Long Live The 1980s

Board Games of the 1980s That Brought Families Together There was something magical about gathering around the dining room table on a Friday night in the 1980s. The television was turned off (unless it was a quick round of Wheel of Fortune beforehand), snacks were set out—usually cheese balls, soda, and maybe some microwave popcorn—and the entire family sat down, not for a movie night, but for something even better: board game night . Before the internet, smartphones, and endless streaming services, board games were one of the best ways to spend quality time together. These games didn’t just pass the time; they sparked laughter, competition, learning, teamwork, and the kind of memories that linger for decades. In this post, we’re taking a nostalgia-soaked journey back to the 1980s to revisit some of the most beloved board games of the era—games that truly brought families together. 1. The Game of Life (1985 Edition) Originally released in the 1960s, The Game of Life received a m...

Big Hair and Bigger Dramas: The Golden Age of 1980s Soap Operas By: Long Live the 1980s The 1980s. A decade of excess, neon colors, mullets, and of course, big hair. While the music, fashion, and movies of the 1980s have seen their fair share of nostalgia-fueled revivals, one part of pop culture that continues to hold a special place in our hearts is the golden age of soap operas . It was a time when melodrama ruled the airwaves, romance bloomed in the most outlandish ways, and the hairstyles were as towering as the scandals. If you grew up during the 80s or have watched reruns of these legendary shows, you know that this was the era when soap operas hit their peak—and we wouldn’t have it any other way. A Brief History of Soap Operas Before we dive into the big hair and bigger dramas , let’s take a quick look at what made soap operas such an enduring part of American television. Originally, soap operas got their name from the sponsors who used to advertise household soap products d...

The Action Heroes of the 1980s: Stallone, Schwarzenegger, and Beyond By: Long Live the 1980s The 1980s weren’t just neon lights, synth-pop, and leg warmers—they were also a golden era of muscle-bound, explosive, and adrenaline-fueled action heroes. It was the decade when the cinema screen cracked with gunfire, one-liners, and slow-motion walkaways from massive explosions. And leading the charge were larger-than-life legends like Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger , whose names became synonymous with big-budget, testosterone-pumping action films. But they weren’t alone. The decade was packed with hard-hitting icons who defined what it meant to be a hero during the era of excess. So grab your aviator shades, rev that V8 engine, and join us on a wild ride through the world of 1980s action heroes —Stallone, Schwarzenegger, and beyond! Sylvester Stallone: The Underdog Turned Warrior Sylvester Stallone was the quintessential ‘80s action hero—part street-smart underdog, part...

The Birth of the Game Boy: How the ‘80s Changed Portable Gaming By Long Live the 1980s Close your eyes and picture this: it’s 1989. You’ve just popped the cassette tape of Milli Vanilli into your Sony Walkman, you're rocking some neon shoelaces and a Hypercolor T-shirt, and your mom just told you to be home before the streetlights flicker on. But this time, instead of lugging your entire NES console to a friend’s house with a tangled mess of wires and cartridges, you slip something revolutionary into your backpack. It’s gray, it’s chunky, and it takes four AA batteries like it’s a snack. It makes glorious 8-bit bleeps and bloops that you can hear through a tinny speaker or (if you’re cool) mono headphones. And most importantly, it plays Tetris like a dream. This, my fellow ‘80s kids and time-traveling nostalgia seekers, was the Nintendo Game Boy — the ultimate portable gaming disruptor of the decade. Portable Gaming Before the Game Boy: You Call That a Revolution? Before ...

The Family Road Trip in the 1980s: A Lost American Tradition Blog Name: Long Live the 1980s Before the days of smartphones, Bluetooth, GPS navigation, and streaming entertainment in the backseat, there was the family road trip—a raw, unpredictable, hilarious, and occasionally torturous American tradition. And no decade did it quite like the 1980s. In a time before seatbelt laws were enforced (or even acknowledged by kids), before tablets silenced backseat bickering, and before “Are we there yet?” became meme-worthy, families piled into station wagons and minivans to embark on epic summer odysseys. From the Grand Canyon to Wall Drug, roadside Americana became the backdrop of unforgettable adventures. Let’s buckle up, rewind the cassette deck, and take a nostalgic ride through the glorious—and sometimes gloriously chaotic—experience of the 1980s family road trip. The Preparation: Planning with Paper and Hope Forget Google Maps and real-time traffic updates. In the '80s, trip ...

Life Before Smartphones: How 1980s Teens Stayed Connected Blog: Long Live the 1980s In a world where TikTok dances dominate social interactions and texting is faster than thought, it’s hard to imagine a time when teens stayed connected without even a hint of a smartphone in sight. But oh, they did—and brilliantly, too. The 1980s, the golden age of big hair, neon fashion, and cassette mixtapes, was also a time when teen communication was creative, personal, and sometimes hilariously complicated. So, dust off your Trapper Keeper and plug in that corded phone—because we’re going on a trip back to the pre-digital days to see just how 1980s teens kept their social lives alive, one payphone at a time. The Almighty Landline: A Teen's Lifeline The landline telephone was the smartphone of the 1980s. If you were a teen in that decade, odds are your family had a single phone mounted on the kitchen wall or sitting on an end table, wrapped in a curly cord that tangled faster than a Rubik...