Odd 80's and 90's Decor: Concrete Geese And Shaggy Seats

Do you like your concrete geese decorated? 

Was your teenage landline see thru?

If you had a fluffy toilet seat cover that matched the rug, you might be a Xennial. And we are too. 

Join us today as Katie brings four odd decor trends of her childhood -- some of which are making a comeback. 

Listeners: Send us a picture of your concrete goose dressed for the holidays -- generationinbetweenpodcast@gmail.com

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Chapters

• 0:00 Welcome And Xennial Nostalgia Grab Bag
• 7:56 Retro Gifts And Candy-Fueled Memories
• 15:00 Setting Up Today’s Decor Deep Dive
• 18:20 Concrete Porch Geese: Origin And Outfits
• 27:30 Friendship Bracelets, Toys, And Trading Cards
• 33:45 Fluffy Toilet Sets: Cozy Or Gross
• 43:20 Santa Fe Style And Appropriation

Transcript

SPEAKER_00: 0:01

Do you have a soft spot in your heart reserved for concrete beast and raincoats? Did your toilet seat used to be shaggy and bright? If you've ever watched the inner workings of your landline phone as it lights up and bright neon as it rings, you might be a xennial, and we are too. Hi, I'm Katie. And I'm Danny, and you're listening to Generation in Between, a Xennial podcast, where we remember, revisit, and sometimes relearn all kinds of things from being 80s kids and 90s teens. Yes, that's right. And today we are discussing some questionable/slash interesting decor trends from the 1980s and the 1990s. I'm really pumped about this, but before we start, I have a surprise. Okay. Okay. Yes. So Katie did the research for this one, and it's gonna be a lot of fun, but I have a little uh last-minute edition surprise. So, fun fact my birthday is Tuesday, and I was born in 1980. So yesterday I got a box in the mail from my sister. From it was she sent this box from Etsy, and it was like this grab bag box of things from the 80s and 90s. Oh, cool. And some of it was like OG stuff, and some of it was like reprinted like things. But there was so much stuff in there. There was like a DVD, there was a book, there was candy, there were like stickers, there were items. It was so much, there was candy, like all kinds. Did I say candy? Well, there was a lot of it. You did, guys. There was candy. There was candy. Um, but there was so much stuff. I was like, I have to share some of it. So I brought a little bag for you. Yay! Which some things for you and some for Tegan, because I know Tegan loves the retro stuff. And some of this is like original, so she'll love it. Okay. And then, and there were two things that I texted Patrick and Dina, which, if y'all have been with us since the beginning, um, they are the owners of ShisNit, who um is an online now um retro collectible thing, which we are retro. So I texted them. And remember how they used to give up, they make those Happy Meal boxes with like the toys in it? Yeah. In this, there was an OG, um, not used Happy Meal box, 101 Dalmatians from 1990. Wow. And a mint condition sing-along tape from I think '92 or something that was Winnie the Pooh songs. Oh. So I was like, do y'all want these? And they were like, absolutely. So I'm gonna give them because there's I can't do something with all this, and y'all know I hate wasting things. So, um, okay, so the first thing is something that I'm wearing. So, do you remember these friendship bracelets? Yes. So, listeners, back in the 80s, in the early 90s, I would say, there were these little bitty, cheap, like friendship bracelets that were all different colors, bright colors. So, I'm wearing one today. But the thing is, you wouldn't buy them for yourself. You could only get them from a friend. So, you get to have mine. Oh. So, and it's paint if I can get it off my wrist. Do you remember how to do this? You have to like no, it's yeah, it's like loose enough to loosen your phone. Yeah, there we go. And I know Katie does wear like her tailor bracelets and stuff. So I was like, I'll just put it in my stack. Put it in your stack. Wait, can you put it? Oh, whoa, did I make it tighter? What did you do? I don't know. Okay, I don't know. I think she broke it, but now it's hers. Okay, friendship. So that's the first thing. This is so exciting. Um Remember how we were talking about Punky Brewster not too long ago? Yes. There's an original party favor bag that is Punky Brewster. Um, and it even says my friend blank loot bag. So you can write their name on it. But this is from the 80s. Look. Did you open it? Like it was just in there. I put this stuff in here for you. Oh, got it, got it, got it. Um, so we're gonna open it together. Look at the fun. The tissue paper is very retro. So that came in the box too. Uh-huh. Oh my gosh. So the first thing I'm gonna I'm gonna give you the stuff for Tegan, I think. So, wait, hold on. These are for you. Have you ever had razzles? Yes. Here you go. It is fruity candy with gum on the inside, which is right up Katie's lane. Yes, and this as featured in the movie 13 Going on 30. Yes, yes, that's right. So I love them anyway. Okay, well, so they were those. Then um, there were some buttons, and I was like, Katie has to have this button. Tell everybody what this is. Oh my gosh, it's the original cast of Full House, must be season one because Michelle is a baby. So we've got Michelle, Stephanie, DJ, Uncle Joey, Uncle Jesse, and then the dad. Yeah. And then you can have this one too, since we talked about our love for these. Oh, cabbage patch. But you love cabbage patch. Yeah, but I got there was a whole bunch of buttons. So like I was just bringing you some. This is fun. Oh, here's some more razzles. And then this is for Tegan. It's a light up yo-yo. Oh my god, she's gonna love it. Okay, and if she learns tricks, and it's strawberry shortcake. Yeah, it's strawberry shortcake. Also, this is for Tegan as well. A little bitty, or you can keep it because it's your favorite color. The troll has purple hair. This is true. Did you ever have a troll? I feel like yes. These came around like in the 70s, I think, but then they had a resurgence in the early 90s. I had one that had my birthstone and it's belly buttons. I remember those. Yeah. So you're it's up to you. You can keep it. And they're for good luck. Could be our good luck. Yeah, they're for good luck. We could just stay on the set, maybe. So, and then this is a scratch and sniff bookmark, either for you or something. Oh my gosh, it's called Wacky Whiffs. It looks like it's orange. Yeah, and that's not the only thing that I brought that scratch and sniff. Somebody made their own scratch and sniff um stickers from this Etsy box. I thought Tegan would really like these. Okay. Because it's cotton candy and bubblegum. Oh, wow. So now you have to scratch and sniff on air right now. Okay. Um, one is bubblegum and one is cotton candy. I'll do bubblegum. Okay. Just scratch it or take it off.

