I love Madonna, and she's only getting better! I can remember the first time I heard "Holiday" ... I loved it! How many times did she hit number 1 in the '80s, and which one was the first? — Dee Dee Dykeman
Madonna had seven Number Ones in the '80s, and "Like a Virgin" was the first ... no pun intended. As has become her trademark, the songs about sex seem to sell the best for the Material mom. "Virgin" went to number one in '84 and stayed there for six weeks. She has since had 10 other Number One hits.
How many medals did elfin gymnast Mary Lou Retton win at the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles? — Mike Wilson
Five. The Wheaties box star won a gold medal in the women's all-around, as well as two silver and two bronze medals.
Who was the first to say "eat my shorts"? I say it was Bart Simpson, but my friend Amanda says the phrase was around before that. — Susie Horst
Although the little brat Bart was sicced onto society in the late '80s, it wasn't the precocious toe head who first uttered the phrase, "eat my shorts." It was the Preppies who first emitted the classic phrase in their heyday, which began in the early '80s.
The Official Preppy Handbook documented the phrase and even defined it as meaning "drop dead." The book was written by Lisa Birnbach and published by Workman Publishing in 1980.
I just heard this song on the radio and I can't remember the name of it ... the lyrics were "If you get lost between the moon and New York City," but I'll be darned if I can find anyone who can remember what it's called. Can you help?— Will Carney
Sure I can help ... I'm the master of this kind of schmaltzy assistance! "If you get lost between the moon and New York City, the best that you can do is fall in love" are the opening lyrics to Christopher Cross' "Arthur's Theme (The Best That You Can Do)." The song was written for and was featured in Dudley Moore's hit movie, "Arthur," in 1981. "Arthur" helped introduce the most common plot line for '80s movies - the rich and spoiled white guy gets to keep his dignity and the money and the girl. The song won an Oscar and turned Cross into a huge star for a mercifully brief period. Dudley Moore is currently quite ill and eschews public life mainly because headlines had boldly declared that his problems were due to his over consumption of alcohol instead of a disease's crippling constriction on his body.
Who was the voice of E.T.? — Debbie Hagemeier
Debra Winger gave E.T. his memorable voice, while two very small actors and a mechanical puppet alternated to create the unforgettable movements of our favorite Martian.
I SOOOOOO wish the media would stop reporting on Donald Trump! He's one of those '80s icons that I wish would go away and people would just forget. We were talking about rich guys the other day, and in the course of conversation someone called Donald Trump "The Donald" and thought it was cute. I just wanted to strangle him. Who started this "The Donald" thing? — Kurt Kouba
Oh brother, I'm with you there. I wish the Trumpster would go the way of Howard Hughes and start living like a hermit.
It was that scampy vixen Ivana Trump, his first wife, who coined the phrase "The Donald" as a nickname for her loving husband. She claims it was one of her charming language quirks left over from her girlhood in Czechoslovakia that caused her to call him that. Ivana, by the way, reportedly claimed she was once a member of the Czech Olympic ski team. She wasn't. Are there no reliable sources any more?
There's a new phone company commercial where someone calls sushi bait. Was the first person to call it that really a redneck? A friend of mine says country folk were the first to refuse to eat sushi because they'd rather sink it in a lake to catch catfish. However, I seem to remember a movie saying that sushi was bait when I was in junior high in the early '80s. Am I right? — Steve Ragsdale
Yes, you are right! Good memory, too. I come from a long line of rednecks, so I know the pride we feel when we can lay claim to an invention, a clever turn of a phrase or a good haul of crappie. But, as much as I'd like to lay claim to the "bait" analogy for all my people, it was actually an '80s icon of sorts who devalued the ancient Japanese cuisine to the level of worms and Wiggly Wigglers.
The phrase "Whatta we got goin' here, a bait shop?" and it's retort, "Well, like, it's sushi--doncha know?" came from "Valley Girl," a movie which starred Nicolas Cage as a fish out of water who was in love with, like, a girl from the Valley, gag me with a spoon. Nic never did eat the raw tuna in the movie.
