90's Internet Users Share The Internet Mysteries They Still Haven't Solved

Dude, Where's My Chat?
[rebelmouse-image 18344844 is_animated_gif=I want to know what happened to all the chatrooms from those days. You can't even find a reference to most of them on today's net.
Who Ya Callin?
[rebelmouse-image 18344846 is_animated_gif=I had a beta release of Windows Chicago (Win 95) on my machine, which had a modem hooked to a phone jack. There was nothing else on the machine, (like AOL). One night I couldn't sleep and came down to snack at 3am. As I walked by the machine, I heard the hard drive spin up and start reading. The modem then started beeping and dialed out! I stood there in amazement as the hard drive flickered as if it were reporting back to the Mother Ship. I yanked the power cable out of the wall and never left the computer alone with an open phone line again.
Bad Luck For 27 Years
[rebelmouse-image 18344847 is_animated_gif=Why chain mail messages from the 90s have continued to circulate to this day.
Operator?
[rebelmouse-image 18344848 is_animated_gif=In AOL / AIM , if you added the screenname 'Operators' they would always be online. Sometimes they would sign off but then sign back on again immediately. They would never reply to any message you sent and this was after years of trying.
Away In A Winker
[rebelmouse-image 18344850 is_animated_gif=Before animated gifs were popular there was a website called the miraculous winking Jesus that would wink at you after about two minutes. It was great because so few people even knew what animated gifs were.
Blue Searching
[rebelmouse-image 18344851 is_animated_gif=Back in my AOL days like 96 or 97 I remember if you typed in the word "blue" into their search function a message would pop up saying "you don't have permission to access this" or something like that. There were other words that did the same thing but I can't remember them.
Material Girl
[rebelmouse-image 18344852 is_animated_gif=There was a time when you ordered things online by printing out the order form from the website, filling it out with a pen, and mailing it to the company with a check or money order. This is also how you paid for stuff you bought on eBay when it first came out. Of course, scams were everywhere and people were constantly getting ripped off. A lot of people actually thought Amazon was a scam site when it launched. The worst were sites where you bought porn or sex toys, because it was pretty unlikely you were going to press the issue if you got ripped off. People thought the clever thing to do was to make a small purchase from the site to make sure it was legit before you made a big purchase. This is how I actually bought porn for the first time. I ordered two cheap VHS tapes(that was the prime format at the time), and they showed up a few weeks later. So, next time I ordered six tapes and spent about $70(so hilarious looking back on it). Six weeks go by, no tapes. Eight weeks go by, no tapes, and I'm accepting it was a ripoff. Well, the tapes show up about three months later. I'm kind of in disbelief so I go to the website but everything's gone and it has one of those "Under Construction" things on it. The site never came back online. So. Who sent me those tapes?
Speed Racer
[rebelmouse-image 18344854 is_animated_gif=So there was this joke that went around that was a picture of a guy in a go-kart, like one of those really hardcore ones, so he was in the fireproof suit and helmet etc. Of course we're on dialup so it takes awhile for stuff to load. The joke was "look at this pic for ten seconds without laughing" then around 5 seconds in depending on your connection an audio file starts of someone making engine noises with their mouth, kind of pitch-shifted a little so it's high pitched as well.
So that was popular for a bit. Next thing you know, someone made an animation of a crazy frog synced up to the noise, and bam, you've got the crazy frog animation which became the mascot for Jamster! mobile club, a subscription-based service where you could download wallpapers and message tones, as well as ringtones such as the infamous Crazy Frog remix of Axel F (the Beverley Hills Cop theme) which was so stupidly popular that it actually charted, going Gold in the US and double platinum in Australia.
Old Friends
[rebelmouse-image 18344855 is_animated_gif=I wonder what happened to the following search engines:
AskJeeves
AltaVista
Infoseek
Lycos
The New Carmen San Diego
[rebelmouse-image 18344856 is_animated_gif=WHERE in the world is Tom from MySpace??
The Second Nostradamus
[rebelmouse-image 18344857 is_animated_gif=Guy that shows up on internet message boards in the early 1990s claiming to be from the future. I think he actually made some accurate predictions about disasters and stuff (?) [edit, nevermind about that "some accurate predictions" thing]. I doubt this would technically be a mystery because it was pretty obviously a hoax, but still, it's kind of interesting stuff.
