14 Things That Used To Be EVERYWHERE In The '90s

We weren't very concerned with seat belts in the '90s. Come to think of it, we weren't very concerned with seats. No one would bat an eye when we'd pile into the back of the station wagon for the trip to Grandma's.

Back in the Stone Age (also known as the '90s), we paid per text. It wasn't this luxury where you could chat as much as you wanted and your monthly bill wouldn't budge. Primitive, right? Kind of like cooking your food by fire.

"Smoking is bad for you?" — Every kid in the '90s.

Just kidding. All of our favorite sitcoms and family shows had at least one anti-smoking episode, so we were certainly discouraged from smoking. But candy cigarettes were still a thing. (Side note: Did anyone even like the taste?)

Fun childhood toy, or a secret weapon simply disguised as one? That remains to be seen. But I do know this: The toy that once led to the most wicked self-inflicted bruises doesn't look the way it used to. This is not the toy I remember splitting my shins open.

When we'd go out to eat in the '90s, the hostess would always ask, "Smoking or non-smoking?" That's because people were still allowed to smoke inside. They just had to do it in their own designated section. You still smelled smoke your whole meal anyway.

This was the furniture of '90s youngsters. Never mind that you almost went unconscious trying to inflate it. Why don't kids like this stuff today? Maybe they realized how much it sucks when your skin sticks to it.

Image: Fotolia

When you were out of the house and needed to make a call, you'd insert some coins into this box on the wall, and that was your phone. You can still find some pay phones today — on the History channel.

The only concern here was how hard it'd be to find your friends during a brutal game of hide and seek. Otherwise, the rules were simple: When the street lights went on, you'd get your butt home.

I didn't realize floppy disks were out until I first used a computer that only accepted CDs. Now we don't even have that. Instead, we insert this little thumb drive thing, and it reads the thoughts in your mind and puts them into your computer or something.

Cookies dipped in frosting were how we did dessert in the '90s. You can still buy Dunkaroos online, but somehow, it's just not the same.

They had stretchy, curly cords, and called ID wasn't always a thing. You'd have to call your friend and pray her dad didn't pick up. We had busy tones, answering machines, and the pleasure of physically hanging up on someone when they ticked you off.

Wonder Balls were candy filled with candy, because why not? A chocolate sphere was filled with little surprise candies, and if your mom came home with one, it was the highlight of your day. These days, we just give kids smartphones. (But they're not filled with candy. Suckers!)

It's apparently a myth that the $2 bill was discontinued; instead, it's just printed far less frequently because there isn't a demand for it. As recently as 2013, 45 million $2 bills were introduced; so they do exist. Still, you don't see them very often, right?

The friendly neighborhood video store you grew up with closed all its doors by early 2014. You'd go there to grab a VHS or DVD, maybe some popcorn and candy. It was a special outing, until instant streaming changed our entire worlds.