The 80s and the 90s are the ultimate decades of nostalgia for millennials. We were born between 1981 and 1996 and as such grew up in some of the most formative decades for the contemporary American landscape.
The 80s and the 90s also marked the last periods of time before technology would completely take over the world--those of us who were children in the 90s remember a childhood both before and after technology entered it.
As such that creates a lot of nostalgia for a time that truly seems as if it will never come back.
Redditor majorchamp asked:
"80s and 90s redditors, what do you wish would come back even for a limited time?"
Here were some of those answers.
Mall America
"Experiencing my childhood mall in its prime. It seemingly had everything, KB toys, cool RadioShack, a puzzle store, a store that sold chocolate, 2 different book stores, an arcade, etc..."
"Today it's a shell of its former self, there's a few sparks of life, but it's dying a slow and painful death. 3/5 of it's anchor stores are gone and another is on life support."
"Part of the problem is that the owners keep raising the rent to make up for the empty storefronts."-Sandman1031
What Games Used To Be
"Goldeneye 64. For those who didn't grow up with it, there's no way you could convince them that this was a game that people thought was the f**kin pinnacle of FPS games (at the time)."
"Imagine playing a FPS, but with a controller, but with aim/movement speeds calibrated to make you feel like you're moving through water, with the resolution of a flip-phone. That's Goldeneye."
"We had fun with it despite those things."-Antnee83
KentuckyfriedchickenandaPizzaHut
"The quality of of the food at Pizza Hut before all the cost cutting changes."
"Their pizza in the 80's and 90's served in the black deep dish pans was my favorite growing up and was legitimately delicious pizza, but unfortunately the quality of their food has gone down significantly."-spotrevdis
It was most definitely a simpler time than the internet-saturated one we live in now.
Just How It Was
"The post cold war - pre war on terror period was golden. Such progress on tech - everyone getting computers, mobile phones and the internet bringing us to a new peaceful era and new millennium at hand, sure we can solve it all..."
"It has not been like that since. You can see it in the attitudes of the younger gens, there is a difference if you've never lived such optimism."-MindTheFuture
The 90s Were Solid For Music
"Nights with your best friend or two riding around literally all night listening to the radio and talking. Maybe you stop at the park and swing awhile under the stars."
"Then get back in the car and drive so more till the sun starts coming up. Just feeling invincible and secure cause even if you're feeling sad that song is gonna come on the radio that you live to belt out together."
"And by the last note you're feeling better cause things as complicated as they seemed then were really not that bad for most of us. I'd give anything to have a night like that again. Just one."-Psychological_Tap187
Hopscotch Also Gave You Social Skills
"Children spending more time with each other socially. You developed social skills and confidence in ways that you just can't when you are communicating in text, or spending so much time isolated."
"Socialising on the internet or gaming is not the same thing at all. We used to spend the majority of time outside of school with friends, or bonding by playing games in the street."
"It's no wonder anxiety and lack of social confidence is so widespread amongst young people in the modern era."-Scallywagstv2
A Rare Gen X View
"Not be a walking advertisement for clothing brands. It is hard to explain to millennials and Gen Z just what an explosive culture shift Nirvana was."
"Imagine a relatively unknown artist coming out with a music video that was so counter culture, everyone was walking around with question marks over their heads."
"A month later, everyone tore any brand markers off their clothes. Jean patches ripped off, you were adorned with buttons and patches that matched your ideology, not some anime you like."
"And the point it, whether you paid $100 for a pair of jeans or got them at a thrift store, you didn't know, and that was the point."
"We had a rock revolution, which Mins and Gen Z seriously need. If you watch the famous Nirvana MTV live show, you will notice Cobain is wearing clothes with holes in them, despite being worth millions."
"People also didn't go out in public looking like slobs. I would never dream of going to school or the grocery store in pajamas."-beckoning_cat
But then, to everyone, their generation was, of COURSE, the best generation. There is no beating it.
Groupie Life
"Going on tour with your favorite band. You used to be able to do it, easily. Sling beer or t-shirts in the parking lot before a show, camp in the lot overnight before leaving for the next one, repeat until the end of summer."
