Phone Home
Sep03

Phone Home

When I see pre-teen/teenage girls walking around today with their phones glued to their heads or see them texting in restaurants, movie theatres, concerts, busses, malls, grocery stores, wedding ceremonies, etc. I think to myself, wow, that is super annoying. I also think to myself that would have toootally been me, and thank God cell phones did not exist during my teenage years. I would have gotten in SO MUCH TROUBLE back in the day...

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Choose Your Own Adventure Books
Jun06

Choose Your Own Adventure Books

By Thomas Zizzo The 80s was an era of many changes in music, movies, fashion and technology. One such innovation was a series of books originally conceived by Edward Packard as the Adventures of You series. It was under the name Choose Your Own Adventure, published by Bantam Books, that the concept really took off. As a kid I can recall rainy days at home and what we used to do for fun. Unlike today, we didn’t have iPads, computers,...

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Waterbeds in the 80s
Mar11

Waterbeds in the 80s

By Julie Anderson Once you’ve slept on a waterbed, you’ll never forget that wa-a-a-avy motion of the mattress. I can totally see why some people get motion sickness on them, although I never did. My friend Monica in elementary school had one and when I spent the night we slept on it. Swishy, sloshy and anything BUT firm, waterbeds lifted away your pressure points on an undulating pillow of squish that would make The Little Mermaid...

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Latch Hook Rugs in the 80s
Oct05

Latch Hook Rugs in the 80s

By Julie Anderson Latch hooking rugs was an awesome activity for eighties kids. The yarn craft was simple and inexpensive, yet super satisfying. With a single easy-to-master move, we made plush, colorful rug squares. Of course, we didn’t use them as actual rugs… but they were perfect for wall hangings and pillows. The nice thing about latch hooking was that you were pretty much guaranteed a great looking and feeling product....

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Note Passing in the Eighties
Sep05

Note Passing in the Eighties

In the 80s, we didn’t have texts or emails to send to our friends during school. Puh-leeze. When our history teachers were droning away about the Battle of Hastings and our minds were focused on anything BUT William the Conqueror, we had just ONE way to let get our message across that expanse of linoleum flooring. We passed notes in class. Here’s the J. Geils Band with their 1981 megahit, “Centerfold,” to help you remember the drill:...

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80s My Little Pony and Today’s Bronies
Aug28

80s My Little Pony and Today’s Bronies

By Julie Anderson Eighties girls will totally remember My Little Ponies, those hugely popular plastic horse figurines. The first herd of candy-colored toy horses was created in 1981. My Pretty Ponies were significantly bigger than My Little Ponies and were nowhere near as popular. In 1983, Hasbro’s My Little Ponies hit the jackpot with the elementary-age girl crowd. They were perfectly sized for little hands and little purses. We...

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Television Workouts of the 80s
Aug20

Television Workouts of the 80s

By Julie Anderson Sure, fitness clubs were big in the 1980s, but plenty of health-minded individuals were busy with work and family obligations. It was, like, totally difficult to make it to your high-impact step aerobics class if you were slaving away from 9 to 5 every day and then had to go home to feed the kids. For lots of eighties exercisers, living room workouts in front of the television were ideal. Added benefits, of course,...

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8-Bit Art
May03

8-Bit Art

By Tibs Many art movements have come and gone through the years, most of which have been intentional, reflecting messages of the times. However, one movement stands out, for me, above all others. This movement was, until recently, not a movement at all. Simply, it was a representation of the limitations of technology at the time. I am referring, of course, to 8-Bit. 8-Bit arguably became famous with the introduction of third...

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Double Dutch Much?
Apr23

Double Dutch Much?

By Julie Anderson Double Dutch jump roping was totally cool in the early eighties. The basic idea is pretty simple: it involves two turners who hold one jumprope in each hand and get them swinging in opposite directions. The jumper then hops in the middle of the two swinging ropes and jumps both. According to skill level, the jumper might do tricksy foot moves or feats of gymnastics while simultaneously dodging and hopping the ropes....

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Time for Timer!
Mar12

Time for Timer!

By Julie Anderson Saturday mornings – ahhhhh! Back in the 80s, we didn’t have, like, entire television channels devoted to cartoons, much less Netflix and Hulu to give us cartoons on demand. Puh-leeze. We had a few precious hours of cartoon time once a week on network TV, and, man, did we love them. With a captive audience of roughly a bazillion-and-a-half American kids, health minded network execs decided to impart some useful...

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Roller Skating in the 80s!
Oct12

Roller Skating in the 80s!

Couples skate, the hokey-pokey, Simon Says and  the amazing feeling of cruising around the skating rink backwards – that was roller skating in the 80s. When the weather was bad or you needed a cool escape from the summertime heat, the roller rink was the perfect retreat. It offered good music, a fun activity, junk food a-plenty and the promise of cute boys. Dark and wondrous inside, even in the middle of the afternoon, the roller rink...

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Fruit Stripe Gum
Jun13

Fruit Stripe Gum

So, so good, and gone so, so fast. Isn’t that just the way of things? But, despite its lightening fast flavor expiration, Fruit Stripe gum is worth every precious chew. Like no other, the 5 juicy flavors (the originals) are so much more than their names would indicate (cherry, lemon, orange, mixed fruit, and lime). Maybe it’s the painted-on stripes that add the extra fabulousness. Whatever the source of all that flavor, the result is...

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Trapper Keepers
May13

Trapper Keepers

By Julie Anderson 05.13.11 It’s mid-August of 1982. You’re with your Mom doing some back-to-school shopping. You want to project just the right level of cool for elementary school. To do that, you need a binder that’s trendy yet functional, well-organized yet hip. You need a . . . Trapper Keeper, baby! Oh, they were just the coolest; a whole new breed of 3-ring binder. The “keeper”, or outer shell, came in bold colors or mega-cool...

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Bronze and Beautiful: Tanning, 80s Style
Mar12

Bronze and Beautiful: Tanning, 80s Style

DISCLAIMER: Getting a Tan = Sun Damage. Regular tanning, from the sun or from a tanning bed/booth, is a cancer risk. We all know that nowadays, right? The following article describes how we tanned in the 80’s when we were younger and foolish-er. It is NOT meant to instruct you to actually run out and do it today. Like, if I told you to jump off a twenty-story building, would you do it? I DIDN’T THINK SO. Anyway! It’s almost...

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Feeling the Burn
Jan31

Feeling the Burn

By Julie Anderson Aerobics were a big part of my 1980s experience. My parents, like so many others in the 80’s, caught fitness fever. They were enthusiastic charter members of The Prime Health and Racquet Club near our home. In 1986, I got my first job there at the tender age of thirteen. Mom and Dad were friends with the owners, so I had an in. I worked in the juice bar. The Prime is now closed, but back in its day, it was all the...

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