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On the date

Thursday, September 4, 1980

From the day

Perspective: The Street Photographer · Sound

The rhythmic *wacka-wacka* of a Pac-Man machine spills from the neon-lit arcade, competing with Diana Ross’s "Upside Down" blaring from a passerby’s silver boombox. I adjust my lens to capture a woman in a bodacious sequined blazer, her shoulder pads wide enough to scrape the doorframe as she rushes past a shop window advertising those new-fangled fax machines. The silver flash of her oversized earrings mirrors the cold glint of the street, where the scent of leaded exhaust mingles with the heavy hairspray of a dozen fresh perms. Even as the headline boxes shout about Mideast peace talks, the sidewalk is just a blur of Lycra, frantic tech, and the clicking shutters of my Leica.

Memories from that day

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The Headlines

U.S. WINS AGREEMENT OF BEGIN AND SADAT FOR RENEWED TALKS; SUMMIT PARLEY IS ALSO SEEN West Bank and Gaza Negotiations to Reconvene in a Few Weeks --Some Aides Surprised Political Motive Is Denied Joint Statement Is Read Egypt and Israel Agree to Resume Autonomy Talks Concern in Mideast Reported

Read in The New York Times →

#1 on the Billboard Hot 100

Upside Down

Diana Ross

The must-have

Rubik's Cube

Slang

Slang of the decade

General

awesomebodaciouscheesychill

Valley Girl

as ifbarf me outgag me with a spoongrodytotally

Hip Hop

baddefdopeflyfreshword

Yuppie

greed is goodpower lunchnetworking

Catchphrases of 1980

  • Here's Johnny!
  • Who shot J.R.?

Tech Check

Fax Machine Boom, Pac-Man & Flash Memory.

Style of 1980

Silhouette: Oversized inverted triangle

Material: Lycra and sequins

  • Shoulder pads
  • Perms
  • Neon accessories

Cost of Living (1980)

Loaf of Bread

$0.50

Gallon of Gas

$1.19

Average Home

$47,200

New Car

$7,200

Time Elapsed

16,711 days ago

(45 years, 286 days)