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As an '80s kid, I'm often nostalgic about that era. I sometimes hear myself speaking and I sound like my grandparents when they bragged about how things were better “before”.

To be honest, I do think things were better before. Ha! The eighties were an amazing time to live in and anyone who disagrees simply wasn’t around yet.

But let’s be honest, some things are just so much easier now, right? I created this comic series called “Strange things from the past” because some things are better now and some things were better then.

I had a blast making it. It was a little travel back in time and I hope you’ll travel too!

If you want to see more of my comics, check out my previous posts here and here

More info: Instagram | Facebook | tallncurly.com

#1

Strange Things From The Past – 22 Things You Will Understand If You Were Born Before The 90’s

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Amy Frank
Community Member
6 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

LMAO, my sister and I did that and you can hear my father in background shouting to turn down the music

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    #2

    Strange Things From The Past – 22 Things You Will Understand If You Were Born Before The 90’s

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    Little Wonder
    Community Member
    6 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Ah yessss. sitting on my bedroom floor, reading the lyrics booklet (if they had one) or at least going over and over the album art while the new CD played.

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    #3

    Strange Things From The Past – 22 Things You Will Understand If You Were Born Before The 90’s

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    pebs
    Community Member
    6 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    No surprise IQ is steadily lowering.

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    #4

    Strange Things From The Past – 22 Things You Will Understand If You Were Born Before The 90’s

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    Betsy R
    Community Member
    6 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I had one of those clear colored phones. I loved it so much. It HADDD to have an extra long cord.

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    #5

    Strange Things From The Past – 22 Things You Will Understand If You Were Born Before The 90’s

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    RaroaRaroa
    Community Member
    6 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    An encyclopedia that was out of date a year later on anything but history.

    John L
    Community Member
    6 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I actually missed this about the past. If I had to look something up, I would have to dig through other information (which was valuable in itself), as opposed to now. I might tangentially find interesting information. Now, I just put the question into google and get the specific answer I want. Maybe it's nostalgia, but I miss finding out things I didn't know, tangentially. I remember how I treasured my copy of the encyclopedia as a child.

    Dynein
    Community Member
    6 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Apparently you don't look up things the way I do... https://xkcd.com/214/

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    misteriosa
    Community Member
    6 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I loved it. Looking for one entry, reading a zillion others.... I actually made a wish for an encyclopedia for my birthday this year 😅 That, or a world map puzzle in 4000 pieces.

    Nicola Roberts
    Community Member
    6 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I remember you had to work a lot harder to plagiarize something. It took hours re-writing it from a encyclopedia ....

    Hiie Posti
    Community Member
    6 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I'm 11 and i still do it at school. My teacher says, it's important not to forget how to use books, when looking for material

    Bob Beltcher
    Community Member
    6 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    When you actually new what those numbers on the outside of the bookshelf ment.

    Theory Buchannon
    Community Member
    6 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I had to do that in kindergarten and I was born in 2006. parents raised me well.

    Joy Joyner
    Community Member
    6 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Right! And at least the encyclopedia is totally factual. Wiki is based on whatever somebody writes..

    spharoe
    Community Member
    6 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I still like to look through a real dictionary and have a giant thesaurus. I was a kid in the 80s.

    VICKI Spachner BLYTHIN
    Community Member
    6 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    so there are no books or encyclopedias anymore, we are doomed to the internet which could go down and then what???? Something to ponder.

    Calypso poet
    Community Member
    6 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I miss my trips to libraries with my mom followed by a trip to the bar!

    ispeak catanese
    Community Member
    6 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I loved our encyclopedias and reading all the random things! My favorite was the book for parents that went over all sorts of childhood illnesses.

    Randomcthulu
    Community Member
    6 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Our junior high's "newest" encyclopedias were from the mid 60s, I remember feel grown up because I got permission to use the ones from the high school for a project lol, theirs were actually new at the time.

    Hannah Joyce Desoloc
    Community Member
    6 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Good times. Felt like an achievement unlocked when you could find the topic at ten minutes tops.

    Ashley Galyen
    Community Member
    6 years ago (edited) Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Remember paper card catalogs?

