21 Obsolete Things from the 90s That Absolutely Make No Sense Today

Daniel Bonfiglio Published 11/24/2024 in wow

Believe it or not, 1990 was over 30 years ago. Although we remember the 90s like they were yesterday, things have changed a lot since those formative days, and kids born in years like 2001 and 2004 are starting to trickle into the workforce already.

The 90s were the last decade before technology and the internet took over the world, and there's something to say for that. Here are 21 obsolete things from the 90s that 2000s kids just wouldn't understand.

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1.
Directions using a paper map, or eventually Mapquest. Getting lost was always a very real possibility.
2.
Recording a song off the radio using a cassette tape, and putting tape over the little holes.
3.
Amazon only sold books.
4.
Just showing up at a friend’s house unannounced. No call, texts, no coordination of any kind.
5.
Not being able to get information on demand. If you did not know the answer to something, you had to wait to look it up in an encyclopedia or get to a computer to fire up the Encarta Encyclopedia. If you were arguing with someone, you had to agree to disagree.
6.
Working out song lyrics by listening to the song and guessing what they were saying, or being so excited when the cd jacket contained lyrics!
7.
We watched what was on TV, not what we wanted. Staying home sick from school meant you were watching The Price is Right and trashy talk shows like Jerry Springer.
8.
Ordering a pizza or any takeout. You had to physically have their takeout menu that had their phone number on it. If not you had to find them in the phone book and order blind unless you knew the menu by heart.
9.
Our cereal boxes had prizes in them.
10.
You could just pop a disc into a console and start playing in seconds. No install, no updates, nothing.
11.
The freedom we had. Once we were dropped off someplace, we were gone with no way to reach us, and honestly most of our parents weren't looking for us.
12.
Netflix used to come in the mail.
13.
Getting a page that read “911” followed by your friends number, pulling off the road at a payphone, standing in a little cubby and dropping in 25cents and having your friend’s mom answer, yell for your friend, and having them pick up and asking if you could grab them a bottle of strawberry passion Fruitopia on the way over.
14.
$20 in 1990 is $50 now.
15.
Having to coordinate meetups without cell phones. 'Meet at the mall at seven' meant you actually had to be there at seven, or your friends would just leave without you. No quick text to say you're running late.
16.
Rumors by word of mouth were cooler and less destructive than what happens now on social media.
17.
Having to ask your parents if they were expecting a phone call because you wanted to use the dial up internet.
18.
We would walk MILES to hang out. My best friend was down the block, but her boyfriend was probably about 4 miles away. We would just wander through back streets and alleys the whole way there.
19.
You could still smoke in most places, like restaurants and fast food joints. Go to the Hardee’s in the morning and there’d be a bunch of old men just drinking coffee and smoking.
20.
Actual boredom. You played all your videogames, every channel on tv is showing your least favorite rerun of a show you barely enjoy, and there is truly nothing to do.
21.
When iPods came out, it truly revolutionized portable music. You had to scroll through your lists of songs to get you your favorite one.

1.
Directions using a paper map, or eventually Mapquest. Getting lost was always a very real possibility.
2.
Recording a song off the radio using a cassette tape, and putting tape over the little holes.
3.
Amazon only sold books.
4.
Just showing up at a friend’s house unannounced. No call, texts, no coordination of any kind.
5.
Not being able to get information on demand. If you did not know the answer to something, you had to wait to look it up in an encyclopedia or get to a computer to fire up the Encarta Encyclopedia. If you were arguing with someone, you had to agree to disagree.
6.
Working out song lyrics by listening to the song and guessing what they were saying, or being so excited when the cd jacket contained lyrics!
7.
We watched what was on TV, not what we wanted. Staying home sick from school meant you were watching The Price is Right and trashy talk shows like Jerry Springer.
8.
Ordering a pizza or any takeout. You had to physically have their takeout menu that had their phone number on it. If not you had to find them in the phone book and order blind unless you knew the menu by heart.
9.
Our cereal boxes had prizes in them.
10.
You could just pop a disc into a console and start playing in seconds. No install, no updates, nothing.
11.
The freedom we had. Once we were dropped off someplace, we were gone with no way to reach us, and honestly most of our parents weren't looking for us.
12.
Netflix used to come in the mail.
13.
Getting a page that read “911” followed by your friends number, pulling off the road at a payphone, standing in a little cubby and dropping in 25cents and having your friend’s mom answer, yell for your friend, and having them pick up and asking if you could grab them a bottle of strawberry passion Fruitopia on the way over.
14.
$20 in 1990 is $50 now.
15.
Having to coordinate meetups without cell phones. 'Meet at the mall at seven' meant you actually had to be there at seven, or your friends would just leave without you. No quick text to say you're running late.
16.
Rumors by word of mouth were cooler and less destructive than what happens now on social media.
17.
Having to ask your parents if they were expecting a phone call because you wanted to use the dial up internet.
18.
We would walk MILES to hang out. My best friend was down the block, but her boyfriend was probably about 4 miles away. We would just wander through back streets and alleys the whole way there.
19.
You could still smoke in most places, like restaurants and fast food joints. Go to the Hardee’s in the morning and there’d be a bunch of old men just drinking coffee and smoking.
20.
Actual boredom. You played all your videogames, every channel on tv is showing your least favorite rerun of a show you barely enjoy, and there is truly nothing to do.
21.
When iPods came out, it truly revolutionized portable music. You had to scroll through your lists of songs to get you your favorite one.