"Nowadays... I don't think bands even go on tours that are followable, much less affordable just by selling spare beer and t-shirts in the lot."
"Furthermore, you can count the number of venues that allow you to camp for free in the parking lot (or nearby) on one hand."-Chubby-Tumbles
Razzles
"Candy use to taste better, like there was some called tuti-fruity, came in small squares in wax paper, like tiny, of a 20p piece, they use to taste amazing and i would buy them all the time as a kid."
"Then the company that made them changed out the recipe and said 'Nah, its all in your head, its fine, havent changed a thing...' but they now taste like small bits of plastic with minimal flavourings..."
"I wish we had the candy we had from the 80's and 90's."-Empty-Refrigerator
Old Timey Serving
"I remember drive in dining at A&W and it was nice! I was a kid during the 80's and the last A&W closed it's outdoor car side dining back in '89 and had a blow out event with classic cars from the 40's and 50's with waitresses wearing period clothes on rollerblades."
"I lived close by to this event and sat there for hours wondering around looking at the cars and talking to adults dressed up in 40's and 50's clothes driving cars that were in mint condition all getting food. There was a huge crowd of people. It was very memorable!"-ne0rmatrix
Nostalgia has it out for all of us. No matter what comforts are available to us in our given day, the past will come up and bring a fond tear to our eyes just because we can.
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- People Confess Which Fads Lasted Longer Than Anyone Expected - George Takei ›
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Consumers these days are required to do some research before making a purchase on something they don't necessarily need.
But advertisers have upped their marketing strategies to persuade customers that they need certain products and that they are being offered them at a competitive rate.
Don't be fooled. There's a reason why the Latin phrase "caveat emptor" –Let the buyer beware– is commonly thrown around.
Not every product out there is life-changing.
Instead, they are nothing but a tactic to manipulate consumers to fork over their hard-earned cash willingly.
Curious to hear examples of this, Redditor Leather-College2557 asked:
"What's a famous product that is a complete scam?"
There is no shortcut to losing weight. But you'll never hear that from companies trying to sell you snake oil.
Fat Zapper
"Anything that claims to target the loss of fat from a specific area of your body."
– DarthDregan
They Just Promote Waste
"All of those weight loss teas influencers promoted a few years ago. They’re just laxatives."
– the-cosmic-kraken
Ad-dress-ing The Solution
"They pretty much have exactly one good use, emergency weight loss. Need to fit into your bridesmaid dress this weekend and the zipper won't close? Sh*t your brains out until it does. You're going to feel like sh*t and that weight is coming straight back as soon as you eat something, but hey at least you didn't have to get emergency dress alterations I guess?"
– JMEEKER86
Instruction materials for college have always been a rip-off.
Text Book Example
"Single-use access codes for college textbooks is pretty much racketeering."
– colonelsmoothie
Workarounds
"I stopped buying books. Anyone that says to buy them early is lying to you. No the store never runs out of books. If it’s one with a code you can literally just buy it online whenever you want and get full access with the code if those are needed."
"If it’s a class without a code I wouldn’t get the book till absolutely necessary and when I did it was an Amazon online rental. I’m not spending $200 on a book when I can spend $15 for 5 months of access to the book through the kindle app."
"Some classes you can get buy without even buying the book."
– micheal213
Exorbitant Prices
"Years ago, when I was in college, I spent like some insane amount of money on my books. Like over $1000 or something nuts. I had to walk to my car on the entire other side of campus. So I asked for a bag. Then they tried to charge me 10 dollars for a bag. I was so annoyed."
– BeerNcheesePlz
Online security can cost you. Is it worth it? These Redditors didn't think so.
No Protection For Being Fooled
"McAffee and Norton antivirus software."
– FriendlyFloyd7
Preying On The Elderly
"It didn't used to be, but now windows has built in software that is just as good."
"The real crime is Norton, scamming old folks into paying a yearly fee smh"
– Superb_Extension1751
They say these products are beneficial to your life. Don't fall for it.
