Today’s smartphones, tablets, and digital cameras are super cool and all, but the 1980s had plenty of interesting objects of its own that seemed like total classics that would never go out of style. In fact, some of these items still live in our hearts and will hit any ‘80s kid with a wave of nostalgia.
So, forget about those PlayStation 5 consoles, flat screen TVs, and drones for a moment and take a trip back in time with this quiz to see how memorable the ‘80s really were. Can you remember all of the bits and bobbles that used to take up space in all of our houses way back then?
Today’s smartphones, tablets, and digital cameras are super cool and all, but the 1980s had plenty of interesting objects of its own that seemed like total classics that would never go out of style. In fact, some of these items still live in our hearts and will hit any ‘80s kid with a wave of nostalgia.
So, forget about those PlayStation 5 consoles, flat screen TVs, and drones for a moment and take a trip back in time with this quiz to see how memorable the ‘80s really were. Can you remember all of the bits and bobbles that used to take up space in all of our houses way back then?
These bracelets were made from a flexible material so kids could literally slap them along their wrists and they would coil without falling off. They also came in a variety of designs and colors.
These shoes were a fashion requirement in the ‘80s and were known as Jellies mainly because they were transparent and had a jelly-like flexibility. They were also very easy to slip on and off and were often infused with glitter.
The My Buddy Doll was introduced in 1986 by Hasbro as a means to teach boys how to be loving and caring to their friends. But along the way, My Buddy got a sibling in the form of Kid Sister.
Converse shoes were all the rage in the 1980s. But unlike some of the items on this list, this is one type of fashion accessory that has not faded away and continues to be popular today.
Kids looking to perfect their balancing skills relied on the Pogo Ball to jump up and down on or simply keep themselves from tipping over by balancing their feet on the outer ring of this device.
This device was used to pull a section of a t-shirt to give the appearance of a more fitted top. It was pretty popular so it was rare not to spot at least one person wearing one back when walking down the street in the 1980s.
With the use of two knobs, kids were able to twist and turn until they created a design or an object on the gray screen. The only downer was that kids couldn’t make any space in between objects. So essentially, whatever they draw is one big continuous line.
With the help of a cassette tape that was inserted in its back and a motorized mouth, Teddy Ruxpin appeared to come to life and tell stories.
This device was great to keep your heart rate up and burn some calories. All the user had to do was attach the device to one leg and spin it. As it did, they had to jump over its string. It was basically the same principle as jumping rope but the ball had a counter to track how many times kids skipped.
These plush puppies were everyone’s favorite and some might say they were the precursor to Beanie Babies. In fact, they were so popular that a TV series and a movie was made based off of them.
This handheld artifact had a keyboard and a speech synthesizer so that whenever a child spelled out a word and clicked the say it button, it would say the word. The device also contained education game cartridges as well.
Long before Air Jordans became popular, kids were wearing L.A. Gear sneakers. This high top foot gear was considered cool for kids of all ages back in the 1980s.
This loose-leaf binder contained sliding plastic rings, folders and pockets that ensured that papers and school related material stayed in place. It also had a Velcro closure that was really neat.
This gooey mixture was slightly gross but kids loved it because it was based off of the same Gak super slime seen on the ultra-popular TV network Nickelodeon.
It was cute, soft, and kids loved to hug it for a very special reason. The toy was designed to glow whenever it was squeezed, which brought plenty of smiles to children.
This popular cartoon character had her own series in the 1980s. Not only did she sing, but she had two identities like Miley Cyrus did on the series "Hannah Montana." One was Jerrica Benton and the other was the alter ego Jem. The show was so popular that it spawned a line of dolls.
This handheld device from Nintendo allowed kids to play some of their favorite games, like Super Mario Bros., without using a game console. And since it was so portable, they could play with it under their desk while their teachers were teaching.
These action figures are based off of the popular cartoon, which started out as “He-Man and the Masters of the Universe.” But the studio later decided to give He-Man a twin sister named She-Ra so girls would have a strong female character to look up to.
Since video games were still in their infancy, a lot of kids entertained themselves with this blacklight board that allowed them to attach multi-colored pegs to create an array of designs or even messages.
This brand offered all types of toy vehicles such as cars, motorcycles, helicopters, airplanes, boats, tanks, and trains. And as the name suggests, they were all tiny which is what kids loved so much about them.
This video game console was the ancestor of today’s most popular consoles. In fact, a lot of the games that were played back in the day such as Pac-Man and Frogger continue to exist today. But today’s kids wouldn’t be too impressed with the Atari’s graphics.
In order to win, players had to shoot a small puck with small attached guns. Whichever player managed to get the puck in the opposing player’s goal won.
