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On the date

Wednesday, December 3, 1980

From the day

Perspective: The Street Photographer · Tactile

The damp December air clings to my oversized wool coat as I weave through the crowd, my thumb rubbing the slick, injection-molded plastic of a Rubik’s Cube tucked in my pocket. I train my lens on a woman in a shimmering Lycra bodysuit and heavy sequins, her massive shoulder pads cutting a sharp silhouette against the gray Midtown smog. Everyone is jittery, whispering about the Polish border or how Reagan winning the presidency might finally push the button in this Cold War fever dream. I’m just trying to stay focused on the art of networking with the gallery crowd, hoping to trade a few rolls of film for the price of a fifty-cent loaf of bread.

Memories from that day

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The Headlines

POLISH COMMUNISTS OUST 4 KEY LEADERS; GENERAL GETS POST; OLD GUARD SET BACK Kania Seen Strengthened in the Crisis--Moczar Makes a Comeback Moczar Guided Anti-Zionist Drive Conservatives Are Dismissed Party in Poland Ousts 4 Leaders; Moczar Returns Moczar Takes a Liberal Tack

Read in The New York Times →

World Mood

#1 on the Billboard Hot 100

Lady

Kenny Rogers

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

16,620 days ago

(45 years, 195 days)