Top Stories
The World Theatre's placard, which reads, "The World is Temporarily Closed"

People Share The Things They Miss That Disappeared During The Pandemic

The Dumbest Person I Know

The Dumbest Person I Know

Unforgettably Creepy Moments

Unforgettably Creepy Moments

Woman with 90s side ponytail and makeup

People Share The Typical 90s Scenarios Gen Z Will Never Experience

Boy looking out an airplane window.

People Who Have Seen Something They Couldn't Explain Share Their Experiences

Facts People Were Taught In School That Were Later Disproven

Facts People Were Taught In School That Were Later Disproven

Scarred For Life: "I Wasn't Meant To See That"

Scarred For Life: "I Wasn't Meant To See That"

Man wearing gold watch

Here Are The Luxury Items That Were Commonplace 20-30 Years Ago

Child on swings in golden sunlight

People Confess Which Things Meant For Kids They Still Enjoy As An Adult

Stack of lego building blocks

Things Made For Kids That Got Hijacked By Adults

People Break Down Things That Were Normal When They Were A Kid That You Don't See Anymore

Landline phone
Photo by Quino Al on Unsplash

The world is ever-changing.

One need only look at the evolution of home entertainment.

First, we had to go to the video store to buy or rent video cassettes, then video cassettes were wiped out by DVDs until video stores became obsolete owing to streaming services.

Making the one-season failure of the Netflix series Blockbuster painfully ironic.

However, those of us who grew up rushing to Blockbuster, hoping the last copy of Jurassic Park will still be there, can't help but wish we could relive the experience.

On the other hand, we are glad to see other things from our childhood have become extinct.

Redditor AnalysisFrequent was curious to hear about things that people used to see all the time in their childhood which have all but vanished leading them to ask:
"What was normal when you were a kid, but you never see anymore?"

Honestly... Rude then, Rude Now!

"Showing up to someone’s house without a text or call."- lpkrew

Walking In Season 2 GIF by FriendsGiphy

Before There Was Bluetooth...

"Cassette tape innards strung out along the highway, glimmering in the sunlight."- bigolfurryhead

No More Second Hand Smoke!

"Parents smoking in a car with kids with the windows rolled up."- WonderfulEmergency77

"Everybody smoked everywhere. At restaurants, the office, airports, everywhere."

"There's a picture of my grandma holding me as a baby in one hand and a cigarette in the other."

"Nobody thought that was the least bit strange."- MeghanFI

mothers day smoking GIFGiphy

Now We Have Google!

"Using a set of 20 y/old encyclopedias as reference for my homework."

"JFK is president!"- ResplendentAmore

It Got Them Off Shelves...

"Toys in the cereal box"- NightDreamer73

How Sad...

"Fruit bats."

"There used to be a *ton* of them in my neighborhood as a kid and every evening you could look at the sunset as twilight set in and see flocks of bats flying around."

"Apparently, around the time I was in middle school, a fungal disease ravaged the local bat population and they never recovered."

"You never see them anymore."

"Funnily enough though, at the time, a local high school girl had this huge campaign to set up bat feeders to help bolster the local bat population and help them survive the fungal disease by giving them easy access to food."

"Said local girl has since become a federal Park Ranger as an adult and currently works for a state fish and wildlife service."- DoctorWatchamacallit

Now They'll Just Send Them A Text...

"Moms yelling from the front door to their kids to come home for dinner."- sflogicninja

Depending On Your Circle

"People talking about the Bermuda Triangle."- GarconMeansBoyGeorge

Best Not To Give Them Bad Ideas

"Candy Cigarettes."- Mechhammer

They're a dying breed indeed...

"Pay phones and answering machines."- Mondayslasagna

phone call mall GIF by South Park Giphy

Even Printers Are Uncommon, Thanks to PDFs...

"Computer paper filled with lightly printed numbers and it had tear-off sides."

"My dad used to bring lots of it home for us kids to draw on."- reverendgrebo

...what were you watching?...

"Quicksand in movies and TV shows."- kzab81

Well That's Poignant

"Fireflies."

'I swear I saw them every year, in our back yard or when we went camping etc."

"Now I never see them no matter where I am, except for a few nights in the summer of '21 after I moved to a new house."

"It was so nice to see them again."- ModernCivilWar

North America Lights GIF by BBC AmericaGiphy

Sadly, Not Because People Started Reading Maps...

