1. The McNugget
McDonald's executive chef Rene Arend created the Chicken McNugget way back in 1979, but it wasn't available in McDonald's restaurants nationwide until 1983 because there simply wasn't enough processed chicken to go around. Oddly enough, that McNugget shortage was what led Arend to create the McRib in 1981. Arend told Maxim in 2009, "There wasn't a system to supply enough chicken. We had to come up with something to give the other franchises as a new product. So the McRib came about because of the shortage of chickens."
2. D.A.R.E
Drug Abuse Resistance Education (D.A.R.E.) was established to teach school kids to avoid drugs, gangs, and violence. It was one of the most visible parts of the U.S. "War on Drugs" for kids, who sat in D.A.R.E. sessions in elementary school and wore the trademark black tee shirt with red writing. Although D.A.R.E. was founded in 1983, it's often linked with Nancy Reagan's famous "Just Say No" slogan, which first appeared in 1982.
3. The Swatch Watch
The Swatch Watch was introduced in March, putting a decidedly '80s twist on classic Swiss craftsmanship. An analog Swiss wristwatch, Swatch competed with the trend of digital watches of the day. Fifteen years later in 1998, Swatch introduced the short-lived "Swatch Internet Time" concept, in which days were broken up into 1000 ".beat" increments.
4. TCP/IP on Arpanet (The Internet)
On January 1, 1983, the Advanced Research Projects Agency Network (ARPANET) switched its networking technology to TCP/IP, arguably marking the moment that the modern "Internet" came into being. While the details of TCP/IP are kind of boring, it led to exciting innovations like the World Wide Web in 1989.
5. R.E.M. and "Weird Al" Yankovic's first albums
The year 1983 saw the first full-length albums from two decidedly different musical acts: R.E.M. and "Weird Al" Yankovic. R.E.M.'s album Murmur featured "Radio Free Europe," and marked the earliest glimmer of radio-friendly "Alternative" music in the U.S. Weird Al's self-titled debut featured "I Love Rocky Road" (a parody of Joan Jett's "I Love Rock 'n Roll") and "Another One Rides the Bus" (a parody of Queen's "Another One Bites the Dust"), and has the distinction of being the only Weird Al record in which accordion is prominently featured on every song.
Honorable mention: Red Hot Chili Peppers released a demo tape in 1983, though they didn't release a full-length album until 1984.
6. The Moonwalk
Michael Jackson introduced his signature "moonwalk" dance move during the TV special Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever in which he reunited with his brothers from the Jackson 5. The move was shown during a performance of "Billie Jean," and the crowd went wild as it happened. Of course, similar moves had been used before, but 1983 was the first time we called it the moonwalk, and the first time Michael Jackson did it.
7. Plinko
On January 3, 1983, the game show The Price is Right introduced its now-classic game Plinko. In the game, contestants win chips by guessing digits within the prices of products; then those chips are dropped into a peg-board, where they fall into slots with varying cash prize amounts. If you like Plinko, you'll love this incredibly detailed breakdown of the game and its history.
8. Mama's Family
NBC premiered the show Mama's Family (a spinoff of The Carol Burnett Show) on January 22, 1983, starring Vicki Lawrence. NBC canceled the series in May 1984, but the show continued to produce new episodes as an extremely successful first-run syndication program through 1990. Children of the '80s could always catch a syndicated episode of Mama's Family on afternoon TV. (New viewers may require a family tree to keep track of the characters.)
9. Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi
Originally entitled "Revenge of the Jedi," Return of the Jedi was the triumphant conclusion to the original trilogy of Star Wars films. It introduced Ewoks, a second Death Star, and gave us a peek of what Darth Vader looked like without his mask (spoiler alert: it ain't pretty). In bonus creepy points, Luke also learned that in The Empire Strikes Back, he'd totally kissed his own sister. ("Noooooooo!")
Honorable mentions: 1983 also saw the release of A Christmas Story, WarGames, Flashdance, Risky Business, Strange Brew, and Monty Python's The Meaning of Life.
10. Sweet Valley High
Francine Pascal and her merry band of ghostwriters launched the Sweet Valley High series for preteen girls, which ran for 20 years and 152 books. (2011 and 2012 saw the release of Sweet Valley Confidential and The Sweet Life, respectively, which followed the Valley girls as adults.)
