Looking back on the '90s, the decade looms large in our mind's eye. We tend to romanticize everything about it and, hey, I'll be the first to admit we '90s kids sometimes get a little carried about with attribution. In reality, there are lots o' things that only seem like they're from the '90s, but actually aren't — yet we still lay claim to them. Or, you know, honestly believe they must be from that beloved decade.
If you're an older Millennial like I am, the lines get really blurry. You were born in the '80s, grew up in the '90s, and were a teen in the '00s, so it's easy to mix up memories from all three time periods. It all just kind of blends together into the great big nostalgic ball that is your childhood. It's no surprise then there are quite a few things from the '80s that the '90s get credit for. The '80s aren't the only decade getting robbed of their due credit, though — the '70s, the early '00s... even the '60s get credit snatched by the '90s.
And while we can't change people's perception of the past, we're at least willing to make restitution by setting the record straight about some of the things you only think are from the '90s.
1
Slap Bracelets
Remember how much trouble you used to get in for playing with your slap bracelet during class? Well, here's some irony for you: the "Slap Wrap," as it is called, " was invented by a teacher in the late '80s.
2
Lisa Frank
Get ready to set your rainbow sparkly, fluorescent '90s heart aglow! Not endemic to our decade, the Lisa Frank line of products was actually introduced in 1979 by, you know, Lisa Frank. She was 24 at the time.
4
Floppy Disks
Talk about a throwback! Not only were floppy disks not introduced in the '90s (no matter how much we wax poetic about them), they weren't even close to being new during our decade. In reality , they were developed in the late '60s.
5
'Supermarket Sweep'
If you didn't secretly dream of going on Supermarket Sweep (and winning, naturally), then you weren't really living, my friend. Want to know when the original show was broadcast? Prepare yourself: 1965.
6
Ring Pops
Who among us didn't sport these sugary sparklers on our fingers in seemingly constant rotation growing up? We can't lay claim to them, though — they were invented in 1979.
8
'The Jimmy Neutron Movie'
Sorry to burst your intergalactic bubble, guys . . . but, no matter how much our memories insist otherwise, The Jimmy Neutron Movie debuted in theaters in 2001.
10
Ouija Boards
Here's a little known fact: although '90s kids often dabbled with the occult by communing with Ouija Board spirits, this supernatural plank was actually introduced by a businessman waaaaaay back in 1890.
