"Slimed! An Oral History Of Nickelodeon's Golden Age" hits bookstores today, and it's jam-packed with '90s nostalgia that ranges from "Rugrats" to "Are You Afraid Of The Dark?"


Written by Matthew Klickstein with a foreword by "Double Dare" and "What Would You Do?" host Marc Summers, "Slimed" digs deep into the depths of Nickelodeon's "golden age" with interviews and fun facts.


Here are five facts about '90s-era Nickelodeon from "Slimed" that may surprise you.


1. "Mad Men" costume designer Janie Bryant was also the costume designer for "The Adventures Of Pete & Pete."


You know those awesome dresses Christina Hendricks and Elisabeth Moss get to wear on "Mad Men"? The woman responsible for them was once clothing the "Pete & Pete" gang in flannel.


"Janie Bryant was responsible for a lot of the costumes then," Michelle Tratchtenberg, who played Nona on the series, said. "Now she's the costume designed for 'Mad Men.'"



2. "Slime" is made out of Cream Of Wheat, green food coloring, Johnson's Baby Shampoo and water.


Although the ingredients in the green slime that gets dumped on innocent bystanders may seem disgusting, it was once much worse.


"The slime was an accident," Geoffrey Darby, a co-creator for "You Can't Do That On Television," said, adding, "We ended up going to the cafeteria, gave the prop guy a bucket, and said, 'We want you to take all the stuff that was left on the plates the whole day. We'll add water to it and dump it on the kid.'"


"We didn't get around to shooting scene ... we put the set up again the following week to shoot that one scene," Darby continued. "The problem was that [there wasn't] a new bucket of slop ... and there were eight inches of green crud growing over the top of the bucket. It was really evil. God, did it smell! We had to get the scene. We couldn't get more slop ... so we said, 'Dump it on the kid anyway.'"



3. Nickelodeon coined the term "tween."


These days, entire TV shows, movies, books and magazine target the "tween" demographic. But according to "Roundhouse" co-creator Rita Hester, the word didn't exist before Nickelodeon.


"We referred to our live theatrical word as 'tween' entertainment, and we actually coined that phrase," she said. "We never heard anyone else says 'tween 'in the eighties."



4. Kids were responsible for screening the new parents.


It's no surprise that Nickelodeon wasn't a huge fan of difficult parents, or "stage parents." So the network had their current kids "screen" the parents of anyone they were seriously considering.


"When we started looking for new kids, we always arranged it so that at the final call the parents were entertained with refreshments in the boardroom by some of the kids who were already on the show," "You Can't Do That On Television" director Roger Price said. "Ostensibly, this was so the new parents could ask any questions they wanted to of the established kids. In fact, it was so the kids already on the show could screen the new parents. Even the best kid in the world would have been passed over if their parents had lamentably failed their part of the audition."



5. Sam climbing into Clarissa's window was a strategy for keeping their relationship platonic.


One would think that a teenage boy climbing into a teenager girl's bedroom would be a recipe for disaster, but "Clarissa Explains It All" creator Mitchell Kriegman said it was a strategy employed to make sure they didn't become more than best friends.


"I wanted this boy who was in Clarissa's life to be her friend, and I didn't want him to have to go up the stairs or through the front door and talk to her parents every time," Kriegman explained. "It was a way to get him in her bedroom and start interacting faster. And it was also a way to show they had this real friendship that wasn't about anything sexual. They were friends, and I wanted to keep it pre-sexual. Which worked ... right up until she was sixteen.




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  • Joshua Jackson, Michelle Williams & Katie Holmes On "Don't Trust The B---- In Apartment 23"


    While we're very excited to see Busy Philipps and James Van Der Beek back together on the ABC comedy, a "Dawson's Creek" reunion is just not the same with the rest of the gang. Van Der Beek, Jackson and Williams have been teasing a reunion for a while now, but Holmes seemed iffy. However, <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/03/katie-holmes-dawsons-creek-reunion-tom-cruise_n_1647000.html" target="_hplink">after her divorce from Tom Cruise, it was reported that he was the one who didn't want the Capeside crew to reconnect</a>. But now that Holmes is a single lady, someone needs to get this started!




  • Christina Applegate On "Modern Family"


    It would be heartwarming to see the "Married With Children" father and daughter reunited on "Modern Family" after all these years. Maybe Applegate could make a cameo as a wacky cousin from Jay's ex-wife's Dede's side of the family.




