Born Before 1986? Then You Are......OLD! And here's proof.

[CubaTBird]

Every year Beloit College in Beloit, Wisconsin publishes what it calls "The Mindset List"--fun facts and figures about the incoming crop of freshmen so professors will be able to relate to their new students.

Beloit says the list is a reminder that the world view of today's new college students is significantly different from the intellectual framework of those students who entered only a few years earlier. Put another way, it's a reminder that you are getting on in years.

Today's college freshmen were born in 1986, the same year that Chernobyl melted down and the Challenger exploded. Clint Eastwood was elected mayor of Carmel, Calif., and the Soviets were bogged down for the seventh year of frustration in Afghanistan. Domestically, we were preoccupied by the Iran Contra scandal and internationally, the Iran-Iraq war continued to reveal a disturbing list of atrocities.

So to better understand how the class of 2008 thinks, read this and feel your age:
Most students entering college this fall were born in 1986.
Desi Arnaz, Orson Welles, Roy Orbison, Ted Bundy, Ayatollah Khomeini, and Cary Grant have always been dead.
"Heeeere's Johnny!" is a scary greeting from Jack Nicholson, not a warm welcome from Ed McMahon.
The Energizer bunny has always been going and going and going.
Large fine-print ads for prescription drugs have always appeared in magazines.

Photographs have always been processed in an hour or less.
They never got a chance to drink 7-Up Gold, Crystal Pepsi, or Apple Slice.
Baby Jessica could be a classmate.
Parents may have been reading "The Bourne Supremacy" or "It" as they rocked them in their cradles.
Alan Greenspan has always been setting the nation's financial direction.

The U.S. has always been a Prozac nation.
They have always enjoyed the comfort of pleather.
Harry has always known Sally.
They never saw Roseanne Roseannadanna live on "Saturday Night Live."
There has always been a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

They never ate a McSub at McD's.
There has always been a Comedy Channel.
Bill and Ted have always been on an excellent adventure.
They were never tempted by smokeless cigarettes.
Robert Downey, Jr. has always been in trouble.

Martha Stewart has always been cooking up something with someone.
They have always been comfortable with gay characters on television.
Mike Tyson has always been a contender.
The government has always been proposing we go to Mars, and it has always been deemed too expensive.
There have never been any Playboy Clubs.

There have always been night games at Wrigley Field.
Rogaine has always been available for the follicularly challenged.
They never saw USA Today or the Christian Science Monitor as a TV news program.
Computers have always suffered from viruses.
We have always been mapping the human genome.

Politicians have always used rock music for theme songs.
Network television has always struggled to keep up with cable.
O'Hare has always been the most delay-plagued airport in the U.S.
Ivan Boesky has never sold stock.
Toll-free 800 phone numbers have always spelled out catchy phrases.

Bethlehem has never been a place of peace at Christmas.
Episcopal women bishops have always threatened the foundation of the Anglican Church.
Svelte Oprah has always dominated afternoon television; who was Phil Donahue anyway?
They never flew on People Express.
AZT has always been used to treat AIDS.

The international community has always been installing or removing the leader of Haiti.
Oliver North has always been a talk show host and news commentator.
They have suffered through airport security systems since they were in strollers.
They have done most of their search for the right college online.
Aspirin has always been used to reduce the risk of a heart attack.

They were spared the TV ads for Zamfir and his panpipes.
Castro has always been an aging politician in a suit.
There have always been non-stop flights around the world without refueling.
Cher hasn't aged a day.
M.A.S.H. was a game: Mansion, Apartment, Shelter, House.

[emw]

This is always a fun list to review for us "old" guys. At least I was only in high school when these kids were born...

[CubaTBird]

and how were the 80's emw? were they all what they are cracked up to be? or more fluff than anything else?

[emw]

and how were the 80's emw? were they all what they are cracked up to be? or more fluff than anything else?

I think we all like to look back on our youth (which in this case, was before you were even born) and talk about how fantastic it was. Or how good today's kids have it (when I was a kid, dammit, I had to play video games on a black and white TV!).

