If you were born in the new millennium, there’s a large chance that you’ve missed out on a lot of unique and bizarre experiences that only people living in the 80s and 90s could understand.
Before the invention of the internet, people had to make due with entertaining themselves in various ways, with technology that has since become obsolete, and to enjoy products that by today’s standards might seem completely ridiculous. Nevertheless, it’s fun to look back at some of the things in our past that might have been awesome at the time but now seem kind of strange or unusual. Maybe you’re a person who grew up in the 80s and 90s, perhaps you were born way before then, or maybe you’re a product of the new millennium. Whatever the case may be, you’re bound to enjoy this list!
The following 25 pictures of things that people born after the year 2000 will never understand will have you laughing, maybe crying, and hopefully feeling nostalgic for times in the past!
1) Overhead Projectors: At first glance, you might be curious to know what on earth this crazy old device might be. It may look like a medical device, but in actuality, this was once used to project notes printed on transparencies. Yes, kids, this was before the age of smart boards, tablets, and before every student had their own laptops.
2) Floppy Disks: What on earth are these mysterious squares? Why, these would be floppy disks you silly geese! These bad boys could store up to 1.44 MB in their heyday, just enough space for 5-10 school assignments to save and transport between computers. Before USBs, these were the only way to get your files from one computer to the next. If you had to install a software program, they usually came with about a dozen or so disks! Can you imagine? Those were the days!
3) Napster: Ah yes, before the days of iTunes and other digital services, there was Napster. Before regulations, and in the days when the internet was in its infancy, this program helped you hook up with the tunes you needed. I never used it, but I knew people who did! Not exactly legal at the time, but they’ve since turned around!
Imgur | @FancyAnnex4) Windows 95: What went down as one of the most iconic operating systems in history, Windows 95 employed an extensive marketing campaign to get users on board with their products. One of those things was this hilarious VHS tape that accompanied the purchase of Windows 95 that guided you through the system with two 90s icons, Matthew Perry and Jennifer Aniston.
5) Video Rental Stores: Ah, yes, renting movies. What you can do with the click of the button today, used to be an entire adventure back in the day. In the waning days before Blockbuster finally closed their doors, people may have still been utilizing their membership cards. It was always so fun looking at the video selections, then finally deciding on one. At least with the digital era, you can’t get any more late returning fees!
6) Texting Before Cell Phones: Before the age of people being addicted to their cellphones, there was a special way of communicating during class. It was called… passing notes! I know, such a foreign concept, right? The best part was when they involved secret codes or ciphers to unlock the meaning behind the note. Things were basically way more fun and creative.
Imgur | @FancyAnnex7) GAK: There’s one thing more fun than Silly Putty, and crazier than Play-Doh, and that was GAK: the craziest, slimiest substance made popular by Nickelodeon. Gak was seriously the best thing ever. Except when you accidentally left it on the carpet, or fell asleep with it in your hair. Gak was awesome.
Imgur | @FancyAnnex8) Tamagotchi and Nano Pets: These little monsters in your pockets proved to be the first distractions in school before the age of cellphones. The best part of these little guys was when they’d poop digital poops on the screen. It was hilarious, funny, and gave the illusion of responsibility.
9) Moon Boots: Ground control to Major Tom… would you take a look at these bad boys!? Seriously, who doesn’t appreciate a good moon boot? These boots gave the illusion that you were walking on the surface of the moon. Well, not really, but it was a great deal of fun! Moon boots aka the best boots ever.
10) Playing MASH: Who doesn’t love predicting the future? MASH was a surefire way of knowing who your future husband was, where you were live, what kind of car you would drive, how much money you’d earn, what kind of job you’ll have, and what kind of pet you’d own. What’s not to love about it?
11) Paper Fortune Tellers: A lot like MASH, these paper fortune tellers were the most fun ever. Sometimes you’d wish you knew how to make one, so you’d have to ask around. If you actually did know how to make one of these, you were very likely the most popular kid in school.
12) The Original Fidget Spinner: The 90s were filled with the most ridiculous knick knack items you could possibly imagine. Does anybody remember these things? They were these birds that balanced on these pegs and were meant to look really decorative. They were also really fun to play with until your mom found out and yelled at you!