  • Elizabeth Berkley and Lark Voorhies on "White Collar"


    It's beyond time the ladies of "Saved by the Bell" reunite. Elizabeth Burke's (Tiffani Thiessen) high school friends (Elizabeth Berkley and Lark Voorhies) come calling and need the FBI's help. Good thing Peter and Neal are available.




  • John Stamos On "90210"


    Uncle Jessie and Aunt Becky back together again? Yes please! "90210" could stage a full-blown "Full House" reunion with Lori Loughlin making an appearance. Why not have John Stamos play her new love interest?




  • Sarah Michelle Gellar On "Bones"


    Before Stefan/Elena/Damon, Bill/Sookie/Eric or Edward/Bella, there was Buffy and Angel, the couple who made dating a bloodsucker look glamorous and tragic way before those copycats. Nowadays, David Boreanaz has traded in his fangs for an FBI badge on "Bones," but we'd still like to see SMG swooping in to try and seduce him while Brennan's on the lam, or at least commenting how good he looks with a tan, next season.




  • James Franco On "Cougar Town"


    James Franco is long overdue to reunite with his bad-girl "Freaks And Geeks" co-star Busy Phillips, and Laurie (Busy's character) could use a tall, dark handsome stranger in her life. Let's bring back Daniel and Kim!




  • Tom Hanks On "Girls"


    On the upcoming season of "Girls," "Bosom Buddies" alum Tom Hanks could show up as Hannah's dad's (Peter Scolari) old friend from college who Hannah develops an irrational crush on. Papa Horvath needs his bosom buddy!




  • Max Casella on "How I Met Your Mother"


    "Doogie Howser, M.D." veterans gotta stick together. Max Casella could pop up on "How I Met Your Mother" as a doctor Barney turns to when the threat of an STI rears its ugly head.




  • Jared Leto On "Homeland"


    There's no time like the present for Jordan Catalano to make a comeback, and where better to do it than in his "My So-Called Life" co-star Claire Danes' hit show? Leto can play eccentric pretty well, so we suggest Leto should appear as a fellow psychiatric patient Carrie meets following her ECT therapy -- she already has a great track record with dating unstable guys.




  • Fred Savage On "Sullivan & Son"


    Dan Lauria plays Steve Sullivan's father on the new TBS bar comedy "Sullivan & Son." You know what'd be funny? If Lauria's other TV son, Fred Savage from "The Wonder Years," showed up in a cameo as a drunk, rowdy customer who had to be thrown out of their establishment.




  • Jurnee Smollett on "Baby Daddy"


    It's been a few years, but we bet Michelle Tanner's "Full House" BFFs still keep in touch. Jurnee Smollett could pop up on "Baby Daddy" as Tucker's (Tahj Mowry) old flame. Could it be rekindled?




  • Jaleel White On "Hart Of Dixie"


    Reginald VelJohnson -- the artist formerly known as Carl Winslow from "Family Matters" -- plays Bluebell, AL theatre expert Dash DeWitt on "Hart of Dixie." He runs an arts blog on the town's website, and do you know what every local theatre blog needs? A nerdy intern, preferably played by Jaleel White. Make it happen, CW.




  • Mario Lopez On "Franklin & Bash"


    We think Mario Lopez should take a break from hosting and return to his perfectly permed roots by reuniting with "Saved By The Bell" BFFrenemy Mark-Paul Gosselaar. The erstwhile A.C. Slater could turn up as a client for Gosselaar's Peter Bash, or continue that antagonistic streak by appearing as a law school rival with an ax to grind.




  • Judith Light On "Mistresses"


    Remember the ladies of "Who's the Boss?" Alyssa Milano starred as a housekeeper's (Tony Danza) daughter and Judith Light was the matriarch of the family they lived with and are employed by -- Milano's new series "Mistresses" seems like the perfect opportunity to find a brand new TV reunion around the bend. Light, who recurs on "Law & Order: SVU," could play a legendary famous mistress who helps Milano and the other newbies get through their experiences ... or, she could play the mother of one of the cheating men, who blames it all on his mistress.




  • Kel Mitchell On "Saturday Night Live"


    When "Kenan & Kel" returned to TeenNick and Kenan hosted its opening night on the orange couch, #WheresKel was trending on Twitter. Kenan, an "SNL" cast member, has maintained a steady career after the success of their show and "Good Burger," but we haven't seen much of Kel lately -- he's done a lot of voice work in the past decade and has stuck to the kid market, guest-starring on Disney's "Good Luck Charlie." But maybe it's time for Kel to grow up and reunite with Kenan on "SNL." Will the orange soda jokes translate?