Photo By kansasexplorer 3128

Whether we kept these critters hostage for a couple of hours or a couple of days, there was nothing like a summertime pet. We would catch them, call them our own, show them to our mothers, and they would promptly make us get rid of them. Maybe they lived outside or in your closet, a shoebox or a cage. Either way this was no ordinary cat or dog and you probably had no clue how to feed it. The following are just a few examples of the things my brother, sister, and I would have fun putting in captivity although we also did our fair share of catching other things like frogs, crayfish, and rolly-pollies.

Lightning Bugs

Photo By W P

A signal of summer for me, their magical flashing brought entertainment to warm nights. If you didn’t have the “traditional” jar, your hands worked just as well for capturing these flying critters. The fun in these guys was the pursuit of the capture. You would see the greenish glow in the distance, run up to where you last saw the flash, then look around for it until you could catch it (another flash usually gave them away). After catching more bugs than everyone else in the unannounced competition of “how many lightning bugs can you capture,” you’d set them free. I don’t think I ever kept them overnight, probably because I didn’t know what else to put in the jar to keep them happy.

Caterpillars

Photo By Michael (mx5tx)

This was my sister’s favorite thing to capture because you could make a cool home for them out of sticks, leaves, etc and if you were lucky, they would make a cocoon. Most of the time, the caterpillars emerged to be boring moths even though they looked fuzzy and cool. They were fairly easy to catch because they didn’t move very fast. Also it was pretty easy to know what to feed them. These were probably the pets we kept the longest because they require such little maintenance and could be kept outside in a special bug cage my sister had.

Anole Lizards

Photo By pellaea

Overall, Anole’s were the most fun not only to keep but to catch as well. It took a fast hand with no fear of being bitten. We had a certain bush in our yard where we would go look for them when we wanted something to do. Most of the time, they were too good at hiding, but every once in awhile we would nab them. A lot of lizards lost their tails thanks to us kids. They were cool to watch their colors change and they seemed like the closest thing to having a real pet. We usually kept them in a shoebox with some grass and branches of leaves. Feeding them was a challenge mostly because it was annoying to have to dig up bugs to feed them. After a couple of days my parents would become annoyed with our new pet and made us put it back into the wild. My dad liked the idea of having it eat the bugs in his yard rather than getting loose inside the house.

Box Turtles

Photo By Cotinis

Turtles were a bit rarer to come across, but we would find them every once in awhile. Catching them was a piece of cake once you did see one. They were fun to play with in the yard because they weren’t fast enough to get away. We’d set up obstacle courses and make them walk under our legs. It was also a pretty big deal to have one as a pet on our street. Every kid on the block knew when you were keeping a turtle and would come play with it. Once we made a pen for our turtle friend in the yard, other times we kept it in a box. We would usually end up releasing him back into the woods, but I think the one we had in the pen escaped.

How about you? What were your “pets” like?

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Photo By foggiegee

The juice box of our generation wasn’t even a box. The futuristic aspect of Capri Sun juice pouches is what made them cool. The best part about them is that you can make sure you suck out every last drop. No matter the flavor, they have always come in the recognizable silver packets. Even though there have been other juices to come in the pouches, I don’t think any of them have been as popular.

I have recently heard people say “Man, I haven’t had a Capri Sun since I was a kid!” But I drink them all the time just for the novelty of feeling like a kid again. And the strange thing is… I like them more now than when I was little.

The Early Days

The first time Capri Suns made an appearance in my life was at the neighborhood swimming pool. One of the pool moms would bring frozen ones and let them float around the pool to let them thaw out. You’d just be swimming, watching them make their way around the pool wishing your mom had the notion to do such a thing. Looking back on it, she had the right idea. I feel like no pool trip is complete without Capri Suns.

Photo By Vicky TGAW

I don’t know if it was just because we were terrible at opening these or if the design changed, but it seems that while in elementary school, there was always someone at the lunch table who would punch the straw through the back of the pouch. It was annoying but funny at the same time. Capri Suns became more common at lunch with the popularity of Lunchables due to being packaged and sold together.

The thing I hated about Capri Suns was how the sugar conglomerated at the back of your throat and made it hard to swallow. I guess I’ve just gotten used to it, because I love drinking Capri Suns now.

