Time almost appears to have stood still for a group of friends who have met every five years for three decades to recreate an impromptu photo from 1982.
When the men first photographed themselves near Copco Lake, California as teens, they didn't know they were spurring a lifelong tradition - or that decades later they'd become an Internet sensation. When they shared the images with CNN and the story of how the tradition bonded them for life, CNN's audience couldn't get enough.
While a click through the pics shows the men's progression from long-haired, shirtless teens to well, middle-aged men, the scene at the lake is largely unchanged. We rounded up some facts to show our readers what was going on in the world around them.
1982
- Ronald Reagan is president of the United States
- No.1 song in the U.S.: Olivia Newton-John’s “Physical”
- No.1 movie in the U.S.: "E.T."
- Average cost of one gallon of gas: $1.29
- Cost of a Super Bowl ad: $350,000
- Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” was released on December 1, 1982
1987
- Ronald Reagan is president of the United States
- No.1 song in the U.S.: Bangles’ “Walk Like an Egyptian”
- No.1 movie in the U.S.: "Three Men and a Baby"
- Average price of one gallon of gas: $0.94
- Cost of a Super Bowl ad: $580,000
- Spuds MacKenzie first appeared in Bud Light beer ads.
1992
- George H.W. Bush is president of the United States
- No.1 song in the U.S.: Boyz II Men “End of the Road”
- No.1 movie in the U.S.: "Aladdin"
- Average cost of one gallon of gas: $1.12
- Cost of a Super Bowl ad: $800,000
- MTV’s long-running "The Real World" reality series debuts.
1997
- Bill Clinton is president of the United States
- No.1 song in the U.S.: Elton John’s “Candle in the Wind”
- No.1 movie in the U.S.: "Titanic"
- Average cost of one gallon of gas: $1.23
- Cost of a Super Bowl ad: $1,200,000
- In a civil trial, O.J. Simpson was found liable in a civil wrongful death suit brought by the families of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman.
2002
- George W. Bush is president of the United States
- No.1 song in the U.S.: Nickelback’s “How You Remind Me”
- No.1 movie in the U.S.: "Spider-Man"
- Average cost of 1 gallon of gas: $1.35
- Cost of a Super Bowl ad: $1,900,000
- Elizabeth Smart is kidnapped from her Salt Lake City home on June 5.
2007
- George W. Bush is president of the United States
- No.1 song in the U.S.: Beyonce’s “Irreplaceable”
- No.1 one movie in the U.S.: "Spider-Man 3"
- Average cost of 1 gallon of gas: $2.80
- Cost of a Super Bowl ad: $2,600,000
- Paris Hilton spent 23 days in a Los Angeles County jail for violating probation on a reckless driving conviction.
2012
- Barack Obama is president of the United States
- Current number one song in the U.S.: Carly Rae Jepsen’s “Call Me Maybe”
- Current No.1 movie in the U.S.: "The Dark Knight Rises"
- Current average cost of 1 gallon of gas: $3.49
- Cost of a Super Bowl Ad: $3,500,000
- Queen Elizabeth II celebrated her Diamond Jubilee in June.
Do you have a vacation photo tradition? How do you document your life? Share your stories below and post your photo rituals on iReport.com.
© 2012 Cable News Network. Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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1982 – 2002 average prices of gas: Low $0.94 to high $1.35.
Somewhere in the last 10 years, something's gone terribly wrong...
Bush jr almost doubled gas $ - let's blame President Obama for everything! Duh!
Oh man Bush Jr also caused super bowl ad prices to more than double. He was the worst for sure.
Or was he?
Hey CNN, did you mix up a couple of the last photos/years?? The 2007 to 2012 transition looks a little too severe.....
I want the two guys on the left to be smiling in the 2017 picture!
You can tell them their burgers are mediocre at best... .
The difference between their 2007 and 2012 photos is scary. It makes me really not want to reach whatever age they are now that much more.
Yeah, Jim's right - pictures 5 and 6 are definitely in the wrong order and should be reversed... where's the editor!
ahhhh...the fading flowers...and the fleeting beauties
Did anyone happen to notice George W. Bush's spike in gasoline prices?
That's because no new oil refineries had been built for over a decade. Our population grew, but our capacity to refine crude oil into gasoline remained the same. DeBeer's diamond cartel also manipulates the price of diamonds using the same tactic. Or you would be paying 49 bucks for that rock instead of 4,999 dollars.
The only commodity with a profit margin greater than that of diamonds is the markup on a cubic foot of natural gas. (what it costs them vs. what they charge you)
And of course I am speaking of natures commodities, not mans. One single 25mg Seroquel prescription pill cost the US taxpayer 40 bucks. (when consumed by someone on disability)
...which is odd. Because N. America sits atop the most natural gas reserves on earth. And Ng doesn't need to be refined. Just take the water vapor out of it, and it's ready to burn. It only stinks b/c odorants are added so you can smell it.
Back in the 1970s, the City of Colorado springs Gas dept. converted a chevy V-8 engine to run on natural gas. (the world first true zero emissions vehicle) The project was a complete success. None were impressed.
Natural gas ABSOLUTELY has a smell! Menard tx. Thank you.
Your bicycle is NOT a zero emission vehicle. It takes a carbon footprint in order for that bike to go. And the heavier the load, the bigger the waffle stomper footprint.
By the time your avg. citizen eats lunch, his or her carbon footprint is 17 times larger that the tiny little baby shoe footprint left by over half of the worlds avg. citizens.
To rephrase: half of the worlds families subsist on the equiv. of 3 or 4 US dollars per day. The avg. fed citizen's carbon footprint vs. the avg. starved citizen's.
The entire world of mankind could be easily taken care of by natural gas technology developed decades ago. Really. There is no true NEED for crude oil for fuel. Only a small % of crude is used for fuel. (5% of crude is refined into gasoline. 10% jet fuel, for examples)
YOU need plastic. That, or denude and deforrest planet earth.
THEY need petroleum molecules for pharmaceuticals. And is why we burn oily gas in our cars instead of natural gas.