Toys and Games - Totally the 80's

A colorful plastic Skip-It toy on asphalt during golden afternoon recess.

Why the Skip-It Toy Took Over Recess

One plastic hoop, one swinging ball, one badly timed jump, and suddenly the whole playground had an audience. The Skip-It toy looked almost too simple to become a sensation, yet…

Pop Culture Action Figures Fads Toys and Games Trends

M.U.S.C.L.E. Figures: Tiny Wrestlers, Huge 80s Fun

They fit in your palm, vanished under the couch, and somehow became the most important professional wrestling athletes in your bedroom. M.U.S.C.L.E. figures were small, pink, weird, and ready to…

Pop Culture Toys and Games Trends

Madballs Toys and the Gross-Out Craze We Loved

You didn't ask a Madball to look good on your shelf. You asked it to look like it had survived a toxic-waste accident, lost a fight with a lawn mower,…

Pop Culture Fast Food Favorites Toys and Games Trends

Why McDonald’s Boo Buckets Were the Trick-or-Treat Pails Kids Wanted

Some kids wanted the fries, and some wanted the toy. What they really wanted, however, were the McDonald's Boo Buckets. If you grew up during the 1980s, or caught the…

Pop Culture Fads Toys and Games Trends

Koosh Ball: The Toy Everyone Had to Squeeze

Some toys asked you to imagine a whole world. The Koosh Ball asked you to pick it up once, and that was enough. If you were anywhere near a toy…

Pop Culture Arcade Classics Fads Fast Food Favorites Food Toys and Games Trends Video Games

ShowBiz Pizza and the Birthday Party Every Kid Wanted

Before bounce houses and party packages took over, one birthday flex ruled the 80s: ShowBiz Pizza. If your name was on that cake table, you were the main character for…

Pop Culture Animated Saturday Morning Cartoons Toys and Games TV Shows

How Care Bears Filled 80s Bedrooms and Saturday TV

Some characters stayed on the screen, but the Care Bears climbed right off it and onto our beds. Before they became icons of children's television, these lovable characters were born…

Pop Culture Action Figures Toys and Games

M.A.S.K. Toys and the Vehicles Kids Swore Were the Best

You didn't just play with M.A.S.K. toys, you sprang them open. A red car became a flying assault machine. A semi truck turned into a mobile command center. A boat…

Pop Culture Toys and Games

Micro Machines and the Tiny Cars Kids Took Everywhere

There was a moment when a whole fleet could fit in your palm, and that felt like magic. Micro Machines were tiny enough to lose in the couch, yet big…

Pop Culture Fads Fashion Toys and Games Trends

Slap Bracelets and the School Ban Panic

You could hear them before you saw them, that fast little snap in the middle of homeroom. Slap bracelets were cheap, bright, weirdly satisfying, and almost impossible for kids to…