"Printing out directions from Map Quest."- Keone_710

To think there was actually a time when we couldn't say "I'll text again when I'm close" and had to ask a friend to record a movie or tv show we wanted to watch.

Simpler times...

childhood

People Explain Which Things They Thought Were Fancy As A Kid That Totally Weren't

Reddit user SinkingFeelingBruh asked: 'What did you think was fancy as a kid that isn’t?'

champagne in two flutes

Anthony DELANOIX on Unsplash

Have you ever gone back to your elementary school as an adult and been amazed that everything looked smaller than you remembered?

It's a great example of how our perception of the world around us is shaped by our own experiences and where we are in life.

As a child everything seems big because we're small.

Our childhood perceptions of other things were also skewed. Things that seemed grand luxuries became ordinary or mundane as we aged.

Keep reading...Show less
childhood

People Divulge How The 'Lonely Guy' In High School Turned Out

Teenage guy sitting alone
Photo by rayul on Unsplash

CW: suicide.

When we're asked how the "lonely guy" in high school was, we can all think back and come up with an example.

Some peers may have referred to them as weird for keeping to themselves, but sometimes, it's surprising what they end up achieving after all those years of seeming isolation.

Curious about others' experiences, Redditor Sad-[c-word]-420 asked:

"What happened to the lonely guy in your high school class?"

Major Career Move

"Well, I just googled him, and he's a Georgetown law professor."

- BulletDodger

A Simple, Happy Life

"The person I always thought of as possibly lonely retained the same couple of friends for the past 13 years, and they still seem to enjoy getting together and doing the things they did back then. Video games, anime, etc."

- ptbus0

The Lost Friendship

"I lost touch. You can't be a one-way street to someone forever."

- NewPickleballer

Data Science Things

"He is sitting in a data science conference reading Reddit."

"I am sitting in a data science conference reading Reddit."

- zykezero

Tragic Therapy

"He didn’t like to be around people much, so he spent a lot of time riding his motorcycle alone, which he said he found therapeutic. He died at 20 in a motorcycle accident."

- Disastrous-Year571

Sometimes The Loneliness Sticks

"Still lonely, However, he worked his way up within a KFC franchise through high school and bought his first house early on even though he didn’t do well at school. Then he worked in the army for 10 years and bought properties number two and three. "

"Now he works as a director on a cruise liner and goes from country to country by himself."

"No partners or girlfriends ever, but he's financially well off."

- ethereumminor

Secret Model

"He became an actual model for high-class perfumes and brands and not one those Instagram or TikTok 'models.'"

- dkguy90

"I was in the suburbs of Buffalo. A super quiet, shy, plain girl everyone kind of ignored, was modeling on runways in Paris or doing high fashion photo shoots in NYC from about age 13. No one knew until Senior year when she had her portfolio with her because some journalist was going to interview her at school."

- NYCandleLady

Shoutout to the Late Bloomers

​"I got a degree, got married, and started a career. Not much different from others, just started later."

- Ben_Thar

Success Stories

"He grew several inches after high school and went into tech. HE was very successful and now has a supermodel wife and a beautiful family."

"Another guy became a pediatric surgeon. He was married and had a daughter... Over the years his wife disappeared from his Facebook post and it was just him and his daughter. In a few years ago, he married a supermodel Eastern European nurse."

- wastingtoomuchthyme

Nothing Short of Tragic

"He joined the army and then literally went AWOL two years later. No one has seen or heard from him since. His mom posts his missing person flier up on my hometown's Facebook page every year on his birthday. It's really f**king sad."

- nails_for_breakfast

Funny in the End

"He became an entrepreneur of a really successful company."

"He employed the three jokers who used to bully the heck out of him. They still don't know who he is."

- AbsurdFormula0

"'Employed the three jokers.'"

"Is he Batman?"

- panzer22222

Hard Work Pays Off

"That was me. I always sat at my own table with the occasional foreign exchange student."

"I got out of school and worked really hard. I just turned 48 and I still haven't peaked. I have a large portfolio of real estate and do a lot of traveling."

"I wanted something more for myself but I didn't really have that confidence until after school. I now live an incredible life. There is hope for us losers who aren't afraid of a little work."

- kjschaben

Wishing Them Well

"He was the smartest person I ever met. He was very quiet, kept to himself, and did 110 percent on anything he was ever given to do. He always got the best scores."