Directions using a paper map, or eventually Mapquest. Getting lost was always a very real possibility.

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NEXT GALLERY 29 Fresh Randoms to Kickstart Your Sunday

1. Directions using a paper map, or eventually Mapquest. Getting lost was always a very real possibility.

2. Recording a song off the radio using a cassette tape, and putting tape over the little holes.

3. Amazon only sold books.

4. Just showing up at a friend’s house unannounced. No call, texts, no coordination of any kind.

5. Not being able to get information on demand. If you did not know the answer to something, you had to wait to look it up in an encyclopedia or get to a computer to fire up the Encarta Encyclopedia. If you were arguing with someone, you had to agree to disagree.

6. Working out song lyrics by listening to the song and guessing what they were saying, or being so excited when the cd jacket contained lyrics!

7. We watched what was on TV, not what we wanted. Staying home sick from school meant you were watching The Price is Right and trashy talk shows like Jerry Springer.

8. Ordering a pizza or any takeout. You had to physically have their takeout menu that had their phone number on it. If not you had to find them in the phone book and order blind unless you knew the menu by heart.

9. Our cereal boxes had prizes in them.

10. You could just pop a disc into a console and start playing in seconds. No install, no updates, nothing.

11. The freedom we had. Once we were dropped off someplace, we were gone with no way to reach us, and honestly most of our parents weren't looking for us.

12. Netflix used to come in the mail.

14. $20 in 1990 is $50 now.

15. Having to coordinate meetups without cell phones. 'Meet at the mall at seven' meant you actually had to be there at seven, or your friends would just leave without you. No quick text to say you're running late.

16. Rumors by word of mouth were cooler and less destructive than what happens now on social media.

17. Having to ask your parents if they were expecting a phone call because you wanted to use the dial up internet.

18. We would walk MILES to hang out. My best friend was down the block, but her boyfriend was probably about 4 miles away. We would just wander through back streets and alleys the whole way there.

19. You could still smoke in most places, like restaurants and fast food joints. Go to the Hardee’s in the morning and there’d be a bunch of old men just drinking coffee and smoking.

20. Actual boredom. You played all your videogames, every channel on tv is showing your least favorite rerun of a show you barely enjoy, and there is truly nothing to do.

21. When iPods came out, it truly revolutionized portable music. You had to scroll through your lists of songs to get you your favorite one.

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eBaum's Picks

1.
Directions using a paper map, or eventually Mapquest. Getting lost was always a very real possibility.

2.
Recording a song off the radio using a cassette tape, and putting tape over the little holes.

3.
Amazon only sold books.

4.
Just showing up at a friend’s house unannounced. No call, texts, no coordination of any kind.

5.
Not being able to get information on demand. If you did not know the answer to something, you had to wait to look it up in an encyclopedia or get to a computer to fire up the Encarta Encyclopedia. If you were arguing with someone, you had to agree to disagree.

6.
Working out song lyrics by listening to the song and guessing what they were saying, or being so excited when the cd jacket contained lyrics!

7.
We watched what was on TV, not what we wanted. Staying home sick from school meant you were watching The Price is Right and trashy talk shows like Jerry Springer.

8.
Ordering a pizza or any takeout. You had to physically have their takeout menu that had their phone number on it. If not you had to find them in the phone book and order blind unless you knew the menu by heart.

9.
Our cereal boxes had prizes in them.

10.
You could just pop a disc into a console and start playing in seconds. No install, no updates, nothing.

11.
The freedom we had. Once we were dropped off someplace, we were gone with no way to reach us, and honestly most of our parents weren't looking for us.

12.
Netflix used to come in the mail.

14.
$20 in 1990 is $50 now.

15.
Having to coordinate meetups without cell phones. 'Meet at the mall at seven' meant you actually had to be there at seven, or your friends would just leave without you. No quick text to say you're running late.

16.
Rumors by word of mouth were cooler and less destructive than what happens now on social media.

17.
Having to ask your parents if they were expecting a phone call because you wanted to use the dial up internet.

18.
We would walk MILES to hang out. My best friend was down the block, but her boyfriend was probably about 4 miles away. We would just wander through back streets and alleys the whole way there.

19.
You could still smoke in most places, like restaurants and fast food joints. Go to the Hardee’s in the morning and there’d be a bunch of old men just drinking coffee and smoking.

20.
Actual boredom. You played all your videogames, every channel on tv is showing your least favorite rerun of a show you barely enjoy, and there is truly nothing to do.

21.
When iPods came out, it truly revolutionized portable music. You had to scroll through your lists of songs to get you your favorite one.