1987 - 1988 (Our Senior Year)
Major World News Events

Eighteen-month-old Jessica McClure is rescued from a well, where she'd been
trapped for 58 hours. The drama is watched by millions on television.

The largest stock-market drop in Wall Street history occurred on "Black Monday", October 19, 1987, when the Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged 508.32 points, losing 22.6% of its total value. That fall far surpassed the one-day loss of 12.9% that began the great stock market crash of 1929 and foreshadowed the Great Depression.

Iran-Contra defendants John Poindexter and Oliver North are indicted on charges of conspiracy to defraud the United States.

George Bush Sr. wins the presidency by a comfortable margin over Massachusetts Governor Michael Dukakis.

CDs outsell vinyl for the first time ever.

Condom commericals begin to appear on TV for the first time.

US budget reaches the trillion dollar mark.

Jessica Hahn is implicated in the Jimmy Bakker scandal.

Gary Hart scandal with model Donna Rice destroys his career.

World Population reaches 5 billion.

Les Miserables is awarded 8 Tony awards, including Best Musical.

In one of the most memorable moments of the Awesome80s, Jimmy Swaggart
tearfully claimed, "I have sinned against you" in a scripted program designed to elicit sympathy from his followers after it is revealed that the TV minister had been hooking up with hookers.

Summer Olympics in Seoul, South-Korea; Ben Johnson caught for steroids after setting a World Record in the 100 meter dash.

US advertising is permitted on Soviet TV.

The first plutonium pacemaker is made. 

Sonny Bono becomes Mayor in Palm Springs.

Robin Givens files for divorce from Mike Tyson.

 Lingo

airhead     n. A stupid or unaware person; moron, dim-wit. Origin: term implies that there is nothing but air in the subject's head. ("He's confused again. What an airhead!")  Unrenounced to popular belief, Valley Girls did not invent this word.  It was used to describe them.

 cheesy/cheezy      Adj. 1. In poor taste; lame, corny. The gift I received was really cheesy.  2. Overly sentimental or insincere.

chill     v 1. to relax; hang out. Let's go chill at your place.  Dude, just chill.

dweeb    Geek, nerd.  Someone who is not "in".

for sure/fer shur     To stress what you are saying.  Usually in a valley type accent.  Fer shur, fer shur dude!

gag me with a spoon    A typical Valley Girl response to something you dislike.  Not meant to be taken literally.

grody     really, really gross.  Sometimes used with: Grody to the max!  Max being a degree of grossness.

"Just Say No"     First Lady, Nancy Reagan's slogan of the early 80's.  Sometimes thought of as an oversimplified slogan aimed to teach kids not to use drugs.

like    A word used before every sentence in the 80's.  "Like, are you going to the prom?"

preppie/preppy     A collegiate type, someone who wore Polo or Izod shirts, deck shoes and a cloth belt.  Preppies usually grew up to be yuppies.  See also yuppies.

psych     A term meaning "gotcha"!  Psych was usually used after telling someone something not true.

Valley Girl    Airheaded, spoiled girls in California's San Fernando Valley. Later, valley girl talk or valspeak inhabited the 80s across America.  A Valley Girl would of said something like: "That stud is like, omygod, so rad!"

yuppie    Young urban professional -or- young upwardly mobile professional.  A well educated, career oriented, almost always white and driven by lots of money.  This person is also into the social scene especially if it could better their business or career.

Fads

Baby On Board Signs
The little yellow sign that looked like a yellow warning sign. 

Boom Boxes
The "ghetto blaster." The portable radio, with two speakers as a minimum, the heavier and the bigger, the better

Rubik Cube
The toy that was a real pain in the butt to solve, unless you peeled the stickers or pulled it apart.

Skateboarding
Skateboarding really hit a peek in popularity during the 80s, it seemed like everyone was doing it at one point.

Trivial Pursuit
The game that made people start memorizing useless crap in order to win. Probably one of the biggest crazes when it came out though.

Video Arcades
There are arcades now, but during the 80s, they were the *in* place to hangout.

Wrestling
Although it has made a comeback in recent years, nothing even compares with the classic years of the WWF, and the NWA.

Break Dancing
Remember the parachute pants and cardboard boxes we danced on.

Cabbage Patch Dolls

Roller Skating