Press)
What current events most electrified TV audiences? A new survey ranks TV’s most gripping moments -- among them, the Sept. 11 attacks in 2001, Hurricane Katrina in 2005, the O.J. Simpson murder trial verdict in 1995 and the death of Osama bin Laden in 2011.
New Orleans residents wait to be rescued from the floodwaters of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans.
More: Top moments from TV history (David J. Phillip / Associated Press)
The winner: O.J. Simpson, center, with defense attorneys F. Lee Bailey, left, and Johnnie Cochran after Simpson was found not guilty of murdering his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend Ron Goldman.
More: Top moments from TV history (Myung J. Chun / Associated Press)
The space shuttle Challenger explodes shortly after lifting off from Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., on Jan. 28, 1986.
Photos: The Challenger, from the time it was constructed (Bruce Weaver / Associated Press)
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On March 12 of last year, smoke rises from burning homes in northern Japan a day after a strong earthquake triggered a devastating tsunami in the area.
Japanese more opposed to nuclear power a year after tsunami (Kenji Shimizu / Associated Press)
An unidentified woman stands among 15 crosses posted on a hill above Columbine High School in Littleton, Colo., on April 28, 1999. As the Los Angeles Times reported, two seniors -- Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold -- killed 12 students and one teacher. They also injured 21 other students; three people were injured while attempting to escape. The pair later committed suicide. The Columbine shootings were the fourth-deadliest school massacre in United States history. (Eric Gay / Associated Press)
The Deepwater Horizon oil rig burns in the Gulf of Mexico on April 21, 2010. It was the worst oil spill in U.S. history.
More: 2 years later, Congress is castigated for taking action to prevent another such tragedy (Gerald Herbert / Associated Press)
The casket containing the body of Diana, Princess of Wales, is carried into Westminster Abbey by soldiers of the Welsh Guards during funeral ceremonies in London on Sept. 6, 1997. (Peter Dejong / Associated Press)
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President-elect Barack Obama, left, wife Michelle Obama, right, and daughters Sasha, 7, and Malia, 10, attend the election night rally in Chicago.
More: Decisive victory makes history (Jae C. Hong / Associated Press)
Prince William and the former Kate Middleton lead the royal wedding procession after exchanging vows at Westminster Abbey on April 29, 2011.
Photos: The royal wedding album (Richard Pohle / Associated Press)
Rescue workers stand before the devastated Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building on April 19, 1995,following the deadly explosion in downtown Oklahoma City. The terrorist bomb blast that day killed 168 people including 19 children under the age of 6. Timothy McVeigh was executed for his role in the bombing. Co-conspirator Terry Nichols is serving a life sentence. (David Longstreath / Associated Press)
In a performance that stirred plenty of outrage, entertainer Janet Jackson suffered what at the time she called a wardrobe malfunction during a half-time performance with Justin Timberlake on Feb. 1, 2004, during Super Bowl XXXVIII in Houston.
More: Supreme Court won’t hear appeal on Super Bowl ‘wardrobe malfunction’ (David Phillip / Associated Press)
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Janet Jackson, left, Paris Katherine Jackson, Prince Michael Jackson II and LaToya Jackson gather on stage during a memorial service for Michael Jackson at the Staples Center in Los Angeles on July 7, 2009.
More: Michael Jackson’s death: The third anniversary (Mark J. Terrill / Associated Press)
Astronaut Edwin E. “Buzz” Aldrin Jr. poses on July 20, 1969, alongside the U.S. flag deployed on the moon during the Apollo 11 mission. (Neil A. Armstrong / Associated Press)