Category: 1980s

I’d like an Atari 2600 system please and everything that goes with it

Originally known as the Atari VCS for Video Computer System, the machine’s name was changed to “Atari 2600” (from the unit’s Atari part number, CX2600) in 1982, after the release of the more advanced Atari 5200. It was wildly successful, and during the 1980s, “Atari” was a synonym for this model in mainstream media. The 2600 was typically bundled with two joystick controllers, a conjoined pair of paddle controllers, and a cartridge game – initially Combat and subsequently Pac-Man.

At the time, the 2600 was the most popular video game console in the world and Pac-Man was the most popular arcade game in the world, so Atari widely promoted the 2600 version of the game. Upon release, however, the quality of the adaptation of the game was criticized and sales were well below expectations, and even those who bought and kept the game were often dissatisfied.

Brooke Shields pays the rent with her Calvins

In addition to clothing, Calvin Klein also gave his name to a range of perfumes, including CK One and CK Be (fragrances for both genders), now owned by Coty Inc. Swatch Group manufactures watches and jewelry under the Calvin Klein and Calvin Klein Jeans brands.

[Brooke] Shield’s career as a model began in the late 1960s as an infant, and she continued as a successful child model throughout the 1970s. In early 1980 (at age 14), Shields was the youngest fashion model to ever appear on the cover of the top fashion publication Vogue magazine.

Kaypro: The Complete Computer for $1295

Kaypro Corporation, commonly called Kaypro, was an American home/personal computer manufacturer of the 1980s. The company was founded by Non-Linear Systems to develop computers to compete with the then popular Osborne 1 portable microcomputer. Kaypro produced a striking line of rugged, portable CP/M-based computers which supplanted its competitor and quickly became one of the top selling personal computer lines of the early 1980s.

“Beginning in the 1970s, [Joe] Sedelmaier a former art director at J. Walter Thompson and Young & Rubicam, gained notice for fundamentally changing the way television spots were cast and filmed. He replaced the actors who seemed too plastic, too perfect mannequins with offbeat people like Clara Peller. He directed them in a manner doing for television what directors like Preston Sturges did for Hollywood comedies,” Stuart Elliott, New York Times.

It’s Big Mac time for you

The Big Mac is a type of cheeseburger, a signature sandwich sold by the McDonald’s chain of fast-food restaurants since 1968, made with beef patties, lettuce, cheese, pickles and onion, with a “special sauce” and a sesame seed bun. The Big Mac was invented in Uniontown, Pennsylvania by Jim Delligatti in 1967. Customer response around there was so good that it rolled-out nationally in 1968.

“Two all beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions on a sesame seed bun.” is a trademarked slogan first used by McDonald’s in 1975. The saying has remained popular even though it is not in official use by McDonald’s. Although shown here properly punctuated, it was often spoken rapidly in ads as a single word.

Albert plays for Canadian Tire

Canadian Tire is one of Canada’s 35 largest publicly traded companies and operates an inter-related network of businesses engaged in retailing, financial services and petroleum. It operates Canadian Tire Retail, Canada’s largest and most-shopped general merchandise retailer best known for its unique selection of home products, hardware, automotive, sports, camping, lawn and garden products. It also operates Canada’s largest independent gasoline station network, a chartered bank in Canadian Tire Bank, and owns Mark’s Work Wearhouse, a leading specialty apparel retailer of work and casual clothing, and PartSource, dealing exclusively with auto parts.

Ice hockey, often referred to simply as hockey in Canada and the United States, is a team sport played on ice. It is a speedy and physical sport. Ice hockey is most popular in areas that are sufficiently cold for natural, reliable seasonal ice cover, though with the advent of indoor artificial ice rinks it has become a year-round pastime at the amateur level in major metropolitan areas such as cities that host an NHL or other professional-league team.

Proof that Holeproof’s wearing No Knickers

Holeproof Hosiery was made a division of Julius Kayser & Company after it was acquired for $13 million in August 1955. Kayser manufactured ladies gloves, lingerie, and hosiery.

In the United Kingdom, Ireland and some fellow Commonwealth nations knickers is a word for women’s undergarments: “Don’t get your knickers in a twist” (i.e. “don’t get all hot under the collar,” or, in U.S. usage “don’t get your panties in a bunch.” Australian usage “don’t get your knickers in a knot”).

[The piano] was invented in Italy by Bartolomeo Cristofori around the year 1700.