# That 80's Thread **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 6, 2003, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-80s-thread/173414 "2003-05-06T15:26:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![SanibelMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e4f/32.png) [@SanibelMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanibelMan)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2003, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-80s-thread/173414/1 "2003-05-06T15:26:36Z")
Following the fun anecdotes of the thread about growing up in the 70’s, I figured it might be interesting to see how the 80’s contrasted. I was born in 1983, so I can’t contribute, but maybe in a few years when everyone’s nostalgic for the 90’s I’ll pitch in a new thread. So what was it like growing up (teenage years) in the 80’s? ---
**Author:** ![Phlosphr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@Phlosphr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phlosphr)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2003, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-80s-thread/173414/2 "2003-05-06T16:24:58Z")
I was born in 1969 which made me 13 in 1982, so it is safe to say I was a teenager in the 80’s. Things I liked: Guns’n’roses Metallica pot the talking heads black-checkered-velcro-fly shorts. loafers a mullet - just kidding I never had a mullet basketball Susan Sommers - all the girls from **Three’s Company** Concerts Jean jackets French Foreign Legion hats Wrestling - wow I watched wrestling. Never touch the stuff now. wide rimmed glasses - don’t have those now after lasik gimme a while and I’ll think of some more. ---
**Author:** ![Opengrave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/919ad9/32.png) [@Opengrave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Opengrave)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2003, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-80s-thread/173414/3 "2003-05-06T16:45:21Z")
MTV actually played videos, all day, every day. Atari 2600 was the greatest invention ever. The commodore 64 was a huge improvement over the Vic 20 because it had a whopping 64K of memory (4x the 20). I remember the day the wall fell. **Square Pegs** Sarah Jessica Parker = hot **Sex and the City** Sarah Jessica Parker = not **The Breakfast Club** Hair bands that sucked, Metal that didn’t. ---
**Author:** ![tanookie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/48db29/32.png) [@tanookie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tanookie)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2003, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-80s-thread/173414/4 "2003-05-06T16:47:34Z")
I had feathered hair and ripped jeans that I wore over various colored stretch pants. I loved big hair bands like poison and great white. My walkman was my best friend. Oh yay for the day when I got one with _gasp_ REWIND 🙂 The Breakfast Club is still one of my favorite movies. Oh… and I was a mall rat. ---
**Author:** ![CuriousCanuck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d2c977/32.png) [@CuriousCanuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CuriousCanuck)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2003, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-80s-thread/173414/5 "2003-05-06T16:56:23Z")
Music Neon Back to the Future Goonies Rollerskating Atari 2600 BMX ---
**Author:** ![Kyann22](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/a4c791/32.png) [@Kyann22](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyann22)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2003, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-80s-thread/173414/6 "2003-05-06T16:59:52Z")
I love the 80s! _REAL_ Saturday morning cartoons (Smurfs rule!) Pac-Man and Frogger on Atari. I’m a quite bookworm, but I had my fair share of the '80s hair bands. Poison, Guns n Roses, Motley Crue. Kirk Cameron was _hot_. (??? for real) and wrestling. It actually seemed more real back them. Go Rock n Roll Express! and the Freebirds! And the best of all: eating dinner at the table with the whole family! Let’s forget about the acid washed jeans though. Whose big idea was that?? ---
**Author:** ![joemama24\_98](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ce7236/32.png) [@joemama24\_98](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joemama24_98)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2003, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-80s-thread/173414/7 "2003-05-06T17:04:22Z")
You all need to watch the VH1 series “I Love the 80s.” It is fantastic! There is a different 1 hour show for each year… they play them mostly on late Sunday afternoons now. ---
