the summer of

What it was like to be 15 in 1989 in America

To be fifteen in America in 1989 was to have “Free Fallin'” by Tom Petty everywhere, Batman on every screen, and The Cosby Show on after school. That year, gas cost $1.02 and the Nintendo Game Boy was the new thing. Born in 1974? You turned 15 in 1989 — a teenager from 1987 to 1993, right in the window a soundtrack bonds to you for life.

Compiled by the Original Lore archive from period charts, box-office and price records. How we build these · sources noted throughout.

▶ Play your 1989 reel with sounda 30-second video of your year — the song, the screen, the turn.

the mixtape of 1989

Free Fallin' — Tom Petty

  1. Love Shack — The B-52'sThe party anthem that turned every graduation and backyard cookout into a glittery, sweaty pileup.
  2. Free Fallin' — Tom PettyPetty's wide-open jangle was driving nowhere fast, windows down, free and a little heartbroken.
  3. Like a Prayer — MadonnaMadonna's gospel-charged confession scandalized parents and made you feel gloriously, secretly adult.
  4. Eternal Flame — The BanglesThe slow-dance ballad that pressed two nervous teenagers together at the final song of the night.
  5. Pictures of You — The CureRobert Smith's aching swirl was where the sensitive kids went to feel everything at once.

▶ Play your 1989 reel

why this one mattered

Full Moon Fever was the album in every 15-year-old's tape deck in 1989, and this windows-down, sing-the-whole-thing anthem became a forever-summer song for that class. It's wistful and effortless — the sound of cruising with friends the year you got your learner's permit — and it lands as pure nostalgia decades on.

the year-end #1 was Look Away — Chicago.

the movies you are watching in 1989

  • Batman
  • Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
  • Lethal Weapon 2
  • Back to the Future Part II
  • Dead Poets Society

the tv shows you are binging in 1989

  • The Cosby Show
  • Cheers
  • Roseanne
  • The Simpsons
  • Seinfeld

the games you are playing in 1989

  • Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
  • Mega Man 2
  • DuckTales
  • SimCity
  • Tetris
  • Prince of Persia

what things cost in 1989

What things cost in 1989
a gallon of gas$1.02
a movie ticket$3.99
the federal minimum wage$3.35/hr
a first-class stamp$0.25
the average income$28,906

trending this year

The Simpsons
Naula Ayisabun Aningore · CC BY-SA 4.0
The Simpsons
Game Boy
Evan-Amos, via Wikimedia Commons · Public Domain
Game Boy
Batman (1989 film)
Pearson Scott Foresman, via Wikimedia Commons · Public Domain
Batman (1989 film)
Seinfeld (pilot)
freestocks (flickr.com/photos/freestocks) · CC0 1.0 (Public Domain Dedication)
Seinfeld (pilot)
Sega Genesis
Evan-Amos (Vanamo Media), via Wikimedia Commons · Public Domain (released to public domain worldwide)
Sega Genesis

the gadgets you just got

Nintendo Game Boy
Evan-Amos (Vanamo Media), via Wikimedia Commons · Public Domain (CC0 / released to public domain worldwide)
Nintendo Game Boy
Sega Genesis
Evan-Amos (Vanamo Media), via Wikimedia Commons · Public Domain (released to public domain worldwide)
Sega Genesis
Sony Watchman
Fguenthoer, via Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 3.0
Sony Watchman
Macintosh Portable
Rama, via Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 2.0 FR
Macintosh Portable
Sony Discman D-Z555
MiNe (sfmine79), via Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 2.0
Sony Discman D-Z555

what everyone is snacking on

Cool Ranch Doritos
Famartin, via Wikimedia Commons (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:2019-02-07_13_01_15_Cool_Ranch_Doritos_in_the_Franklin_Farm_section_of_Oak_Hill,_Fairfax_County,_Virginia.jpg) · CC BY-SA 4.0
Cool Ranch Doritos
Pop-Tarts
Evan-Amos, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)
Pop-Tarts
Teddy Grahams
Jellocube27, English Wikipedia — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Chocolate_teddy_graham_closeup.png · Public Domain (author release, worldwide)
Teddy Grahams
Combos
Judgefloro, Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Combos_stuffed_snacks_cheese_flavor_fvf.jpg · CC0 1.0 (Public Domain Dedication)
Combos
Fruit Roll-Ups
Mike Mozart / JeepersMedia (Flickr), CC BY 2.0
Fruit Roll-Ups