"Me and my best friend were the second and third place, but it wasn’t worth chasing first place with him around. We always tried to be his friend, but he wasn’t interested in friends. He was always polite but didn’t seem to want friends. He always accepted me as a friend on social media though, and we were always friendly."

"I was 21 when he posted for the first time on Facebook. It was a suicide note. Thank God someone got to him in time. I messaged him after and let him know I understood and he could talk to me."

"He sent me a long message back, and I understood so much of what he was saying. The constant pressure to be perfect, the trap of trying to please your parents, the spiral downwards when you realize you aren’t a superhuman… I had no idea how much pressure his parents were putting on their kids."

"We talked for a bit, but he eventually stopped responding, and I moved to a different country."

"I hope he’s doing well now, he is an amazing guy. Love ya Scott, if you ever see this."

- lorealashblonde

A Thriving Life

"He ended up graduating top of the class, got a full-ride scholarship to Cornel, got his master's, makes seven figures a year, and is happily married with two kids."

"I was one of his few friends in high school and the dude is doing amazing in all aspects of his life."

- Superb-Pattern-1253

Doing Just Fine

"I don't really know what happened to anyone from high school, and I'm okay with that."

- FireyToots

"Found the fellow lonely person."

- Kiltemdead

"So it seems the lonely guy from your high school class is doing fine."

- CleaningMySlate

"I don’t know why, but this made me really proud of myself. Thank you random internet person for making this other random internet person feel good."

- FireyToots

Thinking back on high school, it's surreal to think about all the people we knew but have lost touch with, unable to really know what's going on in their lives anymore.

But some of us might hold a special place for the quiet kids and wondering how their lives turned out. Just because they were quiet in school doesn't have to mean that they didn't make huge change after graduation.

If you or someone you know is struggling, you can contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988.

To find help outside the United States, the International Association for Suicide Prevention has resources available at https://www.iasp.info/resources/Crisis_Centres/

quiet kid

People Reveal How Things Ended With Their First Love

A man and a woman holding hands and looking in the opposite directions
Photo by Andrik Langfield on Unsplash

CW: Eating disorder.

Everyone remembers the first time they were in love.

Or, at least, the first time they thought they were in love.

Some people might very well have a true "one and only," remaining with their first love for the rest of their life.

For the majority of people, however, the first love is, indeed, their first.

The person who shows them what it is to love and be loved so they know when they've truly found the person they were meant to be with later in life.

With this in mind, some people find ending relationships with their first love easier than they might expect, as deep down, they knew it was never going to last.

Others, however, remember ending things with their first love as the first time their heart was truly broken.

Redditor xgc_promathia was curious to hear how people ended things with their first love and the lasting effects it had on them, leading them to ask:

"How did your first love end? Do you still think of them?"

The Folly Of Youth

"I was a dumb, selfish 23-year-old who wanted more than I had."

"Yes, all the time."- grow4road

"Summer Lovin'..."

"We talking love or 'true love'?"

"My first love was a girl I met at summer camp."

"Shel lived and hour away and since we were both 13 we relied on our mothers to shuttle us back and forth, swapping weekends at each others house."

"The next summer at camp we decided that since we would both be going to high school the following fall that we should enjoy that summer camp time together then break up."

"The last night they had a farewell dance and we spent all night dancing to every slow song."

"I still think of her from time to time but haven't talked to her in over 35 years."

"I spent a hour or so looking her up online and I'm pretty sure I found her but it's been so long and age changes people so I can't be 100% sure."

"I do hope the woman I found is her because she has a beautiful family and from what I saw on FB she's doing really well for herself."- StuckInNov1999

What If...?

"My first true love, we were together for almost a year."

"I we lost our virginity to each other."

"We were making plans to elope after high school I broke up with her because I felt like she was hiding an eating disorder from me."

"She kept on losing weight and she started to look unhealthy, I kept on encouraging her to get help, I even offered to go with her and be there for support when she brought it up to her parents, she kept on refusing."

"I then broke up with her."

"I absolutely crushed her."

"She literally cried in school all day for a month straight."

"I felt really bad about it."

"Then she went NC with me for a few years and I stated to really resent her."

"We then reunited and buried the hatchet then remained friends."

"I haven't seen her in person for about 15 years."

"We are friends on Facebook."

"We comment on each other's posts."

"I think about her every now and then."

"Not so much the person she is now, but the fond memories."

