20 things from the 90s that can take out the brain of modern youth

Each epoch has its own symbols and iconic things. If we see a gramophone or a primus, we understand that we are talking about the end of the XIX or the beginning of the XX century, and if we have a smartphone or tablet in front of us, then it was released no more than 10 years ago. There are also cult things in the 90s, and some of them, despite the fact that very little time has passed, are also hard to recognize by modern youth, like navigation tools of the era of Great Geographical Discoveries.

No, this is not a Wi-Fi router or a digital set-top box for a TV, but a real dial-up modem that works with a telephone line. A small image of 50-60 kilobytes in size could be downloaded for 10-30 minutes with it, if you were lucky. Sometimes the device gave out absolutely fantastic speed, which is why such desperate windows appeared on the monitors.

Today, everyone recognizes CD-ROMs, but it is no longer easy for schoolchildren and students to explain that someone in the 90s could passionately dream of acquiring a portable drive for reading them. Yes, the players were so compact that they did not fit into every pocket.

Nowadays there are still photographers of the old school who shoot with film cameras. Getting a film today is almost as easy as living and dead water, so the younger generation will at best remember what it is, and at worst shrug their shoulders.

This little incomprehensible thing with a primitive screen was an inexhaustible source of stress for children and teenagers of the 90s. The electronic pet inside the plastic egg was capricious and whimsical, so it had to be fed and entertained almost around the clock. Yes, the death of a pet was a serious personal tragedy even for fully grown people.

Another wonderful toy, the haunting sound of which, even after 30 years, is recognized by every former owner. Everyone wanted to own such a thing, from young to old, and sometimes the offices of quite serious companies were paralyzed due to tetris tournaments.

In the late 80s and early 90s, only the semi-mythical owner of the Electronics video recorder could be cooler than the owner of the Mayak cassette recorder. It is difficult for a modern person to deal with all these knobs and buttons, and there was a time when any first-grader could confidently control this unit.

And here he is — the domestic analogue of the Japanese video recorder "Panasonic NV-2000". What do you think is better — this box with diodes and capacitors or a motorcycle "Java"? You will laugh, but the owner of such a device was almost like gods and it was quite possible to get a low-maintenance car for him.

In the era of landlines, only a paper directory could help you find a person, organization or institution. These books were regularly updated, so the information, and therefore the world, was owned by the owner of the most recent issue.

Old ball mice cause nostalgia for many. There was no such disregard for them as for modern wireless optical ones. The failure of this device was unlikely, but if it happened, it was perceived as a serious and expensive breakdown to fix. And what was the ritual of cleaning the ball worth…

The computer from which many domestic IT geniuses began their acquaintance with digital technologies. Those who were lucky had a device with a flop drive for floppy disks, and those who had a simpler model were forced to conjure with cords and tape recorders, downloading programs from cassettes.

It was the 90s - we dissolved everything we could. The soluble "juices" that colored the tongue were an integral part of any feast. They were diluted with water, but there were gourmets who managed to diversify the meager alcoholic assortment with the help of these multi-colored powders.

The multicolored plastic spring "Rainbow" can be compared in popularity and uselessness with a modern spinner. In addition to throwing from hand to hand, it could be run up the stairs. If you were lucky, the device completely passed the flight of stairs, causing the delight of the owner and the envy of less successful competitors.

No modern game console with mind-blowing graphics and no powerful gaming computer will give you as much pleasure today as you could get playing the video games "Black Cloak" or "Contra". The worst tragedy was the failure of the joysticks, which had to be "treated" independently, so as not to spend a substantial amount on new ones.

When all of their own and all the videotapes borrowed from friends were viewed several times, the only way out was to go to a video rental, to the "pirates of the XX century". The hacky quality of the video and the nasal translation could not overshadow the bright holiday of familiarization with cinema. It didn't even bother me that I had to leave my or my parents' passport to an unknown uncle as collateral.

If in the 70s and 80s the limit of the amateur photographer's dreams were the "mirrors" "Kiev" and "Zenit", then in the last decade of the XX century the "Polaroids" became an undoubted hit of the photo department. The owner of the camera, which gives instant pictures, was a welcome guest at weddings, birthdays and any other events. By the way, cassettes for the camera were sometimes harder to get than the miracle of technology itself.

Those who in the 90s were mature enough to drink alcohol, can not help but remember the Royal alcohol, which was lovingly called "Piano". From each such liter bottle, by dilution by eye, two liters of disgusting vodka were obtained. But there wasn't much to compare it with, so this substance was considered almost an elite drink.

Waffles with a jarring name in a language unknown to science gave a feast to taste buds, and also satisfied aesthetic requests with a sticker that came with the kit. The passion for collecting required new and new packages of treats, the taste and nutritional properties of which were gradually losing relevance. Incredible happiness for the child and ruin for the parents.

And again alcohol. When there was no longer a charming novelty in the "Royal" and the soul demanded something special, you could go to a stall around the corner and buy vodka, named after the tsar's favorite Grigory Rasputin. Before drinking, it was necessary to make sure that Grigory Yefimovich winks from the label, as stated in the advertisement. Alas, the holographic effect was as rare as the original vodka of this brand, but after drinking a liter for two, the elder not only winked, but also maliciously threatened with a crooked peasant finger.

In the harsh 90s, even elementary school students understood that money could not buy everything. For example, the Coca-Cola Galaxy yo-yo could only be won by emptying bottles of the popular carbonated drink until they were blue in the face. But if you were lucky, there were no problems with what to do with your free time — a wheel on a string opened up the widest possibilities for improvisations.

If wearing a Montana watch with 16 melodies was just a sign of good taste, then an electronic watch with a calculator, expensive and scarce, was the lot of the "elite". And it doesn't even matter that because of the tiny buttons it was not easy to use them - the thing itself was incredibly status.