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50 Things Only '80s Kids Can Understand

Signs that you were raised in the greatest decade to be a kid: the '80s! Step aside, '90s kids. Just step aside.

1. That Muppet Babies is greatest cartoon of all time (sorry, Rugrats).

2. Even though they were brother and sister, you thought He-Man and She-Ra made a hot couple.

3. The horror and confusion of finding your parents' old 1970s copy of The Joy of Sex (where the couple looked like hippies).

4. "Must-see TV" meant The Cosby Show.

5. Remembering where you were when the Challenger disaster happened.

6. Being scared that you were going to fall into a well like Baby Jessica.

7. Wanting to be as cool as Punky Brewster.

8. Aspiring to one day be as cool as the teens in John Hughes movies.

9. Being either "Team Cyndi" or "Team Madonna."

10. Remembering to "Just Say No."

11. Feeling über-cool when you were invited to '50s-themed parties.

12. The emotional blow you felt when Optimus Prime died in The Transformers: The Movie.

13. That it's OK to pass off your robot maid as your child...

14. …And it's also OK to harbor a smart-mouthed, cat-murdering, extraterrestrial alien in your home.

15. The joy of collecting Garbage Pail Kids and putting the stickers on your bedroom wall.

16. Being traumatized by one or more of these movies:

17. Hands Across America — and even if you didn't participate you still wore the T-shirt.

18. That it’s perfectly acceptable to wear neon spandex biker shorts with just a T-shirt to school.

19. Listening to your "We Are the World" 7-inch...

20. ...and Book and Records...

21. ...on your state-of-the-art Fisher-Price record player.

22. Watching this commercial over and over just to see if you could catch the moment when Michael Jackson’s hair catches on fire.

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23. Taking that little extra time in the morning to get the perfect peg on your jeans.

24. Your parents still holding on to the Betamax player, even though VHS had won the format war.

25. These were the soundtracks to your life:

26. Watching 3-2-1 Contact, but mainly for "The Bloodhound Gang" segments.

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27. Always picking the banker and then having your family die on The Oregon Trail.

28. That British Knights and L.A. Gear made the coolest shoes.

29. The joy of drinking New York Seltzer.

30. Square One: It was all about Mathnet.

31. Staying warm in Triple Fat Goose.

32. The feeling that you could totally beat the obstacle course on Double Dare.

33. That Ben Affleck will always be Clement Tyler from The Voyage of the Mimi.

34. Sam the Olympic Eagle is the first thing that pops into your head, when anyone mentions the 1984 Summer Olympics.

35. Pee-wee's Playhouse and a big bowl of cereal was the highlight of Saturday mornings.

36. The creepy feeling of the skin on your vinyl E.T. doll.

37. The frustration of having to blow into your cartridges in order to get them to work.

38. The shock you felt when you saw Greg Louganis hit his head on the diving board at the 1988 Seoul Olympics.

39. That Vuarnet T-shirts were best worn with Z. Cavaricci acid-wash jeans (pegged, of course).

40. The excitement in the air the day the Berlin Wall came down.

41. Starting your day with a balanced breakfast.

42. The excitement you got each month when your teacher passed out Troll & Scholastic book order forms.

43. Don't forget, you get a free poster with your order!

44. Using the library catalog to look for a book and the frustration of not finding the index card you were looking for.

45. The infectious jingle of My Buddy & Kid Sister:

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46. The joy of the first scratch on a brand-new Scratch 'n Sniff sticker.

47. The stress of pulling the edges off your dot matrix printer paper.

48. Getting pumped about the new school year because it meant a new Trapper Keeper.

49. That slap bracelets were both a fashion accessory and a weapon.

50. Knowing this was the best part of having a birthday party.