‘Very Bad Lies’: When Kids Believed Bubble Yum’s Secret Ingredient Was Spider Eggs
Did Bubble Yum gum really contain spider eggs? Learn about the schoolyard urban legend that threatened the success of this popular chewing gum back in the 1970s.
Did Bubble Yum gum really contain spider eggs? Learn about the schoolyard urban legend that threatened the success of this popular chewing gum back in the 1970s.
Discover the groundbreaking history of miniseries in television. From "Roots" to "Rich Man, Poor Man," these limited-run shows transformed the medium, and here‘s how.
Did you know that the USS Flagg was one of the biggest play sets of the 1980s? Dive into the world of G.I. Joe and learn about its massive size, intricate design, and the challenges it posed for parents.
If you watched television in the 1990s, you probably saw an ad for a green blob that could teach you French.
In 1994, Coca-Cola introduced a soda for the grunge era. It left a bitter taste.
Band Aid's charity song "Do They Know It's Christmas?" enlisted everyone from Sting to Bananarama, but its efforts to help the Ethiopian famine didn't go exactly as planned.
In 1989, the HBO anthology series 'Tales From the Crypt' resurrected a killer idea: a homicidal Kris Kringle.
The profanity-laden documentary managed to win both Emmys and an Oscar. But it didn't reduce juvenile delinquency.
Audiences thought the actor reprised his role as George McFly in the ‘Back to the Future’ sequels. But Glover had never stepped foot on set.
In the late 1980s, thousands of cars were adorned with a seemingly crushed stuffed cat. Not everyone found it funny.
The therapist gave advice about masturbation and contraception at a time those subjects were still taboo.
The tiny chips held just 60 seconds of pop music, but kids still couldn’t get enough.
In the 1970s, Big Bird went to the big house (literally) when "Sesame Street" launched a prison daycare program.
The ‘phone phreakers’ of the 1960s and 1970s indirectly led to the tech boom of today.
In 1990, kids went crazy for lip-syncing Turtles who were rocking out live on stage—and trying not to pass out in the process.
The soft drink company teased consumers with a giant contest offer. But could they really pay it out?
Suggestive lyrics from bands like Twisted Sister led to the 1985 Parents Music Resource Center Senate hearing on whether musicians should be allowed to rock without parental supervision.
Dolly the sheep was the first animal cloned from a single adult cell—and raised a lot of questions about the future of human cloning.
Cars with wood paneling used to be all the rage. And yes, it made perfect sense at the time.
Animatronic versions of bar patrons Norm and Cliff made two actors named George and John very unhappy.
In the fall of 1990, two shows about meta high-schoolers premiered. Only one would last through the holidays.
The happy little paper clip made Microsoft Office users absolutely miserable. Naturally, that didn't stop the internet from writing erotica about him.
The transparent novelty phones were a fixture in many a teenager's bedroom.
Thanks to the Barbie Liberation Organization, the congenial doll barked military orders and screamed "vengeance is mine!" during a very weird holiday 1993 toy season.