Adults Reveal What It Was Like To Go To School In The Early 2000s
[rebelmouse-image 18344916 is_animated_gif=High School was interesting in the early 2000's. The world was in a fully committed and passionate relationship with butterfly clips. JNCO jeans had us all tripping all over one another. We still had to call one another at our house phones (people still had house phones) and just hope the other person was home. Wanted pictures with your friends? Yeah you needed an actual camera for that and you'd have to actually pay someone to develop the pictures. Selfies weren't a thing.
One Reddit user asked: what was High School like in the early 2000's?
The answers gave us a serious nostalgia bomb - so of course we had to share with you!
AIM and MySpace
[rebelmouse-image 18344917 is_animated_gif=I didn't get a cell phone until college. We used AIM and myspace to communicate, and passed notes in class. I had a notebook just for passing notes in class, actually. Once it got found by administration and I was in trouble. I was addicted to Sims and almost failed a grade because I played hooky to play the game.
And I just lost The Game.
Early internet was a trip. OMG shoes, Badger Badger, Ebaumsworld etc... We gave birth to the new joke format that became memes and viral videos.
Printed Trash Talk
[rebelmouse-image 18344918 is_animated_gif=From the moment I got home from school, until bed, I was logged in to AIM. It was so exciting to put up an away message, do hw and other stuff, and then come back to like 10 messages from various people. Also, people were so catty...like someone would talk sh!t and then it would get printed and shown to all your friends. You'd have a falling out for a few weeks until someone apologized. High School was fun and angsty, wouldn't wanna go back but I have lots of fond memories.
CD Fights
[rebelmouse-image 18344919 is_animated_gif=Everyone bringing their CD case to a party and fighting to get to play yours.
Flavor Town
[rebelmouse-image 18344920 is_animated_gif=Everyone looked like Guy Fieri.
TRL and Hollister
[rebelmouse-image 18344921 is_animated_gif=TRL on MTV after school. Had to see if Korn or Backstreet Boys won the top spot. If you wanted to be in the cool clique you have to have Hollister, AE or A&F wardrobes. Hollister has always frustrated me as a brand, because the play up the California surf-and-sun image, but the city of Hollister is in the middle of the state and all they have is cows, so...
No Internet For Projects
[rebelmouse-image 18344922 is_animated_gif=None of your teachers would let you use the internet for projects because "it's not reliable." So you'd use it anyway, and then find some page in the Encyclopedia Brittanica that was related, and you'd cite that.
Totally Dope
[rebelmouse-image 18344923 is_animated_gif=It was totally dope. Rules were lax and wide bottomed pants were in style, fo' shizzle my nizzle. Butterfly clips, pastels pants made of plastic or pleather and cliques were alive and doing well.
Sidekick For Life
[rebelmouse-image 18344924 is_animated_gif=Only the rich kids had phones and even then if you didn't T9 then you were super lame! I wanted one of those full screen cells that had the keyboard underneath when you slid it up. Samsung maybe? AND the Motorola Razr. 20 year old me would have killed for that phone, but even more than that - Sidekick for life! I would still use that phone now if I could.
No Camera? No Problem.
[rebelmouse-image 18344925 is_animated_gif=Your pants could not ride low enough. Few cell phones, and even if someone managed to have one with a camera the quality was so s** it didn't matter.
Off The Chain/Off The Hook
[rebelmouse-image 18344926 is_animated_gif=Columbine was still fresh on everyone's minds so we all had to wear lanyards with our school ID and they started locking the doors. Kids just propped the back doors open because otherwise there wasn't enough time to get from class A to class B if you had to get to a wing on the opposite side of the huge ass school. My school had 5 halls connected by one main hallway so going from one side to another could take 20 minutes but we only had 15 for changing classes. Sometimes you had to run.
We still used floppy discs for school projects since my school had some older computers and not every classroom had a computer with a CD drive. By my senior year USB drives became a more common thing although they were expensive at the time.
When we watched movies in class it was with a VHS tape. My French teacher was the only one with a DVD player in her classroom because she brought one from home.