what everyone is drinking

Coca-Cola Classic
M0tty, Wikimedia Commons (Quality Image) — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Coca-cola_50cl_can_-_Italia.jpg · CC BY-SA 3.0
Coca-Cola Classic
Pepsi
Michael Thomas (Flickr), via Wikimedia Commons (File:Pepsi Can.jpg) · CC BY 2.0
Pepsi
Slice
Mymomisnotreal, via Wikimedia Commons (File:Mymomisnotreal's Picture of the original "Slice" flavor.jpg) · CC BY-SA 4.0
Slice
Hi-C Ecto Cooler
Masashi Yanagiya · CC BY-SA 2.0
Hi-C Ecto Cooler
Capri Sun
Photo by Tamzin Hadasa Kelly (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Capri_Sun_pouch_standing.jpg · CC BY-SA 4.0
Capri Sun

what made the news in 1989

  • The Berlin Wall fell as East Germans streamed freely into the West
  • The Exxon Valdez ran aground, spilling millions of gallons of oil off Alaska
  • Tank Man stood defiant before a column of tanks near Tiananmen Square
  • The 49ers won Super Bowl XXIII on Montana's last-minute touchdown drive
Fall of the Berlin Wall
Raphaël Thiémard / CC-BY-SA 2.0 · CC-BY-SA 2.0 Generic
Fall of the Berlin Wall
Tiananmen Square protests in Beijing
Photo by Jiří Tondl, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Tiananmen Square protests in Beijing
Exxon Valdez oil spill in Alaska
PH2 Poche, U.S. Navy / U.S. National Archives (public domain) · Public Domain (U.S. federal government work / U.S. Navy)
Exxon Valdez oil spill in Alaska
George H. W. Bush inaugurated as President
John Dillaber, Smithsonian Institution (public domain) · Public Domain (dedicated to public domain by copyright holder / Smithsonian)
George H. W. Bush inaugurated as President
Loma Prieta earthquake strikes San Francisco Bay Area
H.G. Wilshire, U.S. Geological Survey (public domain) · Public Domain (U.S. federal government work / USGS)
Loma Prieta earthquake strikes San Francisco Bay Area

what everyone is saying

  • "Don't have a cow, man!"Bart Simpson catchphrase from The Simpsons, which debuted as a series in December 1989
  • "Just Do It"Nike advertising slogan launched in 1988 and ubiquitous in 1989
  • "Wild Thing"Catchphrase tied to pitcher Ricky Vaughn, popularized by the 1989 film Major League
  • "Gnarly"Surfer and skater slang for extreme or impressive, at peak usage in the late 1980s
  • "Read my lips: no new taxes"George H. W. Bush pledge from his 1988 campaign, widely quoted through 1989

top-performing stocks in 1989

Top-performing stocks in 1989
CompanyTickerPriceChange
Coca-ColaKO$77+75%
Walt Disney CompanyDIS$112+65%
Philip MorrisMO$42+60%
General ElectricGE$65+45%
Bristol-Myers SquibbBMY$56+40%

worst-performing stocks in 1989

Worst-performing stocks in 1989
CompanyTickerPriceChange
UAL Corporation (United Airlines)UAL$170-40%
Texas Air CorporationTAC$10-55%
Pan Am CorporationPA$3-45%
Wang LaboratoriesWAN$5-60%
LTV CorporationLTV$1-55%

the summer of 1989.

you think you've got all the time in the world.

…and then it cools. Play the reel to feel where 1989 goes.

Turn 1989 into a 30-second reel →

▶ Play your 1989 reel with sound