SPEAKER_01: 6:04

You know how to use scratch and sniff.

SPEAKER_00: 6:05

I just meant like, do you want me to put the sticker on? But I can't scratch it when it's. If you want to give them to Tegan, you may not want to. Wow. I know. Doesn't that bring you back? Yeah. I know. These are awesome. Smell that one. Okay. I'll give these to her for sure. The cotton candy. I'm doing cotton candy now. Oh, yeah. Yeah. That one smells good. The bubblegum smells better, though. Okay. So there's just let me see what else is in here. Hold on. I'm telling you, this box was chock full of things. This is nuts. And um, okay, this is a book, and I remember these. Stop. Did you read these? I feel like I've read that one. I know, same. So there was this version, there was this book series called Girl Talk. Um, and they made there was a game too. I'm gonna have to dig into this. Um, and they they were like Babysitter's Club era time frame. This one is called Face Off, and it was about a little girl who is a hockey player. That's so funny. And um, this was written in, and I was like, oh, Tegan would probably enjoy this. Um, it was written in, let me find the year, 1990. Okay. And this is the the OG book. Oh my gosh. So oh, and the girl's name is Katie. Yeah. Oh isn't that fun? Can Katie read it later? Can Katie beat Scotty at his own game? So anyway, love it. And if you want to give her a single bag, you can't. So, anyway, there you go. There's your presents for the day. Great. I think it'd be really fun to find an OG girl talk game and just play it while we record. Well, I want to find one of the ideas we said was to find all the board games from the 80s that are like problematic, like Maul Madness and um the dating one. And what's the one that had the zits? Was that girl talk? It was. Okay. Yeah, so we need to find those. We do. Anyway, track them down. Happy nostalgia. Yay! Hopefully, Tegan has a good time going through all this. It was my half birthday earlier this week. Oh my goodness, my phone is ringing. So on air, Katie. Is everything okay? It's from Muncie, Indiana. So probably not anything important. Should we pause? No, I'm not answering this. Okay. I'm gonna put it on do not disturb, actually. Okay, go on. So that's it. That's all. Oh, wait, one more thing. Oh my gosh. This you can't have. Okay. These are two things I wanted to keep. There was a Super Mario slap bracelet in there. Oh, cute. Okay. Oh, so this was the funnest thing to do, your friends. Hold your hand out. Okay. I hope they heard that. They might not have on the mic, but if you didn't hear it, it was very crisp. Slap bracelets were so fun, and we would walk around and just slap them on your friend. And it sounds kind of mean. But look at this. This is an unopened um package of new kids on the block trading cards. It's amazing. And I'm gonna open them right now. Let's go. And if there's a Jordan in there, I want it. No, he was my favorite. What if there's two Jordans? Well, then we'll share. Okay. Ah! It's a first one Jordan. Jordan one! I cannot. You can have it, you guys. So these trading cards were so fun because when you would get them on the back is like a puzzle piece to have a full photo of them. So you had to get all of them. And I remember I never got them all. So we have Jordan, we've got Jordan and Joey. We've got Jordan, Joey, and Jonathan. We've got Donnie. I think they're all in here. Joey, Joey, Joey again. Joey again. Jesus, Jordan, and all of them. So you can have the Jordan if you want to. No, no, no. Just well, you said, was there two Jordans? I I actually have more of these at my house. My sister gave me before. Oh my gosh. We're gonna have to show like show us. Okay, YouTube, but then maybe we'll put it on our socials too. I love it so much. Um, so funny quick story about my husband. He looked kind of like Joey McIntyre when he was that age. See that the hair with his like curly hairly face, but he was like, he's always been like an alternative music, alternative everything kind of person. So it he hated it because people tell him the Thai establishment. And he said he went to Rome, like with his family when he was around, I don't know, that age. And like people there thought he was Joey McIntyre. That is amazing. Is that not so funny? I would totally capitalize on that. I know, but he would just get mad. But he's also like a teen boy like also. Speaking of Joey McIntyre, do you remember him wearing this hat speaking of curly hair? Oh, yeah, where the top was gone so his hair could pop through. Yes, I love this. I gotta show this. You have to. Yep, there it is. Yep. Oh my god, so cute. I definitely can see your husband in his face for sure.

SPEAKER_01: 10:32

Yeah, yeah. Yeah, okay.

