Submitted by S Albert

Raise your hand if you ever tried to sing along and completely slaughtered the high notes! And almost every girl I knew, myself included, had a big fat crush on Marten Harket. He was dreamy. Sigh….drool… Let’s just say he was my original McDreamy.

OK, snapping out of it now. The video was also the first time most of us saw Rotoscoping, which according to Wikipedia is defined as:

Rotoscoping is an animation technique in which animators trace over live-action film movement, frame by frame, for use in animated films. Originally, pre-recorded live-action film images were projected onto a frosted glass panel and re-drawn by an animator. This projection equipment is called a rotoscope, although this device has been replaced by computers in recent years. In the visual effects industry, the term rotoscoping refers to the technique of manually creating a matte for an element on a live-action plate so it may be composited over another background.

Wow. Since the video came out in 1985, you know they did that by hand. Like as in, no computers. Using fingers. And hands. As such.

You may think a-ha is lodged firmly in the “Where Are They Now?” file, but you’d be wrong. They released their last studio album Analogue in 2005, and are slated to release a new album in early 2009.

Here’s a relatively recent photo of a-ha:

Photo via Alternative Classix

My, they have aged well. Who wants to go to Norway with me?

Submitted by luckylakeway

Boy, did that jingle get lodged in your head! Fun game too–it brought out the competitive spirit in you, but not in an evil way, like Monopoly. OK, it did. Must! Get! All! The! Marbles!

I think this is the game that originally introduced button mashing to the masses.

For when a friendly game of Hungry Hungry Hippos isn’t enough, here’s EXTREME Hungry Hungry Hippos:

You don’t see any in the video, but I’m sure there was a LOT of beer involved in the making of it.

Submitted by C Rother

My favorite aspect of the Walkman was the ability it gave me to tune out my cousins on endless road trips with the family (“Stop touching me! No, you stop! Mooooooooom!”). Sanity was preserved. Sort of. It was like the Bose Noise Canceling Headphone of its day. Just crank. Up. The. Volume. (And risk long-term hearing damage.)

Here’s a very old Walkman commercial that is so 80’s it hurts. The woman is wearing aerobics gear, legwarmers, and has the perfect 80’s short feathered hairdo. I could never get mine to do that.

And is that a GIANT piece of electronic equipment hanging from her scarf belt or what?

Submitted by S Fields

Fun fact: I was born during a M*A*S*H episode. I think my mom was peeved that they wouldn’t turn it on for her in the delivery room.

More fun M*A*S*H trivia:

According to Wikipedia:

“Goodbye, Farewell and Amen” was the final episode of M*A*S*H. The episode aired on February 28, 1983 and was 2½ hours long. It was viewed by nearly 106 million Americans (77% of viewership that night) which established it as the most watched episode in United States television history, a record which still stands.

And my favorite bit, also via Wikipedia:

An urban legend states that the episode was seen by so many people that just after the end of the episode, the New York City Sanitation/Public Works Department reported the largest use of water ever around the city, due to New Yorkers waiting through the whole show to go to the toilet.

Here’s the episode that kicked off 11 seasons of the hi-jinks of the 4077. The theme song, “Suicide Is Painless,” will be in your head for days. Enjoy the earworm!

This clip concludes the touching bromance between Hawkeye and BJ in the final episode “Goodbye, Farewell and Amen.”

All that’s missing from that scene is an “I wish I knew how to quit you.” Amirite?

Submitted by B Walker

Spirographs are just darn cool to look at. Trippy, yet fun for the whole family! They even look good on plain old notebook paper:

Photo via Midlifeperspective.com

Here’s an even fancier Spirograph drawing (done by the pros in the original Spirograph How To booklet):

Photo via Journal of Antiques.com

Beautiful, isn’t it? The super-colorful ones kind of remind me of tropical fish, in that they’re very soothing to look at. I know, I’m not right in the head.

Speaking of not being quite right, here’s a REALLY BAD idea:

Photo via Core77.com

Man, that’s gotta hurt. And I hope that’s not the finished product on the right, because a Spirograph tattoo with no color would be a shame.