“Cell Phones”

The only thing to do with a Capri Sun once you were done was to fold it half and turn it into a pretend phone. The straw made a good antenna  and if you had a sharpie nearby you could draw on the numbers. Everyone thought this was really cool because everyone dreamed of owning their own phone.

Commercials

And who could forget the cool surfers or rollerbladers that turned into liquid metal? With a motto like “liquid cool,” I could feel a cool breeze in the room as the commercial played across the TV screen. The commercials made me crave Capri Sun even when I wasn’t a fan of them.

With classic flavors like fruit punch, surfer cooler, and strawberry kiwi, and a wide variety of others it was (and still is!) hard to choose which kind to buy. What was your favorite flavor?

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Photo By thejbird

Adults had their gum, and we had ours!

Remember the day you struggled to blow your first bubble? It was about as tough as learning how to whistle. Or what about the time you put gum in your sister’s hair? Maybe you were one of those kids who stuck gum under their desks at school. There are so many great memories that revolve around bubble gum, but what about the actual brands of gum that made these memories possible? The chewing gum of our childhood had a lot in common; most gums were cheap, colorful, and full of flavor.  While most lost their flavor quickly, they never lost their novelty.

Hubba Bubba Bubble Tape

Photo From whereaboutshereabouts

For six feet of gum, it sure didn’t last very long. It came rolled up in a round, brightly colored plastic container which allowed you to dispense the gum like tape. I can remember the distinct sweet smell this gum has, but I also remember it being very powdery (I guess to keep it from sticking together). The idea of having dispensable gum was awesome, and I always felt really cool having it. I hated sharing, but people always asked you for some. I never attempted chewing the whole thing at once, but I would like to try. If you were lucky you could get the mega roll with 10 feet of gum. If you’ve seen the commercials or advertisements, the container is a little person and the gum is a super long tongue, which is very accurate of what the product looks like.

Fruit Stripe

Photo By Thomas Hawk

I loved everything about this gum. The striped pattern on the sticks, asking people what color they wanted, and the memorable mascot. Each color was also a different, juicy flavor. I always referred to this as “Zebra Gum” as a kid and didn’t even realize it was actually called Fruit Stripe until now. Its kind of ironic that they chose a zebra, since it’s black and white, but I think that is what has made it memorable and successful. I feel like this encompasses the essence of a gum children can call their own while their parents chew Doublemint or Winterfresh.

Bubble Yum/Bubblicious

Photo By saba♫dija

Just thinking about the names of these gums makes me feel like I can’t breath. This gum was huge and would practically take up all the room in your mouth making you feel like you were drowning in it. None the less, it was delightful. The flavors were all really exotic sounding and supper juicy. It practically melted in your mouth with deliciousness as the taste triggered a gush of saliva. Since it was so big, my mom would split the piece in half with us. These were the best types of gum for blowing bubbles because when the bubbles popped, it was easy to peel off of your face.

Tiny Size Chiclets

Photo From victoryseeds.com

Even though this was more of a candy then a gum, everything about it was fun. The tiny pieces of gum resembled confetti, and the packet even looked like there was a party inside. You needed to eat a lot to make it resemble something that was chewable; it was always tricky keeping a little kid from swallowing them.  I loved pouring it out of the packet and seeing all of the bright colors. They come in green, orange, yellow, peach, and burgundy; the perfect color combo for a fiesta. Every once in awhile you can still find it, but the only thing it’s good for is the novelty. I was super surprised when I found out they made normal sized Chiclets, but the pieces weren’t nearly as fun to eat.

Double Bubble

Photo By Thomas Hawk

I love the name of this gum; I feel like it rolls of the tongue so easily while giving you the sensation of chewing a wad of it. The wrapping is what stands out to me. Not only is it bright and recognizable, but it makes you feel like your gum is a wrapped present. Unlike the soft gum, if you blow a bubble with this and it pops, it might be a bit difficult to get the gum off of your face since it’s pretty sticky. It has that distinct pink bubble gum flavor, but occasionally can be found in apple, grape, and watermelon. This gum makes me think of Halloween, Easter, and birthday parties since that was really the only time I would get it. Since you usually get a bunch of it at once, it is easy to keep adding new gum to the piece you are already chewing until you have a giant wad of nasty tasting gum.