SPEAKER_00: 10:34

I wish he would dress up for him as Halloween. That'd be fun. That'd be so good. Maybe we could go as like 80s pop stars, 80s 90s. It could be Debbie Gibson. I would love that. That'd be so fun. Oh my god. That'd be so fun. Um, okay, so that's all. That's all the fun. That is perfect, and I feel like it goes with today because this is all stuff we've talked before about how the 80s and 90s were specifically the 80s, the commercialism of like franchises showed up on your clothes, in your home, like stuff like that. So this all makes perfect sense, and I love this. I know. Okay, I know. I will tea so Tegan is actually at Disney World today. By the way, she's my youngest child, everyone. If you're new, she's 11. And um, she's turned 11. Who's she with? Charlise for her birthday. Aww. And she's never been to Disney because we've talked before. I know. We don't go as a family. Oh, true. But usually every couple years or so, we'll go with a a like extended family or friends. She's just never we've been to the water park. It's so expensive. We've just never taken her. And then, like, around the age maybe we would have maybe started taking her was COVID. Oh. And then once we came out of that, everyone's just like so busy. No one's really gone. So she's actually they went yesterday to Typhoon Lagoon, stayed at Animal Kingdom Lodge. And since it's her friend's birthday and hers, they upgraded them to a savanna suite and they got to see like all the giraffes like right outside their balcony. So they were like telling us about that last night. And then today they're trying to do four parks in four days. And originally they had all these like kind of tame rides planned because um, because Tegan has never been to Disney and really has not been to theme parks much. She's scared of roller coasters. Oh, but she FaceTimed me when she got off Everest. She went on it? She went on it. Hey girl, hey. And she said she had fun. She goes a whole new one. She's so funny. She's like, I don't think I'd go on it again. But she's glad she did. But she did it. And she didn't seem traumatized. Well, that's amazing. I know. So anyway, she's there. And look at all this she has to look forward to when she gets back. I know. Wait, when's her birthday? It was uh this week. You know, it was? Yeah, it was Tuesday. I always forget that she's a November birthday. Yeah, she's always she's a week right before you. I know. I always forget that. Well, look at that. That's a late, late little. I'll tell her birthday. Miss Danny gave me this for your birthday from a fellow Scorpio. There you go. Oh, and is she ever? And our you ever. Hey, hey. I was talking to another Scorpio the other day. I said, we get a bad rap. Because listen, everybody says we fiery and all this bullshit. And we are passionate, correct. You are passionate. Do not, I don't, I do not enjoy the bad rap Scorpios get. Hold on, before you drink that, I'm gonna take a sip with you. Oh, yeah, y'all. Katie did a no-no. She brought good coffee and there's no creamer here. So we have to drink black. At least it's good. True. It's not folders. It is Starbucks, but like. So let's do it together. I already've been drinking some, and it's there's no joy. Let's do it. Ugh. People out there who drink black coffee, you go ahead. God bless you. It is not for me. I need joy in my coffee, and that is false flavors of toffee or of French vanilla. I don't know exactly. I need chemicals. I need chemicals. I do. Listen, and try really hard to eat well and stuff, but that is I have a few things I won't let go of. The coffee made creamer is one. Oreos are the other. That's fine. Sorry, everyone. Look, leave it. Leave it be. Moderation is key to life. And if you take those away from me, I will not, I will be a mean Scorpio. Okay. Let's not release the Scorpio. Not today. Although this coffee might, but anyway. Okay, here we go. I can't wait. Do I need to look at this? No, you're done. I just need you for this. Literally printed out like one page. Oh, because because of you. Okay, sorry. Usually we do not do papers anymore because we're trying to save the planet and it's easier. So Katie walked in the papers. I was like, what? And she said, I cannot do screens anymore this week. I cannot. She said, I cannot. We're here on a Saturday, which we normally aren't, which is so weird. I try to as much as I can on the weekends, which isn't a whole lot because I'm still usually working, not be on my screens, not be on my phone. And I just the idea of talking to you about these fun things, like from behind my phone or my computer, just brought me no joy. Okay. So for today, everyone, I printed it out. So here we go. So again, since it's been a while since we told you what this episode's about, we're maybe 10, 12 minutes ago. We are talking about interesting, questionable decor from the 80s and 90s. There's tons of it out there. Oh, yeah, so much. I had the ones I wanted to talk about written down, and then I did go on Reddit and just look and see what people were putting. And most of them repeated the ones I already had, but there was one on there, and when we get to it, I'll mention it that I was like, oh yeah, I'm gonna add that one. Love it. All right, so the first one concrete geese. See, this is a this must be a regional thing because we did not have this. It is. Okay. And I found that out in my research. It's it's usually a Midwestern thing, specifically Illinois, Indiana, which is where I'm from, Illinois and Michigan. I'm pretty sure Missouri is up in there too. Because I have Sandwood does have I think that was part of it. The Midwests. Now, this doesn't mean if you grew up in Florida, you didn't have a concrete goose or whatever. I never saw a concrete goose in Louisiana. When Katie showed me a picture of that, she was like, remember these? I was like, what are you talking about? That goose has clothes on. Yes. So if for some reason you've never heard of this, so I'm gonna send you some pictures that I found too for like socials of the geese dressed up. Oh god, they're pretty funny. The tradition of these concrete goose, so they are about two feet tall. That's big. Yeah, it's big. It's big. And they sit.

SPEAKER_01: 16:10

I know that's it's like tall people. Like they're as tall as me. It's really scary. They're also called porch geese or yard geese.

