13 Things You'll Immediately Understand If You Were A Teen In The Late '90s

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the epoch of grunge rock, it was the epoch of boy bands, it was the season of frosted tips, it was the season of slap bracelets, it was the spring of the home computer, it was the winter of dial-up, it was…the '90s.* For many Millennials, the '90s is a time steeped deeply in nostalgia. It was the decade that saw us through late-childhood, adolescence, and into early adulthood, a transformational period that now seems softened and safe, even if it didn’t feel that way at the time. Certain objects, songs, and television shows from the '90s have a weird power to instantly plunge me into overly enthusiastic nostalgia; mention something innocuous to me like Round House, and I’ll be seized by the sudden need to wax rhapsodic about the glories of mid-'90s adolescent-oriented television. 

Of course, everyone experienced the '90s differently, and some remember the time more fondly than others. These are some of the best cereal commercials from the 80's and 90's and these commercials were much more entertaining than the commercials that are on television today. Enjoy...

You unwind from the busy school day with chocolate Dunk-A-Roos and a Crystal Pepsi. It looks like sparkling water, but it tastes like soda! What amazing food technology will they think of next?! (Also, what the hell is this commercial?)

Crystal Pepsi launch Ad - 1-minute version - 1993, take a look:

1. Feeling like a baller if you had a TV with a built-in VCR in your bedroom:

A Combo television unit, or a TV/VCR combo, sometimes known as a televideo, is a television with either a VCR or a DVD player built into a single unit. These converged devices have the advantages (compared to a separate TV and VCR) of saving space and increasing portability. Such units entered the market during the mid-to-late 1980s when VCRs had become ubiquitous household devices. By this time, the VHS format had become standard; thus the vast majority of TV/VCR combos are VHS-based.

2. Sipping on one of these refreshing ~elements~ on a hot day:

For some, the decade of the ‘90s feels as if it just happened. However, it was a time long, long ago, before the internet exploded and iPhones became an extension of your body. Life was more relaxed, it was a simpler time. Sitting on the couch in your JNCO jeans watching Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and bumping Biggie on the radio. Or hanging in your denim overalls—one strap down, one pant leg up, watching MTV music videos for the whole afternoon. Those were the days, when technology was just a pager, and patience was still a virtue.

3. Never wanting to take off these comfortable AF shorts "Umbro":

The company was founded in 1920, in Wilmslow,Manchester, as Humphrey Brothers Clothing; in 1924, the company changed its name to Umbro, a contraction of its previous name, Humphrey Brothers.

As one of the earliest kit suppliers to professional clubs, Umbro's early successes included the kitting out of the Manchester City team which won the FA Cup in 1934 and from the 1950's, Umbro were official kit suppliers to a growing number of national and club sides including the Brazil World Cup winning teams or 1958, 62 and 1970.

In 1966, all but one of the 16 teams wore Umbro, with England lifting the trophy in their famous red Umbro kit! In 1985, in Brazil, Umbro introduced its first football boot, which went into production two years later.

Umbro also manufactured a popular style of shorts, which reached its peak in the late 1980s and early 1990s. They were made of nylon, had a drawstring waistband, and often came in bright colors

4. Burning the top of your mouth on one of these treats...

Bagel Bites were invented by Stanley Garkzynski and Bob Mosher, both of Fort Myers, Florida, and then later sold to a major food producer.[1] It is currently owned by Heinz via the Ore-Ida brand.

The mini-bagels are topped with cheese and other pizza toppings. Bagel Bites are available in six flavors: Cheese & Pepperoni; Three Cheese; Cheese, Sausage & Pepperoni; Mozzarella Cheese; Supreme; and Extreme Nacho (sold only in Canada). Bagel Bites come in 9, 18, 40, and 72 count varieties. Bagel Bites are manufactured in Southwest Florida.

Bagel Bites also markets Stuffed Bagel Bites, which consists of the toppings on the inside of the bagel dough crust. The stuffed snacks are available in Pepperoni & Cheese and Three Cheese. Preparation of Bagel Bites involves either a microwave or an oven.

5. ...and burning your tongue when you bit into one of these:

Attention children of the '90s: drop whatever you're doing right now, forget for a moment that our parents' generation has torpedoed ours financially, crank up a Backstreet Boys song (preferably something from Millennium, but Black and Blue is acceptable as well), and shower yourself in body glitter, because I have some great news. Your favorite childhood snack is coming out with a new flavor: Totino's Mac & Cheese with Bacon Pizza Rolls.

6. Having this red light blind you whenever you walked around your family's TV room in the pitch dark: 

I remember in the 90s illegal or "black box" cable was popular. How did it work?

Before inventory of cable boxes was easily traceable, and the cable boxes couldn't 'phone home' many employees would just take boxes that could decode everything and sell them.

7. Thinking these looked like the FUTURE:

The iMac G3 is a series of personal computers designed, manufactured, and sold by Apple Computer, Inc. from 1998 to 2003. Noted for its innovative enclosure via the use of translucent and brightly colored plastics, it was the first consumer-facing Apple product to debut under the recently returned interim CEO Steve Jobs. It was updated over time with new hardware and colors, until being supplanted by the iMac G4 and eMac in 2002.