    El Dee
    Community Member
    6 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Encyclopedias, Phone Books and the Yellow Pages. Every house had them..

    Mikey
    Community Member
    6 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    So many of my elementary/junior high school reports were basically plagiarized encyclopedia pages where I'd try to dumb down some of the word choices. Hooray for the inability for teachers being able to check!

    RoseTheMad
    Community Member
    6 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I have to admit, I much prefer being able to just google something than have to go through dozens of books to find the info I want. Internet has made me lazy... though I do enjoy reading books for fun, still :D

    Ellen Turner
    Community Member
    6 years ago (edited) Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    The worst thing I read in a book of "facts" was that "the earth is in a cooling period". It was from the 80's.

    Kobitka-artworks Tumblr
    Community Member
    6 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    pfff if only... I remember my old-fashion parents who were 100% sure that internet is only for game, so I can't do my homework with it's help

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    #6

    Strange Things From The Past – 22 Things You Will Understand If You Were Born Before The 90’s

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    chi-wei shen
    Community Member
    6 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    The best thing in the early 80s was a walkman and you really could walk and run while listening to it. The discman came much later, in the middle of the 80s.

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    #7

    Strange Things From The Past – 22 Things You Will Understand If You Were Born Before The 90’s

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    lenka
    Community Member
    6 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    With or without a cell phone, I would never wait an hour for someone to turn up.

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    #8

    Strange Things From The Past – 22 Things You Will Understand If You Were Born Before The 90’s

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    Samantha Lomb
    Community Member
    6 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    My grandfather owned the local video store. He would hold it for us.

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    #9

    Strange Things From The Past – 22 Things You Will Understand If You Were Born Before The 90’s

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    LuckyL
    Community Member
    6 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    "photo album today" -> do they even exist?

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    #10

    Strange Things From The Past – 22 Things You Will Understand If You Were Born Before The 90’s

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    Samantha Lomb
    Community Member
    6 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Do not miss smoking in restaurants or other public areas at all

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    #11

    Strange Things From The Past – 22 Things You Will Understand If You Were Born Before The 90’s

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    ADHORTATOR
    Community Member
    6 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    My father recorded a sports match over the christening of our first child....

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    #12

    Strange Things From The Past – 22 Things You Will Understand If You Were Born Before The 90’s

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    #13

    Strange Things From The Past – 22 Things You Will Understand If You Were Born Before The 90’s

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    Demi Zwaan
    Community Member
    6 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    We did have videorecorders back then...

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    #14

    Strange Things From The Past – 22 Things You Will Understand If You Were Born Before The 90’s

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    #15

    Strange Things From The Past – 22 Things You Will Understand If You Were Born Before The 90’s

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    Little Wonder
    Community Member
    6 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    i made a few mix tapes. None of them worked, I was very single.

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    #16

    Strange Things From The Past – 22 Things You Will Understand If You Were Born Before The 90’s

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    Verena
    Community Member
    6 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Yes, you had to sing to the guy in the CD store

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    #17

    Strange Things From The Past – 22 Things You Will Understand If You Were Born Before The 90’s

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    Brandi VanSteenwyk
    Community Member
    6 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I blame YouTube for the horrendous way eyebrows have devolved into hideously unnatural geometric smears on otherwise beautiful faces.

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    #18

    Strange Things From The Past – 22 Things You Will Understand If You Were Born Before The 90’s

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    #19

    Strange Things From The Past – 22 Things You Will Understand If You Were Born Before The 90’s

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    Becca Gizmo the Squirrel
    Community Member
    6 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    She looks cute in her '80's clothes. She just needs black lace Madonna gloves.

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    #20

    Strange Things From The Past – 22 Things You Will Understand If You Were Born Before The 90’s

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    Alex
    Community Member
    6 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Still waiting for the boyfriend from earlier?

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    #21

    Strange Things From The Past – 22 Things You Will Understand If You Were Born Before The 90’s

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    #22

    Strange Things From The Past – 22 Things You Will Understand If You Were Born Before The 90’s

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    Kjorn
    Community Member
    6 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    remember watching porky's in my small black and white tv in the corner of my room carefully listen to the noise in the house in case of my parent coming in

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