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Tony's Express Inc. was founded in 1954 by Tony Raluy in Fontana, California. The company was family-owned for almost 70 years, but was sold in 2023. At the time they were sold, Tony's had 200 employees, 87 drivers, and a dozen owner-operator line haul drivers. The following year, the fortunes of Tony's Express took a turn as they suddenly found themselves insolvent, ultimately resulting in the troubled firm shutting down for good.

Eliminators is a low budget 1986 science fiction action film about a pilot who crashes and nearly dies, leading to a mad scientist turning him in a 'mandroid' time travel test pilot. Mandroid goes on the run, and meets a scientist, a riverboat guide, and a ninja. They band together to stop the mad scientist from traveling back in time and taking over the world. The whole thing is pretty bonkers, and while it's not that good, even as a B-movie, it actually did ok at the box office. In recent years, Eliminators has become a cult classic by cinephiles and VHS collectors alike, and is often screened at B-movie festivals and events.

Lasonic Electronics Corporation started out in 1978 designing portable audio devices, primarily what would become known as boomboxes, and had them manufactured by Yung Fu Electrical Appliances, which is based in Tainan City, Taiwan. After years of making some of the most popular boomboxes available, in 1985, Lasonic released what is arguably their crowing achievement — the flagship TRC-931. With a black case and colorful graphics accented by just the right amount of chrome, the TRC-931 could be seen everywhere from movies and music videos to skate parks and breakdancing sessions. Decades later, original TRC-931 boomboxes are considered the holy grail by many collectors and rarely change hands once they've been acquired.

The National Recovery Administration was part of a myriad of agencies formed under President Roosevelt's New Deal initiative, this one designed to help America recover from the Great Depression. Founded in 1933 to stimulate industrial recovery, The National Recovery's mission was to limit competition and halt the spiraling pattern of wage reduction and price falls, while maintaining the integrity of the free market. The administration requested the input of businesses, labor, and consumers in drafting new guidelines for working hours, minimum wages, and production norms. Registered businesses were allowed to exhibit a blue eagle emblem, and customers were encouraged to patronize establishments where this symbol was displayed. 

Rising (also known as Rainbow Rising) is the second studio album by the British-American heavy metal band Rainbow that was released on May 17, 1976. Rising captured Rainbow at the peak of their creative powers, chronicling the band's neoclassical metal compositions at their most ambitious, and their growing fixation with fantasy lyrical themes. The record is largely considered a masterpiece of heavy rock and is consistently included among the greatest heavy metal albums of all time.

Founded as Charles Auto Supply in 1934, Charles would go on to open a dozen locations throughout the greater Washington Metro area, subsequently changing their name to Charles Auto Supply Stores. The retailer's initial offerings were basic repair parts and supplies, but by the time the boys began coming home from WWII and began hot rodding their cars, the Charles stores began adding speed parts and go fast goodies. By the late '70s, dedicated speed shops and national auto parts supply stores were putting the squeeze on Charles Auto Supply Stores, and they struggled throughout the '80s before closing up shop some time in the '90s.

Based on the radio drama Challenge of the Yukon, Sergeant Preston of the Yukon was a half-hour American action adventure TV series. Broadcasted in color on Thursdays at 7:30 p.m. from September 29, 1955, to September 25, 1958, the show ran for 78 episodes over three seasons. The show followed Sergeant Preston of the North-West Mounted Police, who patrolled the Yukon Territory in search of renegades and outlaws, during the time of the Klondike Gold Rush of the 1890s. Preston was assisted by his Alaskan Malamute, Yukon King, who had been raised by wolves. At the end of each episode, Preston would turn to his dog and say, "Well, King, this case is closed."

Before there was Torker BMX, there was a small family-owned and operated a company called Texon, run out of a garage in Anaheim Hills, California. Founded in 1975, the company was set up to design and build BMX racing frames. The following year, the company was renamed Johnson Engineering, and by year-end, it was renamed again, to Torker. The Johnson Engineering name was still attached for many years, most often in ads and on the head tube decals, but would eventually be phased out altogether as Torker BMX became a major player in high end BMX race bikes.

Fanny Farmer was an American candy manufacturer and retailer founded in Rochester, New York, by Canadian politician and businessman, Frank O'Connor in 1919. The company was named "Fanny Farmer" to exploit the exemplary reputation of one of America's foremost culinary experts, Fannie Farmer, who had died four years earlier, had nothing to do with the candy stores. The spelling of the first name was altered simply to avoid confusion. Fanny Farmer grew to over 400 stores before being bought and consolidated in 2004, ending an 85-year run making traditional old time candies and confections.

