Mental Floss

THE '80S

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






Hulu

It was only a matter of time before the television remake trend found its way back to Hannibal, Murdock, Face, and B.A. Baracus, the four mercenaries better known as The A-Team.

Therese Oneill
NBC

Until the impressive record was surpassed by 'The West Wing in 2000', 'Hill Street Blues' held the title of most Emmy-awarded freshman series, with eight trophies for its debut season alone (despite its basement-level ratings).

Roger Cormier
ABC

The nighttime soap you have to thank for the 1980s shoulder pad trend made its debut on this day in 1981.

Garin Pirnia