Riddle Me This
[rebelmouse-image 18344858 is_animated_gif=There was a geocaching style puzzle that some famous person/author put together years ago, back in the 90s or early 00's. It was a series of riddles and there might have been some images to go along with it as well. The puzzles relied on having to visit the location and look around in order to solve them and be able to dig up the cache. The cache's supposedly had items that had collector value.
A few of the puzzles were solved but when I last heard about it years ago, no one had made any headway on the other riddles. I don't recall what the name of the "treasure hunt" was but there were locations across the US. It had some interest on the net in some communities years ago.
Bloody Mary, Bloody Mary, Bloody Mary...
[rebelmouse-image 18344859 is_animated_gif=There used to be this rumor that if you were chatting on IRC you couldn't mention this one name or he'd take you away and you'd never come back. I think it was Candlejack or something but I can't be sure.
Where's Kevin Bacon?
[rebelmouse-image 18344860 is_animated_gif=The original social networking site was called six degrees. The goal was to prove that everyone on the internet was separated by six degrees. You submitted you address book. Not enough people participated. I'm curious if Facebook could run the numbers on something like this.
Before GPS...
[rebelmouse-image 18344863 is_animated_gif=I always wonder what happened to mapquest and how they would print out five pages of maps as default instead of just the text directions.
Better Off Ted
[rebelmouse-image 18344864 is_animated_gif=Guy called Ted made a website about his experience with a particular cave, basically describing events over the course of several months. He starts off going into said cave by himself. Explores a bit, finds a hole with wind coming through and the old caving adage "if it blows it goes" prompts him to enlist the help of a friend/fellow caver called B in digging out more of the hole so they can get through it and see what's on the other side.
There's a whole bunch of entries about them progressively widening this hole and things getting eerier, hearing noises etc. Eventually they break through to what they call Floyd's Tomb where they find weird hieroglyphs, a big perfectly round rock and what seem to be carved doorways in the cavern. They get the help of a third guy who goes through but is thoroughly freaked out when he gets back out and refuses to talk about the stuff in the Tomb.
Ted goes back with the first guy and they explore some more, but get the sensation of there being something inside the cave. They escape from it, but something pulls their ropes down from the entrance. All three of the guys start to experience visions and waking nightmares, Ted sees strange shapes moving around his house. He gets a message from B who says he wants to go back to get closure, Ted agrees.
The last entry is him talking about going back to the cave to find answers. I'm probably forgetting a lot of stuff because it's been years since I read it, but that's the gist of things. I believe the guy said it was just creepypasta, but it was one of the best back when creepypastas were more popular probably because he had pictures to go along with it and because it was an authentic experience that he got creative with to make it scary
Looking Up The Net
[rebelmouse-image 18344865 is_animated_gif=Does anyone else remember when they had internet phone books with lists of websites? Google wasn't around yet, but you could still search for things. Who bought those?
Edit: Here's one I found on Amazon.
Time Enough At Last
[rebelmouse-image 18344866 is_animated_gif=Maybe I'm just perpetuating another part of an urban legend through my questionable memory, but I seem to recall that when I first heard about Time Cube, I also stumbled upon a forum discussing a murder and/or suicide involving a Time Cube believer that was a member of this forum. I don't remember if this forum was dedicated to Time Cube, or if the topic was tangential to the purpose of it, but I do seem to remember people on this forum discussing how a member became a Time Cube acolyte (for lack of a better term) and began stirring up trouble. This led to conflict between members which eventually resulted in someone getting killed. Either the acolyte committed suicide, or killed another member. Maybe it was a hoax, or maybe I misinterpreted the posts, but I do remember reading discussion by users on a forum, and not just a creepypasta retelling of a story.
Does anyone remember anything about this?
Smells Like 90s Spirit
[rebelmouse-image 18344867 is_animated_gif=The publius enigma, a weird puzzle that was posted anonymously on the pink floyd usenet group right around the time "the division bell" came out in 1994. someone with the handle "publius" made some really cryptic posts that promised a treasure could be found and all the clues could be found by listening to "the division bell". there was a pretty devoted following trying to figure out what the treasure/answer was. it was proven to have some connection with the band via videos and lights at shows on pink floyd's tour, but "publius" disappeared off the internet and nobody knows the final status of this or even how it was created.
