Nostalgia is a hell of a drug. And most of the time, we think about how great things used to be when we were younger.
However, some things were completely insane back then and we didn't even know it. Here is the definitive list of crazy things that were perfectly normal 20 years ago.
1
Agreeing with your friends to meet at a specific place at a specific time, then sticking to it because you had no way to communicate in the interim
2
People spending thousands of dollars on Beanie Babies
3
In Australia, sodomy was punishable with life in prison until 1994
4
Not the MOST screwed-up thing, but I was going through an old high school yearbook and someone used the term "wigger" and that was totally cool to say.
5
People would go to carnivals and shove their faces in the same water barrel to grab an apple with their mouth. Completely bonkers in 2021.
6
In middle school, a student dressed up as an SS Nazi for Halloween. Nobody said anything until my choir teacher told him that some people may find it offensive. The teacher was Jewish.
7
25 years ago, I had a gym teacher who did not think asthma was a thing and wouldn't let me have my inhaler at hand in class. I walked every mile because I didn't want to die. There's still a lot of trouble for the undiagnosed, but tons of physical and mental health issues that were downplayed or outright ignored at least have some kind of support system or protocol now. It's not perfect, but at least we know they're real and are starting to do something.
8
A lot of teachers straight up telling students they didn't believe in their disabilities. "The school is making me give you accommodations, but in my day they didn't call it dyslexia, they called it lazy." Probably can't just berate students for having disabilities in front of the class these days.
9
Girls Gone Wild. Would not fly in today’s environment filming drunk girls doing... things.
10
Leaving the house and going out into the city with no way to contact your loved ones besides payphones.
11
Columbia Club, CD’s 8 for a penny. Then you get a $300.00 bill
12
Not 20 but 21 years ago they let me - a former child - enter the cockpit during a commercial flight.
13
Until 2003, it was perfectly fine for 16-year-old girls to pose topless for UK tabloid newspapers. There were count-downs for 15-year-olds to when they would be 16 and legal to print with pics taken and printed on their 16th birthday.
14
Waiting until after 7 pm to talk for free.
15
Smoking inside everywhere. McDonald's had ashtrays when I was a kid.
16
Female celebrities and actresses with eating disorders such as anorexia and bulimia. It's less prevalent now, but dang was it brutal back then.
17
People dying of Chronic Myeloid Leukemia. 20 years ago it was 100% fatal in less than 5 years. Now it's treated with a once-a-day pill with no side effects for most people...f*cking miracle science right there.
18
Paying $1.29 so 9 seconds of a song played when your phone rang. "If I download the perfect ring tone everyone will know I am a cool dude and fun to be around." Downloads "Peanut butter jelly time"
19
Being at home at your TV at a certain time to catch a show, and expecting everyone to leave you alone so you could watch it with no interruptions. You could be out with friends and you'd look and say "oh it's 7:30 I got to get home to catch my show!" And nobody looked at you like a strange social outcast. I guess it's still true with sports
20
My high school had an area where we were allowed to smoke. A designated smoking area for kids under 18.
21
Believing that OxyContin wasn’t habit-forming and it was a miracle drug
22
Going on road trips without a phone
23
No care or concern for concussions in sports. I was knocked out cold for two minutes on the football field, nobody told me, and when I came to we just resumed the game like nothing had happened. I didn’t even know I was out for those two minutes until a year later when people were telling football stories. I thought I had just gotten knocked down and got back up right away. I thought it was weird everyone was making such a big deal about it. My first ever depressive episode started almost immediately after that game.
24
Not password protecting your devices
25
Paying $0.25 per text message.