Kids would throw stink bombs at every school assembly.
There was a controversial "off the chain" vs "off the hook" divide.
Super Casual
[rebelmouse-image 18344927 is_animated_gif=From what I remember, everyone dressed super casual. Hoodies, T shirts, baggy pants, girls pretty much all wore flip flops every day despite it being rainy most of the year. No neatly gelled hair, slim chinos and fitted shirts for us. Pajama pants were more common, though. There were a few guys that were Eminem wannabes with bleached buzz cuts. Then you had your typical cliques like jocks, stoners, geeks, and goths.
Kids would walk around with their disc-man and those cheap over the ear headphones that came packaged with them. They'd keep a folder full of CD's except 90% of them would be CD-R's they got from friends.
Most of us didn't own cell phones until my senior year in 2006 when Motorola Razors were really popular. Same thing with social media. I don't remember Myspace being all the rage until 2005 or so, at least at my school.
In the morning my friends and I would go to the computer lab and watch flash animations or play games on Newgrounds or Miniclip.
Coyote Ugly Fashion
[rebelmouse-image 18344928 is_animated_gif=-I honestly hated much of the music (except maybe Ryan Adams) and listened to a lot of older stuff and started getting into country, like the Dixie Chicks.
-Coyote Ugly is a good example of the girl's clothes. Super low cut jeans with thick tanks, halters, or western tops. Finish with chunky belt. I also didn't mind the velour lounge suits, so comfy.
-I hated the frosted tip look on guys. But loved when guys started to grow out their hair a bit. LOVED trucker hats on guys. Also the chunky ribbed sweater was really handsome.
-Sex and the City was on Sunday nights, and for the rest of the week radio and TV talk shows would discuss the modern relationship topic the show would bring up. Also a lot of talk about the fashion.
-Still were into photos. We just bought disposable cameras and took a zillion pics, sometimes making photo collages / scrapbooking.
-You could research online for homework, but it was slow. We were only allowed to use 2 internet sources, and the rest had to be a book from the library.
-Lots of burned CDs, and then everyone had an iPod
-The "WB" station = Felicity, Dawson's Creek, Gilmore Girls, Angel, etc.
Thanks, ICQ
[rebelmouse-image 18344929 is_animated_gif=Since almost nobody had cell phones, the way to get a hold of somebody's contact information was to ask for their AIM ICQ or MSN screen name. Met my now husband on ICQ random chat. He was from Australia, I'm from Canada. I was 14 lol. We stayed in touch for 10 years before he came to visit and well, he's still here. Thanks, ICQ! Lol
Teachers Would Think You Were A Drug Dealer
[rebelmouse-image 18344930 is_animated_gif=No cell phones, so if you wanted to talk to your friends outside of school, you had to call their house on the only phone, which thank God was cordless so you could take it in your room. If he wasn't there you had to leave a message on his answering machine and hope you were there when he called back. You would make plans ahead of time and flaking was super bad because there was really no way to communicate after you left he house.
A few kids started getting cell phones in like my junior and senior year, but it was only the ones who could afford it and teachers would think you were a drug dealer.
Separate Devices
[rebelmouse-image 18344931 is_animated_gif=They had to use the term 'personal electronics' on prohibited items lists because phones hadn't eaten cd/mp3 players yet, so you'd three or four separate devices. Also I spent a lot of time getting hassled by the teachers for having chains on my pants.
The Weirdo Group
[rebelmouse-image 18344933 is_animated_gif=Me and my friends were the wierdo group: skaters, goths, metalheads etc; we all sorta clung together as there weren't enough of us to form separate cliques.
Pant legs were big enough to fit two legs or more into, and when it snowed it wicked up to your thighs. Studded or spiked belts paired nicely with those jeans, as well as the bondage straps hanging off the back. Chokers, chokers everywhere! Goths had spikey ones, and preppy girls had those stretchy ones. A lot of guys had spiked hair back then too, usually with a color added to the tips. Girls used a lot of fun clips in their hair, and scrunchies. Platform shoes/boots were a must for me, as well as hoodies. I owned and still have to own a lot of hoodies and flannels. Several of us also sported trench coats.