**Author:** ![MsRobyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/90ced4/32.png) [@MsRobyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsRobyn)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2003, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-80s-thread/173414/8 "2003-05-06T17:25:23Z")
I was born in 1971, so I’m squarely in this demographic. Let’s see… Trivial Pursuit. I got one for my bat mitzvah in 1984 that looked like it had been through a war. My cousin had to bribe a sales clerk to get it; it was the last copy they had in the store. That whole Rock n’ Wrestling Connection thing. Brilliant marketing, and sorta cool in a “slumming” way. Culture Club. Although we all “knew” that Boy George was gay, I refused to believe it. Same for George Michael. There must be something about '80s pop stars named George being gay. 😉 Top-of-the-line Hyundais. State of the art Apple IIc computers with monochrome screens, dot matrix printers, no hard drive, no mouse, and no modem. The modem would’ve cost ~$300 for a cheesy 600 or 900 baud, and there were no local BBSs where I lived, so I had to lump it. “Baby on Board” signs. I remember wondering how “Baby on Board” trumped “Child on Bike”, especially when I was that child. Bloom County rocks! I just bought “Billy and the Boingers Bootleg” and “Bloom County Babylon: Five Years of Basic Naughtiness” And ya know what? The Bush jokes are just as fresh and relevant today as they were in 1986! If I think of more (and I will), I’ll re-post. Robin ---
**Author:** ![JavaMaven1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/cab0a1/32.png) [@JavaMaven1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JavaMaven1)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2003, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-80s-thread/173414/9 "2003-05-06T17:57:36Z")
Also born in 1971, so this is right up my alley… Paisley BIG hair, especially the bangs sprayed straight up John Hughes films The Molly Ringwald look The Cure, The Smiths, and Depeche Mode MTV actually played music videos Frankie Goes To Hollywood “CHOOSE LIFE” T-shirts (I was one of the few in my Jr. High to own one, and I felt SOOO cool) ---
**Author:** ![JThunder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e95f7d/32.png) [@JThunder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JThunder)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2003, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-80s-thread/173414/10 "2003-05-06T17:59:48Z")
The A-Team! ---
**Author:** ![tanookie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/48db29/32.png) [@tanookie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tanookie)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2003, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-80s-thread/173414/11 "2003-05-06T18:01:32Z")
Javamaven1 … we called it “the wall of hair” Goodness I wondered how some of those girls fit through doorways 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![dwc1970](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a183cd/32.png) [@dwc1970](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dwc1970)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2003, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-80s-thread/173414/12 "2003-05-06T18:14:58Z")
I grew up in the 80s but I didn’t take part in everything that defined the decade. That said, here are the things I do remember fondly and having an interest in them: [ul] [li] Atari 2600 games (even after the 2600’s popularity was supplanted by ColecoVision and the short-lived Atari 5200 and 7800).[/li][li] Rubik’s cube (never did learn how to solve one, though)[/li][li] Izod shirts (the alligator insignia)[/li][li] Ocean Pacific and Hobie shirts[/li][li] Acid-washed jeans[/li][li] Hair bands[/li][li] Arcade video games (Pac-Man, Frogger, Centipede, Galaga, dozens more)[/li][li] Watching MTV for hours at a time, back when they actually showed videos[/li][/ul] And then there were the things I _didn’t_ get into: [ul] [li] Most popular music (Duran Duran, Pet Shop Boys, Thompson Twins)[/li][li] Break-dancing[/li][li] Bermuda shorts[/li][li] Parachute pants[/li][li] Ripped/torn jeans[/li][li] Neon-colored clothes (not something most guys did anyway, if I recall)[/li][/ul] 80’s movies I saw at the theater: [ul] [li] E.T.[/li][li] Raiders of the Lost Ark[/li][li] Back to the Future[/li][li] Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back[/li][li] Star Wars: Return of the Jedi[/li][li] Ferris Bueller’s Day Off[/li][li] Nightmare on Elm Street (only saw the first two)[/li][/ul] I didn’t watch a lot of TV, but there were a few TV shows I liked: [ul] [li] Who’s the Boss[/li][li] Facts of Life[/li][li] Knight Rider[/li][li] Daytime game shows[/li][li] MacGyver[/li][li] The Cosby Show[/li][li] Moonlighting[/li][li] Various Saturday morning cartoons[/li][/ul] Technological memories: [ul] [li] My first computer was a Timex/Sinclair 2068. All my friends had Commodore 64s and I wish I had one of these instead. There was no software available for my computer at any stores as they all supported Commodore, IBm, Apple and a few others.[/li][li] Cable TV made its debut in my area. The tuner was a box with a row of buttons that was connected by a long wire to the back of the set. It went as high as channel 38.[/li][li] People could actually start buying their own phones instead of leasing through the phone company. Push-button phones were starting to become more commonplace.[/li][li] VCRs were beginning to become a standard household fixture. Consumers debated between buying VHS or Beta. Features such as 4-heads and stereo were a luxury.[/li][li] The Sony Walkman made its debut along with a million copycats that followed.