And Finally, The Most Important:
[rebelmouse-image 18344868 is_animated_gif=What time is Peanut Butter Jelly time really?
Article source.
Note: Comments have been edited for clarity.
Being horny can lead to some questionable decision-making.
Something happens to the brain when blood is flowing to other regions of the body.
They should discuss this in health class.
It's perfectly normal, but we have to learn how to deal.
Redditor Sir_Baconstrips wanted to see who was willing to discuss actions made while randy, so they asked:
"What's the biggest mistake you've made because you were horny?"
I can't tell you mine, because my mom might read this. But Reddit was more than happy to share.
History Help
"I browsed porn and then I asked my mom how to delete the history."
Ramon80589
What was that?
"Probably my most embarrassing moment. Was on my work computer (family business so nothing locked) and it was a super slow day and I was alone. Anyways was doing a classic 3 min facebook check and scrolled down for a second and saw the news post about Adriana Chechik injuring her back in a foam pool. Figured top comments on that would be golden. Read one funny one that said 'her and her scene with [performer I can’t remember] is still goat.'"
"Never heard of said performer so I got curious and google her. Of course photos never do justice, had to see the performance ya know? So I clicked a random video, quick glance and thought 'meh' and was about to close the tab before I noticed my mouse twitch on the screen… What was that? No.. that wasn’t mouse error, that was someone… then within seconds I realized the accountant who taps in remotely to finish work came in at that exact moment that I had a browser open for less than 60 sec."
"The worst wart was I could have sworn I had all those remote services off, but she tried to tap in for over an hour and must of did something to wake splashtop (probably had it on some type of standby mode). She even called earlier but I saw a random number and was speaking with a client and ignored it."
"Anyways, decision time, do I call her and play it off as nothing or apologize? Naturally as a fearful 28 year old I play off as nothing. I call, no answer… then a few minutes later i get the call back and her words after exchanging 'hellos … are you finished with whatever you were doing…' still burns me."
Satmatzi
Years Later
"Let my (ex) boyfriend dry-hump me for an hour on a bench outside after summer school."
"The bad news: this bench behind our school was also beside a swimming pool. Where parents were taking their children for swim lessons. Eventually a staff member came out and yelled at us for being inappropriate."
"I still have shame flashbacks today, over 10 years later."
hannlouiseols
Size Issues
"I had a one night stand with a guy who was, in retrospect, seriously self-conscious about his penis size and kept going on about how if it was on the small size it was just because he has to have sex with it a few times and it would gradually get bigger until it was it’s 'true' size. I really didn’t care."
"But then to make himself feel better he turned it around and started talking about how big and wide my vagina was but kept reassuring me that it was ok because he liked the challenge. I wish I had snapped my legs shut and given him the boot right then and there."
bewarethes0ckm0nster
In San Diego
"Lost my entire tax refund and got my phone stolen at a strip club in San Diego."
BigFatPapaBear
Always check your pockets on the way out.
The Reward
"Hooked up with a girl at a party. Just kind of bored, drunk, and horny. Having to go to the doctor for a case of pubic lice was my reward for poor self-control."
No_External7289
Dedicated...
"I got my first serious gf in high school. She was two grades below me. So when I finished third year and moved 500 km south we was still a couple. I was so in love (and most of all horny) I commuted every. Single. Weekend. And I was poor. So I took the bus to the nearest station after school. Waited for the long distance bus for 4-5 hours."
"Went to a larger city to hitchhike my way there. I was there Friday night or Saturday morning. Locked ourselves in her bedroom and went at it until Sunday morning. I made my way down to school again and went to class straight from the bus Monday morning. This went on for almost a year…"
pelo_ensortijado
I'm Out
"Was trying to get with a girl in college. We were texting and I asked her what she was up to, she said she was training for a marathon and going to the gym and asked if I wanted to come."
"I ended up running 9 miles before I tagged out. So now I know how far I'd go to have sex it's up to 9 miles."
euesquecimeunome
Lord the things people will do when slightly turned on.
People Who Accidentally Sent A Family Member A Nude Picture Describe The Aftermath
Why in this day and age are people still taking nudie pics without triple-checking the recipient?