Some things were great (music - "867-530 ni-ee-ine"; the dawn of personal computing - the first Mac; movies - "Greed is good"), some things were not so great (music - "Oh Mickey you're so fine..."; the dawn of personal computing - Windows; movies - how many break-dancing movies do you need, really?).

All in all, I enjoyed the 80's, if for no other reason than it was the period of time during which I was growing up. No major wars in which the US was involved, the economy was okay, etc. Would I rather be growing up now? Maybe - we could've had a G5 iMac instead of a TRS-80 with a tape drive; I could've blown money buying an x-box instead of running down to the local convenience store for Reese's Pieces and a few rounds of Donkey Kong; my friends and I would've sat around programming shareware for OS X instead of stupid software for the Commodore 64.

But then, for better or worse, I wouldn't be who I am today. I enjoy my life - I've got a great family and a decent house with good friends and a job I enjoy. Sure, I had to put up with my high school friends dressing up like Duran Duran, but then each generation has that...

[FoxyKaye]

and how were the 80's emw? were they all what they are cracked up to be? or more fluff than anything else?

Well, look at it this way: Growing up under the constant threat of nuclear war thanks to Reagan's escalating arms race with the Soviet Union and stupid public comments about Communism being the root of all evil, wondering if there will ever be a time when there is no national deficit, listening to the Presidents of the United States bungle resources to fight HIV/AIDS because they were homophobic, and watching the rise of the theocratic Right. Definitely not fluff, but not what they could have been had we elected Carter in 1980.

There was lots of great music too. Some of the most experimental pop, rock, hip-hop, and punk bands were on the scene. Great music. Oh, and we got to see the pinnacle of Keneau Reeves' acting career in "Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure", as well as Tom Cruise's in "Born on the Fourth of July." ;)

[IndyGopher]

Well, look at it this way: Growing up under the constant threat of nuclear war thanks to Reagan's escalating arms race with the Soviet Union and stupid public comments about Communism being the root of all evil, wondering if there will ever be a time when there is no national deficit, listening to the Presidents of the United States bungle resources to fight HIV/AIDS because they were homophobic, and watching the rise of the theocratic Right. Definitely not fluff, but not what they could have been had we elected Carter in 1980.

There was lots of great music too. Some of the most experimental pop, rock, hip-hop, and punk bands were on the scene. Great music. Oh, and we got to see the pinnacle of Keneau Reeves' acting career in "Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure", as well as Tom Cruise's in "Born on the Fourth of July." ;)


Carter.. he of 13% annual inflation? He of zero foreign policy, except of course for giving away the Panama Canal... Clearly you were a teenager (at most) in the 80's, and a sheltered one at that. If you think Reagan was a religioso, there is no way you can really remember Carter... who only stopped quoting the Bible long enough to talk about the UFO he saw. What needed to happen was John Anderson.

(If I misconstrued your post, and you were not suggesting Carter was a better choice, then I apologize... but any post suggesting hip-hop is, was, or ever could be good music, is still HIGHLY SUSPECT)

[Lancetx]

Well, look at it this way: Growing up under the constant threat of nuclear war thanks to Reagan's escalating arms race with the Soviet Union and stupid public comments about Communism being the root of all evil

Yep, the same Reagan who's policies brought about the end of the cold war, the end of the Soviet empire and brought the Berlin Wall down too right? Yeah, it was such a bad time. :D

[emw]

Sheesh. How is it we went from a fairly light-hearted topic to discussions of Cold War, Reaganomics, etc.? I guess we're going to have to move this topic to another area of the forum...

[sorryiwasdreami]

... but any post suggesting hip-hop is, was, or ever could be good music, is still HIGHLY SUSPECT)

This is your opinion; others' may vary. Why would the quality of someone's posts be based upon whether they had a certain opinion of a certain genre of music?

If everyones' mode of thought was the same, there would be no MR right now.

[Kingsnapped]

I was born in late late late 1985.. and I feel cheated by this headline.

WTF is Apple Slice?

[FoxyKaye]

Carter.. he of 13% annual inflation? He of zero foreign policy, except of course for giving away the Panama Canal...