Spill The Tea
"Herbalife... the shakes and 'teas' which aren't actually teas at all.. It's processed garbage that just so happens to have vitamins and protein added to it. Fake sweeteners, artificial dyes, yeah no thanks."
– cardinalcandy
Hear This
"Ear wax candles. Burn one not in an ear, and it still fills up with wax."
– JustSoHappy
I always thought nature was the biggest scammer of all.
Those huge bags of spinach leaves at the grocery store gives the illusion that you're set for your intake of vegetables if good for at least a couple of weeks.
But as soon as those spinach leaves–which actually retain lots of water–hit the pan when cooking, you'll find that the portion has dramatically reduced to a hundredth of its size.
I see you, spinach, and I don't like you for pulling a fast one on me.
People Break Down The Biggest Scandals In America That Most People Don't Know About
A big scandal has the potential to keep people talking till the end of time.
Even decades later, people are still endlessly fascinated by Watergate and Bernie Madoff's Ponzi scheme.
But not all scandals are as well remembered.
Indeed, even if the overall consequences were no less extreme, there are some scandals that never quite manage to earn a page in the history books.
Or, at the very least, a Ryan Murphy produced mini-series based on it.
"What is a massive American scandal that most people seem to not know about?"
$400 Billion?!?!?
"How about that time the major telecoms took over 400 BILLION dollars to install fiber optics in homes, schools and libraries across the entire country and just... diidn't?"
"The money was just reinvested in the companies to expand overseas and pay legal fees fighting against competitors with fiber plans and blocking future expansion."
"'Here is 400 billion dollars, please use it to give us all good internet'."
"'Ok'."
"'Hey, where's that high speed internet you were gonna put in?'"
"'Oh we decided that was way too expensive, it would cost like 400 billion and we just don't have the money'."
"Have this DSL instead over the existing network."- Horrific_Necktie
Just When You Think They Couldn't Get More Messed Up
"Operation Snow White, absolutely gonzo stuff."
"The Church of Scientology successfully infiltrated the government at high levels and purged records which were unfavorable to L. Ron Hubbard."- sancho___panza
"The church of Scientology blackmailed and threatened IRS people to get their tax exempt status."- Gaelir
stan marsh pictures GIF by South Park GiphyA Literal Train Wreck
"The Ohio train derailment and the decision to burn the spill releasing chlorine gas into the prevailing winds."- Naive-Background7461
What ISN'T A Scandal In American Politics
"In terms of political scandals that were major at the time but hardly remembered today:"
"The ABSCAM operation."
"The FBI set up a fake Arab investment company and offered various state and federal officials bribes to pass bills that would better enable their investment process."
"It led to the convictions of half a dozen Representatives and a Senator for bribery."
"The Keating Five."
"In 1989, in the midst of the Savings and Loan crisis, banker Charles Keating was charged with fraud and racketeering."
"During the investigation, five Senators to whom he'd donated substantial sums (including John Glenn and McCain) were accused of having pressured federal regulators to drop previous cases against Keating."
"The Senate Ethics Committee found that none of them had formally broken any laws, but found three of them were implicated enough to be formally censured."
"The House banking scandal."
"It was revealed that numerous Congressmen had been overdrawing their office accounts with zero financial accountability."
"It resulted in the convictions of three former Representatives and the House Sergeant-At-Arms for bribery and corruption."
"The Abramoff scandals."
"Jack Abramoff was a federal lobbyist, primarily involved in gambling and Indian tribal law, who was convicted of defrauding and over billing Indian tribal councils he was representing to the tunes of tens of millions of dollars."
"Investigations also revealed that he was giving unlicensed gifts to Congressmen, leading to a Representative being convicted of accepting bribes and the Deputy Secretary of the Interior being convicted of obstruction of justice."- AdmiralAkbar1
Voting United States GIF by Jimmy ArcaGiphyAn Ongoing Issue Which Needs To Be Fixed
"The absolute and cataclysmic FAILURE of the foster care system."- SunsetKittens
A Global Disaster
"The Dupont scandal."
