Back to the '90s
Remember the '90s? It was a decade of frosted tips, dial-up internet, and gadgets that felt groundbreaking at the time - even if they seem hilariously outdated today. They were the precursors to the tech we enjoy here in the ‘20s. Here are the 15 gadgets that defined a decade – maybe you had one of them?
Tamagotchi
These little virtual pets came to us from Japan and kids loved them as much as adults hated them. They beeped all the time and you weren’t allowed to take them to school, but they were wildly popular. They certainly taught a kid or two about the realities of pet ownership at least.
Game Boy Color
The big craze of the ‘90s was Pokémon, and how were you going to play Pokémon? With a Game Boy Color, of course. Pikachu was yellow onscreen for the first time! When you got home from school, you’d bury yourself in catching them all, or play one of the other games available.
Walkman
Before the Discman stole the spotlight, the cassette Walkman ruled the first half of the 90s. It was the first taste of portable music for many of us, complete with mixtapes made by friends or recorded off the radio. Ahhh, a first taste of music piracy!
Discman
Portable CD players were the upgrade everyone wanted after outgrowing cassette Walkmans in the latter half of the ‘90s. The Discman meant you could listen to your favorite albums anywhere - though one wrong move and the music would skip mid-song. Yeah, they weren’t the best.
Nintendo 64
The Nintendo 64 wasn’t just a console, it was a gateway to magical realms. Remember the first time you played Super Mario and could jump into the paintings? It was amazing! Of course, you did sometimes have to take the game out and blow on it to get it to work…
Pager
For a brief window in the 90s, owning a pager made you look like a big deal. Doctors, businessmen, and wannabe cool kids all clipped these little gadgets to their belts. Getting a beep from your crush was a major thrill, even if you had to find a payphone to actually respond.
Talkboy
Thanks to Home Alone 2, every kid wanted a Talkboy. This clunky little recorder let you tape your voice and play it back in slow or fast speed, making prank calls and silly messages infinitely more entertaining. And back in the day, a prank call was a sign of friendship.
Sony Playstation
When the Playstation first came on the scene, it utterly changed the game. It also ate up all the after-school time. Difficult platform games like Crash Bandicoot kept you occupied for ages as you struggled to get all those colored gems.
Polaroid Camera
Even though disposable cameras were everywhere, Polaroids were on a whole ‘nother level. Snap a picture, wait for it to develop in your hand, and suddenly you had an instant keepsake! They were beloved to photography enthusiasts long before Instagram made square photos trendy again.
Palm Pilot
Before smartphones took over, the Palm Pilot was the ultimate “grown-up” gadget. Marketed as a personal digital assistant, it stored contacts, notes, and even games like Snake. It felt futuristic, even though it was clunky and the stylus was easy to lose. It went totally over the heads of kids but adults adored them.
Sega Game Gear
Nintendo may have ruled handheld gaming, but Sega’s Game Gear gave it some competition. The companies were at each other’s throats, and it was a brave (and rich) kid who owned consoles from both. Still, playing Sonic on the go felt amazing at the time - even if your parents weren’t thrilled with constantly buying batteries.
Hit Clips
Who thought one-minute song snippets were a good idea? Apparently, every kid in the late ‘90s. Hit Clips were tiny cartridges you popped into a keychain-sized player, giving you just enough of *NSYNC or Britney to drive your parents crazy.
Camcorder
Every ‘90s family seemed to own a chunky camcorder to record vacations, birthdays, and painfully awkward home videos. Of course, now everyone has a camcorder in their pocket with the rise of smartphones, but you should prize your old VHS tapes as a piece of history.
MiniDisc Player
The MiniDisc player was supposed to be the future of music storage - smaller than CDs but still high quality. Some people swore by them, especially since they were less scratch-prone. Unfortunately, the iPod showed up not long after and made MiniDiscs nearly obsolete.
Furbys
What the heck was a Furby? An owl? Some sort of hideous monster? Who knows, but every kid in the ‘90s wanted one of those ugly little things. They still have a reputation for being terrifying, as they used to make loud noises without being touched.
