Top Picks: 5 best things about the ’90s
Published: Thursday, September 6, 2012
Updated: Tuesday, October 9, 2012 02:10
 "Photo: Bruce Bisping/Minneapolis Star Tribune/MCT")
Bruce Bisping/Minneapolis Star Tribune/MCT
 "Photo: Chicago Tribune/MCT")
Chicago Tribune/MCT
Before the Twitter, Facebook and Myspace frenzy, before text messaging and iPods, before Playstation 2 and XBoxes, there was a time when light-up sneakers were cool, we rented VHS tapes instead of DVD’s, gas was $1 and caller ID was new.
Before Beiber-fever, there was the Backstreet Boys. Before Wizards of Waverly Place, there was Sabrina the Teenage Witch. Before Edward, there was Lestat de Lioncourt. Before Y2K, there was the ’90s — a simplistic time when everything was new and fresh and great.
When I see how “new millennium” kids are growing up, I can’t help but feel thankful and blessed for being a child of the ’90s. There are so many things I wish would come back. Here are just a few:
5 — Food
Back before the whole health craze when you could still biggie size your meal, there were so many great foods that were around that aren’t available anymore. The first that comes to mind is always Surge, the “hardcore” version of Mountain Dew. With its bright lime can and explosive looking label, Surge was introduced in 1997 and discontinued in 2003, but it was an excellent sugar rush.
French Toast Crunch, sister cereal to Cinnamon Toast Crunch, is another one that comes to mind. Shaped like mini pieces of toast, this breakfast food tasted nothing like the egg-soaked cinnamon bread, but it still tasted awesome. It is to this day still my favorite cereal of all time.
4 — Education/technology
At this point, the Internet was just starting to become popular. People sat in front of their computers listening to the buzzing and beeping just waiting for access to the web of information and networking to be available. With the Internet came access to seemingly unlimited information.
People were encouraged to learn — not just make a grade—and of course, kids were excited to buy all of their Lisa Frank school supplies. Then came television shows like “The Magic School Bus” and “Bill Nye the Science Guy.” They made learning not only fun and entertaining but also extremely cool.
3 — Toys
As it was a simpler time, the toys were too. There wasn’t much that required three hours of assembly time before play. We had Gak, and Easy Bake Ovens were brand new. Beanie Babies were everywhere, and like Pokemon, you had to catch them all.
And of course, there were those creepy owl-looking Furby’s. I still have mine. It’s asleep — in storage — or perhaps maybe the battery just died. But the thing I miss the most, the toy almost every ’90s child had if they were cool, is the Tamagotchi — or Gigapet.
Yes, we said goodbye to the pet rock and hello to the very first virtual companion — I named mine Chloe. Of course, I’ve never been the best of caregivers, so of course, I lost it somewhere — if I could only have her back.
2 — Games
Throughout the ’90s, there were innumerable games introduced. We were introduced to the Sega Genesis — again I still have mine — and then the Nintendo 64 and finally the Playstation. Games were advancing rapidly.
I loved watching my brother play “Mario 64” and “Sonic the Hedgehog,” but my all time favorite games weren’t on any game console. It was Oregon Trail. I could only play at school, and computer class was my most anticipated class of the day. My teacher didn’t really teach us much, and after the lesson, we got to do whatever we pleased.
Another game I loved was “Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?” I never did learn to master the game, but that’s what makes me want it back so badly.
1 — Television shows
I can sit here all day and list the countless number of television shows a hundred times better than the ones on today. Back then, it was actually worth getting up on a Saturday morning or staying up late at night at the risk of grounding to watch them.
There were “Rugrats,” “Rocko’s Modern Life,” “All That,” “Doug,” “Clarissa Explains It All,” The Secret World of Alex Mac,” and my favorite “Are You Afraid of the Dark?” and so many more.
It was a world where kids didn’t have to be wizards or secret pop stars to be worthy of showcasing on television, they were just awesome all by themselves.
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