I thought I might remember more of these than I actually do.
Popples
These were popular toys in the mid 1980's. Popples were able to pull anything out of their back pouch. The craze was so huge that there was also a cartoon that followed the fad.
Jelly Shoes
If you were a little girl that grew up in the 80's, then chances are you owned a pair of jelly shoes. These were flexible bright colored jelly shoes that you could wear without socks. A very popular fad during this decade.
Slap Bracelets
A flexible metal with a colorful cloth over it. You would smack these on your wrist and it would wrap around it.
Video Arcades
There are many arcades now, but during the 80s, they were the "in" place to hangout.
Wacky WallWalker
A sticky piece of rubber that usually resembled an insect that you throw at a window or wall. The Wacky Wallwalker would then slowly walk down the surface.
Rubik's Cube
Erno Rubik was looking for a innovative method of teaching his students about 3D objects and came up with what would be called Rubik's Cube. He patented this clever cube and made millions in the early 80's. There were 43 quintillion combinations of solving the cube, which prompted many books on how to solve the cube. The world record for solving the cube is 16.5 seconds! A later version of the cube was released called "Rubik's Revenge" which had four rows of four squares instead of three on the standard cube. 100 million cubes have been sold worldwide and are even now somewhat popular in certain places in the world.
Boom Boxes
This oversized radio was popular with the youth of the early and mid-eighties because they played music so loud, you could hear them from a 100 yards away. They eventually came with dual cassette and CD players and used 8 "D" cell batteries to power the big speakers. Some had a special Bass Boost button that would make the boom boxes even louder and more annoying to most who could hear them. This fad is still popular with some young people because the new boom boxes come with MP3 players.
Wrestling
Although it has made a comeback in recent years, nothing even compares with the classic years of the WWF, and the NWA.
Neon
Pretty self explanatory. Socks, Shirts, Hair accessories, bracelets, shoe laces, store signs etc.
Break Dancing
Remember the parachute pants and cardboard boxes that dancers would gyrate themselves on? Break dancing seems so different from all other kinds of dancing that the first question people ask when they see it is: "Where did these kids learn to dance like that?" In 1969, when James Brown was getting down with his big hit "Get on the Good Foot" the Hustle was the big dance style of the day. When he performed his hit, he did the kind of dance you'd expect James Brown to do. High Energy. This eventually, evolved into break dancing.
Friendship Bracelets
Friendship bracelets came in bright colors, vibrant woven patterns, beautiful glass beadwork and NFL football team names and colors.
Cabbage Patch Dolls
Cabbage Patch Dolls were the doll craze of the 80s, and one of THE fads of the decade. Take this stroll down memory lane with the Cabbage Patch Kids and see what they've been up to lately.
Smurfs
Blue elflike creatures, dwelling happily in the forest. Creatures with names like Jokey, Greedy, and Brainy Smurf. The went through adventures, sought advice from Papa Smurf and found themselves captivated by the perky Smurfette, the only female in the clan. During Smurf Mania, they out sold Star Wars, Garfield, Snoopy, Annie and Mickey Mouse.
Koosh Balls
During the 1988 Christmas season, the Koosh ball was the hottest toy on the shelves. The Koosh ball was a rubber ball filled with a jelly-like plasma and its outside consisted of hundreds of rubber spikes making it look like a soft and flexible porcupine that did not hurt to hold or squeeze. When someone squeezed the object, the plasma caused it to squirm around in his hand while the spikes provided something to grip in one's hand.
'Baby on Board' Signs
Remember when we were supposed to avoid hitting the cars with the "Baby on Board" signs on them? It's open season on them now.
Hacky-Sack
Coordinated enough to kick a beanbag but too wimpy to be a jock? Hacky-Sack was your sport.
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Vans Tennis Shoes
The shoes of choice for skateboarders everywhere. Pull on tennis shoes - no laces.
Lace fingerless gloves
a la Madonna.
Tetherball
A tetherball is similar to a volleyball and is tied to a ten-foot, vertical pole by a slender rope. Two players, who each get half of the area surrounding the pole, try to hit the tetherball ball repeatedly in one direction so that the rope wraps completely around the pole.
Miami Vice Fashion
popularized by Don Johnson on the hit tv show.
Where's the Beef
A slogan from a Wendy’s commercial for showing that other restaurants didn’t quite use as much meat on their
hamburgers. Starred an old lady named Clara Peller, who kept asking that question.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
A hit cartoon about a bunch of hip turtles who loved eating pizza and could also fight well. People bought lots of related dolls, stickers, lunchboxes, etc.
Big Hair with lots of Hairspray
Not only were the women sporting their hair like this, so were the 80's rock stars. Big hair was definantly in and so was Aqua Net hairspray to keep the hair up all day.
Goatee Beards
Goatee beards really joined the mainstream, and no longer just for bikers, wrestlers, and Satan.
He-Man
If you were a young boy growing up in the 80's then you know all about this craze. Mattel's He-Man and the Masters of the Universe was everywhere. Not only was it a popular cartoon but it was also on lunch boxes, t-shirts, school folders and many other places.
Rainbow Brite
If you were a young girl growing up in the 80's then you know all about this craze. Almost every little girl had a rainbow brite doll and watched the cartoon that went along with it.
Strawberry Shortcake
A popular 80's cartoon character. Every little girl that grew up in the 80's not only owned the doll, but also had either a Strawberry Shortcake lunchbox or blanket or even clothing with this character imprented on it.
Hyper-Color Shirts
These were shirts that changed color with temperature change.
Care Bears
Colorful, adorable, furry friends with a caring mission. These cute bears taught us how to care. Every bear came with a bright colored tummy picture that told who they were and what their special area of caring was.
Garbage Pail Kids
Garbage Pail Kids were like Cabbage Patch Kids only much more gross and the cards came with a stick of gum.... they even had their own movie.
