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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
This post may include affiliate links.
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What do you think ?
Aleksandra Szpigiel 4 years ago
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...
Colleen Coughlin 4 years ago
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'
Eric Mac Fadden 4 years ago
Live was more interesting... that's why I still like to listen vinyl and "vintage" devices at general.
Vincent Nnaemeka 4 years ago
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.
tuzdayschild 4 years ago
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.
Cori 4 years ago
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.
chi-wei shen 4 years ago
They forgot the pre Photoshop era. Just imagine Instagram, Facebook and other social media sites without the wonders of Photoshop.
April Simnel 4 years ago (edited)
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!
Marcelo Mabuchi 4 years ago
I don't feel nostalgic at all, glad those times are past! But I love the fashion in the drawings
Steven Cook 4 years ago
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.
Cristina S. 4 years ago (edited)
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.
M 4 years ago
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!
Troux 4 years ago
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
Ellory Potter 4 years ago
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!
Bepina 4 years ago
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.
Mark Morey 4 years ago
If you were born very long before the 90s you don’t understand most of these either.
Katrina Perry 4 years ago
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...
Christa Ward 4 years ago
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!)
Milan Alexich 4 years ago
really good if you were a guy a toon on wall to wall free porn would be included.
Matthew Smith 4 years ago
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!
Leo Domitrix 4 years ago
Forgot to show: "And back then, we survived the apocalypse b/c we weren't filming it on our phones"
Manish Lakhani 4 years ago
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..
Freya the Wanderer 4 years ago
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.
Sean Harrison 4 years ago
Yes, Millennials. Back in the "Olden Days" we actually had to have patience and put some effort into doing things.
Aleksandra Szpigiel 4 years ago
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...
Colleen Coughlin 4 years ago
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'
Eric Mac Fadden 4 years ago
Live was more interesting... that's why I still like to listen vinyl and "vintage" devices at general.
Vincent Nnaemeka 4 years ago
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.
tuzdayschild 4 years ago
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.
Cori 4 years ago
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.
chi-wei shen 4 years ago
They forgot the pre Photoshop era. Just imagine Instagram, Facebook and other social media sites without the wonders of Photoshop.
April Simnel 4 years ago (edited)
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!
Marcelo Mabuchi 4 years ago
I don't feel nostalgic at all, glad those times are past! But I love the fashion in the drawings
Steven Cook 4 years ago
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.
Cristina S. 4 years ago (edited)
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.
M 4 years ago
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!
Troux 4 years ago
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
Ellory Potter 4 years ago
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!
Bepina 4 years ago
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.
Mark Morey 4 years ago
If you were born very long before the 90s you don’t understand most of these either.
Katrina Perry 4 years ago
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...
Christa Ward 4 years ago
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!)
Milan Alexich 4 years ago
really good if you were a guy a toon on wall to wall free porn would be included.
Matthew Smith 4 years ago
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!
Leo Domitrix 4 years ago
Forgot to show: "And back then, we survived the apocalypse b/c we weren't filming it on our phones"
Manish Lakhani 4 years ago
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..
Freya the Wanderer 4 years ago
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.
Sean Harrison 4 years ago
Yes, Millennials. Back in the "Olden Days" we actually had to have patience and put some effort into doing things.
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