Remember those times when you'd freak out whenever you'd press the internet button on your flip phone? Or when the iPhone didn't even exist? Yeah, well, before we had all the awesome technological things we do now, there was a time when we had a plethora of cool toys that we'd beg our parents for. Here are just a few highlights:
1. Tamagotchi
I know some people that had eight of these things. They were so much fun, but also so stress-inducing when you had to rush home and "feed" them so your electronic pet wouldn't die.
2. Littlest Pet Shop
Apparently, I have a friend that had over a hundred of these little bobble-headed guys. They were just so cute; my younger self couldn't resist them.
3. Hit Clips
No iPod? No problem. Listen to the catchiest part of the most popular songs at the time through one headphone. It's crazy to think that technology has changed so much so that we can put hundreds of thousands of songs on a tiny chip now.
4. Skip-It
This was by far my favorite toy, ever. I had the purple diamond-looking one that had a counter on the end. The pain from getting hit with it on the ankle was worth it when you broke your personal record.
5. Aqua Dots
I remember always wanting one of these things. They always looked like so much fun!
6. Nickelodeon Slime
Back when Nickelodeon had "Hey Arnold!," "CatDog", "The Amanda Show", and "Drake and Josh," Nickelodeon Slime was the best thing ever. It's still a thing now, but I feel like Slime holds a special place in the hearts of those who watched "Nick" when they were younger.
7. Moon Shoes
Trampolines for your feet? Yes, please.
8. ViewMaster
Okay, so with ViewMaster, you put a little disk with film inside of the toy and you can click the knob on the side to change the picture. It was like scrolling through photos on a camera roll for kids that didn't have phones.
9. Bop-it and all its variations
These bad boys were stressful but SO fun. it's the kind of game you have to put down after a while before you get mad.
10. Those velvet coloring pages
These were always cool and all, but wasn't it frustrating when you'd accidentally touch the fuzzy stuff with your marker and it would drag into places you didn't want it to?
11. Gameboy Advance
Probably the best thing to happen in the early 2000's.
*Author's note: Thank you to my friend Lexi for helping me think up more toys.
