Ah yes, the 90s! Welcome to WatchMojo and today we’re counting down our picks for the top 10 awesome products from the 90s that you probably forgot existed.
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00:00 Welcome to WatchMojo and today we're counting down our picks for the top 10 awesome products
00:07 from the 90s that you probably forgot existed.
00:17 Computers in the 90s were big, boxy, ugly things that had about as much sex appeal as
00:21 a washing machine.
00:22 But in true Apple form, the tech brand managed to reinvent it.
00:26 Released in 1998, the iMac was a sleek new innovation that looked to add fun in the form
00:30 of colours and modernity in the form of USB ports.
00:33 Some people rejected its shunning of legacy tech like floppy disk drives, while others
00:37 embraced the idea that being a computer geek could actually be quite fashionable.
00:41 If you had one, you were cool.
00:43 If your mum, dad or teacher had one, even they were cool.
00:46 True we've got better, slimmer computers nowadays, but you can't deny the allure
00:50 of the bulbous iMac.
00:55 It would be an understatement to say that "Home Alone 2" made this gadget what it
00:58 is, quite literally.
00:59 It was commissioned by writer John Hughes for the movie, and the one you see on screen
01:03 was actually built as a prop.
01:05 The company that made the device, Tiger Electronics, then got permission to make a version for
01:09 the retail market and boom, the rest is history.
01:12 The fun, voice-changing deluxe talkboy sparked creativity in kids all over the world, and
01:16 arguably peaked in the 1993 holiday season.
01:19 For some reason, recording and then slowing down or speeding up your voice is hilarious.
01:23 Who knew?
01:24 Well, John Hughes, that's who.
01:26 Howdy do.
01:31 Did anyone actually ever figure out how to properly take care of their digital pet?
01:36 The Tamagotchi took the world by storm in the mid-to-late 90s, and for many, it was
01:39 their first taste of responsibility.
01:41 It saw you caring for a digital bunny, dog, cat-like pet, who required feeding, potty
01:46 training and doting on whenever they became sick.
01:49 Many of us had them hanging on our keys, belts and bedside tables in order to nurture them,
01:54 while some of us got bored after half an hour and would then rediscover the lonely pet in
01:57 a drawer three years later.
01:59 Either way, they were iconic, and still are.
02:08 It's easy to laugh at these things now, but in 1996, these things were space age.
02:19 They were effectively the first proper handheld computer device, although in essence, they
02:23 were just a digitised notepad and planner, helping you record notes, contacts and calendar
02:27 events.
02:28 And you could even sync and connect them to your desktop.
02:31 Mind blown.
02:32 Various different Palm Pilots were released, but they ultimately became obsolete rather
02:36 quickly - reserved only for kids playing in their dad's office, or for companies to
02:39 give away as freebies when you signed up with them.
02:48 Kids are so desensitised to horror nowadays, but back in the 90s, the Goosebumps book series
02:53 was about as scary as it got, and it was amazing.
02:56 Not only were the books spooky, but they were accessible, and showed kids that ghosts and
03:00 monsters could be part of enthralling fiction, not just nightmare-inducing playground stories.
03:05 They are still publishing Goosebumps books and movies today, but there was something
03:09 magical about the original '92-97 run.
03:12 They filled bedroom bookshelves everywhere, with their vibrant artwork and strangely endearing
03:17 terror, and they tied in with the '95 TV series, which, if you remember it, was pretty
03:21 scary.
03:30 Ah yes, magic iBooks.
03:35 We all had one friend that could do it when we couldn't, or at least they claim to be
03:39 able to do it, right?
03:40 The magic iBook brought optical illusions to the living room, with their colourful images
03:44 actually called autostereograms, appearing 2D on paper, but becoming 3D if you looked
03:48 at them long enough and relaxed your eyes.
03:57 Seeing one of these for the first time was mind-boggling, and it had many of us reaching
04:01 out and trying to grab what wasn't there.
04:03 The magic iBook became a staple of home libraries, coffee tables and waiting rooms everywhere.
04:08 In fact, magic eye images have been used to treat people with vision disorders.
04:15 I personally tracked them down and put the links for them in the description below.
04:42 You can still buy these things today, but chances
04:51 are you're buying them to be quirky at a wedding or a party.
04:54 Back in the '90s, however, for many of us, it was simply how we captured memories at
04:58 home or on holiday.
04:59 You'd scroll a wheel and hear the clicking sound, take your limited number of shots,
05:03 and then go to have your photos developed.
05:10 No recharging, no reusing and absolutely no previewing, so you'd better make each shot
05:15 count.
05:16 By today's smartphone standards, they are absolutely impractical, but there's something
05:19 pure about only snapping the most important shots, instead of photographing every piece
05:24 of food before you eat it.
05:30 It's another '90s memory unlocker by Tiger Electronics, this one being the famous Hitclips,
05:35 the pocket-friendly audio player that will play one-minute samples of pop songs and make
05:38 you look like an absolute legend/loser while doing so.
05:43 Released just before the millennium, these things played mini keychain-like cartridges,
05:46 which sounded awful.
05:48 And you couldn't even adjust the volume either.
05:51 So you could have all of your favourite artists - Backstreet Boys, Britney Spears, NSYNC,
05:55 Destiny's Child - right there in your pocket.
05:57 Well, at least 60 seconds worth of them anyway.
06:00 This was before MP3 players, so the idea of Hitclips was pretty cool.
06:04 Until it wasn't.
06:05 But now it kind of is again, right?
06:18 The famed Reebok pumps were actually released in late 1989, but it wasn't until about
06:23 1991 that they started to become an absolute must-have for kids - and adults everywhere.
06:27 It's a shoe that uses an internal inflation mechanism to give the user a unique fit, and
06:32 arguably the strength, jumping power and dunking ability of Shaquille O'Neal.
06:36 Reebok pumps weren't just a marketing ploy however, they genuinely gave a more secure
06:40 fit around the ankle, which was great for sports like basketball.
06:43 Of course, the gimmick of getting pumped up was a big part of why they were so successful,
06:48 and they still are to this day.
07:17 Imagine being mid-conversation with a group of people when all of a sudden your belt starts
07:20 beeping and you have to rush off somewhere and save the day like Batman.
07:23 Well, that's how Pages made you feel.
07:26 They were a very early example of text messaging, allowing users to receive messages on the
07:30 go, either via a phone's keypad or via an operator.
07:33 In the 90s, it was the first taste of smartphone-like communication on the go, and it was favoured
07:38 by business types, doctors and high flyers everywhere.
07:41 Pages, or beepers as they were sometimes known, probably stuck around way longer than they
07:45 should have, but they were just so convenient and cool.
07:53 So which of these awesome 90s products gave you serious nostalgia?
07:56 Let us know in the comments section below.
08:10 Thanks for watching.
08:20 (upbeat music)