SPEAKER_00: 16:20

And they're molded to look just like a a gray or a white concrete goose just standing upright. That's it. At their core, that's all they are. They're heavy as heck. Well, they're concrete. They're concrete. And what happened was they showed up just in their plain appearance in the early 20th century, specifically in the Midwest. And then they kind of gained popularity in the 1970s, and it was literally just this concrete goose, nothing else going on with it. And it was partly because the Canadian geese and then like regular domestic geese from America, I guess, were pretty common sites up there and in suburban yards. So you would have it to kind of scare them away. Kind of like this like alpha goose. Oh wow. And then it sort of turned into more of this like welcome symbol. It's like scarecrows. Yeah. You know how people like now just use them as decoration, but they're really for a purpose when you live on a farm. Exactly. So that's what they were for. But then people started using them kind of as something that represented country charm. Like you come to our front door, country chic. Exactly. So this is then come the 1980s. Now people start, and they're not exactly sure where it started exactly, but they start like making outfits for their geese. Well, this was like in the craft fair times. Oh, yes. Okay. Like my mom loved some craft fairs. And like nowadays, these are pretty common, like farmers markets and like festivals where people handmake things in Etsy and all the things. Um, but it's different, it's very elevated to what used to be the craft fair. So I'm not surprised that like people are like, let's make shit to put on these geese. And my mom had one. She did. Yes. And she would either make things for it or creatively like repurpose things we already had. And at craft fairs, we would buy outfits for our geese. My mom at craft fairs, she went through this whole like cow fucking phase where we had cows everywhere in our house. It was so weird. Hey, look, she loved cows. I don't get it. I don't know. Cows are actually super smart. Really? Uh-huh. How do you know that?

SPEAKER_01: 18:31

Oh, my friend told me. Hey, Amanda. She posted something. My friend told me.

SPEAKER_00: 18:39

She did. And I believe her. How does she know? I don't know. But we were talking about something, and it was like a meme she posted that had like dolphin and a cow or something. And I was like, oh, it's you and me, meaning I was the cow. Oh, gotcha. And she was like, No, I'd love to be the cow. Cows are so smart. And I was like, they are. And then we had this whole conversation about it.

SPEAKER_01: 19:01

I was like, okay. So are dolphins. So anyway.

SPEAKER_00: 19:05

Dolphins are kind of mean. Anyway. I thought they were nice. No, dolphins like are bullies of the sea. They like hang up on other sea creatures as a group. I thought they were. And like attack them. No. The water people swim with them if they're mean. I don't think they're mean to people on an individual level, but as a herd, they actually like pick on other animals instead of. They're like a street gang underwater? I think so. I did not know this. Don't ask me how I know this. A friend told me. That's how I know. Okay. The only thing researched today is what's on this board. We're gonna get like emails from marine biologists being like, your information is so wrong. Or right. Wait, isn't Sarah a marine biologist? Yes. Okay, let us know. Sarah, are dolphins mean? And are you the friend that told me that? Oh, she could be. It might have been her. All right. Okay. Here we go. Back in the case. So craft fairs, etc. Also, you gotta think in the 80s. I know your mom didn't sew clothes. My mom did on occasion if we needed like a special thing or for 4-H, we needed clown costumes, but this black coffee is really doing something to me, guys.

SPEAKER_01: 20:14

But you know what?

SPEAKER_00: 20:15

What if we what if we ate a candy while we drank the coffee? Would that help?

unknown: 20:20

No.

SPEAKER_00: 20:20

You mean like a razzle plus black coffee? Yeah. I hate pretty candy, so I'm not doing that. It's not gonna work. Um, so what I what I was saying is like people did make a lot more clothes back then for themselves. Like it was just more common. People knew how to sew clothing. Yeah, yeah, yeah. It wasn't cheap to buy clothing as cheap as now. It was getting to that point with places like Kmart and Walmart, but like you either only had like a very small amount of clothing, or if you needed something, someone sewed it for you, etc. Well, fast fashion wasn't a thing, yeah. Not at all. So, so it's not a huge stretch to then also make a little outfit for your goose or your doll or whatever. Like if you're freaking adorable. So in the 80s, we started seeing a lot of seasonal things, and my mom did this too. So you'd see like a goose in like a Santa hat and a beard.

SPEAKER_01: 21:08

This is actually hilarious.

SPEAKER_00: 21:10

It's great. Graduation caps, raincoats. I remember our little yellow raincoat, and you know those like rain hats. Yes. It had like a yellow and the little strap one under its goose bean. It was hilarious. It was very cute, and like witches for Halloween, or you just put like a sheet over it to be a ghost for Halloween, a little baby goose sheet. And so then in the this kind of rolled over into the 1990s and it turned into a whole industry, kind of like with Beanie Babies. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. So there were whole catalogs and mall kiosks and magazines like country living and family circle would feature do-it-yourself sewing patterns for goose clothes. What? I just never that I just was not in my mind. This is not your world. I which is weird because my mom loved that kind of craft fair stuff. It just probably didn't make its way to you guys. It's not like now where she would have, or you or she would have seen it on TikTok or Instagram or something. I mean, my mom still wouldn't have seen anything on social media because she didn't know how to use it. But like I'm surprised, or maybe I'm wrong. Maybe we did have a goose and my sister's gonna call me. If your sister is listening, she can tell us. I don't think it was cows. Cows, I remember. We had so many. My mom, like, is kind of well, was a hoarder person. So once she got a one kick, it was like all we had so many cows in our house. At least they're smart. I bet you in some of my old pictures, I can probably see some in the background. Yeah, we should start looking for those. We need to do another episode with pictures of Christmas. Okay. So I have so many of them. I did find a few when I was looking for Halloween. Good. So I'll hold those. Okay. Um, so it kind of turned into this way to sort of show your personality or your humor. Like your humor.

SPEAKER_01: 22:52

My humor. Like having a hearst. The humor I have in the hearse. In my hearst. It's okay, guys.

