TBT

In 1989, Mattel accused Hasbro of manufacturing a Barbie clone. To present their case, the dolls were stripped naked in court.

In 1983, a producer's "bootleg Bond" promised mechanical sharks, Orson Welles, and the return of Sean Connery.

The vaguely unsettling ice cream cake helped launch the career of the Beastie Boys.

The tiny faux-fur dogs were "adopted" by millions of kids, thanks to the imagination of a Ford assembly line worker.

Courtesy of Tim Finn // A Real American Book

Opening on May 22, 1985, 'Rambo: First Blood Part II' was a fantasy fever dream of jingoism, Sylvester Stallone’s titular character a monosyllabic redeemer of an America that had failed itself in Vietnam.

The lasagna-snorting cat's car plush led to a burglary spree and humane society protests.

The General Mills monster cereals have been a hit for decades--aside from Franken Berry doing strange things to a kid's poop.

AOL's free trial CDs may have been a nuisance throughout the '90s, but they paved the way for an internet boom.

The sassy robot quizzed users with multiple choice questions stored on 8-track cassettes.

Billy Blanks wanted to call it Karobics, but the name was already taken.

He was invited to the White House. He sold $250 million in merchandise. And he nearly caused an actor to have a nervous breakdown on set.

The cartoonist revived his popular 1980s strip thanks to a letter from Harper Lee.

The name is the most famous cheat code of the '80s. But was Justin Bailey a real person?

Before rental stores and video streaming, movie lovers daisy-chained 18 Betamax recorders in the ballroom of a Ramada Inn to record 'Love Story.'

Everyone was mad about Coke Classic's disappearance, but only one man spent $100,000 doing something about it.

If our hero looks like Tom Cruise, it's no coincidence.

Gymnast Kerri Strug is carried off the floor by her coach Bela Karolyi after her routine at the Georgia Dome at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, Georgia on July 23, 1996.

The Russian women's gymnastics team hadn't been defeated in 48 years. To do it, Kerri Strug had to jump with a torn ankle.

They lost the Betamax battle, but they refused to lose the war.

While there are few unbreakable rules in advertising, most agencies would advise against using images of Adolf Hitler in association with your clothing brand.