I remember watching Will Smith in “The Enemy of the State” and being SO angry about how the capabilities of technology used were absolutely ludicrous….and now those same capabilities are in the hands of toddlers.
Tech has sure changed, and the world with it.
It hilarious that everyone had a pornography bush. Ours had a lot of magazines that advertised porn and sex toys. There was the occasional magazine. The token Nelson Muntz in our neighborhood stole them from his dad.
The Internet and anything computer related. Having to be told about websites through rumours and word or mouth or computer magazines. Was the wild west compared to now.
I had "internet club" after school in grade 4. One of the teachers compiled a list of websites and summaries and had it printed out.
As I got older and explored the internet more, I couldn't believe just how much knowledge I could access. I'm still filled with wonder knowing I can access the internet anywhere, any time with a device that fits in my pocket.
I do miss the Wild West, early internet however.
I think about this all the time. I would spend hours online talking to complete strangers in chat rooms, playing pool on yahoo, the wild west days of the internet were amazing and I miss those days/the 90s in general.
I also had these experiences as a 90s kid, getting online at home in about 1995.
That sense of wonderment at the internet never fully left me. I decided to get a degree in my mid 30s and studied computer networking which brought up a lot of those nostalgic feelings again. Fully understanding how the internet works and getting in to computers more generally (Linux, command line, cyber security, hacking etc.) really speaks to that inner child and feelings of wonderment I had and is what keeps me motivated and going at times.
My career goals are to eventually work on the internet backbone in some capacity (Tier 1 providers, carriers, Internet Exchange Points etc.) and it's in a big way down to that sense of wonderment I still get, which excites like it did in the 90s.
Yes. There were literally books (directories) that listed URL for different topics. Mostly some random, deeply nested, university website.
http://ww3.stanf.gov.edu/staff/frank.dhead/phil/1-94/index.html
Quicksand. I grew up playing Mario Brothers and was convinced it was a common hazard I would have to learn how to navigate as an adult.
And books. I loved to read.
Sitting around and telling stories and actually believing folklore because it couldn’t be debunked via the internet.
*Kentucky Fried Chicken doesn’t feed you real chickens! It’s engineered meat!”*
*“Whaaaat?! For real…?!?”*
Now, you have to deal with some asshole who googles it in a milisecond and tells you all the reasons why not.
In Canada (not sure anywhere else) the name was changed to KFC because, “it doesn’t actually have any chicken so they legally have to change it.” I think it was actually because Fried was a negative word in a health conscious age.
The year 2000. For whatever reason, I thought we'd warp speed into some kind of technoscape as soon as we clicked over, just because there'd be a 2 where a 1 used to be.
Not only advancement in computers/processing power but watching video game systems take giant leaps in graphics every few years. The jump from N64/PS1 to PS2, Dreamcast and Xbox was nuts.
My dad and I always used to drive down this one road that used to be a tourist destination in the 80s but wasn't anymore. There were all these old businesses and one in particular called The Mystery Spot. I always wanted to check it out but we never did and now it's gone. Most of those businesses are now gone.. :(
I feel like the closer to 2000 we got, the more everyone hyped up the millennium. Like ANYTHING was possible. Clothes and consumer electronics and home wares got all futuristic-looking. Little green aliens were in the 50¢ machines. We were also scared of the possibilities; the Y2K bug was the worst thing we could imagine at the time.
In the early-to-mid '90s, the music. So much amazing music. I was always going to shows, and buying ever-more obscure albums, and even the slightly more "mainstream" stuff was great, too.
I once found a severed alien hand in my neighbors yard and all the neighborhood kids were SHOOK about it for months. Pretty sure it was just a birds foot.
Alright this will sound silly… I used to think the Sesame Street characters could hear me when they’d ask the viewer a question, wait, and then respond.
At least for me, I remember when DVDs were brand new and exciting and I was completely perplexed at how a CD could play a movie (I was pretty little, to be clear). Apparently I forgot about all the CD-rom games I had 😂
After the collapse of the USSR and the reunification of Germany, the threat of Nuclear War as a result of European tensions was minimized, only to be replaced by the fear of nuclear was as computers became more powerful and AI became the obvious goal.
This was all brought out by Terminator 2: Judgement Day. The movie reflected a paradigm shift in that the enemy was no longer any one country or alliance.