SPEAKER_00: 23:06

It's okay. So I've actually through the years wanted to get a goose, and now through all this one, I don't have one. Oh, it's time. I think one of the times I went home, I tried to look for theirs, but they've moved home since then. And then also it's like in Jack. I don't need sitting there. But I just think I need to get my own. I think find one. I think so. Um, but then by the early 2000s, it trade it try uh the trend faded. Like a lot of things that had the overabundance of things in um people were looking for more minimalist design ideas and modern home style, and that didn't include like dressed up farm animals, cows probably also faded in popularity around that time. There is actually a goose clothing museum. Where? I actually don't know. Oh, well, if you wanted to go there, you can't now. I guess you can't. You can Google it. I don't know why I didn't look that up because I would like to go. Maybe you did, and it just Yeah, I just didn't make it in my notes. And then people still trade patterns and photos for geese clothing. There's like groups online, and there's a Porch Goose Club of America. I love that. That has did you join it? I didn't, but I looked at their page and I might. Oh, you should. Because especially if I get a goose, I need to get some ideas. Yeah. I I don't want to just be doing the raincoat that my mom did back in the 90s. Maybe. You need to have one. One show have a permanent studio location because we're speaking that into existence right now. You need to have a studio goose and dress it for whatever show you're doing. That's a good idea. Studio goose coming soon. Let's do it. So that's all I have on Porch Geese. Okay. Do you feel a little more informed? I do. Okay. I'm glad to know it was regional because I'm like, I do not remember that. I think the reason I thought it wasn't regional is because a couple years ago, someone who lives in my neighborhood got one and was posting on it, and everyone was commenting, oh, I remember those, and she's from here. So but the people commenting might not be from here. I don't know. Maybe it was a thing and I just didn't notice because we didn't have one. Yeah. I feel like you would have had one if you're going to be able to do it. I feel like we would have too. And maybe we did, and I forgot, but I would remember that. I think you'd remember it. Because I liked dressing it up myself. Like it was fun. It's hilarious. I think that's changed its little outfits. Yeah. Um, okay. Now I don't know what else to call this except for the fluffy toilet trends. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. It was toilet seat covers. Yes. And all the things that go with it. Yeah. But yes. Okay. So we're talking about. Can you kind of describe what I'm talking about for the stuff? So and I really can't wait to hear the purpose of this because I don't, and we had one all the time growing up. In fact, I think I remember even in my first apartment having one. I feel like I didn't. In the late 90s. So it was this um, like bath mat. It was a there was a bath mat that was made to go around the toilet. They still make these, like shaped to fit the toilet, and then it had a matching thing you would put on the toilet seat, which is weird. I don't get it. Right, because you don't sit there. I mean you open the seat, and you don't stand on it, so you don't need a bath mat or your seat. It was so strange. And we even had like themed ones, like we had a Santa face. Actually, I kind of want one of those for my. I know. Actually, that's kind of fun. We you know what I mean? Like we had like themed ones in my poodle bathroom. In your poodle bathroom, you had a Santa themed toilet seat. Okay, so I can't wait to hear the origin of this. The origin of this type of decor in bathrooms dates back to the 1950s because this is the first time in American culture when bathrooms were seen as something more than just like a functional room. It was the first time they were kind of seen as like this place that we want to decorate and make a theme, like on a like a bigger level. I'm sure like some people had decorated bathrooms before that, but this was driven by companies like Sears and JCPenney and Montgomery Ward, capitalism. Yeah. So they started selling this like you need to have a theme in your bathroom, you need to have decor. So they started selling matching things like rugs and towels and that sort of thing. Well, then when you pair that with this wall-to-wall carpeting trend that happened in the 70s, so this idea of a bathroom that had like soft, plush, color-coordinated sets kind of went with that too. Have you ever lived in a place that had a had carpet in the bathroom? I don't haven't lived in one. No, but you've been to one. I think that's the weirdest thing. Yeah. Because like hello, mildew, but maybe it's because I've I've lived in the south a lot of my life. That's true. Maybe up north it's not as big a deal. But we always had tile or wood or something. But I say in in like Airbnbs and stuff that had carpet in the bathroom. I'm like, that just seems like a bad choice. Right. Not the not the best. Well, so then in the 1980s, big box stores started selling three or five-piece toilet sets. Okay. And they would include the lid cover. Yep, a tank cover. Yeah. Do you remember that? It was almost like a sleeve that matched. So weird. The contoured rug that you mentioned that goes around the toilet base, a matching bath mat. Uh-huh. And then an optional, do you remember these? Tissue box cover. Oh yeah. My mom had those till the day she died. Yeah. And you put the tissue in it and it matches. And I mean, I've seen some handcrafted ones that don't go with a bathroom set that like people still use, but like a metal one, I think.