Why take the gamble?
And half of the time we hit send, mistakes get made.
One minute you're feeling sexy, the next minute grandpa is having a stroke.
Be careful.
Redditor Im_A_Freakin_Joke wanted to hear about the times people have sent photos to the family that left everyone SHOOK, so they asked:
"Redditors who accidental sent a family member a nude, what was the aftermath?"
I have done many things, but I never allow a snapshot.
Gross
"'You should clean your room before you take that.'"
Emergency_faceplant
What's What?!
"I meant to send it to someone on WhatsApp that I was dating at the time and didn’t realize I accidentally sent it to my brother, their names were next to each other in my chat list and I chose the wrong one. I frantically called my sister in law and told her what happened and begged her to go into his phone and delete the message with the photo."
"This is before WhatsApp added the functionality to delete your own messages. She was so sweet and understanding and deleted the message. I was so embarrassed. To this day she has kept my secret, this happened five years ago."
room_temp_butter
Bad Pics
"For context, my mom had some life-threatening medical issues when I was a kid, so there were a few month+ long periods where we rarely saw her. One night, I got a text from her that says 'send me a pic of u in bed."
"I thought she wanted a picture of me and my dog snuggling, as he slept with me and was the cutest sleeper. I usually sent her one every few days, even when she was home. It also doubled as her way to make sure I was following my bedtime."
"I was taking the picture, and I get a follow-up 'ignore that' text. At the same time, my dad opens my door so hard the hinges break. He says 'you get a text from mama?' I say yeah, and he says, 'it wasn't meant for you.' And leaves. I felt weird about it for days, even though it was years before I figured it out."
bleeding_inkheart
Leave it there...
"I happened to live across the street at the time and a dirty message meant for my now wife was sent to my mother! Luckily for me my mom is notorious for ignoring her phone so I sprinted across the street and said 'hey where is your phone' she told me it was on her desk so I calmly walked over unlocked it and deleted the message. In response to the look of confusion I told her 'deleted a message that was meant for now wife...' And left it at that."
Twandle_D-Vorago
AHHHH!!!! NO!
"One time my dad accidentally texted me 'sex if the Patriots win' and I still don’t believe I have recovered."
ayepeyday
Mom and dad have their own lives.
Disconnect
"I didn't accidentally send a nude, but my phone did auto upload ALL my pictures when I connected it to my mom's computer. I'm no longer allowed to connect hardware to my mom's computer."
teethalarm
Hey Sis...
"I gave my sister my old Iphone (I’m 25, she’s 22). She didn’t realize that her photos were uploading to my cloud and when I went to send a photo to a coworker, at work mind you, I see her pasty a**. I immediately text her and was like STOP TAKING PHOTOS. She called me and asked if I was okay and I told her what was happening. She responded with 'My a** look good though,' and I died laughing. Love my sis, but Christ."
PushingPepperoni
Shower Scene
"I didn’t sent a nude. I was in the shower, about age 15, and I heard the phone ring. My best friend had a habit of calling while I was showering. So, I bolted out naked as the day I was born to grab the phone before she hung up. I didn’t realize pretty much my entire dad’s side of the family was visiting my terminally ill mother."
"They saw it all. My aunt jokingly said, 'Well, dang, I didn’t know there was gonna be a show.' And someone said, 'we were just joking when we said you’d grow up to be a stripper.' I had to do a walk of shame back to the bathroom as well."
"It was laughed off and it hasn’t been brought up since."
TheSaltyMelon
Let me see...
"Sent a pic of my boobs to my mom. Managed to convince her I was trying to take a pic of what I thought was a lump but ended up dropping my phone and sent it while fumbling. Which has happened before. But then she made me show her where I thought the lump was so that was very awkward."
3milyBlazze
Recover Mode
"I once sent a pic to a GF in college when we were home for break… only I searched her contact by last name and accidentally sent it to her mom!"
"Thankfully it was late and she was able to sneak into her parents’ room and delete it before they saw."
BleekerTheBard
What have we learned?
At the very least, triple-check who you are sending it to one whichever app you use for that sort of thing.
People Share The Things They Learned Embarrassingly Late In Life
There is so much to learn in the world, it's impossible for one person to know absolutely everything there is to know.
