Party Like It's 1987

My birthday is in 3 days and as I sit here surrounded by student papers that I don't feel like grading, I keep reminding myself that I am about to be 24. While that doesn't seem very old, it seriously feels like only yesterday I was in the 4th grade getting all excited about turning double digits. So I sit here and look at my students' papers remembering what life was like when my students were born. The ones who are not vastly overage for a 6th grader were born in 1999...that year I was listening to *NSYNC, didn't have a cell phone, and the most exciting thing we could do on a computer was AIM.

Since my concentration is obviously not on what I am supposed to be doing, I start thinking about what life was like in the year I was born, 1987. I've seen the pictures in the family album...my mom with the big hair and my brother riding around in his Knight Rider car. In an attempt to further my procrastination for the night...I seriously put the "pro" in procrastination...I decided to Google "1987". If this blog is already starting to make you feel old, then don't read any further.

Ready for a trip down memory lane? In honor of my 24th birthday, here are 24 fun facts about 1987...

1. April 17th - I was born...obviously the most important thing that happened in 1987 :)

2. Ronald Reagan was President - like I would dare be born under anything but a Republican

3. Gas was 89 cents a gallon

4. Average income was $24,000

5. Disposable contact lenses were invented

6. Prozac was invented

7. The Simpsons premiered on TV for the first time

8. New York Giants won the Super Bowl

9. Minnesota Twins won the World Series

10. World population reached 5 billion

11. Microsoft released Windows 2.0

12. The Beastie Boys were the first act to ever be censored on American Bandstand

13. Hit Singles:
       - La Bamba
       - Bad
       - I Wanna Dance With Somebody
       - I've Had the Time of My Life
       - Heaven Is a Place On Earth
       - With or Without You
       - Faith
       - Livin' On a Prayer

14. Movie Hits:
      - Three Men and a Baby
      - Lethal Weapon
      - Dirty Dancing
      - Fatal Attraction
      - Good Morning, Vietnam
      - Robocop

15: Hit TV Shows:
      - 21 Jump Street
      - The Bold and the Beautiful
      - Full House
      - Married with Children
      - The Cosby Show

16. Red Bull was invented

17. Debut of Pictionary, Jenga and the Koosh Ball

18. The Legend of Zelda was released on NES

19. Run DMC collaborates with Aerosmith on "Walk This Way"

20. The first American fast food restaurant opened in China...it was a KFC

21. Condom commercials begin to air on TV for the first time

22. National News - the little girl in Texas that got stuck down a well...she was rescued eventually

23. The first e-mail ever was sent...it went from China to Germany

24. The first 3-D video game was invented