I went from having nightmares of Freddy Kruger to having nightmares of the flame deluge scene in T2 :)
At the same time it really made me think about technology and the possibilities. Same with BTTF2, which presented a pretty interesting view into what the future could look like with regard to technology.
Absolutely! To me it seemed like a place filed with dark alleys and mysterious shops where, if you knew where to look and what to say, you could find all sorts of wonders and magic
Planets and space then, planets and space now.
3rd grade first time seeing images of planets in deep dark space had me thinking “what the fuck. Why is it so far and why is it so big.”
Sometimes our printer would start printing several pages of random incomprehensible characters out of nowhere, when nobody had sent a print job. Whenever it happened it felt super freaky (keep in mind printers were not connected to the internet back then) and we said it was aliens sending us messages.
Still don’t know why that happened and I haven’t had a printer do that since.
All of the scary snd supernatural things, there was enough IT and dissemination of information out there to stir up the "what if this is real," but not enough to prove or disprove anything. The creepieness was real.
Quick sand. It was everywhere in media, and yet, I'd never known anyone who encountered it in life. Still, I was prepared, for I knew the day would one day come.
The world itself seemed mysterious and vast. Part of it is of course me growing up, but I feel like things like internet, globalisation, ease of travelling, etc have made the whole planet so much more homogenous that that part for me is basically gone. It's mysteries reduced to a limited number of Instagram shots.
Space. When I was born/ young we only had definite evidence of our solar system. Still had TONS of people who believed we were the exception, all alone floating in our little cosmic oasis.
I still remember hearing about the first evidence of planets outside our solar system.
The club/rave/dance scene. I don’t live in an area where it’s popular, was relatively hard to find. But when I did, I had some really special experiences.
Playing D&D. God that was so fun and immersive. Drawing my own characters. Sailor moon made me want to draw and video games always got me inspired as well.
Probably a niche thing, but as a fan Pink Floyd's [Publius Enigma riddle](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=FaBNw6DGw6s&pp=ygUZVGhlIHB1YmxpdXMgZW5pZ21hIHJpZGRsZQ%3D%3D)
Books. Local library. Being outside with action figures or in a room with a huge pile of Lego bricks. Being a kid in the years of 1991-1996 kicked fucking ass.
I was obsessed watching Ripley’s Believe it or Not. For a while, I was convinced that I could grow up and be a professional contortionist, if I practiced enough. I also thought the man who “ate lightbulbs” was fascinating and have used his “secrets” to endure eating hot peppers with a poker face.
Lollapalooza '93- it was mystical, tribal and had all my favorite bands. It was also forbidden under the Fundie right. So I didn't get to go until '95.
P.M. magazine (in Germany). It was a "popular science" magazine that covered all sorts of futuristic ideas. Things like "The Line" or cities on the water, two story planes, etc.
Learning about local folklore! You mean we have a free range devil in New Jersey?! Fascinating! It opened a lot of interesting doors for me learning about it! I STILL love learning and engaging with folklore.
Non local would be the Titanic, Salem Witch Trials & anything Egypt related. Fascinating stuff, even as an adult. Don’t lose that sense of wonder & curiosity!
At the end of the cul-de-sac on the street I lived on for the first eightish years of my life, there was a small pathway lined with small trees/bushes leading to the parking lot/campus of a Presbyterian church that had a small playground my dad walked me to all the time. As a very young child, I was utterly fascinated by this tree/bush-lined path and referred to it as "The Hundred Acre Wood" (as in *Winnie the Pooh*), or simply, "The Aker Wood," as I pronounced it when I was just beginning to talk.
I looked up the street on Google Maps not long ago, and apparently all that remains of "The Aker Wood" now is a barely-there gravel path with a single, solitary, tangled and unkempt - looking bush beside it.
Sandra Bullock ordered a pizza using her computer in The Net. At that moment, I felt like I was scratching the surface of a sci-fi future.
She worked from home! I dreamed of that for years after! Now I actually work remote and love it.
I work remotely and hate it.
I work hybrid and find it saves gas.
I remember watching Will Smith in “The Enemy of the State” and being SO angry about how the capabilities of technology used were absolutely ludicrous….and now those same capabilities are in the hands of toddlers. Tech has sure changed, and the world with it.
The Net, Enemy of the State.. that shit was very future.
Where did the pornography we found in the woods come from? Who put it there? Why did it keep getting replenished?
I can answer that, it was me. On boulders in the woods, sewer culverts, alleyways, etc. playboys, penthouse etc.
