Mental Floss

THE '80S

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Paul Newman won an Oscar for his second go-around as “Fast Eddie” Felson in 1986's 'The Color of Money,' a one-time collaboration between the iconic film star and acclaimed director Martin Scorsese.

Roger Cormier
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The movie has scared audiences for over 30 years, and has remained popular to this day thanks to a 2015 reboot and continued discussion over the 1982 movie’s controversial production and alleged curse.

Roger Cormier


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In what would be their final movie together, in 1983 the classic comedy troupe Monty Python gave the world a collection of funny sketches meant to document every stage of a person's life, from “The Miracle of Birth” to “Death” (give or take a Terry Gillia

Roger Cormier






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In 1989's 'Look Who’s Talking,' Kirstie Alley played Mollie, a single mother whose love life is manipulated by her newborn son Mikey, so she ends up with a cab driver named James, played by John Travolta.

Roger Cormier
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In the 1990s, the magazine industry was having some issues. 'People' suffered a five percent drop in circulation in the first half of 1990; 'Sports Illustrated' dropped by seven percent that same year.

Jake Rossen
Shannen Doherty, Lisanne Falk, Kim Walker, and Winona Ryder star in Heathers (1989).

It’s doubtful that the dark comedy 'Heathers,' with its shocking violence and politically incorrect teen-speak, would likely ever be made today.

Roger Cormier


Judd Nelson, Emilio Estevez, Ally Sheedy, Molly Ringwald, and Anthony Michael Hall in The Breakfast Club (1985).

On February 15, 1985, John Hughes's 'The Breakfast Club' showed that, despite their labels, a brain, an athlete, a basket case, a princess, and a criminal aren't really so different from one another.

Kate Erbland


getty images

They came. They cried. They conquered. Here are 23 things you might not know about the late-’80s weepie.

Jennifer M Wood




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Over the course of roughly 500 episodes of the 1986-93 original series and its many spin-offs, the crew got to do pretty much everything else involving replica mucus.

Jake Rossen
Billboard Magazine

I know I’m not the only one mesmerized by this phenomenally random photo of the retired 37th President of the United States palling around with The Future Of Law Enforcement.

Brian Abrams








Bill Murray in Caddyshack (1980).

You may already know your favorite moments from 'Caddyshack' by heart. But after reading this list, you’ll be a lock for membership at Bushwood Country Club.

Sean Hutchinson
A still from 'The Dark Crystal.'

'The Dark Crystal' received a lukewarm response when it was released in 1982—in large part because Jim Henson fans, who were used to seeing lovable Muppets, were instead witnessing something truly unique.

Roger Cormier
David Bowie in 'Labyrinth' (1986).

Jim Henson's deeply personal tale of a teenage girl losing her baby brother to a Goblin King wasn't a hit when it was first released.

Roger Cormier
Julie Hagerty and Robert Hays (with Otto) in Airplane! (1980).

Shot on a budget of $3.5 million, David Zucker, Jim Abrahams, and Jerry Zucker wrote and directed 'Airplane!', a movie intended to parody all of the disaster movies that graced movie theaters throughout the recently concluded 1970s.

Roger Cormier