Um, maybe because the Panama Canal isn't actually anywhere near the United States? Just because we use the resources of Latin American countries doesn't mean we should own them too. Too bad for us if we have to play fair in global politics. I take it Carter was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for nothing?


If you think Reagan was a religioso, there is no way you can really remember Carter... who only stopped quoting the Bible long enough to talk about the UFO he saw. What needed to happen was John Anderson.


Quoting the Bible equals not a theocratic United States. Being religious is not the same as the Religious Right. If Reagan got his way (along with Bush I) women wouldn't have the right to abortions, gays and lesbians would be jailed, and South Africa would still be under Apartheid.


(If I misconstrued your post, and you were not suggesting Carter was a better choice, then I apologize... but any post suggesting hip-hop is, was, or ever could be good music, is still HIGHLY SUSPECT)

I tend to agree with you that the United States needed a viable third party candidate to challenge both Reagan and Carter. At least Anderson would have responded to domestic challenges a lot differently. None of the third party candidates since Anderson have had his appeal (he was genuinely running on a fusion ticket), and Perot was just a nut-job with a lot of money. Anyone but Reagan would have been better equipped to be President in the 1980s - Carter or Anderson.

Um, hip-hop is not just good, it's excellent.

[FoxyKaye]

WTF is Apple Slice?

Kinda like regular orange or lemon/lime Slice (which is still around today), only apple (or apple cider-ish) flavored. It was OK, and Slice was releasing a host of flavors to launch its lineup (there was a berry slice as well, if I remember, and possibly a grape).

I actually think it would sell better today, since sour apple seems to be the newer flavor rage.

[MacNut]

Hey, I remember when in the 80's MTV actually played Music Videos. The Cosby Show was the biggest hit on TV. Cable only had 30 channels and you had to get up to change the channel. He-man and GI-Joe were the greatest cartoons ever.

[FoxyKaye]

Hey, I remember when in the 80's MTV actually played Music Videos.

LOL - me too. I think you can still find videos on like MTV2, 3, or whatever number they're on now. Did anyone here actually watch the dawn of MTV ("Video Killed the Radio Star")?

[MacNut]

No, even MTV2 sucks now, the only real good channel now is VH1 Classic as even VH1 has sold out and decided that videos are dead.

[emw]

He-man and GI-Joe were the greatest cartoons ever.

Not bad ("I have the POWER!"), but I have to throw in the original Dungeons and Dragons cartoons as one of the tops of the 80's.

[CubaTBird]

Who can forget them?! Although I grew up watching most of their early 90's material.

[bryanc]

The original D&D was a product of the '70s...in the '80s we played "Advanced Dungeons and Dragons". I still have my copy of the AD&D DMG, players handbook and monster manual (as well as an assortment of character sheets, polyhedral dice, and hand-drawn maps &cetera stained with sweat, coke, and frantically scribbled notes).

Those were the days, eh?

Cheers

[Kingsnapped]

No, even MTV2 sucks now, the only real good channel now is VH1 Classic as even VH1 has sold out and decided that videos are dead.

When I'm somewhere with digital cable or satellite, I watch a lot of Fuse. They show some pretty good stuff... and no filler!

[MacNut]

The original D&D was a product of the '70s...in the '80s we played "Advanced Dungeons and Dragons". I still have my copy of the AD&D DMG, players handbook and monster manual (as well as an assortment of character sheets, polyhedral dice, and hand-drawn maps &cetera stained with sweat, coke, and frantically scribbled notes).

Those were the days, eh?

Cheers
:rolleyes:

[emw]

The original D&D was a product of the '70s...in the '80s we played "Advanced Dungeons and Dragons". I still have my copy of the AD&D DMG, players handbook and monster manual (as well as an assortment of character sheets, polyhedral dice, and hand-drawn maps &cetera stained with sweat, coke, and frantically scribbled notes).

Those were the days, eh?

Cheers

yeah, I played the original and the AD&D.

