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Normal ‘90s And ‘00s Things That Weirdly No Longer Exist
It’s easy to forget how drastically our world has changed over the past few decades. Watching films and TV shows from the ‘90s and early 2000s feels like observing a different planet, and it’s difficult to even recall how simple our lives were before smartphones had taken over.
But if you’re interested in taking a trip down memory lane, you’ve come to the right place, pandas. Redditors have recently been discussing things that were totally normal only two or three decades ago that seem to have gone extinct. From telephone books to smoking inside at fast food joints, enjoy scrolling through these nostalgic replies. Keep reading to find a conversation with Kathy Kenzora, host of the History of the '90s podcast, and be sure to upvote the things you had almost forgotten about!
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#2
The concept of a "Tomboy" with literally no inclination of gender identity or sexual orientation. The girls just like boys stuff and it was perfectly fine, if not awesome.
#3
Spending an hour at Blockbuster or Hollywood Video searching for the perfect Friday night movie.
To learn more about this topic, we reached out to Kathy Kenzora, host of the History of the '90s podcast. She was kind enough to have a chat with Bored Panda and remind us of some of the things that have gone extinct over the past few decades.
"VCRs - Watching TV was so much harder in the 90s!" Kathy says. "If you didn’t happen to be home for an episode of your favorite show, you wouldn’t get to see it until summer reruns. Unless, of course, you could figure out the totally complicated procedure of setting up your VCR to record the show. I can’t tell you how many times I sat down to watch a show that I thought I recorded only to find out that it didn’t work!"
#5
Civility in politics. Even if you hated the other guy you were still polite and civil.
That, along with America as a whole, seems to have been tossed aside.
Kathy also noted that trashy TV talk shows are mostly a thing of the past. "The 90s was the era when trashy daytime talk shows dominated TV," the host shared. "Shows hosted by people like Jerry Springer, Jenny Jones and Maury Povich regularly devolved into wild physical fights between guests who were cheered on by riled up audience members. I have to admit I was not a fan and was happy when the fad died out. But it never really went away. Today, viewers get the same kind of voyeuristic entertainment from reality shows."
#8
“It’s back oooooonnnnnnn” followed by the sound of galloping feet and a leap over the back of the couch.
Finally, Kathy reminded us of ska and swing music. "Life was good in the 90s, and the music reflected it! Ska and swing music burst onto the scene with unexpected mainstream hits that infiltrated pop culture, including that famous Gap khaki swing commercial. Their fun upbeat sounds and retro clothing trends were a perfect fit for the times, and I miss them both!"
And if you'd like to hear even more about life during the 1990s, be sure to check out Kathy's podcast History of the '90s!
#11
Having hope for the future. f***, I miss that feeling of believing that we had all turned a coroner. That even though nothing was perfect, that we were on our way to seeing a future where we could be. The walls were coming down, Mandela was free, the Cold War ended, the u"internet highway" was going to lead us to the age of information and enlightenment. Just hope, everywhere you looked.
Then it all turned to s**t when those planes hit the towers.
#13
Kids playing outside. When I grew up kids were EVERYWHERE, couldn’t throw a rock without hitting one. Today, you just don’t see them.
#15
The terror of calling your boyfriends landline...
Ring... (Please don't let his mum answer)
Ring... (Please don't let his mum answer)
Ring... (Please don't let his mum answer)
:click:
:gulp: is Kieran there please?
The embarrassment.
#19
Having a phone cord so long that it can stretch between several rooms.
Sharing a phone line with 4 other people.
Picking up the phone and disconnecting someone's internet connection.
#20
Mom’s smoking a cigarette inside at the kitchen table talking on the house phone with a long cord.
#22
Fireflies It was a normal sight after dark; I haven't seen a single one in decades in our backyard.
#23
Not being expected to be available and immediately reachable by employers during your free time.
#24
Kids today will never take “computer lab” as a course. Literally a class where you f****d around on a computer and did whatever, maybe learned a few basic things or just played games the entire time. It was the only time of the day in class when you were on an electronic. Now, laptops are pretty much used for everything, from elementary to high school level. I’d guess the only class now where you don’t use a laptop is PE.
#25
Being anonymous online. Today people on WhatsApp expect me to use my real name and picture, what the h**l?
#26
"Get outside and don't come back until you hear me call you."
No concern for RR tracks nearby or the random transient, just [what the heck] of her house and sight.
#28
Inside thoughts.
With social media taking over SO much of the internet, there are LOADS of people who just s**t out all their dumb thoughts directly into Facebook comment sections or TikTok videos.
It's one thing to be open about things, and share things that you may be experiencing that can help others that we used to see as something shameful to talk about, and there are things people share that should still be shameful, haha.
#35
Low rise jeans, Jeans that were too long so got wet and frayed, Jean-shorts... denim has become very standardised .
#36
Landlines. They are practically nonexistent. Even if you happen to have one because of your cable provider, they just aren’t used.
#38
Neighborhoods going hard for Halloween and Christmas.
I remember as a young kid, from like 2004-2011, the decorations went crazy. There was one year I remember in lots of detail where, on Halloween, multiple houses had created haunted houses/mazes, and one house had a doorbell that bit your finger. And for Christmas my parents would drive us around to look at all the intricate Christmas decorations throughout the neighborhoods.
I hardly see people getting into any kind of festive spirit and decorations for Halloween and Christmas are few and far between. The lack of trick or treaters these days, more people keeping their porch light off, houses doing the bare minimum for Christmas.
It makes me really sad. I hope that once I'm able to get a house and especially when I have kids, that I'll be able to go hard for those holidays. They're my favorite.
#39
Watching movie on a Saturday with the whole village together because not everyone had a tv or the power (literally electric power) to do so.
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