unknown: 28:16

Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00: 28:18

Same concept. We don't use it. Same concept. And they're meant to kind of just touch the bottom. It was like it was like towel cover baths. The ones that came in the that's hilarious. Yeah. Okay. I thought I was just thinking it was like a plastic one. No, no, it was like towel. Yeah. I mean not towel, like bath mat fabric. The one we had had almost like a plastic frame. Okay. That the stuff was on the outside of. So funny. It was to match. Okay, I can remember that. Okay. Yeah. So it was all meant to kind of tie everything together, make the bathroom feel warmer. Okay. So you've kind of touched on this already with the carpet and bathroom thing, but what do you think might be like a pitfall of having this type of thing in your bathroom? Bacteria and mold. Hello. Exactly. Gross. The all of this extra thick kind of carpet fabric material would trap moisture. It harbored bacteria. Uh the rugs around the toilet base were especially uh gross. Especially if you have boys. Yeah. And I mean, I guess you could wash them, but like just, you know, sweep and mop the floor. Maybe not have yeah. And so it made cleaning harder and that sort of thing. So it was actually the late 1990s when they started to fade in popularity. Like you said, you thought you had your apartment. Um, and then by like the 2000s, it was more clean line, ceramic tile, neutral. What was the point of them? You couldn't find that? Well, it just said because they were trying to match. It's just decor. Yeah. To kind of bring like the theme or the feel of your bathroom, make bathrooms cozier. It was just like one more way to decorate your bathroom, I guess. Because like bath mat, I get the purpose. Is because you need to step on something when you get out so your feet aren't cold and they're not on the floor or whatever. But like so basically it was just capitalism at its core. Yeah. It was just like this stuff looks nice. Put it in your bathroom. That's it. Have a have a um a toilet with a jacket and a hat. Exactly. We definitely had the seat covers and then the contoured rug. I don't ever remember having a tank cover. I think we did. I think we did. Or maybe my grandma did. I must have been somewhere that did though, because I remember it had like the little um almost like cutout for the handle. Yeah. I gotta I gotta turn my phone off. Sorry. Go ahead, turn it off. Although I turned my phone was on do not disturb yesterday. Uh-huh. And you missed something. I when y'all left class, I turned my because when I teach class, Katie gets my my group fitness classes. I turn I always have, I usually forget, but I remembered to put it on do not disturb when my stepdad called me. And then I turned it on after and had all these things. They were on lockdown at Cooper School and he was panicking and he wanted me to come get him. Everything ended up being okay. Um there was no, but they there was a rumor that a student had a gun. He did not. Um, but Cooper was panicked. Poor thing. And so he was trying to get me to come pick him up. And by the time I saw it, I was like, well, I'll still come get you. But like, so I went and got him, but it was like an hour after he wanted me to. So I felt really bad. But also, Troy was home, so he could have done it. Yeah, and also you were teaching, you weren't gonna stay in class. I mean, maybe you were well if he really thought he was in trouble, you would have correct. So, anyways, that's the world we live in. It is, it is all right. So the next one, which I think we're gonna have a lot of thoughts about. Oh, I can't wait. The Southwestern Suburban Style. What is that? Santa Fe style. Santa Fe. Are you there? Or the other Santa Fe. Let's open up a restaurant in Santa Fe. Its cool theater people know this. Other ones, we are singing from Newsies and also Rent. Yes, Newsies and Rent, same song name, different songs. Um, okay, so do you remember this? Well, people had like sort of like Native American Southern stuff. It's cultural appropriation at its core. And I can remember, we never went my my mom was more like the country chic. I don't, you couldn't call it. It was like that was our house too. It was country. But I had a friend whose whole house was like that Santa Fe vibe. Mm-hmm. And this was in like the early, it does say the 70s and 80s. I remember it more in the 90s, but maybe it was just left over. Well, it probably just carried over. Just carried over. So it's just what it sounds like. It was regional design traditions pulled from America's Southwest, New Mexico, Arizona, Texas, and parts of California. And it included things like Native American crafts, Navajo and Pueblo specifically. Now, when I say that, I don't mean it was made by those people. That's the problem. It was sort of stolen from the their designs that were traditional to their culture. Um Mexican folk art and color palettes, Spanish architecture, and then just like the natural desert landscape, cactus, sagebrush, turquoise skies, that sort of thing. Which, you know, the problem with that is like you just said, it was not made by the cultures, it was copying, for lack of a better term. Uh, and that's a problem. There's nothing wrong with having Native American art in your house or, you know, other you should. You should buy art from other cultures and appreciate it. But when it's when it's businesses just capitalizing on an aesthetic that does that belongs to a culture and it has meaning. And you know what that makes me think of mostly as those dreamcatchers. Oh, yeah. Because those were commercially produced and nobody like that is so gross because it's taking away the significance to a culture and cheating them out of money. You know, if you if you went to like if you visited a place and you wanted to buy something from a a craft, uh, what do you call artisan, artisan, who's making it and you understand what it's for, that is appreciating the culture, not right appropriating a culture. Absolutely. So there's nothing I I think that's where people get kind of confused. And I think it's like the mass production angle too. Correct. Because who is who is benefit who is benefiting from the making and selling of this product? Is it the culture that it represents, or is it some big business conglomerate in a capitalist society? Well, to your point, Pier One, JC Penny and Sears, Pier One, of course, all had entire Southwest lines. Wallpaper, bathroom towels, those bathroom, bathroom decor is back. Uh, even fast food chains like Taco Bell and Wendy's used similar motifs in their 90s interior. Yeah, Taco Bell, I remember. And I mean, we've talked about how Taco Bell was like invented by, created by a white guy, Glenn Glenn Bell or something like that. I can't remember why that name of all the names was. I know. I'm surprised you're so we've already talked about this, but you could see it there too. It's a whole episode on Taco Bell every day. We did, we did. Just one day I said, you know what, I want to talk about Taco Bell. And then we did. Uh so yeah, so that was a whole thing. It was pretty mainstream, particularly in middle class homes. So I think that's why it had such a widespread use. And that's a problem. Right. Because you could get it for cheap and it's not authentic. So if you're younger, you don't remember this. The color palette of this was like a dusty rose, peach, teal, turquoise, orange, cream sand, uh, textures like stucco finishes, bleached wood, terracotta, woven rugs, rough plaster walls, stuff like that. And furniture. I I don't remember this. Maybe you do, but they had chunky coffee tables, soft edge shapes, and wrought iron. I feel like how is wrought iron, maybe? Because I don't know. Maybe, maybe Mexican art. Because iron, I have no idea. I'm not an expert on that. You already mentioned Dreamcatchers. I had that on here. Um, so kind of the same reason some of these other ones fell out of trends, right? It was overdone. So people got sick of it. Not because they thought, oh, it's bad. We're appropriating a culture, but because they were just for the wrong reason. They're like, meh, like everyone's doing it, let's do something else. It was a fad. It was a fad that went out of it. And that's another gross thing because somebody's culture is not a fad, everyone. Yeah. I found this was an article on it. I think it was in Red Book. Yeah, it was in Red Book. And basically it said, this is exactly what it says in the article, much of what was marketed as Southwestern was actually Native American design stripped of context. And I loved that. Which is what you just said.