Released on May 10, 1984, Stay Hungry proved itself to be a staple of '80s glam metal and hard rock that remains a favorite of fans of the genre today.

The Goodwill Games were an international sports competition created in reaction to the political troubles surrounding other international sporting events in the Cold War era 1980s. The Goodwill Games were held every four years (with the exception of the final Games), and had a summer and winter component. The Summer Goodwill Games occurred five times, between 1986 and 2001, while the Winter Goodwill Games occurred only once, in 2000. The first Goodwill Games was held in Moscow in 1986, and featured 182 events and attracted over 3,000 athletes representing 79 countries.

In 1849, French writer Jean-Baptiste Alphonse Karr wrote “plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose,“ which translates to "the more things change, the more they stay the same." Greek pre-Socratic philosopher Heraclitus once said, “the only constant in life is change.” And in 1981, the Talking Heads said, "same as it ever was." If you think about it, they're all right, and really just saying the same thing, as things are always changing, but still staying the same, as change is constant. Or something.

Space Warrior Baldios (宇宙戦士 バルディオス, Uchū Senshi Barudiosu) is a 1980 Japanese super robot mecha anime TV series. 34 episodes were produced, but only 31 aired before its cancellation. In 1981, a feature film was produced using footage from the unaired episodes as well as newly animated material to properly conclude the series. The plot is based on evil aliens who have polluted their own planet, so they go to take over Earth to make it their new home. Now, an outcast and his super mecha spacecraft try to defend the earth against his own people.

Xero Gas is a fictional petroleum company in the GTA video game series. Xero first appears in GTA IV, though unlike competitors, such as RON, Globe Oil, and Terroil, Xero does not appear to run any gas stations in Liberty, just a refinery in Alderney. GTAV takes us to the state of San Andreas where Xero has stations across the state, though none of these stations have interiors that are accessible in game. Xero also has an industrial building at LSIA, as well as a refinery in Blaine County. Xero is also a major sponsor of motorsports events, and can be found on racing liveries of various vehicles.

Back in the late '50s, hot rodders were increasingly attracted to newer cars making their way into junkyards, or more specifically, the OHV V8 engines they brought with them. An engine that made more power than their flathead V8's, was all too enticing, though the swap wasn't exactly straight forward. Of course, hot rodders were an ingenious bunch, and came up with all kinds of mounting solutions, but none of them were exactly great (or safe). Seeing a need, Hurst came out with their Adjusta-Torque engine conversion mount in 1960, promising a true bolt on solution for OHV engine swaps.

If your cartoons ended with this swirling star closing animation as a kid, you were probably a kid in the '80s and had a rad childhood.

Twin Cobra, known as Kyukyoku Tiger in Japan, is a vertical scroller arcade shooter developed by Toaplan and released for arcades in 1987 as a sequel to the 1985 arcade game Tiger-Heli. Controlling the titular attack helicopter, the players must fight endless waves of military vehicles while avoiding collision with their projectiles and other obstacles. It was the fourth shooter from Toaplan, and their tenth game overall. It was ported to multiple platforms, with each done by different third-party developers that made several changes or additions. Twin Cobra was a success for Toaplan, garnering positive and earning numerous awards. In 1995, the sequel Twin Cobra II was released, though it failed to capture the magic of the original.

Santa Catalina Island, one of eight islands in California’s Channel Island Archipelago, lies southwest of Los Angeles. It's known for its wildlife, dive sites and Mt. Orizaba, its highest peak. The resort town of Two Harbors lies to the north. To the south, in the city of Avalon, palm trees and cabanas line Descanso Beach. Avalon’s circular, art deco Catalina Casino is a cultural center with a movie theater, ballroom, and museum. This souvenir style design is a throwback to that family trip to Catalina Island in the '80s.

If you've seen the '70s cult classic horror film, Driller Killer, then you are no doubt familiar with the fictional punk band, Tony Cola and the Roosters. In the film, unsuccessful New York artist Reno Miller is seen living off the largesse of his gallerist, and unable to break through a creative block. Facing an eviction deadline and a painting due in a week, he's already on the edge of snapping. Complicating things is his new neighbor, Tony Cola, whose band practices incessantly next door, causes Miller to lose his grip on reality. He snaps and embarks on a killing spree with the movie’s eponymous power tool. If you're into punk, Tony Cola and the Roosters isn't too bad, but hearing them incessantly could drive anyone crazy.

Fantastic Planet (French: La Planète sauvage; Czech: Divoká planeta, lit. 'The Wild Planet') is a 1973 French-language experimental independent adult animated science fiction art film. The movie was an international co-production between companies from France and Czechoslovakia. The allegorical story, about humans living on a strange planet dominated by giant humanoid aliens who consider them animals, is based on the 1957 novel Oms en série by French writer Stefan Wul. Fantastic Planet was the first animated movie to be rated PG in the US, and as such, many kids were inadvertently taken to see the film, only to be left with nightmares from some of the more complex topics and related visuals.

