The “I’m this old” trend started spreading all over social media when '80s and '90s kids realized that there are things that Generation Z will simply never understand. The challenge completely blew up when people started identifying with old-school stuff that is not only nostalgic, but also reminds us of the struggles before the internet and technology advancements changed the world forever. From games like minesweeper and Disney cassettes, here’s a list of things that kids these days will never understand.
1. The Waterfall Ringtoss
The waterfall ring toss is an old-school game where rings are literally tossed around a peg. Though not much is known about the game’s origins, it is believed that people played all the way back in Roman-occupied Britain, around the 1st to the 5th century. The other theory is that the game was developed during medieval Britain, when peasants would heat and then bend horseshoes into rings, then tossed them around iron pegs. Either way, the vintage game can barely be found anywhere nowadays.
2. Owning A CD Binder Case
During the 80s and 90s, kids didn’t have platforms such as iTunes and Spotify, so music was enjoyed via CDs. In order to get all of our favorite music into one place, we would both buy original CDs, but sometimes we would burn them too so that all of our favorite artists could be listened to anytime. With time, the number of CDs would obviously increase, and we would need a way to organize them - that’s when the CD binder case came into play.
3. The Minesweeper
Back in the days, children didn’t have PlayStations and Xboxes with hundreds of games to entertain themselves, so they enjoyed much simpler options. When it came to videogames, for instance, kids would choose accessible computer or electronic games, including the famous minesweeper. To be completely honest, the minesweeper was one of those games that half of the people who played them were pros, and the other half had absolutely no idea what the logic of the game was.
4. Portable Car Stereos
Before car radios came pre-installed in cars and were even upgraded to TV screens, assistant radios, GPS (the list goes on), people used these portable car stereos. They date back to the 1930s and have gathered a long history of different innovations that came with the aim of making traveling a more bearable and enjoyable experience. Back then though, because of their value and how easy it was to spot them, these stereos used to be favorites for thieves from all over the world.
5. VHS Tapes
The VHS tape, or cassette tape, was invented in Japan all the way back in 1976. It arrived in the United States one year later, at the same time that people around the world were moving away from some of the clunkier, older versions of movie entertainment. For kids, each of these tapes contained about 30 to 45 minutes of their favorite cartoons and movies, and houses’ living rooms all over the country had a stack that looked very similar to this one. They remained the most popular and cost-effective way to watch movies until the DVD was invented in 2002.
6. The Etch A Sketch
The Etch A Sketch game was accidentally invented by a French electrical technician called André Cassagnes, who later sold it to the Ohio Art company. The game gained instant popularity back then, with kids from all over being completely fascinated with the idea of operating the two knobs that control the vertical and horizontal rods that move a stylus to where both meet. Since then, the toy has changed very little but is sadly hardly found in toy stores worldwide.
7. Watching Movie On Two Separate VHS
How many of us remember the angry and frustrating moments of trying to watch our favorite movies while having to change tapes, since many movies exceeded the time limit of each VHS tape? The luxury of streaming a movie nonstop, rewinding whenever we want, and having a list of hundreds of movies waiting was unthinkable back then. We would either have to watch the movies we had at home or rent it in video clubs that had annoying policies such as the “please rewind” policy.
8. The Shock Chewing Gum
The shock chewing gum was introduced to customers around the 1950s and was a pretty innovative idea in the market back then. The device became a practical joke amongst teenagers who would buy the gum, disguise it as normal gum, and then would offer it to their friends who would in turn get a mild shock once they touched it. At some point, the gum became kind of controversial when it was found out that some militaries used it as a form of torture.
9. The Slap Bracelet Craze
Slap bracelets came through in 1983 and were actually invented by a high school shop teacher called Stuart Anders. Anders first created “slap wraps” that were basically a long piece of steel that was curved into the shape of a bracelet that would eventually slap into an unsuspecting wrist. The idea was bought by Main Street Toy Co., who introduced the bracelet not only as a toy but also as one of the biggest children fashion statements of the 90s.
10. The Wonderful Skydancer
Kids who grew up in the 90s absolutely loved their sky dancers. Although the toy can be barely found today, back then, kids would actually collect them and play with them for hours. The animated spin-off was made of a pull-string base with a dol that had foam wings. When the string was pulled the doll would gracefully launch into the air and would “fly” while spinning its wings. The toy was so successful that in 1996 an animated TV spinoff was produced by Gaumont Multimedia.