The marketing and sales success of the iMac G3 contributed to Apple's turnaround from financial ruin in the late 1990s and revitalized the Apple brand as design-oriented and simple. It was, nevertheless, criticized for abandoning then-current technological standards like the floppy drive and the Apple Desktop Bus connector in favor of the emerging USB standard.

8. Feeling stylish while wearing socks with sandals:

Sandals are an open type of footwear, consisting of a sole held to the wearer's foot by straps going over the instep and, sometimes, around the ankle. Sandals can also have a heel. While the distinction between sandals and other types of footwear can sometimes be blurry (as in the case of huaraches—the woven leather footwear seen in Mexico, and peep-toe pumps), the common understanding is that a sandal leaves all or most of the foot exposed. People may choose to wear sandals for several reasons, among them comfort in warm weather, economy (sandals tend to require less material than shoes and are usually easier to construct), and as a fashion choice.

Usually, people wear sandals in warmer climates or during warmer parts of the year in order to keep their feet cool and dry. The risk of developing athlete's foot is lower than with enclosed shoes, and the wearing of sandals may be part of the treatment regimen for such an infection.

9. Making sure you always had fresh batteries for this:

The first of Sony's iconic portable cassette tape players went on sale on this day, July 1st, back in 1979 for $150. As the story goes, Sony co-founder Masaru Ibuka got the wheels turning months before when he asked for a way to listen to opera that was more portable than Sony's existing TC-D5 cassette players. The charge fell to Sony designer Norio Ohga, who built a prototype out of Sony's Pressman cassette recorder in time for Ibuka's next flight.

After a disappointing first month of sales, the Walkman went on to become one of Sony's most successful brands of all time, transitioning formats over the years into CD, Mini-Disc, MP3 and finally, streaming music. Over 400 million Walkman portable music players have been sold, 200 million of them cassette players. Sony retired the classic cassette tape Walkman line in 2010, and was forced to pay a huge settlement to the original inventor of the portable cassette player, Andreas Pavel. But the name lives on today in the form of new MP3 players and Sony's Walkman app. They heyday of the Walkman may be over, with kids today baffled and disgusted by the relative clumsiness of cassettes. But the habit it spawned — listening to music wherever and whenever you want — is bigger than ever.

10. Knowing you'd get cash back if you didn't spend the entire value of a gift certificate: 

Did you know? 

A gift card (also known as gift certificate in North America, or gift voucher or gift token in the UK) is a prepaid stored-value money card usually issued by a retailer or bank to be used as an alternative to cash for purchases within a particular store or related businesses. Gift cards are also given out by retailers and marketers as part of a promotion strategy, to entice the recipient to come in or return to the store, and at times such cards are called cash cards

11. Trying to sit on ridiculously uncomfortable and sticky blow-up furniture:

Blow Up – Quasar Khanh’s Inflatable Furniture

Perhaps Quasar Khanh has not had the recognition he deserves but as the inventor of inflatable furniture we feel he should be up there in the pantheon of great designers and being as we’ve not featured any inventors yet on VoEA this seems to be a very appropriate starting point.

12. Knowing Lil' Penny could sell you anything:

Michael Jordan was easily the most popular basketball personality of the 1990s. But riding the G.O.A.T.’s coattails just might be a plastic puppet standing less than two feet tall and wearing fire kicks. In the mid-1990s one figure stood above everyone else on the Orlando Magic. And he was a 4-foot tall puppet. Lil’ Penny is one of the iconic ads. The NBA figured out how to do star endorsements and TV commercials right. Rather, Nike figured out how to properly market NBA players to a growing consumer base and connect with them in meaningful ways to move product. Michael Jordan‘s marketing revolution in the early 1990s set the tone for modern marketing and how consumers relate to NBA players

Debuting in 1995, Lil Penny—the Chris Rock-voiced puppet alter ego of superstar Anfernee “Penny” Hardaway—took the NBA and pop culture by storm. The Nike commercials starring Penny and his miniature sidekick were huge hits and helped push sneakers, of course, but also a book and other merchandise, appearances on Oprah, and nearly a movie. The ad campaign, which lasted two years, became one of Nike’s most successful and undoubtedly amongst its most memorable.

But Lil Penny—the beloved trash-talking player who threw the best parties, hung hard with the NBA’s top talent, and could never stop sweating Tyra Banks—was almost left on the cutting-room floor.

13. Wanting to order EVERYTHING from the Delia's catalog:

Delia's, Inc. (stylized as dELiA*s) is a direct marketing and retail company composed of two lifestyle brands primarily targeting pre-teen girls (#deliasgirls) 7-13 and teenage girls between the ages of 13 to 19.[1]

It was, in its prime, the leading marketer to 10 to 24-year-old females in the United States. Delia's was popular among college women, as many of its products were affordable and suitable for college-age students.[2] After declaring bankruptcy in December 2014, the store re-opened as an online merchant in August 2015. 

TV Ads 90s Inspired:

Source: Novi.ba