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
This post may include affiliate links.
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.
An encyclopedia that was out of date a year later on anything but history.
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.
My grandfather owned the local video store. He would hold it for us.
My father recorded a sports match over the christening of our first child....
But there was the little bit of plastic you could remove to prevent the tape to be recorded again !
Load More Replies...
One thing I do miss about that era was that I was forced to wait a week to see my favorite shows. It made the anticipation and the viewing, that much more sweet.
Yes, it did but now I'm finding I don't remember what the hell happened!! I am hoping it is just the insomnia I suffer with (2:43am and really should not be on BP) and not extremely early onset dementia!? 😲
Load More Replies...
Four years later... thank you :)
Load More Replies...
My Dad still has a Scotch VHS tape recording of Flash Gordon from an airing on Channel 4 in the 80s complete with adverts. :)
I remember I had recorded some song over my father’s favourite song, damn, that were though times;)
Well you had to either break the tab or have one of the nifty 'record lock' switches VHSs had on them.
To this day, if I want to record a show I still call it “setting a tape.” Grey’s Anatomy next week? I’ll set a tape for it. Lol.
I blame YouTube for the horrendous way eyebrows have devolved into hideously unnatural geometric smears on otherwise beautiful faces.
She looks cute in her '80's clothes. She just needs black lace Madonna gloves.
Four years later, you're welcome ^^ and thank you :)
Load More Replies...
K remember when i got a hi-fi tower that you could put 3 cd in and it changed the cd by a click of the button. That was a thing. Was so happy to have it... 20 years ago...
We had all this in the ‘90s too in the US. For some reason it’s a popular thing to make make a post “only people born in this time will remember.” Like people think their generation is special. Remembering dial up isn’t special; living through it once was enough.
Load More Replies...
Who can forget the phone cord stretching from room to room? My parents use to get so pissed haha the thing ended up stretching out to like 20'
And you'd get it twisted so it wouldn't stay a proper pig tail curl.
Load More Replies...
Live was more interesting... that's why I still like to listen vinyl and "vintage" devices at general.
I got a record player for Christmas and It's been the best thing EVER!
Load More Replies...
I listened to a song on the radio when I was a kid. Loved the song but didn't know the title. I waited for good 10 years before I got the title. Thanks to Google.
Pre DVR Era: If you missed an episode of your favorite show it was quite possible there would never be another opportunity to see it again.
I will always remember fumbling with a paper map while my mother yelled 'is this my exit!?! I need to know right NOW! Is this my exit!?!' 'I don't know!!!' So damn stressful.
However, Google Maps is not always better. It has given me Sally-Go-Round-the-Rosebush directions on occasion. I always double-check using street view to make sure I won't make a left turn onto a busy road at an intersection without a traffic light.
Load More Replies... They forgot the pre Photoshop era. Just imagine Instagram, Facebook and other social media sites without the wonders of Photoshop.
Remember excitedly going to the photo shop to collect your pics after 3 days. Only to find them all blank because you opened the camera a crack. Certainly appreciated pics more then...
Load More Replies...
I remember in 1986 (I turned 17 that summer) when we finally got a touch tone phone—and an extension!—in the house after years and years of one rotary phone in the living room. I felt like, "Finally, we're in the 20th century around here!" HA!
I don't feel nostalgic at all, glad those times are past! But I love the fashion in the drawings
Nostalgia is fun. Until you get to a "certain age" and most of the people your age are complaining that things were better way back when. They were not.
And then they get even older and spend all their time complaining about their health.
Load More Replies... Remember when your mix tape would get stuck in your cassette player and all the tape would go shooting out everywhere? You’d sit there patiently with a pencil shoved in the gear..... slowly... winding.... it.... back.... up. Because you were not going to sit there and re-record a new mix tape.
Good god, this one actually gave me flashbacks, lol! I remember one Christmas, we were driving from NC to OK to visit family and my parents gave me an early gift of a discman - I used up every penny of my babysitting money to have enough batteries for the trip because a pair would die about every two hours, lol!