SPEAKER_02: 36:48

That's why I don't know.

SPEAKER_00: 36:49

Um, symbols like Coca-Pelle and Navajo rug patterns were mass-produced on cheap items without credit or respect for their origins. Boo. There it is. Boo. So it did say as cultural appropriation uh awareness grew in the 1990s, the Santa Fe look started to feel tone-deaf. I don't think it I don't think so. The 90s were not in tune with cultural appropriation. Now, maybe, but like, and people can look back and be like, oh, but yeah. Okay. So you guys didn't have any Southwest stuff. We didn't. We really didn't either. I definitely know we have I know we had or made dream catchers at one point, like as a craft for something, which is kind of silly. But um I may have had a dream catcher back in the 90s, but I don't remember it. Yeah. Which, but we can recognize things that were problematic. Absolutely. Absolutely. Even if we didn't know it at the time. All right. My last one. I'm ready. I know what it is, and I'm so excited. See-through or clear phones. Totally had one. Yes. So did I. I loved it so much. What was the color scheme of yours? Um, I want to say it had, it was like neon colors. Yeah, clear. And it was like pink and lime green and yellow. And orange. Yeah. Yeah. So again, if you're too young to remember this, these were the phones. They were landlines. Yeah. And they were like that more of rectangular shape that you just set on like your nightstand. They were more for bedrooms. You didn't really see these as much in like kitchens and stuff. Because they were really designed for teens. You'll find that they were they were really heavily marketed toward teen girls. Yeah. And the idea being you've maybe had your own phone line, or if not, you at least had a phone in your room and you were independent. And this is like a cool way to like show that off. Did you have your own phone line? Never had my own phone line. Either. I had one friend that did. I had one friend that did, and we were like, ooh, so jealous. Wow. No. Um, but it was so funny because did you have call waiting? Yes. Eventually. So, like nowadays, everybody that it's nothing you think of. Everybody's phone has call waiting. Because you know, you're on your cell phone and somebody else is trying to call through it or whatever. But when it came out, it was a big deal. And yeah, I can remember getting in trouble all the time because I would be on the phone for hours on end and not answer the call waiting. And my mom would get so mad because like her friends would be calling or work would be calling, and I would not answer. So if her friends ever called and our answer machine did not pick up, it's because somebody didn't answer the call waiting. And my mom was like, please tell me if y'all call because Danny needs to get off the phone. And so I got in trouble all the time for not answering that call waiting. If you call and you don't get my answering machine, it is Danny's fault. So please tell me so she can get in trouble. That's so funny. I had one too, and I loved it. I had it probably from like eighth grade through high school. I bet some of my pictures have my phone in the background. I'll have to see. I have to see. So we've kind of already explained it, but it's this see-through craze where you can see the inner workings of the item. So the wires and the not screws, but like however it's put together. The gears. Yeah, I guess there's screws, there's gears. And these kind of were born out of this whole um trend of brightly colored electronics, things like Walkman's, Game Boys, tech that looked fun. It wasn't just black. I haven't heard the C3 Game Boy too. Yeah. Yeah. Did Troy bring one? Troy brought one. Yeah. His was see-through. Yeah. So the phones are like well remembered. Yeah. But it was happening with a lot of tech at the time. And so one of the earliest transparent home phones was made by American Telecom in the 1980s. But the one that really caught fire, the one like we were talking about that most people had was the Southwestern Bell Freedom Phone. Yeah. And there was also a V Tech jelly bean and trim style clear phones. And that was around 1990 that those first started coming out. Yeah. So the aesthetic we already talked about. We already talked about American Telecom. I guess I've done that twice. You look like a little news reporter in your papers. Hello, I'm here to tell you about C3 phones. Oh, and the marketing. So this is what I was talking about. Yeah, the marketing. So I remember DJ on Full House had one. Yes. That's a big one. Yes. And also it was sold not just at electronic stores, but in teen catalogs. So you could buy one from Delias, Spencer's. They were in Sharper Image. And also, I think even like Claire's eventually had them. Well, because eventually when they first came out, they were expensive. But then, of course, like everything else, they start getting produced by more companies. Right. I think when I finally got mine, it was like out for a while, and I was like a you know generic brand or whatever. I think mine too. Actually, I think mine was a V Tech. I don't know probably how I remember that. But I think Kmart would carry V Tech. Like, you know what I mean? Yeah, it's it's a it was still a cheap brand. It was just like a known brand. So you can also see them. I mentioned Full House. There's one on Clueless in the movie Clueless. Yeah, yeah. They were on Save by the Bell. Yep. And then She's All That, which was a little bit later. And it became kind of like a way, as I mentioned, for teens, especially teen girls, to sort of like show their like coolness and independence. And they were priced back then about$20, some of them up to$40. So it was like affordable, but special enough to like give us a birthday gift or a Christmas gift. Or to be like a big present. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And so that's when that's when I got mine. I think I got mine for Christmas. I think I did too. I think I did too. So there's you know a lot of tech reasons that these sort of fell out of fashion, right? Cordless phones, yeah, that then looped into cell phones. Yep. Uh the see-through plastic feel started to feel sort of like dated and childish and cheap, which it was all those things. Um, and then you can still get these now, like the OG ones are collector's items. I think Patrick and Dina have one of the OG ones. Remember that we saw it in their store. I think so, yeah. Yeah. And then you can also like they make new ones now that are meant to look retro. Yeah. So there's a brand called Nothing. And wow, they really went for it. They're like, it's a brand about nothing. Nothing. It's like the Seinfeld of companies. Exactly. And transparent sound, which is another one. What? Uh transparent sound. Is it sound always transparent? Oh, that's the name of the company. Yeah. Oh. I thought you meant like the phone had transparent sound on it. Oh, no, no, no. It's never see sound. Wait, that's a question. Can you ever see sound? I don't think so. No. You can't see sound. You can see a visualization of sound. So then one waves too. Transparent sound is funny because it's weird. But this might make more sense. They also make speakers that look like that. Oh fun. So maybe it's like you can see the way the sound is happening. I think that's why. Um, and that's all I have on uh on phones and and on everything. That's fun that I brought today. I just wanted to grab a few. And the country chic motif was another one I saw a lot on Reddit. I don't I don't know why I didn't write it down. I was like, well, maybe because it was talked about it, and I was just like, meh. But it was kind of fun to go back. And I do think I need a studio goose. I think you do 100%. I think because we're manifesting you having a space before the end of the year. I'm saying it out loud, it's happening. She's gonna have a space before the end of the year, and I will buy you a goose as your studio warming present. Studio warming. Okay. Y'all heard it here first? I love it. Um, yep, we're gonna manifest that. So everybody put that on the universe. You know what I just thought of? Oh my god. What if it was a goose? We can't, because you said the shows we're doing. I had a vision of a concrete goose in a Beetlejuice costume. Oh, I love that. Where do you do Beetlejuice? Could be different for Halloween with like the green hair on its little goose head. The only thing is you're gonna have to make sure your little goose has some protection from the weather. Yeah. Good point. If it's gonna be dressed up, it's gonna have clothes, it's gonna have to be dressed up. I guess we could put it in the lobby instead. No, it has to be outside. You're right. It's a porch goose. It's not a lobby goose. Porch goose. Awesome. Well, thank you for um going on this journey with me. This was fun. That was a good time. And listeners, thank you and uh for being with us while you're not listening on a Saturday. Maybe you are, but we want to do trivia. Yeah, let's do it. Because I uh did really good not too long ago. Yeah, I saw our clip where I'm dumbled. Let me I'm just checking my text while you pull that out because I my daughter did take the SAT. Oh. Uh oh, you're hearing it here first. Well, don't tell her business if she's stressed out. No, no, I just am asking her if she got to ride home. Because if not, I might be going to pick her up. Oh, gotcha. Um I'll ask her at some point how she did, but not right now, not live on air. Not live on air. Okay, okay. I've got 90s, so you'll have to go first because 80s go first. Wait, I gotta do it right or Troy will get mad. Discard. Ah, I'm backward. Okay, I'm ready. Um, I think we did this one already. Maybe we're out of order somehow. I mean, knowing us, probably. 90s are stupid. I want a good one. Oh, okay. You might know this. This is a music one. Okay. What's the name of the European charity supergroup founded in 1984? Who performed the hit Do They Know It's Christmas? Band-aid. Yay! Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah. And honestly, probably the only reason I know that is because now that I have Sirius, that song plays so much on the Holly channel. And it's problematic. Oh, well, that too. It's hella problematic. We'll talk about that on another episode. Maybe we should like do a whole one on problematic Christmas songs from the 80s and 90s. Maybe we should. That could be one of our holiday episodes. I don't know. That's I don't know. I don't know. We're we're in a time of a lot of uh downer in real life. So yeah, so maybe we need lighter things. Maybe we need lighter things. Maybe we don't need to be like, here's something else to be upset about. Yeah. You know? Here's something else we messed up. Here we go. Oh, okay. It's a numbers game. Math. So the answer is just one number. Okay, but that's the answer is one number, not the problem. Get out of here. Okay. Let's just do it. I think you're gonna know this. Okay. It's the track number of the blur song that is sometimes mistakenly titled Woo-hoo. What? The track number? Woo-hoo! That song? Uh-huh. It's the name of the actual song when people just call it woo-hoo. And it's by blur. I don't know.

unknown: 47:16

Song.

SPEAKER_00: 47:16

I could I'm singing it in my head. Song two. That's the name of the song? Yeah. Really? Uh-huh. It's called Song Two. Is it track two on that CD? Yes. Oh. So it's Blur's Song Two. I have that CD. But it's the one that goes, woohoo! I don't know the words. Woohoo! Troy Pry does. It's track two. I wonder if anyone knew that. Or song two. Oh my gosh, sorry. Not even a lot. Somebody knew that. And Ben, if he's listening. Oh, Ben definitely knew. Get out of here. He knows everything. Awesome. Well, thank you for reminding me about trivia. And thanks for listening, everybody. Thanks, everyone. If you have a concrete goose dressed up for the holidays, we'd love to see it. Send us a picture. And I'll just be jealous. Okay. And we'll see you next time on Generation in Between