This year is my 30 year high school reunion. Being a part of 80’s history was great. Lets take a walk down memory lane and explore those things from the 80’s turning 30 this year. Here are a few things that had an impact on my life back then.
Cabbage Patch Kids was a line of dolls created by American art student Xavier Roberts in 1978. They were originally called “Little People”. The original dolls were all cloth and sold at local craft shows, then later at Babyland General Hospital in Cleveland, Georgia. The doll brand went on to become one of the most popular toy fads of the 1980s and one of the longest-running doll franchises in America. They were really hard to purchase in 1984. I actually had my aunt purchase my doll in New York city and ship it to me. My doll’s name was “Cabby” and she was with me until after college. My daughter ended up getting one in 1997 and she still has it today.
The Apple Macintosh
Apple Inc.’s then-chairman Steve Jobs introduced the Macintosh 128k on January 24, 1984. It became the Macintosh product line, and saw success through the end of the decade. I was in my Freshman year of college majoring in Graphic Design when this came out. Rochester Institute of Technology got their first “Mac Lab” in 1984. What a great opportunity to be able to use the latest technology during my college years.
Microsoft Word is a word processor designed by Microsoft. It was first released in 1983. Versions were written for the Mac in 1984 and it was the program we used to create copy and Fonts for our Graphic Design projects. No more hand drawn Fonts and text!
Designer Jeans. In the eighties, we totally valued designer labels. We knew that having that designer tag on our blue jeans’ back pocket would ensure our lasting popularity. Designer jeans were pricey, but we knew where to shop for the knock-offs! Had to have ’em!
Rubik’s Cube is a 3-D combination puzzle invented in 1974[1] by Hungarian sculptor and professor of architecture Ernő Rubik. Originally called the “Magic Cube”,the puzzle was licensed by Rubik to be sold by Ideal Toy Corp. in 1980. It was the “craze”. People walked around trying to solve this puzzle like they walk around today texting! I learned the trick to solve the puzzle, it was great for passing time.
Video games go as far back as the 1940s, but it would not reach mainstream popularity until the 1970s and 1980s, when arcade video games, gaming consoles and home computer games were introduced to the general public. The Arcade is the place that all the boys hung out in the 80’s, playing Donkey Kong, Space-invaders, and Pac-Man. Naturally that’s where we hung out too.
Roller skating rinks. The Disco craze from popular 1970s culture led to an increase in the popularity of roller rinks—or roller discos, as some became. Gone was the old-fashioned organ music, and older clientele were replaced by “Tweens” and twenty-somethings skating under mirror balls and special lights to disco beats. This was what we did on Sunday nights in the city of Boston. We hung out in big groups and we would sport our designer jeans and feel the wind rush through our “flipped” hair as we skated around for hours to the disco beat and lights.
Flashdance was a 1983 American romantic drama film directed by Adrian Lyne. It was the sequences in the style of music videos that influenced other 1980s films, including the movie “Fame”. Performing Arts was my thing in high school. I was a member of “Moving Company” a dance group in high school, and participated in all the musicals. The style of dance clothing from these movies became a big deal. We all wore the cut-off sweatshirt, dance leggings, and bulky dance socks.
Sony Walkman. The original Walkman introduced a change in music listening habits by allowing people to carry music with them and listen to music through lightweight headphones. The original Walkman was marketed in 1979. We walked around with bulky earphones on, listening to our music that was recorded on tapes. Eventually they worked with CDs.
Luke Spencer and Laura Webber were fictional characters and the signature supercouple from the American daytime drama General Hospital. Luke was portrayed by Anthony Geary, and Laura was portrayed by Genie Francis. Despite having been raped by a drunken Luke, Laura later falls in love with him. The couple wed at the end of the hour-long show on November 17, 1981; the event was watched by 30 million viewers and remains the highest-rated hour in American soap opera history. Thousands of teenage girls rushed home from school to watch the 3:00 soap opera everyday!! I was one of them.
The Cosby Show was an American television situation comedy starring Bill Cosby, which aired for eight seasons on NBC from September 20, 1984 until April 30, 1992. The show focused on the Huxtable family, an upper middle-class African-American family living in Brooklyn, New York. I loved this show because I could really identify with this family. I grew up just like them. I still watch the reruns today.
I hope you enjoyed my memory lane. What do you remember from the 80s?
The 80’s was a great decade! Happy 30th 80’s!
(Courtesy of Wikipedia)
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