In fact, I am currently using my +5 cloak of invisibility to hide my activities from my employer. :D

[Lyle]

Did anyone here actually watch the dawn of MTV ("Video Killed the Radio Star")?I suppose I missed the "dawn" of MTV, since it wasn't widely available when it first appeared in 1981. But I did get in early; I know that my friends and I were hooked on MTV by 1983 or so. We'd go over to my friend's house to watch it because he had cable television -- this was before everyone had cable television. ;)

[rhpenguin]

No, even MTV2 sucks now, the only real good channel now is VH1 Classic as even VH1 has sold out and decided that videos are dead.


I like FUSE on DishNetwork. Its a good channel for music videos. Or if im watching Canadian TV, MuchMoreMusic or MuchLOUD. Both are good for acutal music videos.

[FoxyKaye]

In fact, I am currently using my +5 cloak of invisibility to hide my activities from my employer. :D

Hee hee - I cast Ray of Enfeeblement on my boss to get days off, and since I'm half-elf I can use infravision to diagnose problems with our XServe. My +2 Ring of Turning Undead is also useful for when I have to work late after the sun sets. :D

[stcanard]

This list just doesn't pack the same punch for me that the ones 5 years ago did.

I don't know if they just picked a list of items that are of no particular import / interest to me, if we're going through a time period where in the early-mid 80's not much was happening, or if I'm just too far removed from American (US) culture (since this year's list seems to be very US centric).

Earlier lists with items like that fact that the people entering college didn't remember an East/West Germany just seemed so much more profound to me.

[Lyle]

This list just doesn't pack the same punch for me that the ones 5 years ago did.I agree that a lot of the items down in the list were pretty trivial. Actually, the one that grabbed me the most appeared in the introductory comments, before the list proper:
Today's college freshmen were born in 1986, the same year that Chernobyl melted down and the Challenger exploded.I remember sitting in school, in tenth grade European History class when they announced over the intercoms that the Challenger had exploded. I was fifteen years old. For a lot of us born in the seventies, that's our generation's "Do you remember where you were when you heard that JFK had been shot?" moment.

[emw]

This list just doesn't pack the same punch for me that the ones 5 years ago did.

I don't know if they just picked a list of items that are of no particular import / interest to me, if we're going through a time period where in the early-mid 80's not much was happening, or if I'm just too far removed from American (US) culture (since this year's list seems to be very US centric).

Earlier lists with items like that fact that the people entering college didn't remember an East/West Germany just seemed so much more profound to me.

I thought the same thing - that there have been larger technological or sociopolitical changes in past lists.

Imagine telling a child/teen today that they sound like a broken record. While they may understand the meaning of the statement, most will have no experience with a record, broken or otherwise. It's like "mind your p's and q's."

[Chip NoVaMac]

This is always a fun list to review for us "old" guys. At least I was only in high school when these kids were born...

I have seen this list before.

For me these kids are old enough to be my child. :eek:

Sad a few years back I saw the list and one thing that stuck out was they the kids entering college at that time had never lived in a world without AIDS. Very sobering for someone like myself (born 1958), who remembered when STD's could be cured with a simple shot or pills.

[me_94501]

I suppose I missed the "dawn" of MTV, since it wasn't widely available when it first appeared in 1981. But I did get in early; I know that my friends and I were hooked on MTV by 1983 or so. We'd go over to my friend's house to watch it because he had cable television -- this was before everyone had cable television. ;)

I don't have cable television. Or satellite. Good ol' broadcast TV with rabbit ears!

Actually, we did have cable back in the 80s and up until around 1997, but then we moved and never bothered to get it again.

I miss Cartoon Network. :(

[Lyle]

For what it's worth, here's a link (http://www.beloit.edu/~pubaff/mindset/index.html) to the archives of past Mindset Lists.

[emw]

For what it's worth, here's a link (http://www.beloit.edu/~pubaff/mindset/index.html) to the archives of past Mindset Lists.

Sweet. From the Class of 2003 (5 years ago) we get this list of (edited) 80's memories:

In all fairness to this latest generation of entering college students, we this year add a list of items that only a child of the '80s can explain...don't ask us!


1.They owned and operated a "trapper keeper."

5.During time in the arcade, they actually lined up quarters on the top panel of the game to "reserve" a spot.

6.They know the profound meaning of "Wax on, Wax off."

13.Partying "like it's 1999" seemed SOOO far away.

