Top 10 Things from the 90s That Don't Exist Anymore

We all know that the human race and planet Earth are not going to be around forever. But with the new millennium on the horizon, many believed the year 2000 was going to initiate the collapse of society. In the 90s, several experts warned that because many computer systems represented years using only the last two digits, computers would mix up 1900 and 2000. This led some folks to buy up food and supplies to tide them through an imminent apocalypse. But as it turned out, the world stepped into the new millennium with minimal issues. While we’ve dealt with a few other “end of the world” fears afterwards like 2012, none quite reached the same level of paranoia.

Screensavers aren’t all that common anymore now that most of our devices have a “sleep” function to conserve power. In the 90’s, however, there was one screensaver you’d see in many homes - the Windows 95 Maze. Here, you’re basically watching your computer play a video game as it automatically takes left turns until finding the smiley face, thus resetting and generating a whole new maze. There was something really mesmerizing about it between the artificial intelligence and guessing where the face might end up. Honestly, why hasn’t Microsoft made a full-fledged game out of this?

If you weren’t sure what to wear for the Girls’ Night or the high school dance, you probably referred to this mail-in catalog of fashion. Founded in 1993, Delia’s was the go-to catalog for teens who wanted to wear the latest clothes and fashion trends. Unfortunately, Delia’s would be buried by competitors (in addition to being spun-off and acquired on a few occasions) as time went on. By the end of 2014, Delia’s filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and liquidated all of its stores. While it tried to bounce back as an online-only store in 2015, this venture was a complete failure. Now, you can only get their clothing through the Dolls Kill brand.

Yes, it's the magical beady beverage that has featured on many a WatchMojo list in recent years. This obscure, noncarbonated drink was manufactured with a small variety of flavors to quench your thirst AND hunger. From Raspberry Citrus to Vanilla Orange, the beads and beverage made for a unique type of drink. Alas, Orbitz would live a seriously short life because of its terrible commercial performance. Given the presence of gellan gum and high sugar, one can hazard a guess at why folks weren’t picking these up off the shelves, especially when seeing the edible orbs inside.

Apple’s Mac computers have come a long way. Today, design is all about improving battery life; making everything as thin as possible; and getting berated about updating iTunes even if we don’t use it. But in the late 90’s, a common Mac computer looked about as chunky as a CRT television set. The teal-colored Macs with their translucent Bondi Blue shells were especially a huge success for Apple, but looking back, these desktop computers were also incredibly hefty and awkwardly shaped. That’s because it wasn’t just a monitor - this was the computer itself. Just seeing pictures of these makes us glad schools are using laptops instead.

Yeah, we gotta squeeze in another food product in here, and this is another snack that’s popped up on our lists before. P.B. Crisps was a special kind of sweet treat from Planters, consisting of peanut-shaped cookies filled with peanut butter inside. And if you wanted an addition to peanut butter, you could buy bags of the cookies that were also filled with chocolate or strawberry. Sadly, these snacks were not around for long due to low demand and have become a relic of the mid-90’s. To this day, there are still a group of dedicated fans clamoring for the product’s return, even going so far as to make a website dedicated to the cause.

It’s been a hot minute since we heard anything remotely relevant to AOL. While AOL currently exists and was acquired by Verizon in 2015, AIM ceased operations in December 2017. We’re shocked, too! The service was introduced way back in 1997 and became the leading messaging service in North America for roughly a decade. But as tech giants like Google and Facebook started taking over, AIM lost all purpose. The two companies had better services and better security. Slowly but surely, AIM would begin shutting down features one by one, starting in 2007 before disappearing completely a decade later.

These days, we have dozens of web browsers vying for our attention, from Google Chrome to Mozilla Firefox to Safari to Duck Duck Go! We remember way back when the internet was a baby that there was only one browser to use - Netscape Navigator. This browser was created in 1994 and for a short time went uncontested in the industry. What happened to cause such decline? Well, Internet Explorer happened. Then, Chrome, Firefox, Safari, all of them. Netscape would receive its final update in 2007 before ceasing support and development the year after.

Like Walkmans in the 80’s, Discmans became a crucial part of our lives. There just wasn’t anything like going on a walk or exercising while jamming out to the newest music albums. Besides radios, this was pretty much the way to listen to music. Of course, as we find new ways to store data, we also kill off part of a medium. Nowadays, we can just open Spotify on our phones and jam to anything we desire without having to eject a CD and holster something chunky on our waist. Still, there is something tactile to be missed here.

Those who grew up in the 80s, 90s or 2000s fondly look back on video rental stores. While the very first such stores opened in the late 70s, it was in the 90s that bigger brands like Hollywood Video and Blockbuster boomed in demand. For some families, weekly trips to these stores would become a tradition as new movies made their way to the shelves and movie buffs sought out hidden gems. This industry would decline, however, as Netflix and streaming services became more and more prominent. Hollywood Video would go defunct in 2010, while Blockbuster enjoys a few thousand customers through its last and only store, located in Bend, Oregon.