The mid-'80s was a notable time for women in computer science--because that was when they started disappearing. From 1970 into the start of the 1980s, the percentage of computer science degrees conferred to women rose, peaking at 37.1 percent in 1984. But this number then dipped drastically, and we've never recovered. The most recent report from the Computing Research Association shows the number of women graduating with computer science bachelor's degrees, in its sample of U.S. institutions, in 2019 at 21 percent. So, after decades of women representing both pioneers of computing and a large percentage of the day-to-day programming workforce, what happened in the '80s?

American Girl is bringing back the '80s. The Mattel-owned brand has added a new doll to its collection, and she's devoted to the decade of big hair and new wave rock, the brand announced Tuesday. In honor of the new American Girl Doll, the Mattel-owned company is matching customer donations to Girls Who Code. Her name is Courtney Moore, the first addition to the brand's historical collection -- aimed at educating and empowering young women about history and pop culture through stories -- in three years. Courtney, in all of her big hair and scrunchie-wearing glory, wears an '80s-inspired, high-waisted, acid-wash jean skirt, hot pink tights and faux leather boots.

Suzanne, a young woman in San Francisco, met a man--call him John--on the dating site OKCupid. John was attractive and charming. More notably, he indulged in the kind of profligate displays of affection which signal a definite eagerness to commit. He sneaked Suzanne's favorite snacks into her purse as a workday surprise and insisted early on that she keep a key to his apartment. He asked her to help him choose a couch and then spooned with her on all the floor models. He even accompanied her, unprompted, to the D.M.V.--an act roughly equivalent, in today's gallantry currency, to Perseus rescuing Andromeda from the sea monster. As we learn from the podcast "Reply All," which reported the tale, Suzanne was not the only woman on whom John had chosen to bestow his favor. Six months into their relationship, she discovered that he was seeing half a dozen other women, one of whom he'd been stringing along for two years. All of them had received the couch-spooning treatment.