"I have of 2 16 year olds intensely in love with each other."

"I wonder if we were really soul mates but we just met too early in life?"

"She has a nice husband and she seems happy."

"I'm happy for her."- Ill-Indication-7706

Forgive And Forget

"We were high school sweethearts, but we broke up shortly after high school because we were no longer good for one another."

"It was an ugly breakup, and we went several years without contact after I left the state."

"Five years later, my mother sent me a box of my stuff, and one of his old creative writing notebooks was mixed in with it."

"I reached out over fb to ask if he might want it back, and from there, we became friends again."

"Ten years later, we're still friends to this day."- Forward_Ad6168

Unable To Go The Distance

"Joined the military and long distance wasn’t working so I broke up with her."

"We tried to make it work but it was taking a toll on the both of us."

"Didn’t want to break up with her but I felt like it was the best decision for the both of us."

"This was over 3 years ago and yes I still think about her."

"I actually reached out to her for the first time since the break up last week lol."

"Was just curious to see how she was doing."- ReckSaber3664

Truly Love At First Sight

"Daily."

"I married him!"- Complex-Half8338

Ended Before It Could Truly Begin

"They died."

"All the time for last 20 years."- Deep_Ad_1874

Wrong Time, Wrong Place... Not Meant To Be...

"I was 18."

"He was 20."

"He was my first real boyfriend, my first sexual experience, and my first real love."

"We argued a lot all the time basically, I still thought we were good together."

"One day during an argument after he threw a plate of food at me I told him to get out."

"That was something I said a lot and it was a trigger for him because everyone in his life either died or abandoned him or kicked him out."

"He left, like actually called a cab took everything including his New flat screen TV and left."

"I spiraled."

"Eventually though after three years I moved on and met my daughter's dad."

"I have love for him and see that he’s now in recovery and having a baby with a new gf."

"This was over 12 years ago when we dated."

"I’m happy for him but also moved on and grateful for that."- SubstantialLove8330

"The Course Of True Love Never Did Run Smooth..."

"Long story short, my first 'real' love ended when she left to a different state."

"We were best friends for a long time but after she left, friendship ended too."

"We were young and I was too immature for a relationship."

"I was the one pursuing it and she wanted to just be friends which was one of the reasons it pushed her away."

"Like I said immature of me because I didn't consider her feelings and respect her answer at the time."

"Many many years later, I reached out and apologized for everything."

"Because I was the problem."

"She was in a broken relationship at the time and I didn't want anything but to say I'm sorry and become friends again."

"A few years later, she brought it up about a possible relationship with me and I agreed (and no I wasn't thinking about a relationship at the time because in my mind, that ship sailed LONG ago)."

"That caught me off guard."

"Years later after this conversation, we are married and have children."

"Not saying everyone's relationship will turn out this way but this was my experience."- VailStampede

As Nat King Cole once famously said, "The greatest thing you'll ever learn is just to love, and be loved in return."

Sometimes, to know what it is to truly love, we have to have our hearts truly broken.

Making the chance to have a "first love," be it at age 15 or 75, a right of passage everyone deserves.


first love

People Explain Which Brands Have Their Undying Loyalty

white and blue kanji print card
Photo by Slidebean on Unsplash

Everyone has those brands that they love and will stay loyal to until their dying day.

For me, that brand is Bryers. Whenever I go to the store for ice cream, I first check to see if Bryers has the flavor I want on sale before I settle for anything else. If it's been a while, I sometimes splurge and just buy it at full price. That's because, to me, Bryers is the gold standard when it comes to ice cream.

Redditors have those brands that have their undying loyalty are ready to share which brands those are.

It all started when Redditor Loesser asked:

"Which brand are you actually loyal to and why?"

Life Changing

"Scrub Daddy makes one hell of a sponge."

– kbups53

"I'd been aware of them forever. "Just a sponge," I thought."

"Tried them last month and my mind is blown."

– gehanna1

Sparkling Dishes

"Dawn dishwashing liquid cuts through grease like crazy. Mix it equal parts with white vinegar for an excellent bath rub soap scum remover."

– Aunt-jobiska

"I used to wash dishes in a restaurant. A LOT of dishes. They rotated through a few food service-grade dish soaps for a while, which I always assumed would be a little stronger because they're commercial-grade, and they aided in destroying my hands every night (steel scrubbers and hot water certainly played a major role, of course."