15.They can, right now, hum the theme to Inspector Gadget.

17.They can remember what Michael Jackson looked like before his nose fell off.

20.They knew what Willis was "talkin' 'bout."

21.They HAD to have their MTV.

22.They hold a special place in their hearts for Back to the Future.

26.They actually saw Ted Danson as the MacDaddy he played "Sam" to be.

27.They remember when ATARI was a state of the art video game system.

32.They have occasionally pondered why Smurfette was the ONLY female smurf.

37.They know what a "Whammee" is.

One more cheer for the 80's. :D

[18thTomorrow]

I was born in '86. My thoughts:

"Photographs have always been processed in an hour or less."
Yep.

"They never got a chance to drink 7-Up Gold, Crystal Pepsi, or Apple Slice."
hm....sounds interesting.

" Parents may have been reading "The Bourne Supremacy" or "It" as they rocked them in their cradles"
"The Bourne Supremacy" was a book before a movie? wow.

"They never ate a McSub at McD's."
What's that? Sounds a lot better than the crap that they serve now...

"They have done most of their search for the right college online."
All of it, actually. Never set foot in the place until after I was accepted and enrolled.

On the 80s: I still listen to a lot of 80's music, including the aforementioned "867-5309".

Emw:
"Would I rather be growing up now? Maybe - we could've had a G5 iMac instead of a TRS-80 with a tape drive; I could've blown money buying an x-box instead of running down to the local convenience store for Reese's Pieces and a few rounds of Donkey Kong; my friends and I would've sat around programming shareware for OS X instead of stupid software for the Commodore 64."

Hey, that all sounds like great fun to a child of the 90's...

And my generation's "do you remember where you were when you heard that JFK had been shot" moment will always be the WTC Bombing. I was fifteen at the time and school was just starting for the morning when we heard...wowsa...

[leftbanke7]

There are only a couple of things I really remember about the 80s:

When Starship played "We Built This City" at the end of the 1985 Grammys.
My Cinderella poster (the band, not the Disney chick).
A also remember the Challenger Tragedy. The next day, the school went out and planted a tree in their memory.

For those who want to say we pre-86ers are old. How about this for ya:

We remember the first Mac. We were there to experience it (well, I was 5 at the time, but nonetheless) and the hype that the Super Bowl Commercial brought with it.

I can remember music where every other word wasn't bitch, ho, slut, f*ck, etc etc. (And, no, rap is no more music than are death metal or Celine Dion).

Pro sports were actually decent and there were great stars to watch and have be a roll model: Magic Johnson, Joe Montana, Wayne Gretsky, Larry Bird, and the list contunes. Now who do we have? A.I., Kobe, wife beater Jason Kidd, Ricky "Puff Puff Pass" Williams, Todd "Sucker Punch" Bertuzzi, Mike "I'm Gonna Kill My Agent" Denton. Free agency and arbitration made sports all about money and nothing about sports.

We may be old but at least we got to experience GOOD things in our lives!!!

[agreenster]

The 80's rocked. I was born in 79 so to me, the 80's was my childhood. I vividly remember every thing on the above list, especially the "special place in my heart" for Back To The Future.

Great Scott!!

[Punani]

They owned and operated a "trapper keeper."

These things dragged on for a while, I remember this fad from 3rd grade (I'm the Class of 2007!). The only thing I thought that was neat about them was that you didn't need to pry the rings open to put in papers.

Some things I remember from the early to mid 90s are, however...
* That Yo-Yo trend that lasted for about a month and a half in 7th grade.
* Tamagotchi (Less said, the better)
* 6th grade: Everyone wanted a SpaceMaker (Now $0.50 at Target).
* Non-Japanese influenced afternoon and Saturday morning cartoons.

[Lyle]

"They never got a chance to drink 7-Up Gold, Crystal Pepsi, or Apple Slice."
hm....sounds interesting.7-Up Gold and Apple Slice must not have been too interesting; I don't remember them at all. I do remember trying Crystal Pepsi once.

"They never ate a McSub at McD's."
What's that? Sounds a lot better than the crap that they serve now...I don't remember the McSub either.

