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A lot of people accuse Seth MacFarlane cartoons of doing exactly this, just mentioning some pop culture nostalgia item and waiting for a laugh, but I don't know if that's totally fair. Like when a Family Guy character referenced The Facts of Life, they cut to a scene from The Facts of Life where it was revealed that Jo had both male and female genitalia, which, needless to say, did not actually happen on the original show. Is this a good joke? I don't know, you decide. But whatever the result, they put in a little more effort than merely cutting to a Facts of Life title screen and going, "Eh? Eh?"

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Anyway, as mentioned before, audiences are often complicit in these awful charades, going "I do remember Pogs! What a hilarious joke!" or "It's true, Asians often get better grades! This man is a comedy genius!" I think it is just a natural human tendency to want to belong. If you do not know what the Safety Dance is, but it is clear that the author/speaker and other members of the audience do, you feel sad, like you are not part of the club. If you do happen to know what it is, you are so happy you laugh almost in relief. It's not so much a laugh of "That sure was funny!" as "Yeah! I'm with it! I know things!"

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If you do that, stop it. Print out this Remembering Badge and pin it to your shirt.

See, now you and everyone around you know that you have been recognized by the International Council of Remembering for being good at remembering. You no longer need to be desperate for validation from some cheap-laugh comedian. When he asks if you remember Growing Pains, you can calmly say to yourself, "Yes, of course I remember it, because I am an expert rememberer. Continue," and stare silently at him until he makes an actual joke.

Check out more from Christina in 8 Words the Internet Loves to Confuse With Other Words and 7 Phrases That Are Great Signs It's Time to Stop Talking.