One of my favorite pastimes was finding new electronic music in the '90s, since it was still pretty underground. Radio and MTV left me dry, so the way to do it was to go to a record store, to that tiny little rack in the back that they lumped under 'dance' (regardless of the tempo) and check out the compilation albums. Find an album that had one or two artists that you like, then take the $10-15 gamble with the other ~10 artists. Each visit to the store would take me in a different, unknown direction and led me to develop my tastes by this mystery box approach. It felt like a godsend when stores started adding the stands where you could scan a CD in store to listen to a sample. To this day, I miss the directionless browsing that led me to find my favorite song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ydsf_ax1pmA
Can ppl plz click on my name and check out my post? I'm a 12 yr old photographer and I rly want to get my pics out there. I promise it won't be a waste of time!
don't promote yourself on somebody else's post lol
Load More Replies...
The most frustrating thing was when you missed something on TV, you had to hope for a rerun or that maybe someone you know taped it... and not knowing the title or the artist of the song. There are still some songs today where I don't know the name of the artist or the title of the song from the past. So today I certainly would not give up all the benefits of the internet/digital era, but those years for me in many ways were better than today. But that's always the thing with changes and progress, we have some great new stuff but also lose some of the old good ones.
If you were born very long before the 90s you don’t understand most of these either.
I'm glad I am a rare case of being able to remember all this, despite being born 1990 on the dot. Gosh, I miss it...
Ahh, the 80s & 90s... when the internet went "Skaweeruureeweerrt!!!" and we welcomed the 90s by trading in our 80s Motorola Zack Morris brick phone for the 90s Nokia that sounded the "tone heard round the world". Then greeted the 2000s with the phone that reached cult status, the Nokia 3210. And so began Earth's addiction to mobile gaming (that I'm pretty sure Nokia started with the release of Snake!)
really good if you were a guy a toon on wall to wall free porn would be included.
I did notice a couple of things in this article, The Samantha Fox T-shirt, anyone outside the UK will be googling her. Slush Puppies in #20, that really brings back memories, thankfully still around!
Forgot to show: "And back then, we survived the apocalypse b/c we weren't filming it on our phones"
Yes Yes ... those days were golden time .. life was good and easy .. as a kid I used to be outdoor most of the time and evening, mom used to run around to find us for dinner..
I am a beer enthusiast, and I used to carry a list of the beers I had drunk so I could try something new. Now, thanks to my smart phone and beer apps, I can quickly check if I've had something before.
I just saw a meme from a standup who said guys like you are basically playing adult Pokemon.
Load More Replies...
Yeah...until you realize what your age would be right now. I'll trade you.
Load More Replies...
Yes, Millennials. Back in the "Olden Days" we actually had to have patience and put some effort into doing things.
Four years later, you're welcome ^^ and thank you :)
Load More Replies... K remember when i got a hi-fi tower that you could put 3 cd in and it changed the cd by a click of the button. That was a thing. Was so happy to have it... 20 years ago...
We had all this in the ‘90s too in the US. For some reason it’s a popular thing to make make a post “only people born in this time will remember.” Like people think their generation is special. Remembering dial up isn’t special; living through it once was enough.
Load More Replies... Who can forget the phone cord stretching from room to room? My parents use to get so pissed haha the thing ended up stretching out to like 20'
And you'd get it twisted so it wouldn't stay a proper pig tail curl.
Load More Replies... Live was more interesting... that's why I still like to listen vinyl and "vintage" devices at general.
I got a record player for Christmas and It's been the best thing EVER!
Load More Replies... I listened to a song on the radio when I was a kid. Loved the song but didn't know the title. I waited for good 10 years before I got the title. Thanks to Google.
Pre DVR Era: If you missed an episode of your favorite show it was quite possible there would never be another opportunity to see it again.
I will always remember fumbling with a paper map while my mother yelled 'is this my exit!?! I need to know right NOW! Is this my exit!?!' 'I don't know!!!' So damn stressful.
However, Google Maps is not always better. It has given me Sally-Go-Round-the-Rosebush directions on occasion. I always double-check using street view to make sure I won't make a left turn onto a busy road at an intersection without a traffic light.