"DuPont chemical dumped thousands of tons of chemical waste containing a long chained fluorocarbon also known as PFOA into waterways in Parkersburg, West Virginia."
"These chemicals were found to directly cause cancer and birth defects."
"Unfortunately the irresponsible disposal and manufacturing of this chemical didn't just effect America."
"Trace amounts of PFOAs can be found in virtually every single living creature on earth."- super_mega547
Dealing With Children Here!
"The for-profit juvenile detention system."
"Basically, judges in Pennsylvania were intentionally handing out harsher sentences because these for-profit juvenile prisons contributed to the judge's campaign ."
"In PA they elect their judges which blows my mind for this very reason but that's another story."- granweep
And Yet Woman Are Still Fighting For Control Of Their Own Bodies
"DES given to pregnant women from 1940 until 1971."
"It gave girls who were born after prenatal exposure a much higher risk of several cancers, including one cancer that no one else gets."
"It also causes an inability to carry pregnancies in some women who were exposed to it before birth."
"Boys born after exposure were cryptorchid and had a high rate of micro penis."
"There was a registry for these children so they could be tracked for medical needs and if other effects cropped up, but Congress did away with the registry."
"The changes that DES caused to gene expression are heritable, and it is now affecting DES granddaughters and great-granddaughters."
"While Congress has funded continuing research on effects, there is no registry anymore so no possibility that DES daughters will ever see any compensation."
"The FDA approved the drug for use in pregnant women based on a single non-blind study."- randomusername1919
Before You Take Another Sip
"The current and previous pollution of PFAS chemical compounds across our water systems."
"There has been reporting on it, but everyone I bring it up to hasn’t heard of it."- PM-me-your-tatas---
Kimmy Schmidt Drinking GIF by Unbreakable Kimmy SchmidtGiphyAs If Global Warming Wasn't Bad Enough
"It is literally raining acid in Ohio right now."- Polengoldur
Overshadowed By The New Deal
"The business plot against FDR."
"Wall Street tried to lead a coup against sitting president FDR."- Reefermaniabruther
It's an unfortunate sign that the fact that all these scandals didn't cause much of a stir not because they were minor.
But simply because there were other, more glamorous scandals that overshadowed all of them.
Teachers have to deal with unruly students on a daily basis.
When stern words and warnings prove to be insufficient, they are often left with no other choice than to send them to the principal's office.
Usually, the reasons for sending them there are relatively minor, such as talking during class, passing notes, or causing a disruption.
Other times it's a bit more serious, such as bullying a classmate or making mean, insensitive remarks.
Then there are the times that can only be described as bizarre.
"Teachers of reddit, what is the craziest reason you have had to send a student to the office?"
Must Have Been One Epic Backpack...
"I’m a middle school teacher."
"I had a student sneak a gas cooker and his moms pork chops into school in a large backpack."
"He cooked pork chops for his friends at lunchtime, he was sent to the office for unsafe behavior, his mom was PISSED he took her pork chops she was preparing for dinner."- swanathonjon
At Least She Wasn't Faking It...
"I didn't send the student; she was from another room, but this really happened where I taught over 25 years ago."
"A girl was sick and the office phone was handed to her to tell her parents to come and get her."
"At least she was honest...because she puked right onto the phone, and it zapped the entire school's PA system somehow."
"This was using, of course, a land line."
"I can't tell you why the secretary didn't just do the talking for her."
"This was in around 1997, and I'm assuming the phone was even older than that, could've been from the '80s."
"The phone was a push-button model, so probably not older than that."
"You used that phone to access the PA, so I'm guessing the stomach acid fried some wires in there."
"Yuck!!"
"My room was across the hall from the office, and yes, we could definitely smell the vomit."
"Couldn't close the door fast enough."- 1989DiscGolfer
張敬軒 Vomit GIFGiphySo, So, Gross...
"A grade 1 student came up to me on the playground telling me another student was making her sick."
"She pointed to another student about 10 metres away, looked at me, and projectile puked on the blacktop."
