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Busiest Baby Season As the tick, tick, tick of the biological clock sounded ever louder, aging baby boomers got down to the business of having a baby boomlet of their own. Among Hollywood's hottest couples who turned up around town with baby in tow: Patti Scialfa and Bruce Springsteen; Sigourney Weaver and director Jim Simpson; Steven Spielberg and Kate Capshaw.

Greatest Aerobic Rush Nearly 1 million Americans discovered the high-speed thrill of "blading." Riding high on roller skates with a single line of polyurethane wheels rather than the old double-row configuration, enthusiasts wove through traffic at speeds of up to 20 m.p.h., terrifying pedestrians and drivers alike.

Most Endangered Species Cigarette smokers found themselves all but squeezed out of socially respectable circles. More restaurants quarantined smokers to tiny sections. Businesses ordered that cigarettes be left at home. Smoking was banned on virtually all domestic airline flights and on interstate buses. And the risks of secondhand fumes puffed the anti-smoking chorus to an implacable roar.

Most Resurgent Decade Nineties fashions hitched a ride back to the '60s. Skirts hiked back up to mini length. Widened ties boasted loud colors. Headbands returned. Designers even resurrected Jane Fonda's Barbie-goes-to- Armageddon sado suits.

Most Outing-rageous Pressure Tactic Some gay activists decided that the best way to halt gay bashing by public figures was to expose the sexual activities of critics who are homosexual themselves. This practice, known as "outing," caused deep embarrassment to several elected officials. Opponents warned that such tactics don't win support -- they destroy lives.

Wildest Haircuts For young men, especially blacks, the preferred 'do left many a head looking like a billboard. Peace symbols, Batman logos, initials, even faces decorated pates. For the less daring but still young at heart, the Age of Aquarius ponytail hung in there.

Nastiest Campus Trend Even with incidents of racism and anti-Semitism on the rise, date rape stood out as the greatest blight on academe. A study showed that 1 in 9 female college students had been raped; 80% of them knew their attacker.

Hottest Up-and-Comers The twentysomething generation moved into the working world and offered up some fractured Shakespeare: what to be -- or not to be. The don't wannabes balked at baby boomers' workaholic values, postponed marriage and shunned decision making. As the year wound down, this 48 million- strong force was still seeking an identity to call its own.

Most Hygienic Practice As landfills reached critical overload, citizens looked for solutions. Increasing numbers of households bundled newspapers for recycling. Business establishments added bins for recyclable cans and bottles. And debate raged over disposable vs. cloth diapers.

Slickest Packaging Once stashed in the backs of men's wallets, condoms entered the fashion market. Manufacturers affixed prophylactics to earrings, pins and bolo ties. Meanwhile, some pioneering secondary-school-bo ard members debated whether to distribute condoms to students.