1968- 2008: What's Under Your Bed?

1968 challenged the world on an idealistic level by forcing changes from the bottom up. Remembered now as 'the year the world shook', 1968 was a formative period that helped to carve out the world we know today. As we approach the end of 2008, The Sleep Room is honoured to pay its own particular kind of homage to the 40th anniversary of that momentous year, 1968. Your bed is used for a lot of fun stuff but one of the oft-forgotten joys is keeping stuff under it. We look back on 40 wonderful years of 'stuff under the bed'.

It was the year of student demonstrations, sexual liberation, drugs and music- but your parents were busy with other things this year. Busy procreating. Under the bed in your first year you will have found an assortment of the usual suspects- a collection of cuddly toys (one of which you still have), a plane mobile, some cloth nappies and a couple of tubes of teething ointment.

Monsters

The rest of the world was looking at "photos" of "real" "monsters", but you were only iccle, and there were far scarier beasts much closer to home…

From under the bed a growling you hear,

What is this noise that brings such fear?

An icky, nasty, boogey beast...

Who can't wait for sleep so he can feast!"

Lego

The monsters are still there, but you're not nearly so scared of them these days. Lego is the all-consuming passion. The Universal Building Set spends the first two weeks of its long life being painstakingly repacked after each outing. Then pieces start to go missing and the lid gets sat on. However, if challenged to a Lego fight to the death, you could build each of the models on the box in record time. To be honest, since you pretty much resemble one of these guys, you'd do it blindfolded just for the hell of it.

Comic Books

Of course you read DC Comics, but were you also a fan of the short-lived but marvellous Devil Dinosaur? A 1978 exclusive. Devil Dinosaur (dyed red by a near-death encounter with some nasty Neanderthals and a fire) battles with giant ants, carnivorous herbivores and alien invaders. Piled up and dusty, there's no way you would've thrown these masterpieces out if your mum hadn't insisted. And now you'd be a millionaire, dammit.

Sci-fi

The real initiation into geekhood begins. Science fiction/fantasy makes its deadly move. You develop a life-long obsession with H2G2, as it broadcasts on BBC Radio 4 in January and the second book in the series is published. Books by Gregory Benford, Arthur C. Clarke, Larry Niven and John Varley are stored under the bed because the shelf space is used up by Star Trek volumes. 1980 is the year you learn to differentiate between the four races of Klingon.

Retro Erotica

You still have a few of those Marvel comics from your youth and hide your latest obsession amongst them. Of course, back then, even the most extreme mags featured content you could legitimately read at the dinner table.

Dodgy VHS videos

Your mum doesn't look under your bed anymore and those mags have been replaced by an impressive collection of broken VHS. Candie Evans - oh the memories. Legs to die for and an impressive range of enterprises, from her unforgettable debut in 'Carnal Balls' to the memorable romping in 'Slippery When Wet'. Retro.

Mix Tapes

The Summer of Love. Acid House. You kept your stash and a spare hookah under the bed and were wont to carry a well thumbed copy of The Trial or Lady Chatterly's Lover around with you. Your music collection has also reached absurd levels. As well as George Michael and Guns 'N Roses, 1988 was also a pretty special year for this guy.

Cables

The last few years of upgrades to computers, hi-fis and games consoles have left you with a tangled mess of cables. Although you don't even remember what is in that dusty spaghetti, you insist that it's all worth keeping because some of them may come in handy at any time, especially when you get around to building that homemade media server. (Just as soon as you have a free weekend.) Your partner eventually persuades you that five-pin DIN connectors aren't ever going to make a comeback.

Gadgets

Times are good. You've got a real job and with it, a disposable income. What does that translate into? Gadgets ahoy. First on our list for 2003 would be this Treo 600, a unit that combines "a Palm-based organizer, a cell phone, a keyboard, and a camera in a sleek, silvery 5.9-ounce package that isn't much bulkier than less capable competitors". Of course, that's only the beginning...

Cash & Liquor

Welcome to the future. I wonder if 2008 will be remembered for much? The election of the first black US President? The reality of a credit crunch? The Olympics in China? Under your bed this year you will find a bottle of whisky to steady the nerves, and, if you're really smart, all your cash.

