The average cost for a gallon of gas was $1.34, Barbie continued to be the hot Christmas toy, and US Troops were sent to Kuwait in what was initially called "Desert Shield" (the "Storm" part was yet to come).

1990 was a very good year, and marks the Silver Anniversary of the following pop culture icons.

Goodfellas and a slew of other great movies -- 1990 was a great year in film starting with Martin Scorsese's look into the life of Mob turncoat Henry Hill.  "Goodfellas" set a record at the time for the most "F-bombs" dropped in a movie. Other films debuting 25 years ago, Home Alone, Kindergarten Cop, Ghost, Dances With Wolves, Pretty Woman, Back To The Future 3, and one of my favorite movies of all time, Memphis Belle.

CAUTION: clip has NSFW language

"I've fallen and I can't get up" - Mrs. Fletcher in a Lifecall commercial -- The most quoted line of the year had to be that of a commercial of an elderly woman who fell, only to be saved by her Lifecall necklace, into which she shouted those famous words. The line was a source of constant amusement for late night talk show hosts and morning DJs alike.

Jojo And The Lo-Budget Radio Show -- Yes, I was alive and well in 1990 on 104.5 back when it was known as "Sunny-FM".

The first ever web page -- And no, it wasn't porn, although that wasn't far behind. Tim Berners-Lee developed the early internet protocol know as the World Wide Web. The First web page was a guide to the documents you could access via the internet.

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"Ice Ice Baby" by Vanilla Ice-- Rob Van Winkle's white boy rap about how chill he is was one of the year's best selling singles, and also opened a law suit from the band Queen who felt he stole too much of their song "Under Pressure" in the sample for the song. The big names putting up chart toppers 25 years ago included Phil Collins, Bon Jovi and Madonna, and 1990 also introduced the pop music world to Mariah Carey.

 

Twin Peaks -- The murder mystery turned circus sideshow was directed by David Lynch, and was the most original thing TV audiences had seen in some time. The show is set to return in 2016, and you can currently watch the entire two year run of Twin Peaks on Netflix. Beware, it starts like a normal TV cop show and gets real weird, real fast.

Other shows making their debut in 1990, the equally quirky Northern Exposure, Wings (introducing the world to Tony Shaloub), a first try at Parenthood (which has since been reborn), and a lame TV version of Ferris Bueller.

UNLV -- 1990 marked the only time the famed "Runnin' Rebels" of coach Jerry Tarkanian would win the NCAA Basketball Championship. The program would be put on probation for recruiting violations shortly thereafter. UNLV has the fourth highest winning percentage all time amongst NCAA Division I programs, and from 1977 until 1990 made nine NCAA tournament appearances, including three Final Four berths.

Pearl Jam and the birth of grunge rock -- The Seattle band formed from the demise of Mother Love Bone and went on to record its first platinum album "Ten" in 1990, featuring the hits "Evenflow" and "Jeremy", which was eerily clairvoyant in its ability to portend the recent trend of school shootings. Seattle would soon give birth to other "grunge" bands (so called for their distorted guitar sounds and their ripped clothing) like Nirvana, Alice In Chains, Candlebox and Soundgarden.

"In Living Color" -- Damon and Keenan Wayans convinced the FOX Network to take a chance on a sketch comedy show aimed at an African-American audience, and the show was an instant hit. It spawned the careers of not only the Wayans, but Jim Carrey, Jennifer Lopez and Jamie Foxx among others.

The Bad Boys -- Led by Isiah Thomas, Dennis Rodman and Bill Laimbeer, the Detroit Pistons won their second straight NBA championship, the last of the "Bad Boys" era which was defined by their tough, physical style of play. The team even had their own rap song.

The Saturn -- Billed by General motors as "a different kind of car company", the first ever Saturn automobile rolled off the assembly line in Spring Hill, Tennessee. The brand was initially popular with consumers, but never hit its high target numbers forecast by GM. Sales slumped by 2009, and the brand was absorbed into the Chevrolet brand in 2011.

Super Mario Brothers 3 -- The Nintendo game made its US debut in February of 1990, and featured Mario and Luigi's quest to save Princess Toadstool, and saw their powers and abilities increase on the screen. It is still hailed as one of the greatest video games of all time, and it even had its own TV series for a short time.

Universal Studios Florida -- The park opened on February 7, 1990 with the slogan "Ride The Movies". It featured rides based on Universal's big movie blockbusters like "Jaws" and "Ghostbusters" The park is the eighth largest theme park in terms of annual visitors and recently added its features such as "The Wizarding World of Harry Potter" and "The Simpsons: Springfield".

 

Jennifer Lawrence, Iggy Azalea and more young stars -- J-Law and Iggy are just two of many young stars turning 25 this year. Also hitting 25 are:

Kristen Stewart, April 9

Emma Watson, April 15

Liam Hemsworth, January 12

Princess Eugenie of York, March 23

Chris Colfer of Glee, May 27

Iggy Azalea, June 7

Soulja Boy, July 28

Jonathan Lipnicki of "Jerry McGuire" fame, October 22

and Rita Ora, November 26

 

 

 

 

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