Load More Replies... They forgot the pre Photoshop era. Just imagine Instagram, Facebook and other social media sites without the wonders of Photoshop.
Remember excitedly going to the photo shop to collect your pics after 3 days. Only to find them all blank because you opened the camera a crack. Certainly appreciated pics more then...
Load More Replies... I remember in 1986 (I turned 17 that summer) when we finally got a touch tone phone—and an extension!—in the house after years and years of one rotary phone in the living room. I felt like, "Finally, we're in the 20th century around here!" HA!
I don't feel nostalgic at all, glad those times are past! But I love the fashion in the drawings
Nostalgia is fun. Until you get to a "certain age" and most of the people your age are complaining that things were better way back when. They were not.
And then they get even older and spend all their time complaining about their health.
Load More Replies... Remember when your mix tape would get stuck in your cassette player and all the tape would go shooting out everywhere? You’d sit there patiently with a pencil shoved in the gear..... slowly... winding.... it.... back.... up. Because you were not going to sit there and re-record a new mix tape.
Good god, this one actually gave me flashbacks, lol! I remember one Christmas, we were driving from NC to OK to visit family and my parents gave me an early gift of a discman - I used up every penny of my babysitting money to have enough batteries for the trip because a pair would die about every two hours, lol!
One of my favorite pastimes was finding new electronic music in the '90s, since it was still pretty underground. Radio and MTV left me dry, so the way to do it was to go to a record store, to that tiny little rack in the back that they lumped under 'dance' (regardless of the tempo) and check out the compilation albums. Find an album that had one or two artists that you like, then take the $10-15 gamble with the other ~10 artists. Each visit to the store would take me in a different, unknown direction and led me to develop my tastes by this mystery box approach. It felt like a godsend when stores started adding the stands where you could scan a CD in store to listen to a sample. To this day, I miss the directionless browsing that led me to find my favorite song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ydsf_ax1pmA
Can ppl plz click on my name and check out my post? I'm a 12 yr old photographer and I rly want to get my pics out there. I promise it won't be a waste of time!
don't promote yourself on somebody else's post lol
Load More Replies... The most frustrating thing was when you missed something on TV, you had to hope for a rerun or that maybe someone you know taped it... and not knowing the title or the artist of the song. There are still some songs today where I don't know the name of the artist or the title of the song from the past. So today I certainly would not give up all the benefits of the internet/digital era, but those years for me in many ways were better than today. But that's always the thing with changes and progress, we have some great new stuff but also lose some of the old good ones.
If you were born very long before the 90s you don’t understand most of these either.
I'm glad I am a rare case of being able to remember all this, despite being born 1990 on the dot. Gosh, I miss it...
Ahh, the 80s & 90s... when the internet went "Skaweeruureeweerrt!!!" and we welcomed the 90s by trading in our 80s Motorola Zack Morris brick phone for the 90s Nokia that sounded the "tone heard round the world". Then greeted the 2000s with the phone that reached cult status, the Nokia 3210. And so began Earth's addiction to mobile gaming (that I'm pretty sure Nokia started with the release of Snake!)
really good if you were a guy a toon on wall to wall free porn would be included.
I did notice a couple of things in this article, The Samantha Fox T-shirt, anyone outside the UK will be googling her. Slush Puppies in #20, that really brings back memories, thankfully still around!
Forgot to show: "And back then, we survived the apocalypse b/c we weren't filming it on our phones"
Yes Yes ... those days were golden time .. life was good and easy .. as a kid I used to be outdoor most of the time and evening, mom used to run around to find us for dinner..
I am a beer enthusiast, and I used to carry a list of the beers I had drunk so I could try something new. Now, thanks to my smart phone and beer apps, I can quickly check if I've had something before.
I just saw a meme from a standup who said guys like you are basically playing adult Pokemon.
Load More Replies... Yeah...until you realize what your age would be right now. I'll trade you.
Load More Replies... Yes, Millennials. Back in the "Olden Days" we actually had to have patience and put some effort into doing things.