1968 challenged the world on an idealistic level by forcing changes from the bottom up. Remembered now as 'the year the world shook', 1968 was a formative period that helped to carve out the world we know today. As we approach the end of 2008, The Sleep Room is honoured to pay its own particular kind of homage to the 40th anniversary of that momentous year, 1968. Your bed is used for a lot of fun stuff but one of the oft-forgotten joys is keeping stuff under it. We look back on 40 wonderful years of 'stuff under the bed'.

It was the year of student demonstrations, sexual liberation, drugs and music- but your parents were busy with other things this year. Busy procreating. Under the bed in your first year you will have found an assortment of the usual suspects- a collection of cuddly toys (one of which you still have), a plane mobile, some cloth nappies and a couple of tubes of teething ointment.

Monsters

The rest of the world was looking at "photos" of "real" "monsters", but you were only iccle, and there were far scarier beasts much closer to home…

From under the bed a growling you hear,

What is this noise that brings such fear?

An icky, nasty, boogey beast...

Who can't wait for sleep so he can feast!"

Lego

The monsters are still there, but you're not nearly so scared of them these days. Lego is the all-consuming passion. The Universal Building Set spends the first two weeks of its long life being painstakingly repacked after each outing. Then pieces start to go missing and the lid gets sat on. However, if challenged to a Lego fight to the death, you could build each of the models on the box in record time. To be honest, since you pretty much resemble one of these guys, you'd do it blindfolded just for the hell of it.

Comic Books

Of course you read DC Comics, but were you also a fan of the short-lived but marvellous Devil Dinosaur? A 1978 exclusive. Devil Dinosaur (dyed red by a near-death encounter with some nasty Neanderthals and a fire) battles with giant ants, carnivorous herbivores and alien invaders. Piled up and dusty, there's no way you would've thrown these masterpieces out if your mum hadn't insisted. And now you'd be a millionaire, dammit.

Sci-fi

The real initiation into geekhood begins. Science fiction/fantasy makes its deadly move. You develop a life-long obsession with H2G2, as it broadcasts on BBC Radio 4 in January and the second book in the series is published. Books by Gregory Benford, Arthur C. Clarke, Larry Niven and John Varley are stored under the bed because the shelf space is used up by Star Trek volumes. 1980 is the year you learn to differentiate between the four races of Klingon.

Retro Erotica

You still have a few of those Marvel comics from your youth and hide your latest obsession amongst them. Of course, back then, even the most extreme mags featured content you could legitimately read at the dinner table.

Dodgy VHS videos

Your mum doesn't look under your bed anymore and those mags have been replaced by an impressive collection of broken VHS. Candie Evans - oh the memories. Legs to die for and an impressive range of enterprises, from her unforgettable debut in 'Carnal Balls' to the memorable romping in 'Slippery When Wet'. Retro.

Mix Tapes

The Summer of Love. Acid House. You kept your stash and a spare hookah under the bed and were wont to carry a well thumbed copy of The Trial or Lady Chatterly's Lover around with you. Your music collection has also reached absurd levels. As well as George Michael and Guns 'N Roses, 1988 was also a pretty special year for this guy.

Cables

The last few years of upgrades to computers, hi-fis and games consoles have left you with a tangled mess of cables. Although you don't even remember what is in that dusty spaghetti, you insist that it's all worth keeping because some of them may come in handy at any time, especially when you get around to building that homemade media server. (Just as soon as you have a free weekend.) Your partner eventually persuades you that five-pin DIN connectors aren't ever going to make a comeback.

Gadgets

Times are good. You've got a real job and with it, a disposable income. What does that translate into? Gadgets ahoy. First on our list for 2003 would be this Treo 600, a unit that combines "a Palm-based organizer, a cell phone, a keyboard, and a camera in a sleek, silvery 5.9-ounce package that isn't much bulkier than less capable competitors". Of course, that's only the beginning...

Cash & Liquor

Welcome to the future. I wonder if 2008 will be remembered for much? The election of the first black US President? The reality of a credit crunch? The Olympics in China? Under your bed this year you will find a bottle of whisky to steady the nerves, and, if you're really smart, all your cash.