Gay And Out
[rebelmouse-image 18344934 is_animated_gif=It was a Big Deal to be gay and out. It usually meant you either had super progressive parents, or parents you weren't afraid to piss off. Our sex advice came from Adam Carrolla and Dr. Drew.
Tests For No Reason
[rebelmouse-image 18344935 is_animated_gif=You had all of the overprotective BS as today, but crappier versions that people were less experienced with and easier to skirt around. It seemed like we were the test class for a lot of stuff in my school. So like, the same amount of overburdening standardized tests but they didn't count for anything yet.
Search Engine
[rebelmouse-image 18344936 is_animated_gif=We had classes in "how to use a search engine." There were various options available: Lycos, AskJeeves, AltaVista, DogPile, Yahoo. Not everyone had internet at home so getting online was a novelty; people would queue to use the computers at lunchtimes and breaks. Eventually Google took over.
Cucumber Melon
[rebelmouse-image 18344937 is_animated_gif=1998-2002. Everything smelled like cucumber melon lotion from Bath and Body Works. Butterfly clips. Putting on gobs of glittery lotion before square dancing in gym class, and the boys acting like we slimed them. Really low-cut jeans with the thong sticking out over the top. Eyebrows plucked to basically one hair's width. Black eyeliner. Watching South Park at parties after band concerts. That weird five minutes when swing music and dancing was hot.
H/T: Reddit
Everyone has their travel bucket list.
The list of places they absolutely must visit before they die.
There are those, however, who also have a rather different list of destinations.
The places that have no intention to visit.
Be it for safety concerns, language barriers, or simply that there's nothing at these places that calls to them, there are places some wouldn’t dream of spending the time and money to visit.
Redditor TrooperJohn was curious to hear which places were at the very bottom of the list of travel destinations for his fellow Redditors, leading them to ask:
"What is a popular tourist destination you have no interest in visiting?"
Oasis in the desert? No thank you.
"Dubai."
"Why and whats special about it?"
"Its a modern city in a desert."- Maximum_Calendar_791.
"Dubai."
"A fake city with fake people, no human rights, where the world's tallest buildings hide corruption and slavery in their shadows."
"It's like someone decided to take every problem of mankind and concentrate it in one spot."- PayNoNoticeOfMe.
"Dubai one i think it is ugly two I would die in two minutes of me being there I can't stand anything above 40 c°."- BookWormPerson.
One of the seven wonders is one too many for me.
"The pyramids. "
"Too many horror stories of Egypt."- Aemiom.
Landlocked.
"Not really a destination, but taking a cruise."- Shortbus_Playboy.
Mountains aren't really my thing.
"Everest."
"Just why."
"You use a bunch of money to get in there them come down."
"And trash your whole way there. It's literally a corner in the Earth insufferable for humans and we still made a way to go there to trash it."- ACLullaby.
It's in my own backyard... but still not interested.
"I have lived about 15km away from the Burj Khalifa ever since it was made."
"I could not care any less besides the occasional pointing out the 'shiny tall building' to my nieces.- legolosss.
The pictures are enough for me.
"Mount Rushmore."
"Friends who've made the journey to Mount Rushmore mostly say it was no big deal and not worth the effort or expense to travel there."- Back2Bach.
Hustle and Bustle? No thanks.
"Anything busy.'
"Whether it's cities, structures, I don't care."
"I'd rather go to a boring empty quiet place than a place full of people."- TheSmeep.
They're watching us.
"That creepy a** place in Japan with all the realistic dolls."
"No thank you."
Some dream of paying a visit to these places.
Others hope they never have to set foot there, and will choose to leave it to the other millions of tourists.
To each, their own.
Want to "know" more?
Sign up for the Knowable newsletter here.
Never miss another big, odd, funny, or heartbreaking moment again.
When it comes to electing a leader, the choice is an easy one if a potential candidate shares the same values as yours.
