Life
Along with gluing macaroni noodles to cardboard, creating time capsules was another fun project we sometimes did in school when we were kids. With several address changes and then moving out of state, who knows what happened to mine? But there were certain things all '90s kids put in their time capsules, so I can safely assume that my capsule contained at least one Barbie doll and very likely a busted VHS copy of Homeward Bound. (Maybe that's where all my microscopic Polly Pocket dolls ended up, too. Hmph.)
Some of us are fortunate enough to get our hands on our '90s time capsules even as adults. Such was the case with Randi Bergman, who was cleaning out her childhood closet when she found her own. As Bergman has documented on Instagram, it contained all of the '90s essentials, from Spice Girls Chupa Chups to a bag of elastics that she used for her braces.
Bergman's time capsule certainly took me back to my pimply days of mouth hardware and hemp necklaces, and suddenly I'm back in the school cafeteria, eating my Lunchables and trying to get the straw in my Capri Sun without it exploding in my face — which got me thinking about all those other time capsules so many of us made as children. What did you put in your '90s time capsule? Let me take a few guesses...
1
A Hacky Sack
The relatively pointless sack of beans was a '90s must-have regardless. What did we even do with them? I vaguely remember throwing mine in the air because I didn't actually know any tricks. Hey, we couldn't all have moves like Zack Siler, in what has to be the corniest scene in '90s movie history, ever. (But seriously, Zack was under a lot of pressure, okay?)
2
Baby Bottle Pops And Ring Pops
We really didn't want to grow up and leave our '90s youth behind. That has to be the reason why we walked around with candy that resembled baby bottles and pacifiers, right? Nevertheless, they were '90s staples, and we loved them. And wasn't getting proposed to with a Ring Pop the ultimate? It never happened to me because boys didn't like me; but it happened to a few friends, and they looked really happy.
3
Tetris For Game Boy
This was back in the day when we had little cartridges that held our games; and if something wasn't working, we'd just blow on it to fix it. We probably threw our Game Boy games in our time capsules so we could come back to them and play them as adults. Except, you know, technology. Computers. Smartphones. Some kids today think that Game Boys are iPhone cases.
4
Stick-On Earrings
They never stayed on, and before the day was up, we'd usually find one stuck in our hair somewhere. But they were shiny and sparkly, and we could get them in all kinds of shapes and colors and even Disney characters! Did you ever stick them on your face just for funsies? No? Just me?
5
Pop Rocks
It was always a contest to see who could eat the whole pack at once without crying. Some daredevils tested the myth that taking a swig of soda while you ate them would make your head explode. (It didn't.) One thing is for certain, though: You loved the sound they made as they crackled in your mouth. Pop Rocks were definitely time capsule-worthy.
6
Our Favorite Hit Clips
If you had told us in the '90s that one day, we'd be able to listen to as much music as we want through our phones, we'd laugh all the way to KB Toys — where we'd pick up more Hit Clips, which played about a minute of low-quality music and looked amazing dangling from your Jansport backpack.
7
Butterfly Hairclips
When we say less is more, we weren't talking about butterfly clips. You could never have too many. I had the kinds that were made with a tiny spring; so when you moved, the butterflies would sort of bounce off your heard. I'm not sure why I thought this was a good idea, but there you have it.
8
Scented Markers
You wanted nothing to do with markers unless they smelled like cherry, grape, orange, or root beer. Some of them smelled so good you could've eaten them. Some kids did eat them. Those kids usually ended up going home with note for their parents saying, "Please tell Jimmy not to lick markers."
9
Floam
How did they do this? You could never figure out the formula behind Floam, but it was sensationally squishy and could keep you busy for hours. Floam definitely deserved a spot in every kid's '90s time capsule (even if it probably dried up after a while).
10
Roll-On Body Glitter
I think we were initially pretty modest with the body glitter, limiting it to our eyes and cheeks. But then we realized how amazing it was and put it on everywhere. Not a single peasant blouse in your closet didn't have a dusting of glitter on it.
11
A Clear Phone
Cool kids had clear phones. What was it about being able to see the guts of your phone that made gabbing with our friends so much more fun? Those were the days. (Plus, we were still able to slam phones down when someone ticked us off and we wanted to hang up on them. Something about angrily pushing the End Talk button on today's smartphones is so anticlimactic.)
12
Your Favorite Boy Band T-Shirt
It was soul-wrenching parting with your NSYNC t-shirt, featuring a young Justin Timberlake circa his ramen noodle hair days. But even in the '90s, you knew that JT was something special. Here we are decades later, and he's cuter than ever. With better hair.
13
An Electronic Pet
I had a rather hefty collection of Tamagotchis; and I'd play with them constantly, wishing I was an adult and could have a real, live pet of my own. And here I am, almost 30, with two hairy dogs whose favorite pastime is vomiting on the kitchen floor right after I've washed it. Tamagotchis? Those definitely went in every kid's time capsule.
