You Are What You Were. Celebrate Retro Pop Culture At Retroland.
Denim jeans have always been a classic American staple. But in the anything-goes ‘80’s, denim’s popularity got, er, ripped to shreds. Acid-washed denim had arrived, and the deep blue indigos were now streaked with messy white bleach marks and spots. For the next few years, it seemed, if your jeans weren’t splotched with bleach stains, they were an unacceptable fashion choice. Let's take a look back at this memorable trend.
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Greatness is often found in simplicity. And when it comes to arcade games, there is no greater embodiment of simplicity than Air Hockey, a game that can be learned in less than a minute and is still played, over 40 years since its inception, all around the world. It came upon the scene in the early 70s, and soon after, the distinctive click-clack sounds of two players battling it out could be heard in every arcade across the country.
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Some might call Airheads the silly putty of the candy world. These tangy and tasty taffy treats can be twisted, tormented and pulled into lengths that would make Stretch Armstrong jealous. Sold in a variety of flavors, some a bit more ambiguous than others, they remain a favored candy treat for those who have the utmost faith in the strength of their fillings.
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Perhaps if they had paid a bit more attention in their prep school biology classes, one of the millions of students sporting their prized “alligator” shirts would have noticed at some point that the emblem adorning their apparel wasn’t an alligator. Maybe nobody ever really gave it a close look, blinded instead by the vast palette of pastel colors to choose from. Whatever the reason, the poor misinterpreted crocodile would have suffer this indignation while teens went crazy for alligator shirts, a mascot for the 80s generation.
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There once was a time when, if one wanted to experience the thrills of downhill skiing, it meant a considerable investment in equipment, lift tickets and hotel accommodations. This all changed in 1995, when Namco offered a trip to the Alps for the mere price of a quarter or two. And, while playing a video game might seem a pale comparison to the real thing, Alpine Racer boasted a virtual experience that offered thrills on the slopes, without any danger of frostbite or a trip to the emergency room with a broken limb.
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When Ross Bagdasarian changed his name to David Seville, sped up his recorded voice, and released the single, “The Chipmunk Song,” he never could have fathomed the enormous popularity that would follow. Over a half-century later, his trio of Chipmunks – Alvin, Simon and Theodore – are still going strong, appearing in feature films and delighting young audiences with their squeaky voices and irrepressible charm. Let’s take a look back.
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With the overwhelming popularity of Tiny Toon Adventures in the early 90s, Warner Brothers followed up with an even crazier offering called Animaniacs. Featuring three siblings - brothers Yakko and Wakko, and their sister, Dot - plus a whole collection of other interesting characters, this Steven Spielberg produced animated series made a memorable impression on many a fan.
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For kids who had a hunger for the occasional spooky story, the early days of Nickelodeon had something right up their alley, guaranteed to raise a few goosebumps. Debuting in 1992 as part of the SNICK lineup, Are You Afraid of the Dark gathered a group of kids in the dark and desolate woods, to weave tales of the macabre around the time-honored campfire and scare each other silly.
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As any conspiracy theorist can attest, deep in the confines of the Nevada desert lies the super-secret Area 51, a hotbed for extraterrestrial activity unlike any other in the world. Atari took arcade gamers to this mysterious locale in 1995, as a highly trained marine from STAAR (Special tactical Advanced Alien Response, of course) whose mission was to rid the base of a gaggle of unfriendly interplanetary visitors and (for good measure) their human zombie cohorts. The result was a hit in arcades around the globe.
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The Space Age was in full swing after World War II. Swift technological progress and widespread economic growth gave birth to a culture in love with rockets, space stations, and dreams of life on the moon. Every kid wanted to be an astronaut, and every week, a new toy or TV show was there to feed that dream. Spangler Candy of Bryan, Ohio, (founded in 1906) met this demand with the snazzy, rocket-shaped Astro Pop. This lollipop, a thin inverted cone of hard candy on stick, suggested a three-stage rocket: a red cherry-flavored lower section, a dark green lime middle, and a long yellow tip of lemon.
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