[/li][li] CDs made their debut, bringing the old vinyl LP standby to its near demise (some purists still use them and staunchly defend their use against CDs, though)[/li][/ul] Events in the news that I remember: [ul] [li] Attempted assassination of Ronald Reagan[/li][li] Ending stages of the Iranian hostage crisis[/li][li] Eruption of Mt. St. Helens[/li][li] 1980 Winter Olympics held in Lake Placid, New York[/li][li] 1984 Summer Olympics held in Los Angeles[/li][li] The Chernobyl nuclear disaster[/li][li] First space shuttle launch, and unfortunately, the 1986 _Challenger_ disaster[/li][/ul] And finally, some personal/miscellaneous memories of the 1980s: [ul] [li] Saw my first rock concert at the age of 14. It was for Van Halen’s _1984_ tour.[/li][li] Lost my virginity 20 days before I turned 18.[/li][li] Got my driver’s license at 14, the minimum driving age in my state before they raised it to 16 a few years later.[/li][li] I learned to snow ski at the age of 12. This was a few years before snowboards made their debut on the slopes.[/li][li] New Coke came out. It was the biggest marketing disaster in history. I nearly defected to Pepsi before Coke redeemed themselves with Coke Classic.[/li][/ul] ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2003, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-80s-thread/173414/13 "2003-05-06T18:45:15Z")
I was a teen during the late 80s, but everything was basically winding down then. I remember poison’s first album and thinking that hair metal was already passe. What was the first coin-op video game that had a **continue** option? That was the turning point of classic arcade games. In retrospect, it turns out I was right. The only big difference I see between the **late** 80’s and today, is the rise of the online world. (I came online in 1991.) I didn’t do much as a teen, and have exactly the same observations and complaints about the world as I did the, albeit with a more jaded, yet less cynical eye, if you understand that. ---
**Author:** ![No\_Me\_Ayudes\_Compadre](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/no_me_ayudes_compadre/32/5224_2.png) [@No\_Me\_Ayudes\_Compadre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/No_Me_Ayudes_Compadre)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2003, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-80s-thread/173414/14 "2003-05-06T19:54:14Z")
I grew up in suburban Chicago, born in 1968, so I would fit this category. Here’s what I remember: Going to the Mall as an activity in and of itself. An increasing sense of label-conscious consumerism (it may have been static, at least it seemed like it was increasing to me). Lots of neon, triangles and black-white checkerboard patterns. Deep pastel colors. An increasing focus on Central America in U.S. geopolitics, not that anyone I went to school with cared. Lots and lots and lots of hair gel. I can’t really put my finger on it, but the generation ahead of me was going through this self-aware, egocentric Yuppie approach to realization and assessment, as illustrated in The Big Chill and thirtysomething. What’s striking to me so far about the responses to this thread is that many posters are answering by listing things they experienced in popular culture, with not much personal comment. As compared to the posters in That 70s Thread, who mostly described in some detail their personal experiences and anecdotes. I was actually thinking about this last month, visiting home again, seeing people in my generation indulge in nostalgia not by recalling actual events or feelings, but rather by remembering that one episode of such-and-such TV show or harmonizing such-and-such song. I’m certainly guilty of this. Don’t know what it means, though. ---
**Author:** ![krisolov](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/krisolov/32/3724_2.png) [@krisolov](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/krisolov)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2003, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-80s-thread/173414/15 "2003-05-06T20:30:11Z")
oh yeah, I graduated hs in 1982 so I’m definitely a victim of the 80s. How about these: the Berlin wall coming down the Challenger disaster (I thought it was a sick joke when someone told me about it. Later, a buddy in the Coast Guard told me about their fishing bits and pieces out of the ocean when he was stationed in miami) The Contras and our involvement in Honduras when Alternative Music really was. midnight showings of The Wall and Rocky Horror the drinking age being 18 people thought Miami Vice was cool aaahh the memories. ---
**Author:** ![tanookie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/48db29/32.png) [@tanookie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tanookie)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2003, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-80s-thread/173414/16 "2003-05-06T20:42:46Z")
If I tend to mark my teen years by what was happening in culture at the time it is mostly because I try not to think of what was really happening in my life at the time. Boy did it suck! I do remember being in the 8th grade when the challenger exploded and we all thought someone was playing a horrible sick joke until we saw the news coverage. The first gulf war was when I was in college. I remember making fun of the journalists on TV. “um yes I am hiding under a table in our hotel room.” Good lord dude… get out of dodge for chrissakes! I tried really hard to be like the other kids around me but I never quite made it. Oh and I remember gas when you could get it under a buck a gallon. ---