"Went to the other student."
"He had found rabbit turds on the ground and stuck them in his mouth and was chasing kids around."
"I then puked."
"I didn't go to the office."
"But rabbit turd kid did."- mollymuppet78
Who Knew Teachers Had To Put Up With So Much Vomit?
"A student repeatedly getting on tables and singing Gucci Gang in the middle of class."
"Every. Day. For. Weeks."
"I have since left the profession."- CorieMcP
How Did He Even Get It?
"Kid was selling drugs."
"13 yrs old."
"Cops were involved."
"Had to go to court."
"Was a massive headache all around."- James_Is_Raging
One At Least Hopes She Cooked It?
"When my sister was a substitute teacher a kid ate the dead class fish."
"It was Monday so it might’ve been dead all weekend."- natsugrayerza
Adam Devine Bad Ideas GIF by The Roku ChannelGiphyOne Way Of Handling It...
"A new male student, year 4, gets mistaken by his classmates for being female (he had long shiny hair)."
"I’m guessing this wasn’t the first time this has happened, as he immediately jumped to the top of his desk, pulled out his junk, waved them out to everyone, yelling, ‘what the f*ck is this! I’m a boy, I’m a boy!'."- joelwhite313
Oh, The Innocence Of Children...
"A kid handed me a whole string of condoms in front of the class the day before spring break bc I was getting married over spring break."- m0992104
People Need To Think About Their Lies More Carefully
"It was the second day of my first year teaching (5th grade)."
"A student refused to do a writing assignment because she said she forgot how to write in English."
"When I asked what language she knew how to write in, she said, 'I only know Japanese'."
"Listen, it is plausible a student at my school would be proficient in writing in Japanese."
"HOWEVER, I had already seen her files."
"The likelihood that she knew was fluent in Japanese was a bit far-fetched."
"She eventually told me she also speaks Japanese, so I called her out by asking her to say, 'I don't want to come to school today' using her newfound foreign language skills."
"This 11 year old LITERALLY responded with, 'Ching chang chong!'"
"I sent her to the dean's office for refusing to work and man, OH MAN, did it work out perfectly."
"She sat down with the dean who tried to pry more information from this student."
"Only for the dean to explain to the student she herself is half Japanese and attended school in Japan."
"I wish I could have been a fly on the wall when the student heard the dean speaking ACTUAL Japanese to test the students' knowledge of the language."
"The student eventually said she only knew a few Japanese words, which devolved into her admitting the entire story was a lie to get out of doing an assignment."
"On the second day of school."
"And lies like this went on allllllllllll year long."
"So many hilarious, yet equally sad, stories from that year that I still laugh at eight years later."- 8MCM1
Schitts Creek What GIF by CBCGiphyGoing To The Principal's Office Isn't Always A Bad Thing...
"Not a teacher, but my dad was a bus driver, and one day, this kid gets on the bus, sprinting, and nearly knocks himself out on the chair."
"When my dad goes over to see what's happened, he realizes the kid had no pants on."
"The mother, who drove off in her car extremely quickly, had literally sent this poor kid to school with no pants on."
"My dad got a student he knew really well to sit next to this kid and comfort him, and also make sure everyone else wasn't a**holes."
"My dad, when he finally got to the school, walked this kid into the office and asked for a spare pair of pants."
"Poor kid."
"That mother was an a**hole."- bananaboy65
6th Grade?!
"We were doing sketch comedy in 6th grade a few years back and seeing as it was a nice day we went outside to practice."
"From across the field I see one of my students very clearly and aggressively trying to put his junk on a prone classmate."
"When I asked him, he said it was for his sketch and he was playing a character named 'the iron teabag'."
"The best was the follow up text from my boss saying 'I had to Google what teabagging was before I met with the kid'."- Beirsed1985
Misguided Chivalry
"Kid shows up to class 10-15 minutes late to a 40-minute period."
"7th grade."
"Shawn: 'Sorry Ms. G I was in a bad mood and I didn’t want to bring it to class'.”
