While it’s easy to get tired of the ways that movie and TV show reboots try to repackage our nostalgia, that doesn’t make it any less powerful when we find something that unearths an old memory.
And while we can try to induce this feeling by revisiting something we liked as children, it tends to be at its most powerful when we aren’t expecting to focus on anything but the here and now.
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And while we’re about to see that in many of the cases we’ll see on this list, we’ll also get a few chances to encounter stuff that came before any of our times.
Considering what we largely tended to use our iPods for, it does feel a little strange to recall that we could put games on them.
And if I wasn’t so focused on making sure there was enough room for my absurdly large music collection, maybe I could have amused myself with a game of Breakout or two.
While this person was going through their attic, they happened across a bunch of old tickets for Disneyland.
And since they appeared to grant access to certain attractions for a quarter or less, we’re talking old here.
I wonder how many of the attractions listed on these even still exist?
Many of us can recall having a couple of Nerf guns growing up but this seems like some Frankenstein-like person put together the toys we were most likely to play with.
After all, not only is this an air-powered dart gun but it also includes a “knife” that’s a lot like those foam swords some of us used to swing around.
When something like this is uncovered from a workplace, it’s hard not to wonder how it even got there.
And in this case, it’s just as difficult to tell how old the item is.
Although the uploader knows that someone named J. Thompson used this while traveling from Southampton to Brisbane in a year ending with “66,” we don’t know whether that was 1966 or 1866.
When the uploader went out with their metal detector, they came across this old lipstick case that looks like a bullet.
They were also surprised to discover that this tube still had some lipstick left over inside of it.
I can’t really blame anyone for not wanting to use it at this point, though.
While it feels weird to see an internet browser that runs on a CD, I suppose it had to get on our computers somehow.
Unfortunately, much like the modern experience of using a Microsoft browser, there were no shortage of people who largely used it to download other options.
Anyone remember Netscape?
We can definitely call something a relic from a bygone era when it was made in a country that doesn’t technically exist anymore.
For all I know, whichever firm made this puzzle is just as capable of doing so now but they won’t be doing it from West Germany.
Apparently, absurdly long CVS receipts are not as recent of a phenomenon as we may think.
At least, that’s the impression I get from this Christmas ornament that comes to us from almost 30 years ago.
That said, maybe it’s a coincidence that accidentally predicted the future.
When this person found a used copy of *Pokémon The First Movie,* they were lucky enough to find everything the box included.
That’s right, whoever sold this could have taken out the Pokémon card that came with it and sold it online but they didn’t.
Whether that was because they didn’t know how valuable it would be or they just didn’t want the box to be a liar, it came as a pleasant surprise to the uploader.
Sometimes, the general look of something can lead us to underestimate how old it is.
For instance, when this person came across the snowman we see here in a box of old Christmas decorations, they would never have guessed that it was made all the way back in 1933.
Shortly before the collapse of the Soviet Union, the uploader’s grandfather was able to get his hands on two of these police caps while on a trip to Russia.
And based on what I know about my own dad’s similar trek there during the 1970s, he was likely able to get them by trading for commodities you would have only found in the West at the time.
While jeans were apparently a hot item, my dad was able to get a surprising amount of mileage out of the fact that he brought over packs of Juicy Fruit gum.
While it’s obviously common to find trash on the ground, that trash usually hasn’t been laying there for decades.
But if the fading on this Pepsi can hasn’t already given us a clue that this one is different, the fact that it’s referencing the Pepsi Challenge that first emerged in 1975 and carried on throughout the end of the 20th century clinches it.
Although the top buttons on this Magnavox alarm clock are gone, that doesn’t stop the uploader’s dad from using them.
And really, the fact that something like this manages to keep working for almost 40 years after it was manufactured is impressive enough that I can see why.
I can’t really say I remember a time when Wendy’s and Arby’s gave out matchbooks but this photo proves that they did once upon a time.
However, I suppose it isn’t terribly surprising that they would considering that it hasn’t really been that long since the days when restaurants had smoking and non-smoking sections.
While going through their family’s home in New Zealand, the uploader came across an old box of medical supplies.
And depending on how old some of this stuff is, it’s possible that it contains ingredients that you’re not legally allowed to sell anymore.
Yeah, old school medicines could get pretty intense.
While it can often be hard to tell how old a piano is, the man in this photo has recently come across an impressive vintage.
It was made by the Ennis & Co. piano firm , which means that this instrument was likely manufactured sometime between 1886 and the 1930s.
It’s held up remarkably well, all things considered.
Speaking of brands that no longer exist, the old house that this woman now finds herself in apparently had an old coffee can from A&P.
Although the store chain made it to the 21st century, the style of this packaging seems to suggest this can was purchased sometime during the 1950s.
While digging in the woods near their home, the uploader came across some vintage beer cans among some other old stuff.
Apparently, we can attribute their presence in the area to the fact that their property used to feature a series of homesteads that were established in the late 1800s and — in some cases — survived until the 1970s.
Stepping into this McDonald’s location would almost certainly feel like stepping into the past.
I can’t say I’ve given much thought to the way the chain has changed the design of their restaurants but seeing the chairs in this place unlocked memories I didn’t know I had.
And I imagine anyone who was a kid during the ’80s or ’90s is having a similar experience right now.
I can’t think of many scenarios where a loose CD would find itself embedded in the icy ground so I’m guessing that somebody did this on purpose.
And while it’s not as if it’s impossible to find new CDs anymore, the fact that the Ice Cube CD we’re looking at came out over 20 years ago seems about as appropriate as they fact that it was left out in a winter wonderland.
