The '80s

Arnold Schwarzenegger in The Terminator (1984).

He told you he’d be back. Before you go and see the newest installment of the 'Terminator' franchise, here are some things you may not have known about the first four movies in the series.

It has been nearly 40 years since Rob Lowe taught us about illusionary flashes of light and how to play the sax.

McPizza took the fast food world by storm.

In the 1980s, McDonald’s was as dominant as any fast food chain could hope to be. Possibly the world’s most-recognized brand, McDonald's was double the size of its closest competitor, owning nearly 40% of the $48 billion burger market.

John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd star in The Blues Brothers (1980).

It has been 40 years since John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd brought their SNL characters Jake and Elwood Blues to the big screen with 'The Blues Brothers,' a loud, money-making love letter to both Chicago and rhythm and blues.

Christopher Atkins and Brooke Shields star in The Blue Lagoon (1980).

Brooke Shields was just 14 when she filmed 'The Blue Lagoon,' the slightly salacious island-set romance that capitalized on burgeoning hormones in a big way. The film was shocking when it debuted in 1980—but even more than 40 years later, it can still mak

In the early 1980s, psychologist William Cain asked a bunch of people to sniff lighter fluid—for science. Working with students at Yale University, Cain and his cohorts took 80 common scents and asked participants if they could identify them.

Tiffany Brissette stars as Vicki the Robot in Small Wonder.

Nearly 35 years after its debut, Vicki the Robot and 'Small Wonder' are simultaneously remembered with fondness and outright scorn.

Two years after 'Dirty Dancing' and one year before 'Ghost,' Patrick Swayze played a bouncer with a Ph.D in philosophy in 1989’s 'Road House.'

Original production cel from Rikki-Tikki-Tavi on its key matching background.

When Chuck Jones decided to make the short film “Rikki-Tikki-Tavi,” he faced a challenge: How could he imbue the cobra-killing mongoose with a sense of personality, all without taking away from the fact that it was an animal?

Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker go head-to-head in The Empire Strikes Back (1980).

On May 21, 1980, 'The Empire Strikes Back'—the second film in the Star Wars series—arrived in theaters and thrilled audiences.

Though He-Mania was not engineered to last, it remains one of the biggest toy success stories of all time.

Most debates about pop music may be entirely subjective, but Matthias Mauch, an engineer at Queen Mary University of London, decided to take a more scientific approach to the subject.

Thirty years ago, millions of children (and more than a few adults) became obsessed with 'ThunderCats,' that quintessential ‘80s cartoon about a race of sword-wielding cat people who arrive on Third Earth to protect its inhabitants from the evil Mumm-Ra.

From "The Space Gamer" to "Today's Woodworker," we've got some gems. Here are some magazines from the '80s.

Care Bear stare! Gather around, Brave Heart Lion, Share Bear, Birthday Bear, and the rest of the gang, and let’s learn something new about 'The Care Bears Movie.'

“We’re launching in New York,” Hiroshi Yamauchi said, “because that’s where success happens.”

George Michael, Bono, Paul McCartney, Freddie Mercury, David Bowie, Howard Jones, Bob Geldof and other musicians gather on stage for the finale of the Live Aid concert at London's Wembley Stadium on July 13, 1985.

While 1984 was iconic, 1985 was an even bigger year for pop culture: New Coke, 'Back to the Future,' WrestleMania, Live Aid, Calvin & Hobbes, the first .com domain ... it all happened.

Although the screen time for many of the following bipedal, humanoid creatures was often quite limited, children and collectors alike have always shared an affinity for these curious aliens.

While her older sister Beezus calls her a “pest,” Ramona’s imaginative and lively nature is why readers still love her all these years later.

It is true that some of these things can still be found, either old and faded on eBay or earnestly reproduced on specialty sites like The Vermont Country Store. But these products and deserve more; they have timeless appeal that would suit our 21st centur