"Then we switched to Dawn. It wasn't some special food service formula, just regular Dawn. Same exact blue one you get at any grocery or convenience store. That was the first time I would soak the hardest-baked-on crap and practically be able to wipe it off after 15 minutes. I have never found a soap even close."

– Lothar_Ecklord

Q's Way Or The Highway

"Q-Tips."

"Every other cotton swab is inferior, and I think I've tried them all. Either there isn't enough cotton, or the stick is too flimsy. Only Q-tips get it right."

– CA1900

Strong And Sturdy

"Osprey. Super comfortable hiking backpacks, and their lifetime warranty is actually legit. They will repair or replace any damage or defect for any reason on any model ever made."

– RustyPickles

"I beat the sh*t out of mine and it’s in perfect shape. All the zippers work, no rips… amazingly constructed bags."

– CurtMoney

"My company gifted me one this year and I am in awe! I love useful backpacks and i always saw them and never went for it….so glad I have one now because I take it everywhere and I’m so confused how the little guy fits so much."

– imhereforthemeta

Quick Facts

"Not sure if this counts but Wikipedia - I've been donating since given the option and I appreciate that it's remained generally unchanged unlike most modern platforms/services."

– TaalKheru

"Yesterday while chatting with my wife I mentioned how I donate Wikipedia every year. She had no idea and it blew her mind a little bit, she asked me why and I tried to explain just how frequently I use that site. Any time I remember some random historical event or criminal case or famous scientist etc. etc. I'm straight to Wiki. It's an absolute treasure trove of useful and useless information alike and I f**king love it."

– thewokestlocust

All Intents And Purposes

"Victorinox - cuz Swiss Army knives rock, and they make great watches too. Add top-notch customer service, and they've made me a happy customer for life."

"Edit: forgot about my awesome Swiss Army card that a friend brought back for me from Geneva. I keep it in my car, and it's pretty fantastic too."

– ISmellElderberries

Created To Last

"Fiskars. Everything they do is top quality. That brand is like a national treasure to Finnish people. They do plenty of products with metal and plastic and pretty much everyone around here has had a pair of Fiskars scissors for up to 20 years. Sure, their products are more expensive but they're made to work and last for an eternity."

– hiemanturha

"Everyone else always complained about their "house scissors," how horribly dull and awkward to use they were, and I never understood -- my "house scissors" were indestructible and so sharp I wasn't allowed to touch them until I was 10. A few decades later I realized why: they're Fiskars. Those scissors are older than I am, and they're still going strong."

– ClearBrightLight

None Other

"Ain’t no cream cheese like Philadelphia cream cheese."

– shavemejesus

"In Brazil cream cheese is just basically called "Philadelphia.""

– mrubuto22

Just Easier

"Brother Printers, especially the laser variant. It just keeps working and there is no cartridge nonsense like that other brand."

"I would recommend it to everyone, always. Nobody ever has issues with them."

– mahade

"Their software is also far less obnoxious. Pretty solid brand for <$500 printers."

– AlmostRandomName

The Best Store

"Costco. It's not too expensive of a membership, and you get some great savings on gas (pretty big here in California) and buy in bulk items. Of course, I probably buy a bit more than I need to for my family, but the 3 month hassle-free return policy is very generous. It's kind of a game changer for expensive devices like laptops since we can always return them if they suddenly break within the first few weeks or were defective."

"Not to mention the $1.50 hot dogs, average but affordable clothes (esp. socks & underwear), and Costco Travel isn't half bad with some of the discounts when it comes to rental car & hotel packages. Sure there's cheaper ways to get stuff out there, but, generally speaking, Costco delivers pretty good value for the price."

– imbearnanas

Saving Me Money

"Aldi. They were there for me when I was broke and currently keep me from going broke with grocery prices these days. Some of their brands are superior in my opinion eg. salsa."

– gomez1608

​Inactive Choosing

"OXO. Most of their kitchen stuff is fantastic. I don't deliberately set out to buy OXO, but it winds up being the best choice on a lot of things."

– VinLeesel

Everything Else Pales In Comparision

"Heinz Ketchup. Not Hunts, nor Red Gold, especially not Sir Kensington."

– rich-lol

Old Faithful

"Honda, both cars and motorcycles. That sh*t just does not break."

– Adddicus

Honda is the definition of reliable. Those are the kinds of brands to stand behind!

brand loyalty