**Author:** ![BurnMeUp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/91b2a8/32.png) [@BurnMeUp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BurnMeUp)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2003, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-80s-thread/173414/17 "2003-05-06T20:53:27Z")
The joy of the Sears Christmas catolog Jelly bracelets on girls TV game shows that showed people playing arcade games Those crappy cable boxes with the single line of buttons… and then latter the same boxes with a toggler to use the same buttons for twice as many channels Intellivision (we had one) The Kenner star wars line GI Joe Those read and listen record books Record stores with all their glorious covers on the walls like a huge mosiac of music Sony walkmen… portable tape players for around $100 what a deal! Construx plastic builting toys shaped like girders with connectors The arrival of the Minivan into suburbia, when those little silver toyota models came out it was like attack of the toasters eating dinner with the family at the table Board games with the family… except trivial pursuit… we got to watch the older folks play that one. ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2003, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-80s-thread/173414/18 "2003-05-06T21:03:10Z")
**Live Aid** Phil Collins flew the Concorde to play in both London and New York that day. Led Zep reunites for a day with Phil Collins and Tony Thompson (Power Station) on the drums. Tina Turner and Rod Stewart proved once and for all they aren’t the same person. Bob Geldoff, thanks. _That_ was a cool 80’s Saturday. ---
**Author:** ![GarniGal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ea666f/32.png) [@GarniGal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GarniGal)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2003, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-80s-thread/173414/19 "2003-05-06T21:11:45Z")
I don’t think anyone has mentioned Hyper-colour tee-shirts and mood rings yet… (born 1976, so I just barely remember the 80’s - mostly I remember my aunts’ (1965 and 1966) getting ready for dates, and their clothes/hair and dreaming of the day when I was big enough to tease my hair up and wear a lace dress.) ---
**Author:** ![vl\_mungo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/bc8723/32.png) [@vl\_mungo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vl_mungo)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2003, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-80s-thread/173414/20 "2003-05-06T22:01:00Z")
My teens bridged the late 70’s (already posted in that 70’s thread) and the early 80’s. **krisolov** has a bunch of it right. People really did think Miami Vice was cool. My strongest memory of the 80’s was definitely the Cold War. I was pretty sure I wouldn’t see my 25th birthday (let alone my 30th). The sabre rattling and “Evil Empire” talk was all over the place. Ronald Regean scared the hell out of me (“We’ve declared Russia illegal. We begin bombing in 5 minutes.”). I was sure the senile old bastard would hit the button whilst swatting at imaginary flies. I really can’t overemphasize how much I felt like I was living in the shadow of a mushroom cloud. A couple of films that I saw that had a big impact… **Atomic Cafe** and **Threads** … the similarly themed **The Day After** , was laughable. As far as popular culture went… I stayed away from the TV (other than Twin Peaks and music videos), radio and “Top Gun” type movies. I got real sick of the fascism of classic rock (the star worship… the intolerance for anything new… the fucking hippies with their “rock music died with Jimi and the Lizard King, man” attitude), and I sure didn’t want to listen to that horrible 80’s pop or the hair metal bands (is it just me, or is there something disturbingly similar about Boy George and Dee Snider?). I ended up listening to **The Dead Kennedys** , **Black Flag** , **The Replacements** , **The Minutemen** , **The Young Fresh Fellows** , **Gil Scott-Heron** and a bunch of local bands that you probably never heard of unless you lived in Vancouver (and probably not then). Some great movies I saw during that decade were… **Brazil** , **Bliss** , **Spinal Tap** , **Repo Man** , **The River’s Edge** and **Brother From Another Planet**. One thing that pissed me off no end was that, when I became sexually active in '81, I was all ready jump onto the 60’s / 70’s free love bandwagon. Very soon after AIDS and HIV hit the headlines… so much for the fun. The drugs, on the other hand, were just as plentiful as during the 70’s. The whole cult of coke hit full blast… a lot of people seemed to want to be coke sniffin’ stockbrokers. I stayed away from that stuff… I saw it turn too many assholes into even bigger assholes. On the other hand, I wasn’t reticent about pretty much anything else… in fact, I’m lucky to remember as much about the 80’s as I do. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-80s-thread/173414.md?page=2)