Howard Dean began his presidential big at number eight of a dozen potential Democrat contenders in May 2002. In March 2003 he gave a speech critical of party leadership at the California Democratic Convention that attracted the attention of grassroots activists and set the tone of his candidacy. By Fall 2003, Dean had become the front-runner, with an army of supporters known as 'Deaniacs' behind him. Things were looking good for Dean, but at an energetic rally on the evening of January 19, 2004, Dean emitted a shrieking scream that many claim ended his political career. The “Dean Scream,” as it quickly came to be known, was a unique and revealing moment in early-21st century American politics.

Carson Pirie Scott & Co. (CSP) was an American department store founded in 1854, which grew to over 50 locations, primarily in the Midwest. The chain began in 1854 when Samuel Carson and John Thomas Pirie first clerked in Murray's Dry Goods in Peru, Illinois, then opened their own store in LaSalle, followed by one in Amboy. John Edwin Scott ran a dry goods store in Ottawa, Illinois, and later moved up to Chicago as a partner in creating CSP. When Schlesinger & Mayer went bankrupt in 1904, CSP bought their store at 1 South State Street on the corner of East Madison in 1904. The grand building would become CSP's flagship store for 114 years until the CSP closed down in 2018.

SilverHawks is a carton series developed by Rankin/Bass Productions in 1986 as a space-based equivalent of their previous series, Thunder Cats. As with earlier works, the animated series was accompanied by an action figure line as well as a comic book series. The plot finds a bionic space enforcer called Commander Stargazer recruited by the SilverHawks, cybernetic heroes who fight evil. Specifically, they fight Mon*Star, an escaped alien crime boss who transforms into an enormous armor-plated creature with the help of Limbo's Moonstar. Joining Mon*Star in his villainy is an intergalactic mob. The series ran for a single season of 65 episodes, and the comics and toy line didn't come out until the show was in syndication the following year.

Burger World is a fictional fast food restaurant and recurring location in Beavis and Butt-Head. The boys managed to hold part-time jobs there, despite being just awful employees. They routinely wreak havoc as they goof off and fail to perform simple tasks, including taking orders. They have also damaged the drive-thru speaker, rearranged letters on the menu to spell something disgusting or vulgar, fried just about every kind of small creature there is, stolen money from the register, and slowed service so badly that everybody left. Despite all this, the manager has kept them employed. He puts up with their goofing off and never fires them. It's possible that because of the duo's antics, Burger World is a horrible place to work...

Lufkin Foundry & Machine Company was founded in 1902 in Lufkin, Texas as a repair shop and parts supply house for regional sawmills. The company ventured into the petroleum industry and manufactured the first enclosed geared pumping unit, and a counterbalanced crank that improved the pumping unit and made a name for the company worldwide. In 1939, the company bought the Martin Wagon and Trailer Company, established the Lufkin Trailers to manufacture heavy-duty truck trailers. Leveraging their extensive design experience, Lufkin began building the lightest and toughest trailers in the industry, and could barely keep up with demand. In 1970, a new 400 acre trailer plant was built south of Lufkin, allowing production to meet demand.

Fastway were an English metal band formed in 1982. They released their self-titled debut in 1983, which was both a critical and commercial success. A second album, All Fired Up, dropped in 1984, but failed to get traction due to the rise of glam. In 1985, the group released Waiting for the Roar, which was more of an album-oriented rock sound, instead of the bluesy-metal of the previous albums. Success was limited, and disappointed many fans, but the same year, Fastway was approached to make the soundtrack for the heavy metal horror film Trick or Treat. The film flopped, but the soundtrack re-established Fastway as a hard-hitting metal band. The soundtrack was a moderate success and stayed on the Top 200 chart for eleven months.

In 1922, two friends formed a partnership to haul sand and gravel during the early Los Angeles boom. They started on credit, buying 15 dump trucks, but soon, the fleet grew to 26 units. In 1929, C&T added tankers to move petroleum. In 1936, they purchased Western which allowed them to move into dry freight, and then in 1956, purchasing Gillette Motor Freight had them changing names to Western Gillette Motor Freight and reaching Chicago and serving 1,400 cities in between. By the ’70s, the company had over 2,000 employees operating out of 52 company terminals in 15 States and a fleet of over 1,000 trucks. In 1976 the company was sold to Roadway, marking the end of Western Gillette, and C&T, as well as their signature 'sunshine service.'