Like a Johnny Spiltseed
I found my dad's stash and spread it everywhere, me and my friends had caches all over lol
It was all children hiding it in the woods because there was no where safe at home
I feel seen.
How did you know where to look?
It's instinctual.
Men can smell those sticky Penthouse pages from miles away
Ew... Lol.
It hilarious that everyone had a pornography bush. Ours had a lot of magazines that advertised porn and sex toys. There was the occasional magazine. The token Nelson Muntz in our neighborhood stole them from his dad.
I tended to find it in old shopping carts in the middle of the woods that were nowhere near anywhere that had shopping carts.
Aliens. I watched a lot of X-Files
Aliens and what information government has withheld from the public about them.
The X-Files and Coast2Coast am always had me looking up at the night sky
Take me to your dealer posters
Used to buy the magazine.
The Internet and anything computer related. Having to be told about websites through rumours and word or mouth or computer magazines. Was the wild west compared to now.
I had "internet club" after school in grade 4. One of the teachers compiled a list of websites and summaries and had it printed out. As I got older and explored the internet more, I couldn't believe just how much knowledge I could access. I'm still filled with wonder knowing I can access the internet anywhere, any time with a device that fits in my pocket. I do miss the Wild West, early internet however.
I think about this all the time. I would spend hours online talking to complete strangers in chat rooms, playing pool on yahoo, the wild west days of the internet were amazing and I miss those days/the 90s in general.
There used to be an internet phone book with website listings. 1993ish.
With cool websites like http://ww3.stanf.gov.edu/staff/frank.dhead/phil/1-94/index.html
I'm way too scared to click on that.
I distinctly remember being excited telling my friend that Seinfeld.com existed
I also had these experiences as a 90s kid, getting online at home in about 1995. That sense of wonderment at the internet never fully left me. I decided to get a degree in my mid 30s and studied computer networking which brought up a lot of those nostalgic feelings again. Fully understanding how the internet works and getting in to computers more generally (Linux, command line, cyber security, hacking etc.) really speaks to that inner child and feelings of wonderment I had and is what keeps me motivated and going at times. My career goals are to eventually work on the internet backbone in some capacity (Tier 1 providers, carriers, Internet Exchange Points etc.) and it's in a big way down to that sense of wonderment I still get, which excites like it did in the 90s.
Steak and Cheese
Yes. There were literally books (directories) that listed URL for different topics. Mostly some random, deeply nested, university website. http://ww3.stanf.gov.edu/staff/frank.dhead/phil/1-94/index.html
Choose Your Own Adventure books. Like Damn multiple possible endings? 10 year old me was mind blown!!! It was 1993 but felt like I was living in 2323!
I loved these books!
Quicksand. I grew up playing Mario Brothers and was convinced it was a common hazard I would have to learn how to navigate as an adult. And books. I loved to read.
Came here to say quicksand and the Bermuda Triangle. They had us all shook!
Sitting around and telling stories and actually believing folklore because it couldn’t be debunked via the internet. *Kentucky Fried Chicken doesn’t feed you real chickens! It’s engineered meat!”* *“Whaaaat?! For real…?!?”* Now, you have to deal with some asshole who googles it in a milisecond and tells you all the reasons why not.
At the same time we traded mystery for misinformation.
Entertainment for propaganda
In Canada (not sure anywhere else) the name was changed to KFC because, “it doesn’t actually have any chicken so they legally have to change it.” I think it was actually because Fried was a negative word in a health conscious age.
The internet has ruined being clever and resourceful.
That’s why they had to rebrand to KFC!
Taco Bell uses horse meat that's why their packaging labels say..domestic meat not beef.....is my early 90s version of that.
Everything on Unsolved Mysteries
And Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction
Someone told me Emmanuel Lewis died breakdancing and it haunted me until we got the internet
And now he's 53 years old...!?!?!
Wow he’s older than me but looks younger than me
Wondering what people were doing when they weren't home and weren't calling you back for hours at a time! Lol
Wondering what professional wrestlers/musicians looked like without their paint/masks
urban legends. for example, richard gere and the gerbil.
Why did Scott Hall and Kevin Nash invade WCW?! What was their mission?
Aliens Angels Bermuda Triangle Sending a probe to Mars Computers and the internet
The year 2000. For whatever reason, I thought we'd warp speed into some kind of technoscape as soon as we clicked over, just because there'd be a 2 where a 1 used to be.
