While discussing the fact that Birkenstocks are out of style at Denny’s a while back, we found, much to our chagrin, that young people today don’t even know what the hell Birkenstocks are! This freaked us out, so we decided to start asking our server about other pop culture references…
Garrett was born in 1984. That makes him 21. The following is a list of things he had never heard of, or was completely confused about:
Kristy McNichol
Booberry
Jm J. Bullock
Too Close For Comfort
Eight is Enough
Tic Tac Dough
“Bette Davis Eyes” (though he did know Bette Davis, strangely enough)
Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman
Carole Lombard
The Bionic Woman
Linda Carter
Moonlighting
New Coke
Tina Yothers
Aqua Net (he’s a guy, so we’ll cut him slack for that one)
Pinch Rolling
Tammy Fae
SCTV
Mary Gross
V
The Equalizer
Coleco
Debbie Gibson (though he did know Tiffany… go figure)
Jesus Jones
EMF
Nitzer Ebb
Lisa Bonet
Divine
Donna Summer
Jim Bakker
Gennifer Flowers
Donna Rice
Jessica Hahn
Ollie North
Christa McAuliffe
Birkenstocks
While I agree that some of these are less than memorable, and in fact, some of these are better off forgotten (for example, Jm J. Bullock or Jesus Jones), it still pains me that today’s youth does not know of Donna Summer or Eight is Enough… How do today’s youth get the jokes in Family Guy or Gilmore Girls if they don’t know their pop culture? Sigh.
Tina Yothers? But.. it’s Tina Yothers! So sad.
And Jesus Jones is ENTIRELY forgettable. Pee-yew.
My personal favorite was a tie between Kristy McNicol and Jm J. Bulloch.
What a bunch of losers!
Hey, be nice to Kristy McNichol. She was in “The Pirate Movie.”
… uhm.
I don’t even know what a Birkenstock is.
I wonder what would happen if someone quizzed us on the 70’s?
You would have a fit.
Seriously, no one talk to her about the 70s.
Bishop, I can’t believe you don’t know what Birkenstocks are. You probably owned a pair at one point in time (or a knock-off, like I did). They are sandals… sometimes they are worn with socks by gay men, and tree-huggers.
Mary Hartman…perhaps it would have helped if you had referenced The Big Chill or My So Called Life, both of which she acted in…and both of which are still know of today.
As for Birkenstocks…never wore them, because when I lived in Salzburg, they were sold in much the same manner as Jelly Shoes are over here. In other words, they were a Wal-Mart like fashion, that were a laughing offence. The Pavlovian responce remained intact and I have never been able to wear them, not to mention I have to stifle a laugh when I see others donning them as a fashion accessory.
Actually, he’s talking about Louise Lasser of Mary Hartman Mary Hartman a terrible TV show from the 70’s and you’re talking about Mary Kay Place from the Big Chill. I looked it up on IMDB and Place was also in My So Called Life. Mary Hartman (Lasser) was known for her long brassy red hair.
Ah, but on further perusal of IMDB it seems that Mary Kay Place played Loretta on Mary Hartman Mary Hartman. So she was in the show!
I posted pictures of the confusion on my site.
I thought she was on that show, but just now when I was over at your sight I saw the picture of the other Mary and figured I must have gotten it wrong. Oh well, so I was right then. I knew she didn’t play a big part, but I was a lil’ kid at the time, so I don’t remember the show with perfect clarity.