This thread is great. I'm really enjoying reading about all the things people remember.
I was born in the late 80s. Some things I remember:
Saturday morning cartoons, then playing outside with my brother and friends. We'd go home for lunch, then go back out and play. We knew not to go too far from home, and had to be home by the time it started getting dark.
On school days, I'd change out of my uniform, do my homework, then spend a couple of hours reading. I loved, and still do love, reading. I still played with friends, but was always a shy, quiet child who preferred to be alone. I began spending much more time inside and alone reading books.
TGIF - shows like "Boy Meets World", "Step by Step", and "Sabrina the Teenage Witch"
Nickelodeon and all of it's awesome shows like All That, Rocko's Modern Life, Rugrats, Legends of the Hidden Temple, Are You Afraid of the Dark?, Roundhouse, Ren & Stimpy, and so many others. I remember watching SNICK on Saturday nights.
Baby Sitters Club books
Goosebumps books
Lisa Frank products (all the colors!)
Cigarette vending machines. There was a little store down the street from my house that had one. The store had a small group of regular customers that would hang out and talk, listen to music, drink a few beers, and watch sports (Kinda like a bar, but not really. Minors were allowed inside.). I remember going there with my dad. He'd give me money and send me to the machine to get his cigarettes, then send me over to the cooler to get a bottle of beer for him and a bottle of Barq's root beer for me. While he talked to his friends, he'd give me money to play music on the jukebox and to play the pinball machine, then he'd walk me back home to hang out with my mom when I got bored.
The smell of the purple ink from the ditto machine
I remember answering machines with the tiny little cassette tapes. I also remember when my parents got caller ID. It was a little box that was separate from the phone.
Oregon Trail - You have died of dysentery.
Giga Pets
The Box - a TV channel that you were able to call and request music videos for a fee (I think it was 1.99 per request)
MTV still played music.
Nintendo. I remember blowing in the cartridges, which really didn't do anything, but we thought it did. I loved Super Mario.
Not having a cell phone. I remember my mom getting cell phone when I was in middle school. It was one of the ones that flipped open at the bottom. I didn't get a cell phone until I was about 19. I'm still not all that into cell phones and only have one for when I'm out and need to contact someone. I can't stand when people are constantly talking on their cell phones or so into texting that they can't even look up when crossing the street. Put the phone down and enjoy whatever it is that you're out doing.