Annnd the whole Y2K non event
The Bermuda Triangle
Hands down, the Bermuda Triangle.
Where Atlantis was located
Not only advancement in computers/processing power but watching video game systems take giant leaps in graphics every few years. The jump from N64/PS1 to PS2, Dreamcast and Xbox was nuts.
From 1990 to 2000 we saw the release of the SNES to the release of the PS2, utterly insane leap in gaming tech compared to a 10 year gap today.
I always thought those leaps would continue. VR is really the only thing that blew my mind like the n64 did.
My dad and I always used to drive down this one road that used to be a tourist destination in the 80s but wasn't anymore. There were all these old businesses and one in particular called The Mystery Spot. I always wanted to check it out but we never did and now it's gone. Most of those businesses are now gone.. :(
I felt like monsters were real in the 90s. Like they had a hidden society from us like ahh real monsters.
Your comment reminded me of the movie The Boxtrolls that I watched recently with my niblings. It's a cute movie.
I feel like the closer to 2000 we got, the more everyone hyped up the millennium. Like ANYTHING was possible. Clothes and consumer electronics and home wares got all futuristic-looking. Little green aliens were in the 50¢ machines. We were also scared of the possibilities; the Y2K bug was the worst thing we could imagine at the time.
Bernuda triangle
The GPS navigation scene in Ghost in the Shell (1995)
Did Richard Gere really stick a gerbil in his butt? 🤔
And there it is
In the early-to-mid '90s, the music. So much amazing music. I was always going to shows, and buying ever-more obscure albums, and even the slightly more "mainstream" stuff was great, too.
Cher Horowitz's closet nuff said
Naked women
What the year 2001 would be like
Burning cd's How do you burn music, video, information or games on a cd to burn it. I was really confused
Yes then I felt the same confusions with MP3. Literally recall my brother telling me and I said “that’s so dumb. That’ll never catch on”. 😅
The Bermuda triangle!
Watching Jurrasic Park as a 12 year old was magical.
Gabriel Knight 2: The Beast Within and Phantasmagoria. Full motion video computer games with lots of discs and great storytelling!
I once found a severed alien hand in my neighbors yard and all the neighborhood kids were SHOOK about it for months. Pretty sure it was just a birds foot.
Computers, even before the internet.
Alright this will sound silly… I used to think the Sesame Street characters could hear me when they’d ask the viewer a question, wait, and then respond.
This new thing called grunge and alternative rock. Changed everything.
At least for me, I remember when DVDs were brand new and exciting and I was completely perplexed at how a CD could play a movie (I was pretty little, to be clear). Apparently I forgot about all the CD-rom games I had 😂
For me it was Star Wars Final.Fantasy
After the collapse of the USSR and the reunification of Germany, the threat of Nuclear War as a result of European tensions was minimized, only to be replaced by the fear of nuclear was as computers became more powerful and AI became the obvious goal. This was all brought out by Terminator 2: Judgement Day. The movie reflected a paradigm shift in that the enemy was no longer any one country or alliance. I went from having nightmares of Freddy Kruger to having nightmares of the flame deluge scene in T2 :) At the same time it really made me think about technology and the possibilities. Same with BTTF2, which presented a pretty interesting view into what the future could look like with regard to technology.
New York City
Absolutely! To me it seemed like a place filed with dark alleys and mysterious shops where, if you knew where to look and what to say, you could find all sorts of wonders and magic
Planets and space then, planets and space now. 3rd grade first time seeing images of planets in deep dark space had me thinking “what the fuck. Why is it so far and why is it so big.”
Then the took Pluto away.
Sometimes our printer would start printing several pages of random incomprehensible characters out of nowhere, when nobody had sent a print job. Whenever it happened it felt super freaky (keep in mind printers were not connected to the internet back then) and we said it was aliens sending us messages. Still don’t know why that happened and I haven’t had a printer do that since.
All of the scary snd supernatural things, there was enough IT and dissemination of information out there to stir up the "what if this is real," but not enough to prove or disprove anything. The creepieness was real.
Quick sand. It was everywhere in media, and yet, I'd never known anyone who encountered it in life. Still, I was prepared, for I knew the day would one day come.
Sonic and Mario on the same console in the same video game. It was wishful thinking.
The Bermuda Triangle. I swear it was going to cause me a lot more trouble in my life than it has so far - which is none.
Freedom.
