I thought other 80's kids might appreciate this.

[ChelC]

This list came from a chain e-mail. I usually don't read chain e-mails, but I liked this one. I've added my own confessions here.

You Know You Grew Up In the 80's if:

1. You've ever ended a sentence with the word SIKE.


Guilty.


2. You can sing the rap to the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and can do the Carlton


I STILL "sing" this ALL the time, my husband and I both do.


3. You know that "WOAH" comes from Joey on Blossom

Do I ever.


4. If you ever watched "Fraggle Rock"


I LOVED fraggle rock, but was disturbed by the talking garbage heap. Hubby never saw this show, what a shame. I've often tried to explain to him what a doozer is.


5. It was actually worth getting up early on a Saturday to watch cartoons.


Ask Pitchfire how many fights we had over the remote control.

6. You wore a ponytail on the side of your head.

Occasionally.7. You got super-excited when it was


Oregon Trail day in computer class at school.

?

8. You made your mom buy one of those clips that would hold your shirt in a knot on the side.

I always just tied mine.


9. You played the game "MASH"(Mansion, Apartment, Shelter, House)

Almost Daily in 6th grade.


10. You wore stonewashed Jordache jean jackets and were proud of it.

With head banger band names written all over.


11. You know the profound meaning of " WAX ON , WAX OFF"

Who doesn't?

12. You wanted to be a Goonie.


"This is our time, this is our time down here." "Look, it's Martin Sheen! That's Kennedy you idiot!" I rented this for my nephews once, sure that they'd love it, and they thought it was dumb.

13. You ever wore fluorescent clothing. (some of us...head-to-toe)

Hot pink.


14. You can remember what Michael Jackson looked like before his nose fell off and his cheeks shifted.

It is a shame. Thriller was such a cool music video.

15. You have ever pondered why Smurfette was the only female smurf.

Never wondered, but I sure loved Gargamel and Azriel.

16. You took lunch boxes to school...and traded Garbage Pailkids in the schoolyard.


I kept "Vile Kyle" in my jewelry box because I had a crush on a boy named Kyle (I was only in third grade, give me a break)

17. You remember the CRAZE, then the BANNING of slap bracelets.


There were a lot of them at the swap meet, huh Jer?


18. You still get the urge to say "NOT" after every sentence.


Don't still get the urge, but I was guilty of saying it a time or two.


19. You thought your childhood friends would never leave because you exchanged handmade friendship bracelets.


I was the Queen of Friendship bracelets, the wider the better, and would tear small holes in my jeans from safety pinning them there as I worked. We made the telephone wire twisted variety also.

21. You ever owned a pair of Jelly-Shoes.

And jelly bracelets.

22. After you saw Pee-Wee's Big Adventure you kept saying "I know you are, but what am I?"

Everyone did.


23. You remember "I've fallen and I can't get up"

And when I worked at an assisted living home I couldn't get it out of my head.

24. You remember going to the skating rink before there were inline skates.


Every Friday night.


25. You have ever played with a Skip-It.

Yes, but never owned one.

26. You remember boom boxes and walking around with one on your shoulder like you were all that.

Never walked around with one, but often danced around the yard to the Moody Blues on mine.

27. You remember watching both Gremlins movies.

Yes, and it was awesome when they nuked 'em.

28. You thought Doogie Howser/Samantha Micelli was hot.

LOVED Doogie.

29. You remember Alf, the lil furry brown alien from Melmac.

HATED Alf.

30. You remember New Kids on the Block when they were cool...and don't even flinch when people refer to them as "NKOTB"

Thankfully hated NKOTB, but I LOVED Milli Vanilli.

31. You knew all the characters names and their life stories on "Saved By The Bell," The ORIGINAL class.

What a quality and inspiring program it was.


32. You know all the words to Bon Jovi - SHOT THROUGH THE HEART.

... and you're to blame. You give Love a bad name. I play my part and you play your game, you give love a bad name....

33. You just sang those words to yourself.

uh huh


34. You still sing "We are the World"

We are the children...

35. You tight rolled your jeans.

The tighter the better.

36. You owned a bannana clip.

Several.


37. You remember "Where's the Beef?"

Didn't that lady get sued for, "I finally found the beef"?

38. You used to (and probably still do)
say "What you talkin' 'bout Willis?"


Only while pursing my lips.

39. You're still singing shot through the heart in your head, aren't you!

Maybe.

[P.E.]

How can you put a question mark on #7?!!

OregonTrail day at school was by far my favorite day! Life was only made better with the advent of Oregon Trail 2. Now if I could just avoid cholera and those pesky rattlesnakes!!

[SwissMrs&Pitchfire]

I absolutely lived for the raft part down the river!

[Rock34]

Some of this stuff is early 90s, but few make the distinction. I personally think '83-'93 was a distinct pop-cultural period and not '80-'90. Return of the Jedi and the death of Disco till the ends of sitcoms like Saved by the Bell, Growing Pains and Who's the Boss; as well as the movie Forrest Gump.

The only similarity between 1980 and 1989 pop culture was the digit in the 10 slot.

I've read others that say it started in '77 and ended in '87, and the 90s were '87-'97. That also sounds reasonable. It also means this year could be the end of the 2000s, and the boring reality shows that require no real acting or writing talent.

Probably the best pop-culture classification would be done in 5 year spans. Then 77-82, 82-87, 87-92. 92-97. 97-02, and 02-07 would all be distinguishable eras.

Pop culture also involves overlapping eras. Most of it is passed on from older sibling to younger sibling, senior to freshman and so on.

[ChelC]

You still think you're cool because you're older, don't you!

[SwissMrs&Pitchfire]

Most people forget when Star Wars came out. You just cannot clip Star Wars or Battle Star Galactica or ET or Pac-Man or Atari or MTV. So it has to start with Star Wars in 1977 (you can't break up the trilogy!)

Playing with Battle Star Galactica action figures, and then Star Wars, and the GI Joes, was solid 80's play progression. Throw in Legos and Hot Wheels (or Matchbox if you like cars that roll smoother but the axles always bend).

I tend to disassociate things like Forest Gump (and for me) saved by the bell from the 80's. Forest Gump was definitely in the awkward 90's phase (The 90's were all wrong, think Vanilla Ice and Rap going mainstream).

I tend to clip the 80's at America's Funniest Home videos (Nov 89, for me the 0 digit works on the tail end.)

There was an awkward overlap period with things like AFHV and Roger Rabbit, Look Who's Talking, Honey I Shrunk the Kids, Roseann, The Wonder Years, A Different World, Unsolved Mysteries. None of these qualify for me, they were the 90's experimentally creeping in.

Read this, it is soo Rad!
http://www.80s.com/ChildrenOfTheEighties/page1.html (it's like 12 pgs, keep going)

[ChelC]

I agree with most of that Jer, but I think the Wonder Years was the end of the "eighties" for me. Forrest Gump... seriously... that is definitely not eighties.

I tend to group things by where we lived since we moved a lot. Alaska was definitely eighties, Hawaii was the end of the eighties, and California was definitely not. So shows like 90210 do not qualify as eighties.

I was sooo jealous of your ewok village Jeremy. Whenever you guys weren't there I would sneak downstairs and play with it. Mom and Dad always tried to make me girlie, no matter how many Barbie's I brutally dismantled.

[ChelC]

I can relate to most of that children of the eighties thing. But I cannot remember Boy George looking so young, wow.

Can you believe we all survived those processed food experiments and microwave cooking.

[Rock34]

I just meant to say that Forrest Gump was the end of anything resembling the 80s for me, as well as NYPD Blue. It started dieing out in 1987.