But there are certain things, like common phrases and idioms, that everyone seems to use that might be a little embarrassing to not understand until later in life.
Redditor Curious-2577 asked:
"What's something you learned 'embarrassingly late' in life?"
Addictive Personality
"My sister was in her fifties when she found out the meaning of, 'You have an addictive personality.'"
"She thought after all these years of therapy that it meant that people were addicted to her personality."
"We laughed hysterically when we talked about this (in a very sad way)."
- casper02127
Horse Toes
"I thought that horses had toes until I was 22. I thought the hoof was a 'horseshoe' and the toes were tucked inside."
"How did I learn how wrong I was, you ask?"
"I was walking past a cavalry museum and saw a horse statue and loudly remarked, 'It must hurt so bad when they fold a horse’s toes to put them into the shoe!'"
"Dozens of horse enthusiasts turned and looked at me with wild bewilderment in their eyes."
- BronNatsPulisic
Referencing Flowers
"The saying is, in fact, 'Nip it in the bud' and not 'Nip it in the butt.'"
- too_sharp
Pastures New
"A few months ago, two of my colleagues both handed in their notice at around the same time."
"I kept reading/hearing the sentence, 'They’re both moving on to pastures new’ being thrown about the office in the weeks leading up to them leaving, and I hadn’t heard this phrase before and thought that was the name of the rival company that they were going to, like, 'Pastures New.'"
"I thought it was weird that nobody was talking about how they were both leaving for the same company."
"I was in the car with one of the two people who were leaving and said, 'So where is it that you and X are going to be working? Is it...’"
"And just before I could embarrass myself and say ‘Pastures New,' they interrupted me and said they’re not going to the same place and asked me where I had heard that."
"I think at that moment, I realized I was stupid and didn’t mention it again."
- WorriedSoft
Mario Brothers
"I think I was in college when I realized that Mario and Luigi are plumbers. I thought they just went and up down these tubes just because that was the theme of the game."
- dontbemystalker
Bonsai Trees
"That Bonsai are not a species of tree, but a way to grow them. Any tree can be a bonsai."
- ixent
Houston, We Have a Problem
"Houston is not the name of the guy astronauts talk to."
- vienna_versailles
Cowboy Beans
"I learned that pork and beans are not called 'cowboy beans.' I was 18 and asked a grocery store clerk to help me find the 'cowboy beans.'"
"We were looking everywhere and I was getting frustrated because I know that every store carries these beans. After a while, I picked up a pork and beans can with a picture and said, 'See, they look just like this!'"
"He said, 'You mean pork and beans?'"
"Then I realized that my mom called them that so that I would eat them."
"The look of disappointment from that grocery store clerk haunts me to this day."
- whyunoletmepost
The Pulitzer
"Let me tell you about how I thought you were awarded a 'Pullet Surprise.'"
- BendyBrains
Rum and Coke
"Not too late in life, but I thought my parents were making 'Roman Cokes' until I went to college."
"Which, I think is a much better name for the drink (Rum and Coke) anyway."
- Th3seViolentDelights
Oh No, Not Acoma!
"That a coma was 'A' coma. Until I was probably 19 or so, I thought it was 'acoma.'"
"I thought you fell into acoma."
- FightWithBrickWalls
It Must Have Been a One-Way Trip
"My parents were divorced the whole time and my mom was not, in fact, taking a vacation, lmao (laughing my a** off)."
- artemus_who
Multitasking
"I live near the Hospital for Joint Diseases… when I was a kid, I thought was a special hospital for people who had two or more different diseases at the same time."
- Baffhy_Duck
Ore-Ida Fries
"Moving cross-country, driving east to west, and crossing from Idaho to Oregon, I noticed huge fields with signs for the Ore-Ida Potato company."
"So I was in my early 20s when I figured out Ore-Ida wasn’t just a brand name but was because their potatoes came from Oregon and Idaho."
- Deadhawk142
Kid Logic
"When I was really young, my sister told me she threw her guts up. So I was really afraid of vomiting my entire insides up for years."
- Presitigious_Sweet_50
Some of these really had us laughing as we realized the revelations some of these Redditors were having.
