Trendy Toys of the 1980s
These popular dolls were “adopted” rather than purchased and came with their own birth certificates.
What are Cabbage Patch Kids? The dolls were invented by Xavier Roberts, a former art student. Roberts was only 26 when his dolls hit the market in 1983.
He got his start acting in films like 1963’s It Happened at the World’s Fair. He is also known for starring in movies like Overboard and Swing Shift with his longtime love, actress Goldie Hawn.
Who is Kurt Russell? Russell’s first acting role was an uncredited appearance on the Dennis the Menace TV show when he was 11.
The first U.S. manned sub-orbital flight launched from this state, with Alan Shepard inside the spacecraft.
What is Florida? Thanks to Shepard’s success, President Kennedy would soon commit the U.S. to making a lunar landing by the end of the 1960s.
The Pillsbury mascot, introduced in 1965
What is white? The Doughboy, as he is called, is the invention of advertising agency Leo Burnett.
This mystery-solving cartoon pooch debuted in the fall of 1969.
Who is Scooby-Doo? The now-iconic series went through several name changes before airing, including Mysteries Five and Who’s S-S-Scared?
“When he was nearly thirteen, my brother Jem got his arm badly broken at the elbow.”
What is To Kill a Mockingbird? This line comes from the novel’s narrator, a young Southern girl named Scout Finch.
These cuddly stuffed toys “care a lot.”
What are Care Bears? The Care Bears also have an animated franchise, including 1985’s The Care Bear Movie.
This childhood chess prodigy is known for his defeat of Soviet chess player Boris Spassky.
Who is Bobby Fischer? Fischer made history as the youngest grandmaster to date when he received the title in 1958 at just 15 years old.
Alcatraz, an island penitentiary off the coast of this state, closed on March 21, 1963.
What is California? The island was named Isla de los Alcatraces by Spanish explorer Juan Manuel de Ayala. In English the name means “island of pelicans” or “island of gannets.”
The outfit worn by Sir Charms, the Lucky Charms cereal mascot
What is green? Often called Lucky the Leprechaun, he was introduced on St. Patrick’s Day in 1964.
This is an educational cartoon from the 1970s that features songs like “I’m Just a Bill” and “Conjunction Junction.”
What is Schoolhouse Rock? The series of shorts was conceived by David McCall, who noted his son’s ability to memorize musical lyrics and applied the idea to educational concepts.
A classic Sylvia Plath novel begins, “It was a queer, sultry summer, the summer they executed the Rosenbergs, and I didn’t know what I was doing in New York.”
What is The Bell Jar? The novel was originally published under a pseudonym, Victoria Lucas, and was partially autobiographical.
Originally marketed as a spherical paperweight, this fortune-telling toy became popular with children of the 1980s.
What is the Magic 8 Ball? The toy has 20 possible responses, including 10 positive, five negative, and five neutral answers.
This actor and filmmaker got his start in acting as a child, with roles such as Opie on The Andy Griffith Show.
Who is Ron Howard? He acted in several television shows even before he took the role of Opie, including an episode of The Twilight Zone in 1959. His directorial debut came in 1977 with Grand Theft Auto.
On March 25, 1965, Martin Luther King Jr. spoke at a rally in Montgomery, this state’s capital.
What is Alabama? The speech was the culmination of a five-day march from Selma to Montgomery as part of the campaign for voting rights for Black Americans.
The two colors of the first Earth Day flag, flown at an Illinois high school in 1970
What are green and white? The flag was sewn by a student’s mother and included the ecology symbol in the upper left corner.
This prehistoric cartoon series of the 1960s includes Fred, Wilma, and Pebbles.
What is The Flintstones? The Hanna-Barbera show is considered the first animated sitcom.
This Capote true crime novel begins, “The village of Holcomb stands on the high wheat plains of western Kansas, a lonesome area that other Kansans call ‘out there.’”
What is In Cold Blood? Capote dedicated the book to Jack Dunphy (his partner) and Harper Lee (a close friend).
A popular brainteaser in the 1980s, the object of this toy is to get six sides of matching colored tiles aligned.
What is a Rubik’s Cube? The toy was introduced commercially in 1980 and sold 100 million units in the first two years.
This Spanish cubist painter is known for works like Guernica and The Old Guitarist.
Who is Pablo Picasso? Picasso first exhibited his paintings in 1895 at the age of 14. In 1960, an exhibit of his work in London was called the “first art blockbuster.”
The 1962 World’s Fair, also called the Century 21 Exposition, opened in this state.
What is Washington? The Seattle World’s Fair is notable for its construction of the Seattle Monorail and the Space Needle.
The first-ever Post-It notes, invented at 3M in 1974
What is yellow? If you’re wondering why yellow, it was simply the color of paper the scientists had laying around as scrap!
A spinoff of Archie comics, this show stars a pop-music group solving mysteries as they tour the globe.
What is Josie and the Pussycats? The cartoon is notable as the first American Saturday morning cartoon with a Black female character.
“Many years later, as he faced the firing squad, Colonel Aureliano Buendía was to remember that distant afternoon when his father took him to discover ice.”
What is One Hundred Years of Solitude? Author Gabriel García Márquez was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1982.
Known as the world’s first action figure and an All-American hero, he debuted in 1964 from Hasbro toys.
Who is G.I. Joe? The marketing team refused to call the toy a “doll,” wanting to create a unique product with moveable joints that differed from dolls of the past.
This child prodigy is known for musical ditties like “My Cherie Amour” and “You Are the Sunshine of My Life.”
Who is Stevie Wonder? Wonder taught himself to play drums, piano, and harmonica by age 10, and he first began recording music at age 11.
This state was the site for the Greensboro sit-ins.
What is North Carolina? The sit-ins began at a Woolworth’s lunch counter, a section of which is now on display in the Smithsonian National Museum of American History.
The Cloud, Prince’s custom-built guitar that stars alongside him in the film Purple Rain
What is white? The guitar is the creation of Dave Rusan, who has built about 40 replicas of the iconic instrument.
This ’80s cartoon features characters named after Renaissance artists.
What is Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles? The crime-fighting foursome debuted in a 1984 comic book by creators Eastman and Laird.
“When I stepped out into the bright sunlight from the darkness of the movie house, I had only two things on my mind: Paul Newman and a ride home.”
What is The Outsiders? The line is spoken by Ponyboy. The coming-of-age novel was made into a 1983 movie starring C. Thomas Howell and Matt Dillon.
He was a talking teddy bear created by Ken Forsse, an animatronics enthusiast.
Who is Teddy Ruxpin? Forsse was inspired by his time working at Disney to create the talking toy creature.
This musician was known for “Back in the High Life” and for working with the musical groups Traffic and Blind Faith.
Who is Steve Winwood? Winwood first rose to fame as a teen in the ’60s, playing with the Spencer Davis Group.
In 1960, these two states hit a record high with populations of over 15 million people, according to the census.
What are California and New York? The estimated population of New York is currently over 19 million, and California is roughly 39 million.
The 1932 Ford Coupe driven by John Milner in American Graffiti
What is yellow? The film features many iconic cars, including a Thunderbird and an Edsel.
Bob Kane created this animated cat-and-mouse series as a spoof of his Batman comics.
What is Courageous Cat and Minute Mouse? The title characters are a crime-fighting duo much like Batman and Robin.
A 1969 anti-war novel opens, “All this happened, more or less.”
What is Slaughterhouse-Five? True to the novel’s opening line, the story is semi-autobiographical and draws on Vonnegut’s own military experience.