And my generation's "Do you remember where you were when you heard that JFK had been shot?" moment will always be the WTC Bombing. I was fifteen at the time and school was just starting for the morning when we heard...wowsa...Sure, and I obviously don't mean to diminish the tragedy of September 11 or any other such events before or since. I suppose the Challenger explosion still holds that place in my memory because it was the first event in my adult lifetime where the entire nation went through that sense of loss together.

[JLS]

I was born in late late late 1985.. and I feel cheated by this headline.

WTF is Apple Slice?


Ha.. Im a December '85-er too.. :P

[rueyeet]

I agree that this year's list doesn't have much punch. The most telling items to me, at least, were:The Energizer bunny has always been going and going and going. (talk about successful ad campaigns!)
Photographs have always been processed in an hour or less. (and soon, it will be: cameras had film?)
The U.S. has always been a Prozac nation. (and Zoloft, and Paxil, and...)
They have always been comfortable with gay characters on television. (just...wow.)
Computers have always suffered from viruses. (and there have always been computers!)
Network television has always struggled to keep up with cable. (and soon, it might be...TV was free?)
AZT has always been used to treat AIDS. (and let's hope someday it's, people actually DIED from AIDS?)
They have done most of their search for the right college online. (and there has been a world wide web in most of their memory!)
Castro has always been an aging politician in a suit. (and someday, maybe it'll be: Cuba wasn't always an ally?)
There have always been non-stop flights around the world without refueling. Sorry, but the observation that "Cher hasn't aged a day" isn't going to faze anyone who wasn't at least a teen in the 70's. :p
and how were the 80's emw? were they all what they are cracked up to be? or more fluff than anything else?
I remember the 80's as the decade of false appearances. Guess jeans and plastic and Madonna hair didn't change the fact that it was suddenly fashionable to have a therapist. MTV put the "pop" in pop culture, while society worried about the skyrocketing divorce rate and the "latchkey kids" of two-income families. Sure, the administration said the economy was great, but the deficit kept going up and up. We bragged about having the nukes to blow up the world however-many-times over while simultaneously wondering if they'd get used, if the tensions of the militaristic posturing between the US and the Soviets would finally spiral out of control. We wondered whether we'd grow up while indulging in mass consumerism to a degree previously unknown, and credit cards--and high credit balances--became the norm. Rock stars sang about steamy sex while AIDS threatened to become an epidemic that could kill us all.

I dunno...there is the fondness of nostalgia for all the remembered things of childhood (I may still have that Trapper Keeper somewhere) but I didn't like the 80's much. In fact, I was surprised how VH-1's 80's retrospectives brought back a lot of ire and venom for so many things! Despite my age, I'm much more a child of the 90's.

[blackfox]

I remember sitting in school, in tenth grade European History class when they announced over the intercoms that the Challenger had exploded. I was fifteen years old. For a lot of us born in the seventies, that's our generation's "Do you remember where you were when you heard that JFK had been shot?" moment.

Yeah, I was 11 at the time, and I remember the day clearly. I was actually sick with the flu, looking forward to a day of cartoon-watching...then there was non-stop coverage of the Challenger disaster, which I found riveting for about twenty minutes...then I felt cheated that all my cartoons were pre-empted. I was emotionally-scarred...

Also, I have been patiently waiting for the return of parachute pants...

[stcanard]

Imagine telling a child/teen today that they sound like a broken record. While they may understand the meaning of the statement, most will have no experience with a record, broken or otherwise. It's like "mind your p's and q's."

I run into problems like that on a regular basis with my kid.

One that I just remembered -- when Michael Jackson got arrested he asked me who that was. Had never heard of him.

Coke Classic -- he had never heard of it, I had to pull a can on the fridge to show him it was still called that. Amazing how small that extra word has gotten over the years (do they still sell the new coke? I have no idea).

I still don't think he believes me that there was no internet when I was his age. (Okay, for end pedantic, no internet acessible for the general public).

I remember my horror when I realized that there were seemingly grown up people walking the earth who had been born in the 80's!

