Mental Floss

THE '80S

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From the mid to late 1980s, the most ubiquitous road sign didn’t advise you to stop, obey the speed limit, or be mindful of crossing deer. Instead, it was diamond-shaped, used a black-on-yellow color scheme, and came with a stern warning for nearby driver

Jake Rossen


Canadian Broadcasting Corporation

In 1983, Jim Henson unleashed a new kind of family entertainment on the world with 'Fraggle Rock'. Here are 17 things you might not know about the beloved series and its cast of characters.

Jennifer M Wood




Christopher Reeve stars in Superman (1978).

Today, comic book movies are ubiquitous. But these comic book superheroes might never have made the move from the page to the screen if it weren't for the success of Richard Donner’s 'Superman: The Movie' (1978).

Matthew Jackson










Molly Ringwald, Andrew McCarthy, and Jon Cryer in Pretty in Pink (1986).

By February 1986, John Hughes had established himself as the king of teen movies with hits like 'Sixteen Candles,' 'Weird Science,' and 'The Breakfast Club.' Then came 'Pretty in Pink.'

Garin Pirnia
J.C.'s Channel, YouTube

When Atari released their video game adaptation of 'E.T. The Extraterrestrial' in 1982, they thought it would buoy their brand and help them compete with the growing home computer market.

Anna Green








Sally Ride being interviewed by the media in 1983.

"Everybody wanted to know about what kind of makeup I was taking up," Sally Ride said about the questions she was asked ahead of her historic flight into space. "They didn’t care about how well-prepared I was to operate the arm or deploy communications sa

Chris Higgins