Happenings
In 1982, Michael Jackson released his album that contained the title song with a voiceover and haunting laugh by Vincent Price.
What is Thriller? The Library of Congress considers the “Thriller” single’s video the most famous video of all time. It was the first music video the library placed in its registry.
John Denver got this mountain high.
What is rocky? “Rocky Mountain High” is the tune.
In 1960, Lipton introduced this boxed soup that is most often used as a dip.
What is onion? You just add a package to sour cream, and voila… you have French onion dip. It’s best to refrigerate it for a few hours to plump the onion.
This coloring process is used to dye T-shirts and other clothing items with swirl designs.
What is tie-dye? Sometimes they were dyed with multiple colors.
In 1992, America’s largest mall opened in this state.
What is Minnesota? Mall of America opened with 330 stores. The mall was opened by the Canadian firm Triple Five Worldwide.
In 1982, this Disney property opened in Orlando.
What is Epcot? It’s located close to Disney World, but the focus of Epcot is on science and discovery rather than Disney characters and thrilling rides.
The Monkees sing about the last train to this Tennessee city.
What is Clarksville? “Last Train to Clarksville” is the tune.
This egg-based pie saw its heyday in the 1970s and 1980s.
What is quiche? Sales dropped off the charts after the book Real Men Don’t Eat Quiche was published, but quiche is making a comeback.
Many parents who wouldn’t allow their children to have dogs or cats raced to the store to buy these crudely painted substitutes—and someone laughed all the way to the bank off these ridiculous items.
What are pet rocks? At one point, 100,000 units were sold per day. Today, you can find decorative rocks painted to look like sleeping cats, a far cry from the original pet rocks.
This Greek shipping tycoon married Jackie Kennedy.
Who is Aristotle Onassis? They married in 1968 on the island of Skorpios. Onassis was one of the richest men in the world.
In 1985, the ruins of this famous British ship were found south of Newfoundland in the Atlantic Ocean.
What is (RMS) Titanic? The search for the Titanic was cover for a U.S. Navy operation to locate and recover two sunken submarines.
Do you know the way to this California city (a tune by Dionne Warwick)?
What is San Jose? The tune is “Do You Know the Way to San Jose?”
Seafood and meat, otherwise known as this, made its debut in restaurants in the 1960s.
What is surf and turf? The most popular combination is lobster and steak.
This is the name for men’s polyester suits.
What are leisure suits? What was once fashionable is now considered hideous and leads us to wonder, “WHAT were we thinking?”
In 1989, this wall in Germany came down.
What is Berlin? The wall fell two years after President Ronald Reagan’s “tear down that wall” speech.
Pope John Paul II suffered two gunshot wounds during an assassination attempt in this place.
What is Vatican? He was in St. Peter’s Square when the attempt took place. Do you remember the glass-top automobile he used after the attempt? It was called the Popemobile.
The midnight train left for this southern state, a tune by Gladys Knight and the Pips.
What is Georgia? The tune is “Midnight Train to Georgia.”
In the 1970s, these thin, filled pancakes became all the rage thanks to restaurants such as the Magic Pan.
What are crepes? Prior to the 1970s, you could find dessert crepes on the menu, but the Magic Pan added a variety of savory crepes. The Magic Pan restaurants today are using some of the original recipes, but they are not part of the original chain.
This popular Black hairstyle was natural and protruded six or more inches from the scalp in every direction.
What is afro? This was a signature look in the 1970s.
In 1971, broadcast advertising of this vice was banned in the United States.
What is cigarette? Advertisers moved to print media.
In 1980, the World Health Organization declared this disease to be eradicated, a disease for which we were vaccinated.
What is smallpox? The vaccine contained a live virus of a poxvirus less harmful than smallpox.
Arlo Guthrie performs a tune about a train named after the city of Mardi Gras.
What is New Orleans? The tune is “The City of New Orleans.”
This melted cheese in a pot hails from Switzerland and became popular in the 1960s and 1970s in North America.
What is fondue? It began life as a Swiss peasant dish. It’s also served as a melted chocolate dessert and as heated oil for dipping meats, poultry, and seafood. You can still find fondue served at the Melting Pot, the original fondue restaurant in America and Canada.
This color green, which shares its name with produce from Mexico, was everywhere from linoleum to appliances to furniture.
What is avocado? Don’t laugh off this entertaining oddity just yet; it’s making a comeback.
In 1983, this radio and TV company introduced the first mobile phone.
What is Motorola? Google bought the mobile phone division. The company also created the first two-way pager.