[Chip NoVaMac]

For those who want to say we pre-86ers are old. How about this for ya:

We remember the first Mac. We were there to experience it (well, I was 5 at the time, but nonetheless) and the hype that the Super Bowl Commercial brought with it.

I can remember music where every other word wasn't bitch, ho, slut, f*ck, etc etc. (And, no, rap is no more music than are death metal or Celine Dion).

Pro sports were actually decent and there were great stars to watch and have be a roll model: Magic Johnson, Joe Montana, Wayne Gretsky, Larry Bird, and the list contunes. Now who do we have? A.I., Kobe, wife beater Jason Kidd, Ricky "Puff Puff Pass" Williams, Todd "Sucker Punch" Bertuzzi, Mike "I'm Gonna Kill My Agent" Denton. Free agency and arbitration made sports all about money and nothing about sports.

We may be old but at least we got to experience GOOD things in our lives!!!

So right on the Mac. And I remember that I couldn't believe a friend had paid what he did for it. And wished I could. :)

Also there was a desire in music to stretch the boundaries of the technology and sound. The Queen albums were "stories" if you will.

And don't get me started on sports. We didn't have the current NBA ("Not my Baby A**hole"). MLB baseball players all were out before the games to great the fans. NFL players were willing to do for the community without talking with their agents. And speaking of the NFL, a player that did not show up for training didn't get the contract paid out. And it used to be that an average person could go see a game without a second line of credit.

[broken_keyboard]

and how were the 80's emw? were they all what they are cracked up to be? or more fluff than anything else?

If you want to know what it was like to be a kid in the 80s check out the movie E.T.

errmm... minus the alien of course :-)

[bviz2]

Gad I feel old....

I can remember seeing Challenger's forked vapor trail outside of the GE building in Daytona Beach, FL. Myself and a group of coworkers were going to go see the launch but thought it would be postponed yet again because of the cold weather.

I used an Apple ][ during my senior year in high school.

I can remember sitting around the TV watching the results of the draft lottery for the Vietnam war to see if my two older brothers were going to have to go.

I can remember watching the first lunar landing on TV.

I can remember going over to friends houses to watch Star Trek before it was cancelled.

I can remember watching the Beatles with my brothers on the Ed Sullivan show. Topo Gigio frequently came on after my bed time, so my father would come and get me out of bed to see him.

I can remember watching Captain Kangaroo on our family's black & white TV that my father had to frequently fix by going to the electronics store and buying replacement tubes for it (and I don't mean the main CRT either :rolleyes: ).

I can very vaguely remember TV news specials about Pres. Kennedy being shot.

(I feel like I should be talking about having to walk 10 miles up hill to and from school in the snow. ) ;)

[Counterfit]

Born before 1986 = old? :confused:
That can't be right, I'm not even 20 years old yet! I'VE BEEN GYPPED! :eek:

[stronghand]

Um, maybe because the Panama Canal isn't actually anywhere near the United States? Just because we use the resources of Latin American countries doesn't mean we should own them too. Too bad for us if we have to play fair in global politics. I take it Carter was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for nothing?

Um, we acquired the Panama Canal (the land and the right to build the canal, which we built and payed for) as payment for helping Panama to secede from Colombia and become their own sovereign nation. Directly after we did so, they tried to welch. Proximity to the US had/has nothing to do with it. We wanted to build the canal, they named their price. Too bad for Panama if we expect them to honor an agreement in global politics. Its called a deal. Happens everyday. I suppose you think the dealership who sold you your car should now return the money you gave them but you get to keep the car...By the way the French tried it first, but it didn't work out.

[tpjunkie]

This list just doesn't pack the same punch for me that the ones 5 years ago did.

-snip-

Earlier lists with items like that fact that the people entering college didn't remember an East/West Germany just seemed so much more profound to me.

Interesting, I can remember an East and West Germany and I am only 2 years older than the people on this list, so a list from 5 years ago indicating college freshmen wouldn't remember a divided germany seems odd.

