All the obsolete ’90s things today’s kids will never know

I’m a self-proclaimed Queen of Nostalgia. So when I saw #TodaysKidsWillNeverKnow trending on Twitter I perked up. And it made me think of all the things I love from childhood that kids today won’t know about (besides POGs and Polly Pockets and Skip-Its and stuff).

“be kind rewind”

What would this phrase even mean to a kid now??? It means stress for me and rewinding a VHS in the VCR or, when we were luckier, in our little home rewinder machine. Because you knew if you brought it back to the video store un-rewound there were going to be consequences.

Which brings us to…

Video stores

I mean, can you imagine trying to explain the idea of having to go to a store and select a VHS from a limited selection? And how sad you’d get when you thought your tape was behind the box but it was another movie?! AHHH! I’m getting stressed out just thinking about hours standing around in Blockbuster trying to pick out a movie to watch with your friends and ultimately watching Serendipity for the 10th time because your male friends inexplicably love it.

Blowing on Sega/Nintendo cartridges

If you were a ‘90s kid you know the only way to get your video game system to work again was to take out the cartridge and blow on it. Presumably, your breath or the wind or something held magical properties that fixed whatever was wrong with your machine. Or at least that’s what I always believed.

Answering machines

I’ve already written an entire ode to answering machines here before but it’s important to mention again because I can’t over-state the rush I used to feel racing up the stairs after getting home to see if the family had received any messages. I can’t pinpoint what was so exciting about that, exactly but it was a feeling I truly miss. Unlike…

Rushing home to watch a TV show

Before the age of DVR I actually had to be home at the time a show was on to be able to watch it. Thursdays and Sundays were big nights for me where I found myself racing home from play practice, my friend’s house or probably just hanging out at a diner sharing a plate of French fries between 8 kids to watch my favorite shows. You don’t get the joy of that with TV you can watch at any time!

dial-up Internet – or anything in the movie You’ve Got Mail

Seriously, does that movie make sense to anyone born after the ‘90s?! AOL, dial-up internet, CHAT ROOMS?! Come on!

Check out more radical TBTs here!

(Be kind rewind , Rewinder via, nintendo meme via, You’ve Got Mail via)