This 3D puzzle was quite a brain teaser in the ‘80s, but it originally went by the name Magic Cube. But regardless of the name, people spent hours trying to move the squares around in order to get the color of the cubes to match on all sides.
The Care Bears came in different colors and different personalities. They also had special emblems like hearts, sunshine and rainbows on their chests that they used to project love onto someone or something. This process was called a “Care Bear Stare.”
This type of camera was extra popular because people didn’t have to wait for their films to be developed at a photo shop. Instead, they pointed to an object, clicked, and waited for the photo to come out and develop on its own.
This popular object was a low-riding tricycle that consisted of one big wheel in the front and two smaller ones in the back. It was also made primarily of plastic.
Long before DVDs and digital streaming became popular, there was a little something called a VHS tape, which contained people’s favorite movies. To watch these movies, they had to pop the tape into a device called a VCR.
This boardgame was designed to look just like a mall and players were given fake cash and fake credit cards to use and there were plenty of sales, clearances and fun.
Practically every business had a rolodex, which was a directory of business and personal contacts and they were all handwritten. But this was way before people started using Google search.
These plush toys were called Wrestling Buddies and they were in the shape of the most popular characters in the wrestling world such as Macho Man and Hulk Hogan.
This device allowed people to either blast their music from their favorite AM/FM radio station, or they could slide their favorite cassette into the tape holder and hit play. It was just that simple.
Essentially, all kids had to do to view the 3D images was to stick one of the thing cardboard disks with different reels into the View-Master and click on a handle to switch reels. A lot of the disks showed things like animals but others contained stories of popular cartoons.
This type of phone used pulse dialing, a form of signaling technology that allowed people to communicate with others by dialing the number on a circular dial. Unfortunately, a lot of people lost their press-on nails dialing on these phones.
These cards were intended to be a sort of parody for the Cabbage Patch Dolls trading cards. But they became so popular that kids started collecting them and trading them on the playground.
This artifact was made for audio play and recording. But most ‘80s kids will remember how heartbreaking it was when the magnetic tape got tangled in the cassette player, essentially ruining the tape forever.
Admittedly, typewriters have been around since the late 19th century. But they really became a staple in businesses in the 1980s. However, some people also owned one at home to type letters or write books.
These types of watches were released in the 1970s but became a hit in the 1980s. Eventually, Casio released a version that could store phone numbers and appointments as well.
These disks were inserted into a computer’s disk drive slot whenever a user needed to save a file. Unfortunately, it didn’t have a whole lot of storage capacity like the USB drives used today.
This device was used to print text on a self-adhesive strip of paper or plastic. Today, label makers continue to exist but are mainly digital unlike the bulky, metallic counterparts of the 1980s.
Fax machines were first introduced as a means to send images and text across vast distances. It became everyone’s personal telegraph and remains in use today but isn’t quite as popular.
The game was released in 1981, but it wasn’t until 1984 that it became very popular. The point of the game is to answer a series of trivia questions right and earn pie wedges to fill in a circular playing piece. Today, this game continues to be popular in its traditional format as well as on game consoles.
Decades before libraries starting using OPAC (online public access catalog), librarians and book worms relied on card catalogs, which were stored in these cabinets, to find a book.
The Nintendo Entertainment System or NES for short became available in the United States in 1986. At the time, a lot of players experienced what is called Nintendo finger, which is a bruise on the hand's thumb caused by repeatedly pressing on the controller.
Polly Pocket dolls were tiny and came in pocket-sized cases that offered interiors of homes complete with beds, couches and more. Of course, each case had a different interior design that kids could use as a backdrop for their miniature doll’s adventures.
The Osborne 1 was released in 1981 and was considered the first personal desktop computer or PC. Unfortunately, the company that made them tanked. But over the years, the concept of a PC continued to improve.
Girls would loosen their hair and use the banana clip to pull their hair into a voluminous ponytail. Best of all, it came in so many different colors, so girls could pick a different one every day to match their ensemble.
Towards the end of the decade, the portable CD player was introduced which allowed people to listen to CDs on the go. Unfortunately, it took a while for manufacturers to design a model with a skipless version that prevented the CD from stopping or skipping when people moved.
This item was used to store information from computers and required a fabric sleeve to prevent dust from getting on the disk. Eventually, manufacturers created a floppy disk that was smaller and had a harder shell.
This item had the same principle style as jelly shoes in that they were flexible, transparent and had glitter on the inside. So, naturally, they were a major fashion accessory that came in a variety of colors.
Unlike regular stickers, these items not only looked tasty, but smelled tasty too. All kids had to do was scratch the sticker and it would release the scent of the food that was pictured on the front like cupcakes, bananas and chocolate.