Mental Floss
Mental Floss

THE '80S

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
Double Dare via Facebook

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
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.

Sean Hutchinson
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.

Jake Rossen
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.

Roger Cormier
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

Kate Erbland
Ahhh—smells like the '80s!

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.

Jake Rossen
Shout! Factory

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.'

Roger Cormier
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?

Erin McCarthy
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