[Diatribe]

Sheeesh, now I feel old, thanks. :rolleyes:
And I am only born 1980...
I remember when when I got my first computer, a good ol' 286 with a 4MB HD and some KBs RAM. When we played the first wing-commander that came on an insane ammount of floppy disks. When TV had actually interesting not mind numbing stuff on, when I held my very own black/white Gameboy in my hands and when you'd actually be out with friends playing outside instead of in front of the computer with people you don't even know the faces of...

I guess it really came to me that I am old when I remembered what I did when the Berlin Wall came down... sitting in front of the TV watching "The Six Million Dollar Man". :D

But then again I wouldn't wanna grow up today, life is way to complicated for kids right now. I liked it how it was "back then". :D

[aus_dave]

I was born in 1970 so I guess that makes me 'old' in relative terms to a lot of the others here :eek:.

It's an interesting exercise to see what you can remember from the past. I can just recall watching the Montreal Olympics on TV. I can vaguely remember the headlines when Elvis died. I remember going to see a World Series Cricket match (cricket fans would understand!). I clearly remember hearing that John Lennon had been killed and being quite shocked (young Beatles fan ;)).

I think most things past the age of ten are pretty recallable - at this point in my life at least :D.

[Roger1]

Having graduated from High School in '85, I remember some of the stuff on this list. I also remember ketchup becoming a vegetable, having to pay the same amount of money for a school lunch regardless of whether or not you got a milk--they frequently ran out. I remember my first rock concert (sort of :p ) Ronnie James Dio, the Sacred Heart tour. All the hair bands :D (still listen to them). I remember paying .68 cents for a gallon of gas and my dad complaining about how expensive it was. New Coke. The Terminator. Risky Buisiness. Marraige?? What was that? Not til I'm thirty!! (got married in '91 at 24). Ahh all kinds of things. :) Yeah, I guess I'm old.

Edit: Oh, Yeah. I remember having long HAIR. Now I have a nice shiny BALD SPOT on top. :( Oh, I also remember when rogain was for heart patients. :p

[aus_dave]

I remember paying .68 cents for a gallon of gas and my dad complaining about how expensive it was.A fraction of a cent huh - some people are never satisfied :p.

[virividox]

I was born in late late late 1985.. and I feel cheated by this headline.

WTF is Apple Slice?

mid 1985 here and i feel gyped hehe

[Zaty]

I was born in 75, so I'm also a child of the 80's, so to speak. I remember the good old days when MacD only had a handful of restaurants in the country's best locations. The town I grew up in didn't belong to those locations, so Mac D was quite an exotic place...(Most people in Switzerland were really reserved towards fast food, so Mac D didn't really start expand in my country until the early '90's). Also, we didn't get Cable TV until about 1983 even then we only had like 8 programmes. I also remember the day in 85 (I blieve ?) when Mr. Reagan met Mr. Gorbatchev for the first time (on Swiss soil no less). I was already a teenager when the Berlin Wall was finally torn down for good.

[Roger1]

A fraction of a cent huh - some people are never satisfied :p.

Yeah, yeah, nag me for my grammer. :p

Edit: And spelling, if you want. ;)

[Mudbug]

No whammies.

/old.

[MacNut]

Come on big bucks big bucks no whammys no whammys.

[MacNut]

But my favorite 80's game show had to be Let's Make A Deal. Do you win a car or a camel. :)

[wordmunger]

But my favorite 80's game show had to be Let's Make A Deal. Do you win a car or a camel. :)

I thought that was mainly a '70s show, so I looked it up on wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Let%27s_Make_a_Deal). Turns out, the "original" show aired from 1963-77, but there were revivals in 1980, 1984, 1990, and 2003. I was always amazed back then at the stupid things people would do to get on TV. Now we've got Springer, Fear Factor, Bachelorette, and worse. Sad when you think of "Let's Make a Deal" as the "Good old days." It was a pretty horrible show!

[Chip NoVaMac]

I was always amazed back then at the stupid things people would do to get on TV. Now we've got Springer, Fear Factor, Bachelorette, and worse. Sad when you think of "Let's Make a Deal" as the "Good old days." It was a pretty horrible show!

One just needs to watch the Today show and see the lengths people go to to be seen on TV....

[ThomasJefferson]

Ouch

And I remember when John, Paul, George and Ringo were still in a band together.