Bazooka Bubblegum

Photo By The_WB

The novelty with this gum was that it came with a comic that featured “Bazooka Joe” in the wrapper. Some people collected the mini comics, but I always thought they were kind of pointless. Other than the comic, there wasn’t too much that was great about it because the flavor didn’t really stand out. The thing I remember the most is singing the song about Bazooka Bubblegum on the bus ride home from school. It is a story about a mother giving her kid money to buy things, but instead he spends the money on bazooka bubble gum until he chokes on it. Apparently there is also a dance. Read the full lyrics or get a quick taste:

Most of these gums are classic favorites that many generations have also enjoyed. Which gum was your favorite?

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Photo By Nina `H

Girls Just Wanna Have Fun…

Girls will be girls and when we are young, we look for ways to be “grown up.” Through sleepovers and everyday use, we practiced for womanhood; the more color the better, especially when you knew your mom would disapprove. Maybe we couldn’t have our ears pierced or have our own lipstick, but we knew how to make do. Generation Y specific or not, Bon Bons Nail Polish, Lip Smackers, and Sticker Earrings are things from my childhood that I remember well.

Bon Bons

Photo By Andrea G

This nail polish came in cute mini containers and a wide variety of colors. It was cheap and went on thick. This nail polish took forever to dry and even then it came off easily, smudging and chipping. None of that never stopped me from using it. My mom never let me wear any crazy colors so I loved that I could go to my friend’s house and put on blue or purple nail polish. The colors were pearly so they always had a nice glittery shiny look to them. I’m not really sure where you could buy them… I guess Walmart, but they always made cute stocking stuffers or Easter egg fillers and were great for birthday party goody bags. They have to still sell these somewhere because I have some…

Lip Smackers

Photo By Sharon Young

If Bon Bons came in all different colors, Lip Smackers came in all different flavors. Whether it be fruit, candy, or soda, if you could dream up a taste, they probably had it in lip gloss. Lip Smackers to me was more like flavored chapstick, but some girls just couldn’t go with out it. At one point they were even putting these on key chains. It was like putting on lipstick with out the shocking color. To go along with the fun flavor, the lip gloss came in bright, sometimes sparkly, tubes. There was just something about the packaging that made you feel like you needed to put some of this on your lips even if it didn’t really help lips that were chapped. These also made good gifts and are also still around today.

Stick On Earrings

Photo From chris.gen5dns.net

It was hard for me to decide what went along with lip gloss and nail polish, and that is when I recalled one of my favorite things about preschool. The colored heart, diamond, and circle jewel stickers I used as earrings. They were really one time use only and ended up mostly getting stuck in your hair, but I thought I was so cool wearing these. You could pick some out to match your outfit; you didn’t need a special occasion to wear these, but they definitely made a difference in my day. It didn’t matter if these were a fake substitute for the real thing; I loved to pretend anyway.

So I want to know… what was your favorite way of pretending to be a grown up? Did you wear your mom’s high heels? Carry a plastic purse? Leave a comment below!

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Photo By MrsGoodner

Overall, these candies were more of a rare novelty for me, and whenever I did get to eat them, I couldn’t ever finish them because I thought they were too sugary. What a lame child I was.

Ring Pops

Photo By davidfcknlopan

A Ring Pop was awesome because it served dual purpose of a candy and an accessory. It was the closest thing to “bling” we could ever own as a children. Unlike a lollipop which can’t be put down, you had a place to keep it other than in your mouth– on your finger! Plus once you were done, you were left with the plastic ring as a sort of useless prize. I always felt that throwing it away was such a waste though, because I felt like there was so much potential in that one little band of plastic.

Photo By Just Us 3

Push Pops

Push Pops were cool because you could save them for later. However, getting your finger all sticky and gross was not cool. Basically sticking your finger in a tube to push up slobbered on candy is never a good idea. The design was creative though, and most little kids don’t mind getting sticky. They have always reminded me of lipstick. The best part by far was seeing how sharp and pointy you could get them, and then challenging others to a Push Pop dual. As a funny side note, if you go to the Push Pop website, they have a whole section on nutrition. Like candy could ever be nutritious…

Baby Bottle Pops

I never understood why anyone would find pretending to be a baby attractive, but none the less it worked. They had a great catchy jingle that I heard hundreds of times on the tremendously annoying commercials. The Jonas Brothers have recently ‘teamed up’ with this product and added some boy band excitement to the jingle. Personally “Lick it, shake it, and dunk it” is a bit too provocative for my taste. The good thing about this candy was that you could save it for later AND your fingers wouldn’t get gross.

Watch the Ring Pop Commercial

I want to know what your memories are!!

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Photo By elmada

As food products became more and more convenient, so did the idea of a sack lunch. Some kids made their lunch themselves. Some kids had their parents make a lunch for them with lots of love and no crust. And some kids had their parents buy a fully prepared meal that they could just grab out of the fridge on the way to catching the bus.

The “Lunchable” was a genius product. Parents were tired of making their kid’s lunch, or didn’t have the time, and they were easy to market to kids because it was something different from the traditional lunch: Pizza? Sandwiches made from crackers? That’s SO cool! Plus school lunch was gross and everyone gets tired of  PB&J eventually.

Another important factor that contributed to the “Lunchable” success was that yes, in the end you did assemble your food, but it was fun.

Photo By capitan jen

Just ham? No Problem. Double stack with a slice of cheese? Coming right up. Pizza with a little cheese or a lot? Whatever you want! Later they came up with nachos, tacos, hamburgers,  hot dogs, and who knows what else.

Personally, I thought Lunchables tasted gross.  But I loved the idea so much I tried to convince myself that they were amazing. Not only was it convenient, but it made me feel like a “cool kid.” Unfortunately my parent’s viewed these as expensive luxury meals and rarely bought them. It was cheaper to buy lunch at school and at least then it was warm.

Eventually I realized how ridiculous these things were and made up excuses to myself to not feel bad about missing out. Because [cold] hamburgers and hotdogs? GROSS! How was that even possibly real meat?

Photo By Refracted Moments

Looking back I’m not even sure which one I liked best. I was a fan of the classic crackers, meat, and cheese, but it never seemed to taste right. I couldn’t figure out if the crackers were too buttery, the meat was too fake, or if it was just the cheese. The one that tasted the best to me was the nachos, but that seemed more like a snack than a lunch.

Am I wrong or do you agree with me? What was your favorite Lunchable?

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Like generations before us, we had our own unique vocabulary.  The things we said shaped us to be who we are now. Take a look at my personal favorite words and phrases and see if any are yours too.

Talk to the Hand

Photo By mahalie

“Talk to the hand cause the face ain’t listening!” If you were real creative you included an “answering machine” message and beep. Perfect  for those annoying kids you never wanted to talk to, or when you were in a fight with your bff.

Duh

Photo By zen

This could be long (duuu-uuh) or it could be short (duh!). But its intention was simple– to make someone feel stupid. Who would have though that such a simple 3 letter word could mean so much?

Made You Look

Photo By ZeroOne

Hey, it’s your mom! Look free ice cream! Oh my gosh there’s an elephant in a pink tutu running straight towards us! It didn’t matter how ridiculous you got, you would do anything to make someone look just so you could say “MADE YA LOOK!” Cause if the Genie in Aladdin said it, it must be cool.

If I’m Rubber and You’re Glue…

Photo By Skwishy

“‘I’m rubber, you’re glue. Whatever you say bounces off me and sticks on you.” Great come back right up there with “Sticks and Stones may break my bones, but words will never harm me.” Usually only used by the goody goodies; it never mattered how clever you were, words hurt.

Waasssup

Photo By ahhyeah

So what if this was made popular by a Budweiser commercial? If you didn’t use it you at least heard other people fail at trying. This is more of a novelty word than one used in real conversation.

Loser

Photo By Juan Noes

A great word for putting someone in their place. More degrading than “stupid,” it could be used in multiple ways including: “You’re such a loser,” “Loo-Serr,” and “Who’s a loser now?” It didn’t make for that good of a comeback, but using it certainly gave you a good bit of power. If you were considered to be a loser, though, it was a tough word to get any respect from using it.