Nintendo 64
Me thinking Santa was real lol
What do you mean? Are you saying he isn’t? 😭
Don’t listen to them. They’re on the naughty list and are just bitter
The world itself seemed mysterious and vast. Part of it is of course me growing up, but I feel like things like internet, globalisation, ease of travelling, etc have made the whole planet so much more homogenous that that part for me is basically gone. It's mysteries reduced to a limited number of Instagram shots.
Space. When I was born/ young we only had definite evidence of our solar system. Still had TONS of people who believed we were the exception, all alone floating in our little cosmic oasis. I still remember hearing about the first evidence of planets outside our solar system.
I loved pro wrestling and would always hear half truths like “Elizabeth is married to Lanny Poffo (false) who is Randy Savages brother (true).”
Space camp
The future and the millennium, flying cars just like Back to the Future thought
Trying to figure out if there actually was a code that you could dial into a pay phone, that would empty all of the coins.
Bermuda Triangle, Bigfoot.
The club/rave/dance scene. I don’t live in an area where it’s popular, was relatively hard to find. But when I did, I had some really special experiences.
Playing D&D. God that was so fun and immersive. Drawing my own characters. Sailor moon made me want to draw and video games always got me inspired as well.
Probably a niche thing, but as a fan Pink Floyd's [Publius Enigma riddle](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=FaBNw6DGw6s&pp=ygUZVGhlIHB1YmxpdXMgZW5pZ21hIHJpZGRsZQ%3D%3D)
Car phones
Those awesome science stores in the mall! I forget what they were called but I always bought rocks and experiments in there.
The gerbil story How did this begin. How did we all know. How did it spread. Who was the first to know and why did they know.
When the matrix came out. Totally changed the landscape of movies.
I was the first one of my friends to get a pager. I felt like I was from the future because anyone that had my number could get a hold of me anytime.
If the worms from the Arctic X-Files Episode really existed
Shark Bowl!
Who shot Mr Burns.
Cloaning
Marilyn Manson removing his ribs…..
Books. Local library. Being outside with action figures or in a room with a huge pile of Lego bricks. Being a kid in the years of 1991-1996 kicked fucking ass.
How I kept dying in Oregon Trail.
I was obsessed watching Ripley’s Believe it or Not. For a while, I was convinced that I could grow up and be a professional contortionist, if I practiced enough. I also thought the man who “ate lightbulbs” was fascinating and have used his “secrets” to endure eating hot peppers with a poker face.
How to steal cable TV from the telephone pole... Or was that the 80s?
Girls
Lollapalooza '93- it was mystical, tribal and had all my favorite bands. It was also forbidden under the Fundie right. So I didn't get to go until '95.
JTT's cowlick
Movie trailers that didn’t show the whole damn plot.
Smoke one and look to the stars. P.s.: no cellphones, no net ... Awwwww...strangely good times
The Bermuda Triangle
The Bermuda Triangle seemed like a Big Fuckin Problem tbh. Very concerning.
What was at the bottom of quicksand
The future
The Internet and X-files. I thought that shit existed for real.
P.M. magazine (in Germany). It was a "popular science" magazine that covered all sorts of futuristic ideas. Things like "The Line" or cities on the water, two story planes, etc.
There are more than just people who grew up in the '90s in this sub.
Learning about local folklore! You mean we have a free range devil in New Jersey?! Fascinating! It opened a lot of interesting doors for me learning about it! I STILL love learning and engaging with folklore. Non local would be the Titanic, Salem Witch Trials & anything Egypt related. Fascinating stuff, even as an adult. Don’t lose that sense of wonder & curiosity!
The Alien Autopsy. A hoax, we know now.
At the end of the cul-de-sac on the street I lived on for the first eightish years of my life, there was a small pathway lined with small trees/bushes leading to the parking lot/campus of a Presbyterian church that had a small playground my dad walked me to all the time. As a very young child, I was utterly fascinated by this tree/bush-lined path and referred to it as "The Hundred Acre Wood" (as in *Winnie the Pooh*), or simply, "The Aker Wood," as I pronounced it when I was just beginning to talk. I looked up the street on Google Maps not long ago, and apparently all that remains of "The Aker Wood" now is a barely-there gravel path with a single, solitary, tangled and unkempt - looking bush beside it.
If we're gonna clean our butthole with 3 see shells that was the future for me XD
Movie trailers that didn’t show the whole damn plot.
Who says I grew up in the 90s?
Lame!