Ah. The eighties and nineties were fun. Sometimes I sit back and reminisce about all the products and fashions that no longer exist and wonder if any of them will ever reemerge in a new and modern way.
Here is a list of 16 random Gen X memories that I think could make a comeback. Maybe different, maybe updated, but in some way, at some time in the future, these things might be back in your life.
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Toga parties: I have no idea why these parties became popular, or why they fell out of fashion. But I wouldn’t be surprised if they come back someday. Maybe outside of college campuses?
ALF: It was a sitcom in the heyday of sitcoms. There is a recent renewed interest in alien lifeforms lately. (See Congressional UFO hearings.) I can’t help but expect a reimaging of this storyline somehow. Remember that he ate cats?
Koosh balls: The fidget spinner of the 90s.
Crystal Pepsi: It feels cleaner, ya know?
Curly Shoelaces: No tie, just pull! Sure, they have no-tie laces now, but these were so fun and crazy looking! And they came in lots of colors and patterns. These were the krazy straws of shoelaces.
Oregon Trail: Younger Gen X has the fondest nostalgia for this game. Going to the school computer lab was better than movie day. With today’s gaming technology, just imagine the possibilities.
Skating Rink Birthday Parties: Everyone’s out there saying kids need to get more exercise. What is a better exercise than The Hokey Pokey on rollerskates?
Layering multiple pairs of different colored socks: You’re wearing black pants and a hot pink top. Ratchet up that fashion statement with two pairs of socks – a matching hot pink pair worn over your black pair, scrunched down so the black pair shows on top. Pro tip: reverse the order on the second leg.
Lips phone: Novelty phones were a lot of fun. You might think there’s no way something like this could ever make a comeback, but I’m expecting some creative novelty additions to smartphones in this same vein. Call me crazy!
Pong: These old, simple, classic games will come back around again.
Round beds: Why not?
Ball hair ties: You’d try and stretch them around your pony one more time, then it would get loose and smack you in the face. But they were cute.
Payphones: Imagine rentable smartphone booths. I feel like it could happen.
Rooster bangs: Sometime around 2050 these stuck-in-place hairspray styles are going to be back in fashion.
Drinking from a hose: Before Stanley cups, there was drinking from the hose – any hose in the neighborhood. There was something especially delicious about hose-flavored water.
Decorative toilet seat covers: Okay, not the fuzzy, shag-carpeting kind. I’ve never understood those. But we don’t express ourselves through toilet design anymore, and someday someone is going to realize it’s a missed opportunity.
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Am I full of crap? What do you think about this list? Leave a comment.
Here are some more Gen X posts you might like:
Gen X “-isms” and Their Definitions
Generation Z to Generation X Translation Guide
Or go to the Home page to explore this Generation X in Midlife site.