1.
The Flintstones’ lucky egg machine that they would have at the exits of supermarkets or at mom-and-pop pizza parlors:
2.
And ~cool~ prism stickers you’d get from the vending machine at the front of the supermarket:
3.
The Ricki Lake Show, which played in the afternoon after cartoons and had a lot of problematic topics you shouldn’t have been watching and learning about:
4.
And Cops — another show you definitely should not have been watching — with the catchy “Whatcha want, whatcha want?/Whatcha gonna do?” theme song:
5.
The hardback Disney books with pages that had an oh-so-distinctive inky/paper smell:
6.
The plastic Looney Tunes cups that always smelled a little mildewy because they were so hard to clean inside:
7.
And the Disney glitter cups, which were honestly fun to just play with:
8.
The cartoon of Rosie that was the mascot of The Rosie O’Donnell Show and used in the animated intro:
9.
The much-hyped Alien Autopsy: Fact or Fiction special that aired on FOX:
10.
VCR remotes with soooo many buttons that you were always afraid you would accidentally push and ruin your tape:
11.
California Dreams and its catchy AF theme song — the show also aired right after Saved by the Bell on Saturday mornings:
12.
The ton of coupons that came inside of VHS movies:
13.
The red stick that came with Handi-Snacks that would slice your tongue if you weren’t careful while licking it:
14.
The Aaron Burr “Got Milk?” commercial:
15.
Viennetta, which you thought was the fanciest and most indulgent dessert you could have:
16.
The McDonald’s Play-Liners, which were usually covered in grease or ketchup by the time you tried to do the puzzles or mazes:
17.
These sticky McDonald’s floors that made your shoes squeak:
18.
And the dirty green carpet you sat on (and likely didn’t directly wash your hands after you got up) to read books and magazines at Barnes & Noble:
19.
Magic the Dog, who was the STAR of the campy Old Navy commercials:
20.
Those fake-out Energizer Bunny ads you’d always fall for — even if you’d seen them before — where he would suddenly crash into a “commercial” and just keep “going and going”:
21.
Chuck E. Cheese tickets that you had to decide whether to spend when you won them or save for another day to try to get a bigger prize:
22.
These Disney read-along tapes and books that basically sliced your hand open when you tried to get them out of the packaging:
23.
The TVs they would put on the endcaps at stores, and that you would strain your neck to play video games on:
24.
VH1 Storytellers, where you would learn so many tidbits and facts about artists and their songs (even if it was someone you didn’t care about, it was still so interesting to watch):
25.
And VH1’s Behind the Music, which literally was your crash course into how the music industry worked and how artists partied in the ’70s and ’80s:
26.
The photocopy of the monthly school lunch menu you would get, so you could decide if you wanted to buy lunch or (if you didn’t like what was offered) bring your lunch from home:
27.
These old sink faucets from the ’50s and ’60s that you would usually see in older people’s homes, and always had a hard time figuring out how to use:
28.
Hair gel from L.A. Looks and Dep (which you would add globs and globs of to make your hair look stiff as a board):
29.
The Little Tikes Cozy Coupe, which you would still squeeze inside long after you outgrew it because it was so much fun:
30.
The Bailey School Kids books, which you constantly checked out of the library, convinced that maybe this time the grown-up in town really was a vampire, werewolf, or Frankenstein in disguise:
31.
The amazing sensory overload of walking down the aisles of Toys “R” Us (just wanted to get everything!):
32.
Finally, these torture devices that were used for the yearly flexibility test that was part of the Presidential Physical Fitness Test:
