Confusing title? Let’s clear that up for you:
From an older Vocativ story from May of this year, Canadian couple Blair and Morgan decided to live for one year as if it were 1986.
That meant learning to live with a rotary phone, a boom box, a tube television, VHS player, and a Nintendo.
“Bothered that their two young sons were already tethered to technology at ages 2 and 5, Blair McMillan and his girlfriend, Morgan Patey, decided to shake things up. As an experiment, the Ontario couple would shun the trappings of modern life for one full year and live as if it were 1986, which happens to be the year both McMillan and Patey were born. The idea was kind of stupid, even by Canadian standards, but to their credit, they actually followed through.”
So just how difficult was it living 28 years in the past?
Despite there being no texting, email or streaming video, and with “everything” requiring an adjustment period, it was only the initial transition that was “a little hard”.
Once the family, with two children, adapted to this retro routine of theirs, they not only started to dress in the style of the period, the haircuts (and a perm) allowed them to further embrace the style of 1986.
“Turns out, pretending to live like it’s the year of Top Gun and ALF wasn’t such a heavy lift. But it wasn’t without its challenges. An unseasonably cold winter kept the family indoors for several months without the convenience of the Internet, smart phones and other technology to fall back on, which made the time pass very slowly…”
As for the return from 1986?
Well, it’s baby steps for now. With their life in the 1980s concluded, McMillan and Patey may upgrade the rotary phone for a cordless, 90s-style one. But not yet, so let’s give them credit where credit is due.
You can read more of the story and find related photos at Shane Kavanaugh’s Vocativ article.
News to Share Brief source: Shane Dixon Kavanaugh for Vocativ: “Family Emerges From 1986 Unscathed”
image license CC0 Public Domain at Pixabay