Like

Photo From debaird

Mostly popular with the girls, using the word “like” every other word was practically a disease. Once you started there was no turning back no matter how many people laughed at you or looked at you like you were stupid. One time I tried telling a story without using this word and failed terribly. The only word worse than like is “um” (if that even counts as a word.)

My Bad

Photo By Shira Golding

This was a phrase for everyone who wanted to be cool (or subconsciously gangster). While girls had “like,” boys had “my bad.”  Both still remain somewhat in our vocabulary today. This became the new “I’m sorry”/”Excuse me,” but you never heard “my good.”

Phat

Photo By funkandjazz

P-H-fat. The older Y-Kids LOVED this word. Maybe it was because it was a word that sounded like a negative adjective, but really meant “awesome!” This is one word I will never understand.

Whatever

Photo By Amodiovalerio Verde

The key to this word was really exaggerating the last syllable so you really got  the “r” rolling. Great word for pretending like you didn’t care about something. Another word that was popular with the girls.

Insane in the Membrane

Photo By Hyaground

From the hit 1993 Cypress Hill song by the same name, this phrase was great for all things crazy and out of this world. This catch phrase came after the song, because who doesn’t like quoting lyrics?

Pinky Promise…

Photo By Aimless Brooke

Or “Pinky Swear” had ten times the agreement effect of “Cross my heart and hope to die, stick a needle in my eye.” Urban Dictionary defines this as: “An eternally binding act of hooking pinky fingers together in an attempt to seal the deal of a promise that has been made.” You always had to watch out for those kids who thought they could be clever and cross their fingers behind their backs.

Shut Up

Photo By pollas

Grown ups hated when you used this word. The only word they didn’t want to hear more was “stupid.” But how did they expect you to get people to be quiet without using a strong word? Plus it was fun saying a “bad word.” This was also a word you could use on your peers when they were being annoying or saying things about you that you didn’t want to hear.

Cool

Photo By technokitten

This phrase will never go out of style. To be considered cool was one of the highest honors you could have as a kid. But the best part about this word was that you didn’t have to be cool to use it. When “awesome,” “great,” or “hot dog!” just wouldn’t cut it, this word was a piece of cake to dish out. There was not limit to the number of things that could be cool or be considered cool. Even when things weren’t impressive at all but you felt like you had to show some emotion you could get by with a simple, “cool.”

Pass It On

Photo By saaam

While this was more of a game than a phrase for me, it was definitely memorable. It was sort of like a game of telephone played at the lunch table. One person would come up with complete nonsense to say followed by “pass it on.” It didn’t matter if you wanted to play or not, you were obligated to continue the chain. It was similar to passing notes, except it wasn’t intended for anyone specific, and was much more annoying.

Bonus Phrase:

Loser, Loser, Double Loser…

Photo By troubled-diva

The granddaddy of them all had half of these words combined: “loser, loser, double loser, as if, whatever, get the picture, like duh!” There wasn’t really a point to this except it was clever and (if no one had ever seen it before) mesmerizing. To get a refresher on the hand motions and all click here. How fast could YOU say it?

How about you? What were your favorite words or phrases to say as a kid?

Photo By wjarrettc

Remember the Christmas we all wanted Razors? It seems like everyone I know got one of these bad boys… or at least some knock off version. Easier to ride than a bike and more fun than a skate board, these foldable scooters became all the rage.

I think what I enjoyed most was using your foot to push down on the back wheel to stop. We used to see just how hot we could make the metal part covering the wheel. Nothing like being a kid and burning your finger on a hot piece of metal to show off your “coolness.”

They also came out with the miniature “finger scooters,” which you could change the wheel colors on. Similar to finger skateboards, you could do all kinds of flips and tricks, but it was definitely harder using your fingers to maneuver the toy scooter.

Eventually a) every kid had one and b) stories started coming out about how dangerous these things were. In the year 2000 alone, 9400 emergency room injuries from razor scooters were reported. The media loved exploiting this and the scooter trend came to an end.

I’m surprised that these haven’t really made a comeback with our generation. They would make getting to class a breeze since they are so portable, and the wheels are practically indestructible. I suppose you are less likely to get run over if in a bike.

Share with us your memorable scooter moments!