Children of the Eighties

Here are some of the tell-tale signs..

1. You know what SBC stands for; favourite serials were "xiao fei yu" and "zao an lao shi"; favourite artistes were Huang Wenyong, Xiang Yun and Ah-yo-yo.

2. Some had a faint recollection of staying in attap houses in the countryside before shifting to newly built HDB flats.

3. You experienced the transition from black-and-white TV to colored.

4. You watched Smurfs on Sunday morning; Silverhawks, Transformers, Centurians, Masks, Xiao Tian Tian and Little Pony on weekday evenings.

5. You collected World of Survival, Superman and Silverhawks cards

6. You and your classmates squatted in neat lines along the drain during recess with a toothbrush and mug to brush your teeth.

7. You sang the "sama sama" song every Children's day. And everyone would get little toy gifts, fresh milk and fillet-o-fish from macdonalds.

8. Your favourite games in school included zero point, one-leg, marbles and the styrofoam DIY paper aeroplanes.

9. Your favourite snacks were kaka, chickidees, xiao ding dang chocolates.

10. Movie ticket cost $3.50; 1 bowl of noodle in school cost $0.20; cheapest ice-cream cost $0.10 - the long rectangular one with cola flavor, or the sng-bao that can be broken into 2.

11. At Pri 6, you got to go to Road Safety Park. You could choose to be on a gold cart, bicycle or be a pedestrian.

12. After exams, you played games like uno, snap, old maid, donkey, snake and ladder, animal chess, soldier chess, pick-up-sticks in class.

13. You ordered magnolia packet milk that were distributed daily in class. If you were lucky, you could even get banana flavored ones.

14. There was a dentist permanently based in school. And you'd be summoned to his clinic at random.

15. Your best friends in the textbooks were Ms Lala, Mr Wolly and Mr Yakki. Also, each chapter was marked with a bookworm telling a riddle on the right hand side of the page.

16. You were part of the bookworm club.

17. BCG was the biggest fear in school. There'd be 2 injections - one on the forearm to test for immunity, and the other on the biceps. The boys in class would pinch and hit their forearms so they would swell and be mistaken for immunity.

18. You carried a handkerchief to school everyday.

19. No one owned pager until in the army or university. Handphones were unheard of in school.

20. Corporal punishment were encouraged by parents if their children misbehaved.

21. You bought all the chewing gums at the mama shop when the chewing gum ban was announced.

22. You witnessed the launch of the MRT in Singapore. Your first joyride was with your parents.

23. You grew up with Radio-and-TV times.