"Me: 'Hi Shawn, I will still have to count you tardy. You’re extremely late and I need to know where you are for safety reasons. In the future there’s a counselor request form on my GoogleClassroom page you can fill out'.”
"Shawn: 'Okay thanks'."
"Things went normally for about 10 minutes, until another student shot a rubber band."
"It didn’t hit anyone but Shawn decided to take justice into his own hands."
"In the middle of me giving instruction he gets up, walks slowly across the room (I assumed for a tissue) and smacks the other student across the face."- Pretend_Dog_2253
In truth, being sent to the principal's office is fairly easily avoided.
So much so, that in some of these cases, one almost wants to give them props for creativity.
Some folks out there have crossed wires when it comes to sexy talk.
I've heard some of the creepiest things in life whispered in my ear.
Asking if I like being electrocuted is NOT an icebreaker.
That feels like a no-brainer!
But I'm not alone. The folks of Reddit had some experiences to share.
Redditor thecoragray asked:
"What is the least sexiest thing someone has ever said to you?"
Watch 'Silence of the Lambs' and do the exact opposite.
It's literally that easy.
Flesh Issues
hannibal lecter 90s GIFGiphy“'I want to wear your skin.'”
"Alright Buffalo Bill I’m out."
Bronwynbagel
"My wife says she wants to climb inside my skin and live in me."
zetecvan
The Old Days
"I was in college, right when Pokémon go was at it's peak. I was catching a Jigglypuff before class was starting. This dude next to me said 'Hey baby. I can Jiggle your Puffs' I moved seats."
fairflightt
"What an amateur. He should have said 'Hey baby. You're making my Wiggly Tuff!'"
sweetnumb
Big NAY!
"A few weeks ago, in the midst of getting down and dirty, I said to my SO (in the straightest monotone voice) 'ride me like a horse - neigh.' She instantly starts laughing so hard she starts crying. After replaying it in my head I also start laughing."
Relentless_UK
"That is absolutely not sexy and absolutely hilarious at the same time. Wholesome!"
silvernightdoom
How Old?
Nothing Stick Around GIF by OriginalsGiphy"'You remind me of my old philosophy professor.' The image that immediately popped into my mind was of a geriatric man with heavyset glasses lost in a library."
Judge_T
Remind me of who? No, thank you.
Acknowledge other Humans
"'Why cant I bother people that sleep on the street? They are drugheads.'"
"When she said that I knew that she was not the one, people with that attitude are not for me."
tinytalldude
"I hate how so many people just dismiss homeless people as human beings just by saying they're drug addicts. 'Ok then maybe we can help them get off their addictions and that will eventually help them be more successful in life.'"
"'No they're dug addicts.' People will do anything they can to not recognize them as just other people."
macgregorio21
Slow Down
"When a sexy boss I had told me that if I screwed up what I was doing she'd kick me in my testicles. I know there are people that like that crap and stuff but she really meant it and it was as non-sexual and threatening as it could have been. At the end I didn't screw up and we shared some beers that same day, now she works from her home taking care of her 2 children, never thought she'd be able to have any kids."
xoxoxaxiyo
What's In a Name?
"I've had two women call out (one screamed out) my name during sex. Nothing puts me off more which, in their defense, they didn't know."
"It just comes off as cheesy to me and makes me laugh, pulling me right out of the zone. Nope."
Striking-Ad-9179
"I'm the same way. It takes me out of the moment, like a teacher calling your name while you're daydreaming in class. I'm always like, 'Huh? What do you want?' for a second before it clicks. Then I'm like, 'Ohhhhh right. Right, that. No problem. I got you there.'"
"Thankfully I don't say all of this out loud."
MyPeeSacIsFull
Feeders
Hungry Pet Pig GIF by CameoGiphy"'The way you eat makes me so horny.'"
"It was twenty minutes into our first date. I was eating a salad. There was not a second date, and I gave up entirely after that because it was the third 'feeder' in a row. I have very terrible dating luck. lol."
Donequis
Whew... people really need to think before they speak.
Do you have any crazy comments to share? Let us know in the comments below.