And while a candidate is fit to lead remains to be seen, we rely on our instinct to choose someone with whom we can relate.
But sometimes, our options are limited and we inevitably go with someone who is the lesser of two evils.
Curious to hear from strangers online about a hypothetical, Redditor Cashmeresquid2309 asked:
"Americans of Reddit, would you vote for an openly Atheist presidential candidate? Why or why not?"

Redditors were quick to point out the answer was a no-brainer.
We Already Know The Answer
"Asking Reddit if they'd vote for an atheist..."
"I feel like the answer would be obvious."
– sarahmagoo
Sci-Fi Analogy
"Americans of Reddit, would you vote for a Star Wars fan who heckin loves doggos?"
– WitnessChemical
For The Atheists In The Crowd
"Atheists of atheistville, would you vote for an open atheist?"
– nixcamic
Others weighed in with a range of opinions.
About 45
"What's funny is how many of them would probably say no, even though they voted for Trump and would do so again. Say whatever else you want about him, but I seriously can't understand how anyone could genuinely believe Trump is a Christian. He's so obviously faking it and is undoubtedly the most atheistic president we've ever had or are likely to have for a long time."
"This is a guy who's never even so much as read the Bible or attended church, who told a conservative radio host his favorite Bible verse was 'an eye for an eye', who told evangelical interviewers that he's never asked God for forgiveness because he's never done anything wrong, and who routinely commits all 7 deadly sins (pride, greed, wrath, envy, lust, gluttony and sloth) without remorse."
– empfindsamkeit
From A Different Perspective
"Not an american but interestingly according to this survey on 1006 people from 2007, being atheist was the worst thing you could be as a candidate (of the things asked) with only 45 % of people saying they'd vote for one."
– ilovecatfish
An atheist candidate isn't necessarily a big strike.
Double Negative
"I wouldn’t not vote for someone just because they were atheist."
– HabitualEnthusiast
Credibility First
"This is it. If they’re running on platforms I support with a history to back up those campaign promises, I don’t care if they belong to the church of the flying spaghetti monster. They could literally be a member of the satanic temple and I, an actual practicing Christian, would give less shi*s than a constipated sloth."
"Edit: yes, I realize the Satanic Temple does not actually worship satan. I used it for that purpose. The Church of Satan has some…problematic views and I probably would not vote for someone who literally holds a platform of eugenics."
– Phoenix_of_Asclepius
Some view the role of religion in politics as important.
It Depends
"Religion can be relevant: I would have strong reservations about voting for a Scientologist, even if I agreed with the policies they proposed. I would have strong reservations voting for a member of an apocalyptic cult or, possibly worse, a follower of the (highly heretical) 'prosperity gospel,' which unfortunately includes more and more so-called 'evangelicals' — I didn't vote for George W. Bush, but it's not because he was an evangelical."
"It depends on the role: I'd probably be more flexible with a legislator than an executive (mayor, governor, president), as their character is IMO more important than for a legislator and their policy stances somewhat less important relative to a legislator."
"Satanic temple — well, that's just an organized group of atheists and humanists with an intentionally inflammatory choice of name. They're generally fine people."
– alyssasaccount
A Bad Rap
"The Satanic Temple is an excellent organization that every decent person should be able to respect. A Church of Satan member, not so much."
"There's a huge difference between them!"
– StarsEatArtBooks
And Redditor boganvegan said it best.
"Better an open atheist than a fake Christian."
It all boils down to trustworthiness. Without full transparency, how could anyone put their faith in a candidate who spews nothing but lies?
Want to "know" more?
Sign up for the Knowable newsletter here.
Never miss another big, odd, funny or heartbreaking moment again.
Being home alone isn't always the most tranquil thing.
No one is there to help or protect you.
And things that go "bump" in the night... sometimes they do more than bump.
Redditor ag9910 wanted to hear about the times home felt like an unsafe place to be. They asked:
"What is the scariest, strangest, most unexplainable thing that has happened to you while home alone?"
