Top 10 Things from the 2000s We Want to Forget

While crimping sounds like a complimentary dance style to krumping, it’s actually a very regrettable hairstyle. Yet we just can’t seem to get rid of it. Crimped hair was huge in the 1980s. And while we all thought we’d squashed it in the ‘90s, it returned in the 2000s like the bad guy at the end of so many ‘80s horror movies. There are some that credit a model’s crimped hair during a 2007 Chanel runway show as the reason for the fad’s resurgence. But the truth is it was already back by then. Just check out Christina Aguilera at the “My VH1 Music Awards” in 2000! Even Hilary Duff’s beloved character Lizzie McGuire rocked the crinkles in the early aughts.

Around 2002, rapper Nelly began wearing a Band-Aid on his cheek. And he kept it on for far longer than you’d expect someone to after a minor injury. Now rumor has it that he initially hurt himself playing basketball, but kept donning the bandage after the spot healed in honor of his incarcerated friend, City Spud. Regardless of how it started, he sparked a trend, and countless people started wearing band-aids as fashion accessories. In fact, it grew to become such a big thing that Glamour magazine and the New York Times both wrote articles about this sticky fashion trend. No, it doesn’t make any sense, and yes, we’re glad it’s fallen out of style.

Coming from the 2G mobile internet of the 1990’s, the introduction of 3G around 2001 was a revelation. With how slow 2G was, there was no reason to even try to stream video, Skype or the like. But with 3G it was all, let's call it, doable. And sure, it might’ve seemed like a revolution at the time. But we didn’t know how bad we had it until 4G hit the streets around 2009 and 5G blew us away starting in 2019. The difference in speed alone is enough to make you wonder how we ever survived on 3G networks. Some people are probably still waiting for a video on their original iPhones to buffer from 2007!

In 2001, Juicy Couture launched their velour tracksuit and provided Madonna with one custom made just for her. And unfortunately, the rest was history. J.Lo, Paris Hilton and others donned the tracksuit too, and pretty soon it was an iconic must-have. You couldn’t leave the house without seeing at least one “juicy” bum. And we mean that literally, given that the pants often have “juicy” written across the butt, which is questionable, to say the least. Why we wanted our rear ends to be a billboard for a company we had no real stake in is a question for a generation of fashionistas. There’s no denying they were comfortable sets, but at what cost?!

As a species, it seems like humans usually try to come up with ways to make life easier. Yet back in the 2000s, a fashion trend emerged that seemed to completely go against this generally wise and long-standing tradition of human technological advancement. Of course, we’re talking about lace-up clothing! Don’t get us wrong, laces are great. But when it comes to clothes-fastening technology they’re way down the list behind zippers and buttons as far as ease of use is concerned. But in the 2000s there seems to have been a desire for laces and knots to rule the fashion world. Judging by the DIY tutorials on YouTube, we won’t be able to forget them just yet, no matter how much we want to.

In the 2000s, people were obsessed with the exposing and accessorizing of the female waistline. For some reason, just wearing a crop top wasn’t enough. The exposed area also had to be adorned with accessories of one kind or another in order to bring even more attention to it. The belly chain was a popular choice, but the worst offenders were tanning stickers. They came in various shapes – hearts seem to have been the most popular – that girls would use while tanning to create a shape on their skin. A little heart on your waist is a lot better than the full-body half-and-half Ross got when he went tanning, but it’s still not something we ever need to see again!

We hate to do this to you. Most of us have been trying to forget Crazy Frog’s take on “Axel F” since it “ring ding ding daa baa”'d its way into our eardrums. Now, don’t get us wrong; the original version from the “Beverly Hills Cop” soundtrack is a classic piece of ‘80s movie music. The 2005 Crazy Frog version is an earworm inducing track that, for a brief time in the middle of the decade, was almost inescapable. And once it started becoming peoples’ ringtones, it was game over. We know you’ll probably have it stuck in your head again for the next few days now, and we do sincerely apologize for that!

Mariah Carey, Madonna and Kelly Clarkson all had very successful 2000s as far as their musical careers were concerned. Sadly, when it came to the movie side of things, the decade saw all three pop stars flop harder than an overcooked souffle. “Glitter”, “Swept Away” and “From Justin to Kelly” were all highly-hyped films that failed. And not only did they perform horribly at the box-office, but they all raked in numerous Golden Raspberry Award nominations, including “Worst Picture” and “Worst Actress.” If you’ve ever seen any of the films, you’ll understand why. We’ve tried to erase them from our memories. But these flicks will probably never be forgotten - as much as Carey, Madonna, and Clarkson probably wish they would be.

These days, calling is probably the thing we use our phones for the least. But that wasn’t the case in the aughts. While we were doing more on our phones, making actual phone calls was still a big part of what we used them for. The carriers knew that, and they made us dole out the cash. Many phone plans back in the day included a set number of calling minutes. If you wanted more, you paid more. And the same was often true for SMS’. Needless to say, monitoring how long you spoke on the phone or how many texts you sent out was not fun. Nowadays, a majority of plans offer unlimited minutes and messaging, so the old way seems unfathomable!

When “Survivor” premiered in 2000, it had everyone talking. So much so that pretty soon, producers were desperate to create the next big, shocking reality show. As you can imagine, this led to shows that we, as a society, would probably like to pretend never happened. There was “Keys to the VIP”, in which proud “players” competed to win challenges involving seducing women while being judged by a group of pick-up artists. And then there was “There's Something About Miriam” - a dating show that had men competing for the affection of a beautiful woman they didn’t know was trans. We’re more than happy to leave these exploitative, problematic reality TV series far in the past.