The 1980s shelf
1980s things worth remembering.
Neon grids, arcade cabinets, and mixtapes.
46 catalogued finds
Nintendo Entertainment System
“nintendo entertainment system”
Buying options
He-Man Action Figure
“he-man action figure”
Buying options
Nintendo Game Boy
“nintendo game boy”
Buying options
Jenga
“wood block tower game”
Buying options
Koosh Ball
“rubber string ball”
Buying options
Transformers Action Toy
“transformers action toy”
Buying options
Rubik's Cube
“colored cube puzzle”
Buying options
Speak & Spell
“orange spelling computer”
Buying options
Teddy Ruxpin
“talking bear cassette”
Buying options
Guess Who?
“face flipping guessing game”
Buying options
Cabbage Patch Kids
“adoption doll craze”
Buying options
Care Bears
“bears with belly symbols”
Buying options
My Little Pony
“colorful pony toys”
Buying options
Trivial Pursuit
“trivia wedge board game”
Buying options
Chia Pet
“ch ch ch chia”
Buying options
Frogger Mini Arcade
“frog crossing road game”
Buying options
Cassette Bluetooth Player
“walkman style cassette”
Buying options
Galaga Mini Arcade
“tiny galaga arcade”
Buying options
Boombox
“big cassette radio”
Buying options
Strawberry Shortcake Doll
“strawberry shortcake doll”
Buying options
Pac-Man Mini Arcade
“arcade yellow guy eating dots”
Buying options
Capri Sun
“silver pouch drink”
Buying options
Micro Machines
“micro machines”
Buying options
Ring Pop
“old candy ring”
Buying options
Little Tikes Cozy Coupe
“red yellow toy car”
Buying options
Big League Chew
“shredded bubble gum pouch”
Buying options
Fun Dip
“flavored sugar dip powder”
Buying options
Rubiks Snake Puzzle
“rubiks snake puzzle”
Buying options
Fashion Plates
“fashion rubbing plates”
Buying options
Plasma Ball
“electric lightning ball”
Buying options
Bubble Tape
“six feet of gum tape”
Buying options
Push Pop
“push-up lollipop tube”
Buying options
VHS Tape
“black plastic tape”
Buying options
Casio F91W Watch
“black digital watch”
Buying options
Nerds Candy
“tiny crunchy candy”
Buying options
Jelly shoes
“Translucent, jelly-bean-colored plastic sandals that squeaked with every step and left waffle-pattern tan lines all summer long.”
Buying options
Scrunchie
“A fabric-covered elastic hair tie that ballooned out your ponytail, worn in stacks up the wrist between hairstyles.”
Buying options
Cassette tape
“A compact magnetic tape cartridge used for music and mixtapes, rewound with a pencil when the tape deck ate it.”
Buying options
Floppy disk
“A thin magnetic storage disk in a plastic sleeve, used to save and transport computer files back when 1.44MB felt like plenty of space.”
Buying options
Laserdisc
“An early optical video disc format the size of a vinyl record, offering sharper picture quality than VHS but never becoming mainstream.”
Buying options
Camcorder
“A shoulder-mounted or handheld video camera that recorded straight to tape, responsible for hours of shaky home movies and birthday party footage.”
Buying options
Walkman
“A portable cassette player with foam headphones that let you take your music collection anywhere, one AA battery at a time.”
Buying options
Suspenders
“Elastic straps clipped to the waistband and worn over the shoulders, alternately preppy or punk depending on what else you paired them with.”
Buying options
Overhead projector
“A boxy machine that projected handwritten or printed transparencies onto a screen, the centerpiece of countless classroom lessons before digital projectors.”
Buying options
Electric pencil sharpener
“A motorized desktop sharpener that ground a pencil to a point with the push of a button, replacing the hand-crank sharpener in most classrooms.”
Buying options
Answering machine
“A cassette-based device that recorded phone messages while you were out, complete with a blinking light and a beep that meant someone had actually called.”
Buying options