13) The Talkboy: If you’ve ever seen the movie Home Alone 2: Lost In New York, you were an enormous fan of the device Macaulay Culkin used to cause all his mischief. Well, thank the maker, because these were sold alongside the release of the movie as a marketing ploy and boy did it work! Every kid begged to have one of these for Christmas.
14) French Toast Crunch: Okay, so apparently they brought these back a few years ago, so hopefully everyone gets to enjoy them now. They were an essential part of growing up in the 80s and 90s. Everybody loved getting to try out new cereals from the Grocery store. French Toast Crunch was the best.
15) Zip Drives: If you thought floppy drives were fun, then wait till you get a load of zip drives! These bad boys allowed you to save larger files, such as music files or raw project files. Unfortunately, they were made obsolete when computers were able to create zip files in their operating system. They couldn’t quite catch on and compete with CD drives, so thus, the Zip Drive was no more.
Imgur | @FancyAnnex16) McDonald’s Land Cookies: Did you know that McDonald’s use to sell these delicious little cookies? They had the kind of texture of an Arrowroot baby cracker, and the sweetness of an Animal Cracker. They were so yummy and it’s really regrettable that they aren’t available anymore. Yummy, yummy, crackers!
Imgur | @FancyAnnex17) Pagers: Before the age of cell phones, there were pagers, or what you’d sometimes her referred to as Beepers. People would call your pager from a phone line, you’d see the number calling you, and you’d hear a beep! Then you’d know that you had to call that person back. It’s astonishing that this kind of tech existed! You can usually see them on 90s TV shows and movies.
18) CD Scratches = Kiss Of Death: Before movies and music went digital, people listened to them on CDs or DVDs. The worst part about this was when they got scratched, which often was a kiss of death. A few scratches would cause you to never be able to enjoy your CD again.
Imgur | @FancyAnnex19) One Saturday Morning: Back when Saturday morning cartoons seemed like a religion, One Saturday Morning was a part of ABC’s Disney’s Saturday morning lineup of cartoons that gave us such exploits like Pepper Ann, Doug, Recess, and The Weekenders. It was quite possibly the greatest lineup of cartoons ever.
20) CD Player Problems: In the age where cell phones and MP3 players reign supreme, young people born before 2000 will never understand the struggle of trying to fit your CD player inside your pockets. Some people designed jeans and coats with extra large pockets so they could fit your CD players. Not only were they ugly, they hardly worked half the time.
21) Butterfly Clips: If there’s one hairstyle of the 90s, it’s hair done up with butterfly clips. From Sabrina the Teenage Witch to Buffy The Vampire Slayer, there isn’t a single female icon of the 90s that didn’t wear their hair this way. It was all the rage. It’s something you really wouldn’t understand.
Imgur | @FancyAnnex22) Dial-Up Internet: You need to make a phone call, it’s a typical school night, you pick up the phone to call your friend, when BOOM! You hear that all too familiar sound. “Eeeeee eerrrrrr a weeeow weeeoow binggaooooow!” Then you realize you can’t use the phone line because someone is already using the internet on the same line! Thankfully, modems and wifi have made this a thing of the past.
23) Columbia House Subscription: Before the age of Netflix, Spotify, and iTunes, there was the magic of Columbia House Subscription: a service that allowed you to buy a bunch of cassette tapes for a monthly fee. Nowadays you can have music available to you at the click of a button.
24) Sierra Games: Before there were Xbox and Play Station video game systems, there were awesome 16 b32-bit 32 bit games produced by Sierra, a video game company now owned by Activision. These games allowed you to walk around using the keyboard keys, and you’d look for clues by typing into the game phrases like “look in hole.” the game would respond with phrases like “You look into the hole but you don’t find anything.” Amazing.
25) A Life Before The Invention of The Internet: It’s hard to believe what our lives would be life without the internet. Anyone born after 2000 would find it difficult to understand a life without being able to search something at the touch of your fingers. Believe it or not, it’s actually an amazing thing that improves our lives. It’s actually really great being alive in the new millennium.
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