McDonald's executive chef Rene Arend created the Chicken McNugget way back in 1979, but it wasn't available in McDonald's restaurants nationwide until 1983 because there simply wasn't enough processed chicken to go around. Oddly enough, that McNugget shortage was what led Arend to create the McRib in 1981. Arend told Maxim in 2009, "There wasn't a system to supply enough chicken. We had to come up with something to give the other franchises as a new product. So the McRib came about because of the shortage of chickens."
2. D.A.R.E
Drug Abuse Resistance Education (D.A.R.E.) was established to teach school kids to avoid drugs, gangs, and violence. It was one of the most visible parts of the U.S. "War on Drugs" for kids, who sat in D.A.R.E. sessions in elementary school and wore the trademark black tee shirt with red writing. Although D.A.R.E. was founded in 1983, it's often linked with Nancy Reagan's famous "Just Say No" slogan, which first appeared in 1982.
3. The Swatch Watch
The Swatch Watch was introduced in March, putting a decidedly '80s twist on classic Swiss craftsmanship. An analog Swiss wristwatch, Swatch competed with the trend of digital watches of the day. Fifteen years later in 1998, Swatch introduced the short-lived "Swatch Internet Time" concept, in which days were broken up into 1000 ".beat" increments.
4. TCP/IP on Arpanet (The Internet)
On January 1, 1983, the Advanced Research Projects Agency Network (ARPANET) switched its networking technology to TCP/IP, arguably marking the moment that the modern "Internet" came into being. While the details of TCP/IP are kind of boring, it led to exciting innovations like the World Wide Web in 1989.
5. R.E.M. and "Weird Al" Yankovic's first albums
The year 1983 saw the first full-length albums from two decidedly different musical acts: R.E.M. and "Weird Al" Yankovic. R.E.M.'s album Murmur featured "Radio Free Europe," and marked the earliest glimmer of radio-friendly "Alternative" music in the U.S. Weird Al's self-titled debut featured "I Love Rocky Road" (a parody of Joan Jett's "I Love Rock 'n Roll") and "Another One Rides the Bus" (a parody of Queen's "Another One Bites the Dust"), and has the distinction of being the only Weird Al record in which accordion is prominently featured on every song.
Honorable mention: Red Hot Chili Peppers released a demo tape in 1983, though they didn't release a full-length album until 1984.
6. The Moonwalk
Michael Jackson introduced his signature "moonwalk" dance move during the TV special Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever in which he reunited with his brothers from the Jackson 5. The move was shown during a performance of "Billie Jean," and the crowd went wild as it happened. Of course, similar moves had been used before, but 1983 was the first time we called it the moonwalk, and the first time Michael Jackson did it.
7. Plinko
On January 3, 1983, the game show The Price is Right introduced its now-classic game Plinko. In the game, contestants win chips by guessing digits within the prices of products; then those chips are dropped into a peg-board, where they fall into slots with varying cash prize amounts. If you like Plinko, you'll love this incredibly detailed breakdown of the game and its history.
8. Mama's Family
NBC premiered the show Mama's Family (a spinoff of The Carol Burnett Show) on January 22, 1983, starring Vicki Lawrence. NBC canceled the series in May 1984, but the show continued to produce new episodes as an extremely successful first-run syndication program through 1990. Children of the '80s could always catch a syndicated episode of Mama's Family on afternoon TV. (New viewers may require a family tree to keep track of the characters.)
9. Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi
Originally entitled "Revenge of the Jedi," Return of the Jedi was the triumphant conclusion to the original trilogy of Star Wars films. It introduced Ewoks, a second Death Star, and gave us a peek of what Darth Vader looked like without his mask (spoiler alert: it ain't pretty). In bonus creepy points, Luke also learned that in The Empire Strikes Back, he'd totally kissed his own sister. ("Noooooooo!")
Honorable mentions: 1983 also saw the release of A Christmas Story, WarGames, Flashdance, Risky Business, Strange Brew, and Monty Python's The Meaning of Life.
10. Sweet Valley High
Francine Pascal and her merry band of ghostwriters launched the Sweet Valley High series for preteen girls, which ran for 20 years and 152 books. (2011 and 2012 saw the release of Sweet Valley Confidential and The Sweet Life, respectively, which followed the Valley girls as adults.)