I'm always freaked out when I'm home alone. Lights on. Yeah, my electric bill is high.
Dorothy?
"I dreamed the front door blew open at the exact time the house alarm went off... I hopped up and sure enough, the front door was open. No intruder."
fatowl
I See You
"Not home alone but only one in right side of the house. Went to my mom's bathroom to wash my hands and saw a pair of feet behind the half open door. Laughed and said 'very funny Ma, I see you.' then finished up and left. Bumped into my mother in the kitchen unpacking, nobody else was in the house. I'm glad whatever was behind the door didn't peek out."
SatanWithFur
“It’s Doug!”
"One night I had forgotten to lock my apartment door and woke up in the middle of the night. My bedroom door was about 2 feet from my front door, as you walked into the apartment. First a big dog ran by, then a person. Holy crap I was so scared and I screeched 'Who is it?!?!!'"
"A man said 'It’s Doug!' As I was thinking to myself, who the f**k is Doug, he said 'oh, crap.' He turned around to go back out the front door saying 'Sorry.' I asked 'Didn’t you have a dog with you?' He said 'Oh, yeah. Hey, c’mon!.' He left, his dog ran out after him and I locked my front door."
"Edit: glad you all thought this was funny, because I did too, once my heart quit trying to beat right out of my chest! The next day the girls at work thought I was crazy for not being upset, but eh, done is done. Peace!"
scarletohairy
Confused...
"My sister and I were home alone and we heard someone big running up the stairs. The stairs make lots of noise with slight pressure so when there’s someone big on them you can tell. I went out of my room to check but saw no one anywhere and my sister also came out of her room and she asked if that was me I said no and we both looked around to see if there was anyone but found no one in the whole house. We were confused and called our parents and just waited until they got back and that was that."
JtSudbury04
I See You
"I very clearly saw a guy walk into my room. But when I went after him there was nobody there. I checked in the closet, under my bed, everywhere one could hide in my room."
HighlyOffensive10
This is why home video surveillance is key.
"NO"
"My parents were on a road trip, just left, and I sat down at my desk. I thought 'Weekend alone by myself' and a voice yelled into my right ear 'NO' so loud it hurt."
Th4ab
Wild
"I managed to lock myself out of my house on my birthday during a tornado while trying to bring my cats to the basement for safety. I later found out that the tornado was approximately a couple miles or less from me at that exact time. The sky was green and it got weirdly calm and then I could hear what sounded like a train coming before I found an unlocked window to climb through. Wild times."
SilverGnarwhal
Saturday morning in the 80s...
"I wasn't home alone but I was awake by myself one Saturday morning in the 80s when I was around 7 or so. I believe my mom was the only one home because my dad went to the lake to go fishing that weekend, and I'm not sure where my older brothers were, maybe they went with him, idk."
"Anyways, my mom's sleeping in, and I'm in the living room by myself, watching Saturday morning cartoons and making a fort out of sheets and cushions. Something made me turn around and I saw my dad in his pajamas standing in the hallway entrance with his hands on his hips, looking the mess I was making and shaking his head."
"He then turned around and walked into my room, which was just off the hallway entrance. Dude. I didn't even look, I just booked it to my parents room and woke my mom up. I don't remember what happened after that, this was around 35 years ago. And yes, my dad was fine, nothing had happened to him."
smriversong
Get the Bat...
"I was at home by myself on a call with some friends when all of a sudden my dog begins to bark like crazy, which was odd since it was the middle of the night and he's usually sleep. I go downstairs to check on him and find him barking at our hall closet, terrified I grabbed my bat that I keep in my room just in case and open the door. There was nothing out of usual at first at then I look down and notice a familiar looking object at the bottom of the closet."
"It was my mom's necklace she had lost when I was 9, (i'm 15 now just to put in perspective how long it's been). I showed it to my mom at breakfast and she was just as shocked as I was. I still have no clue how it got there or how my dog knew it was in there, definitely one of the oddest occurrences of my life."
