Back to the 1980s - Glow-in-the-Dark Bracelets

I know I’m repeating myself when I say I was very young when the 80s were in full swing. What a shame, right? Do I get to go back and have fun, please? But one thing I distinctly remember was my fascination with glow bracelets, neon colors, and black light.

If you’re not sure what I’m talking about, just watch the Wham! – Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go video. George and Andrew are dressed in white, and under the black light, their clothes practically explode with color. That’s because ultraviolet rays make certain neon and fluorescent colors, and even some materials containing phosphors, fluoresce, reflecting visible light back to our eyes. To a kid in the 80s, it was literally the coolest thing.

The same neon-and-glow energy shows up in Dire Straits’ Money for Nothing. This video was also known for pioneering 3D animation with bright, high-contrast visuals on a dark background, giving a kind of glowing, black-light-ish effect. Something else stuck with me: the characters look like early Minecraft figures! They were 3D polygonal human figures, extremely low-resolution by today’s standards, designed blocky and angular because mid-80s computers couldn’t handle more detail. Those cube-ish heads and stiff limbs unintentionally foreshadowed the aesthetic later popularized by Minecraft.

By the way, black light effects go beyond discos and music videos. When I had my first apartment, I had a ficus plant. Bear with me, there’s a point. Someone explained that my ficus wasn’t thriving because it wasn’t getting enough sunlight and why didn't I try a black light lamp? I turned it on while I was out, imagining it was giving my plant extra energy. Turns out, the black light wasn’t actually helping it grow, plants rely on visible light, especially blue and red wavelengths, for photosynthesis, and a black light mostly emits UV. Still, my ficus got to enjoy its own neon-inspired aesthetic, just like me back in the 80s.

Did you ever rock neon under a black light, or is that just me imagining it was cooler than it really was? Let me know.