But when we're really honest with ourselves, we probably didn't figure out some of these until later, too.
People Break Down The Absolute Worst Parts About Having A Child
While starting a family and having children is a goal that many people have, some do not realize that it's not easy, fun, and loving one-hundred percent of the time. Rather, it's expensive, exhausting, and hard, though it might be worth it in the end.
With this in mind, people shared what they felt were the hardest hurdles of their parenting.
Redditor ApprehensiveShock655 asked:
"What's the worst part of having a child?"
Fear of Not Doing Enough
"The constant anxiety that you’re doing enough to shape them to make good choices, a good life, be a good person and for them to have the life they deserve."
- nakedreturnsthe1st
Like the Energizer Bunny
"It's incessant. It never stops. You never get a day off."
"Going from having two days per week to relax and do whatever to literally never having a moment free from responsibility."
- mrbuh
No Break In Sight
"I’ve always wanted kids and still do, but this is the only thing that has come close to giving me pause."
"Both my siblings have young kids and I cannot get over how CONSTANT it is."
"From the second the kids wake up to when they finally shut their eyes, it’s non-stop. Then they get maybe an hour or two to themselves, which is mostly spent tidying up, etc., before the nighttime stuff starts with the baby crying, the toddler coming into bed, nightmares, etc."
"It requires years of not getting a full night's rest. You can never just go out whenever you want. No sleeping in, even on weekends because someone has to be up with them at 6 AM."
"Raising human children is an insane task."
- GirlisNo1
Mom's Body After Baby and Dad Bods
"The weight gain is the worst! During the pregnancy, I gained 35 pounds. My belly has stretch marks. My boobs are all saggy."
"And it’s not even fair because my wife only gained like 15."
- Wise-Reaction-7526
The Meal Planning
"Coming up with three meals to eat per day EVERY DAY stresses me out so bad."
"This sounds like such a small thing, but it really wears on you over time. You can’t just make something for yourself or something you and your spouse feel like eating: You have to constantly be thinking about if the kid is hungry and what they might be willing to eat."
- Ravenclaw79
Keeping Them Safe
"When people ask me this I say, 'do you know those video games where you have to escort a character to a destination without them being attacked?' That's parenting. Those missions are a pain in the a**."
- Infiniski_Gaming
Seriously, Keep Them Safe
"Having to deal with their total lack of self-preservation. They are creative and come up with all kinds of ways to try and kill themselves. Keeping ahead of the game is exhausting."
- Quizzical_Chimp
Constant Contact
"They’re just always there. On you, behind you, in front of you, just a little speed bump impeding every task."
- Tangboy500000
Letting Them Live Their Life Their Way
"Having a kid is like having a little piece of your heart running around in the world. When they're sick or get disappointed or just feel sad, it's worse than having it happen to you."
"Yet at the same time, you need to let your kids work through those things to learn to handle them. If you give into the worry and try to shield them from everything, you risk creating harmful co-dependence."
"So it's a constant struggle. But worth it!"
- um_chili
What Is "Sleep" Again?
"I'm only nine years in, but so far, it's been the sleep deprivation. Hands down."
- tessiegamgee
And What Are These "Sick Days" You Speak Of?
"Having to take care of a sick child when you are also sick. For me that has been the most challenging part so far."
- MrsLouisaMercury
Another Full-Time Job
"It's like taking a second job that lasts 18+ years with a 24/7 schedule with no holidays or sick days."
"…And no second paycheck. It's actually like YOU are paying your second salary instead of getting one."
- mouse_rat
Personal Freedom
"The loss of freedom. I can't just... go somewhere. Even with older kids, there's so much planning and thinking and getting ready."
"I miss being able to just decide to go somewhere, and go there."
- poetris
The Time Flies
"The best advice I got was from an ancient hospital security guard in an elevator. 'The days are long, the years are short, cherish them while you can.'"
- WayOfTheHouseHusband
So Unexpected
"The phrase I hate is, 'You don't know it, but one day you pick your kid up for the last time.'"
- 3_pac
There are all kinds of troubles that come from being a parent, many of which people don't necessarily think about until they already have a baby in the house.
But reassuringly, many people in the subReddit pointed out that no matter how hard some of these hurdles are to get over, it's still worth it in the end, and it goes by far too fast.