Athena is a platformer arcade game developed and published by SNK in 1986. The arcade game was later ported to several consoles and home computers. Athena is the young, temperamental princess of the ancient Kingdom of Victory, and like all teenagers, she clamors for excitement, and is tempted to disobey her parents and enter the area of the Forbidden Door. Opening the gateway makes her fall from the heavenly kingdom to the realm below, a wild land ruled by the cruel Emperor Dante and his countless minions. The princess' only means of survival is to traverse a long, dangerous road and challenge the brutal Dante herself. Princess Athena has gone on to appear in later fighting games by SNK as a secret character or assistant to players.

Helmet is an alternative metal band from New York City formed in 1989, releasing their debut album, Strap It On, in 1990. Meantime was the band's second studio album and major label debut, released on June 23, 1992. Despite initially only achieving moderate commercial success and peaking at number 68 on the Top 200 chart, the album was well received by critics. Meantime is considered to be one of the most influential and overlooked metal records of the '90s, and continues to be discovered and appreciated by new listeners.

Reimer Express Lines was founded in 1952 when 19-year-old Donald S. Reimer of Steinbach, Manitoba convinced his father and brothers to join him in starting a trucking company. Their original route was between Winnipeg and Windsor, Ontario, with Winnipeg as the head office. By December, Reimer added Windsor to Vancouver, and had extended to Toronto by 1956. In 1968 Reimer was acquired by Canadian conglomerate Neonex, but in 1971, the Reimer family bought the company back. Reimer continued to grow and expand through before ultimately being sold again in 1997 to Roadway, who themselves would be bought just six years later by Yellow. Yellow operated Reimer as an independent line until 2019, at which point the Reimer name was retired.

Hyder, Alaska was established in 1907 as Portland City, taking its name from Portland Canal, the 130-mile fjord it sat at the head of. The Post Office said there were too many towns named Portland, so it was renamed Hyder, after a local mining engineer. Hyder's boom years were the '20s, and '30s when miners were pulling lots of gold from the area. Hyder became a bustling port to supply mining operations, but as gold yields faltered, so did the town. With a population of under 100 today, it's easy to see why they refer to Hyder as "the friendliest ghost town in Alaska." Hyder is only accessible by road from Stewart, British Columbia, and sees more than 100,000 tourists annually, including many long-distance motorcycle riders.

Arkanoid: Doh It Again is a console game released in January 1997 in Japan, and globally by the end of the year. It was developed as a sequel to the original 1986 arcade release of Arkanoid, and the story picks up five years after the events of the original, in which the spacecraft Vaus defeated DoH with its energy ball. In the 9th stardawn, Commander Therle writes a log entry recounting the defeat of DoH and stating that their search for a new home goes on. After the player defeats the boss on round 33, Vaus escapes DoH's realm and returns to the Arkanoid, where it is now the 14th stardawn. The planet was only a hoax created by DoH.

The fall of the Berlin Wall took place on November 9, 1989, during the Peaceful Revolution, marked the destruction of the Berlin Wall and the figurative Iron Curtain. It was one of the series of events that started the fall of communism in Central and Eastern Europe, preceded by the Solidarity Movement in Poland. The fall of the inner German border took place shortly afterward. An end to the Cold War was declared at the Malta Summit three weeks later, and the German reunification took place in October the following year.

If you get sent to hell on your chopper, there's always the chance that you can haul ass back from the undead.

Every set in New York City in the '70s and '80s includes a graffiti-covered subway, and for good reason - this was what things were like underground. The illegible urban hieroglyphics gave a sense that the trains were controlled by wild gangs of teenagers... which was kind of true. The fight to keep trains free of graffiti was nonstop, but in 1984, an incoming president of the NYC Transit Authority declared war on graffiti. Leveraging a variety of tactics, major inroads were made in keeping trains clean and free of graffiti. If a car was painted on, it was taken out of service and cleaned - no cars would run with graffiti on them. In May 1989, victory was declared in the anti-graffiti war, though the actual success is debatable.

The Return of the Living Dead is a 1985 horror comedy film about an accidental release of a horde of unkillable, brain-hungry zombies. Described as a mordant punk comedy, the film is known for introducing multiple popular concepts to the zombie genre: zombies specifically eating brains, and zombies being invulnerable to a gunshot to the head. The film's soundtrack was noteworthy, as it featured several Los Angeles-based metal and punk bands of the era. On his first day at Uneeda Medical Supply, poor Freddy unwittingly releases nerve gas from an old military canister, unleashing an unbelievable terror. The gas re-animates corpses, who arise from their graves with a ravenous hunger for human brains... zombie killing comedy ensues!