SomeRandomIdiot14
Meow
"Many years ago, I was 14 or so, my first night alone in the house when my parents were out. Lying on the living room floor reading, my cat sleeping next to me."
"Suddenly, cat wakes up, stares intently into the dark corner of the room behind me, hair on end, growls and then bolts out of the room and upstairs. I look behind me and see nothing, but follow cat upstairs and hide under the covers. Freaked me out."
LairdofWingHaven
Thank God for alarms. I hate being home alone.
Want to "know" more?
Sign up for the Knowable newsletter here.
Never miss another big, odd, funny or heartbreaking moment again.
The human body is still such a mystery.
How much do we really know?
Not a lot apparently. We're learning more all the time.
And most of it is gross.
Redditor BathNo7713 wanted to discuss the ick factor of anatomy. So they asked:
"What is the most disturbing fact about the human body?"
The body freaks me out. But it's all I've got. So teach me some things.
Minutes...
"The fastest killing virus takes around 4 days to kill you. That would be Ebola. Your immune system can kill you in 15 minutes."
will477
'locked-in'
"If your brainstem (the part of the brain that mediates most motor control for all of the body) is damaged, you can get 'locked-in' syndrome. That means you're fully conscious and aware of your surroundings but unable to move or speak. The only muscles that remain unaffected in most people are the muscles that move they eyes and the eyelids."
"You're essentially trapped within your own body with your only way of communication being blinking or moving your eyes It can be caused by toxins, blockage of the basilar artery which is the main artery of the brainstem, or other brainstem damage."
4oodler
Explosions
"Some people suffer from Exploding Head Syndrome, which causes them to hear a loud bang when they wake up."
ToraMix19
"When I was younger I believe I experienced this a few times. Sounds I heard were: about a million people talking and laughing all at once, a train that irl would've been about a foot away from me based on the volume of the sound, and a door slamming loudly."
aliaisacreature
Pain
"Not sure if this is by design, but I totaled my car once, almost completely uninjured somehow. Then I looked down to my right hand which I remember jabbing into my dashboard at 55mph. Luckily (unluckily?) only my pinky took the blow. But instead of a floppy-udder full of bone-sand, my pinky was 0.5 inches long."
"Broke no bones, but instead perfectly stacked my phalanges, or finger bones, INTO my hand. This is fixed by a muscular Russian murse grabbing your pinky with both hands and pulling very hard. God I wish they gave me more lidocaine."
TelevisionOlympics
Functions
"If you have a surgery where they need to move your organs around they might not function for a day as the body assumes that they are dead."
tonythebutcher13
Move things around? You mean that's not fake when it happens on "Grey's Anatomy?"
"The only reason you are not aware of it is because the ambient noise kind of drowns it out because your ears focus on it. If you go to one of those super-silent rooms that absorb all sorts of sounds, it is a really weird way to reacquaint yourself with your body."
Black_Handkerchief
The Mouth
"Idk about the most disturbing but how bad human teeth are. We’d think it’s our sugary and processed diets these days that cause it, but even Otzi the iceman discovered in Italy was found to have terrible teeth, mouth diseases and cavities. It’s odd that even with the most basic of diets our teeth are so bad."
Dorianisconfused
In the bowels...
"I noticed this after my abdominal surgery. When I turned over in bed my guts seemed to fall from one side to the other. Mentioned to my doc and she confirmed it was my bowels rearranging themselves."
squatter_
"Apparently the doctor just throws your intestines back in there higgeldy-piggeldy because there isn't a correct way to pack them neatly."
LostDesigner9
A Quick Burst
"There are a vast number of ways that your body can malfunction and kill you with little or no warning. An aneurysm can go undetected until it bursts and kills you. Getting hit in the chest just the right way can stop your heart. You can encounter an allergen that never previously provoked an immune response that freaks out your body so badly that you die. You literally just never know if your body will just... die."
Unsolicited_Spiders
The body is such a conundrum. Sexy and gross all at once.
Want to "know" more?
Sign up for the Knowable newsletter here.
Never miss another big, odd, funny or heartbreaking moment again.