Mental Floss

THE '80S

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After the massive success of the 1977 original, and the downer ending of 'The Empire Strikes Back' in 1980, space opera mastermind George Lucas returned in 1983 to produce what everyone thought would be the final installment of 'Star Wars'.

Sean Hutchinson
Peter Parks, AFP/Getty Images

Although it doesn’t have quite the same archaeological provenance as hieroglyphs or dinosaur bones, historians believe there’s ample evidence to suggest that the mullet has been around for centuries. And it's gaining popularity once again.

Jake Rossen


20th Century Fox Home Entertainment

Five years after the release of 'Return of the Jedi' (1983) and four years after 'Indiana Jones' and the 'Temple of Doom' (1984), George Lucas gave audiences the story for another film about an unlikely hero on an epic journey, but this time he had three

Andrew LaSane




iStock

In the fall of 1923, street vendors in Santa Barbara, California received an unexpected bit of attention regarding one of their more popular wares: 'The San Francisco Chronicle' wrote about the sellers' “freakish little brown seeds” that “cavorted about t

Jake Rossen


Photo Illustration by Mental Floss. Woody Image: iStock. Background: IFC Midnight

It’s no surprise (or maybe it is) that several references to 'The Shining,' from the obvious to the obscure, have snuck into Pixar’s lineup over the years. Here are nine of them.

Rebecca Pahle


CBS

The man who was nearly Indiana Jones helped give life to one of the most popular shows of the '80s, which ended its run 30 years ago.

Jason Serafino


Dan Kitwood, Getty Images

One sure sign of a toy craze is annoyed toy store owners, and in 1976, there were plenty of them. The reason? The Kenner Company had introduced a novel 10-inch latex doll that never remained on shelves for more than a few minutes at a time.

Jake Rossen












Karen Neoh, Flickr, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons

In 1988, one year before 'Cops' began asking the bad boys of America “What'cha gonna do when they come for you?,” noted victims’ advocate John Walsh was turning every American with access to Fox into a potential crime-solver on 'America’s Most Wanted'.

Jennifer M Wood