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I’ve long harbored a suspicion that most of our floss readers (and certainly our staffers) are closet nerds, and as far as I’m concerned, this photo challenge proved it. Somehow, we tricked legions of you into opening those closets, finding the nerdiest slash most embarrassing photos you could find of yourselves, then emailing them to us so we could post them on the internet. (And on a modestly popular website, at that.) What were you thinking??
Naturally, we got tons of submissions. We can’t post them all here, but we’ll post the most acutely embarrassing shots and put the rest on our Flickr page. Let the humiliation begin!
Above: reader Matt writes “I don’t know what to be more embarrassed about: the chubby belly, the pulled-up socks, the weird face I’m making or the Tron shirt.” Taken at Sunken Gardens in St. Petersburg, Florida, circa 1985.”
Reader Kay and her father tickle the ivories. “I still love music,” she writes, “though I’ve since managed to cure my childhood exhibitionism.”
Reader Jenny went as french fries for Halloween. Judging from the hair: 1986ish?
Shaya Lewin, age six, Cleveland, Ohio. “This may be the first time my mom let me dress myself.”
Reader Tina was a long way from puberty in this photo, but already excited about bras:
Joe from Iowa sent in this picture of he and his brother (”deep in the 70s”), pretending to smoke and drink. Well, allegedly pretending.
Kathy writes: “This would be me upgrading a pre-windows era Tandy. Yes, I’m a girl. Yes, that’s a Tandy.” Nerd city, population: you!
Chad about to be mauled by a deer at the petting zoo.
Reader Kate doing a seductive dance with a mop on her head:
Carrie’s husband Steve doing an impersonation of his mother, years ago, while wearing her glasses. Definitely embarrassing, and vaguely Norman Bates-y to boot. Thanks, Carrie!
Mental_Floss staffers
OK, we’ve humiliated our readers enough, now it’s time to turn the lens on ourselves.
Bloggers Jason Plautz (left) and Brett Savage (right), dressed as an old lady and Batman’s sidekick, respectively.
Mental_Floss magazine editor-in-chief Neely Harris waterskiing with her teeth (left) and barking orders at the photographer (right). How this makes Neely look like anything other than a badass, I’m not certain.
The many sides of Higgins. First, the scholar:
… and the greaser. Higgins explains: “When I was six, I had a lot of denim clothes. I remember one day deciding to become a sort of greaser badass. I figured that I could bad-ify myself by wearing all denim, with striped bandanas randomly tied around my extremities, then adopting some kind of karate pose.”
Stacy was kind enough to send me this shot, which is awesomely nerdy in more ways than I can count. Between the glasses, the grandma, and the matching hot pink pants, hat and balloon …
… or the fact that they’re standing right in front of a calendar, which reads:
… an embarrassing year for kids everywhere, to be sure. Myself included:
Yikes. Merry Christmas, kitty.
Below: writers David and Andréa, worshiping God (left) and the Lord of the Dance (right).
Miss Cellania circa 1974:
Comments (25)
Comment
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Fantastic! I’ll send you mine tonight, when I have scanner access. A bow tie is involved.
posted by Jason on 3-10-2008 at 12:15 pm
Just three things:
-Brett Savage, are you wearing hose?
-Stacy IS rocking the 90’s with the t-shirt and day-glo shorts. TOTALLY RAD!
-Miss Cellania? I cry foul. Soooooo not nerdy. Even for the 70’s.
posted by mrs.djs on 3-10-2008 at 12:30 pm
If I’m seeing that right, the poor kid in the picture from Joe from Iowa even has his fly open…
posted by Allie on 3-10-2008 at 12:35 pm
I’m so sad that mine didn’t get scanned in time…it was a picture of me at about 7 years old, dressed as a bunch of grapes…sitting on the toilet. It was awesome.
posted by Fruppi on 3-10-2008 at 12:42 pm
Love these photos…
Miss Cellania, I looked like that in 1974 too…! long straight hair and bellbottoms…those were the days…
posted by donner on 3-10-2008 at 12:52 pm
I’d like to point out to everyone that my grandma and I are apparently wearing the same glasses.
posted by stacy on 3-10-2008 at 1:39 pm
The shirt Stacy has on is one of my favorite relics from the 80s and early 90s (and I guess they probably still make them today.) The “Popular phrase from a popular song at the time” t-shirt. “Don’t Worry, Be Happy” fits in with my favorite “You Can’t Touch This” and accompanying hand prints.
posted by Ryan on 3-10-2008 at 1:50 pm
Awww, Stacy, I just had a flashback. I had that exact same “Don’t Worry Be Happy” t-shirt with the multi-colored words and big smiley face. And the same glasses. Man, we could’ve been awkward together.
posted by Nat X on 3-10-2008 at 1:59 pm
I have that Tron shirt, and there is a picture of me in it. complete with pulled up socks. but, unlike now, I was rail thin.
Unfortunately (or fortunately) my Mom and Dad have that picture and I don’t have easy way to grab it.
posted by Tom Boucher on 3-10-2008 at 2:57 pm
Only a Mother culd love some of these–and I’m a mother!
posted by lulu on 3-10-2008 at 3:43 pm
TRON ROCKS. Don’t ever knock the Tron, I got it on DVD for Christmas 2 years ago and I’m 31.
posted by Betty on 3-10-2008 at 3:54 pm
Are you sure that’s Miss Celenia and not Marcia Brady? :D
posted by beth on 3-10-2008 at 4:06 pm
Probably one of the greatest posts ever. Ransom, it looks like you were a special kid. :)
Of course, if I had not been out of town when the submission call was made, I might have submitted a picture of me at Disney World in lizard print shorts and a matching shirt I made for a 4-H project, all topped with a very ill-advised perm.
Then again, that might be a picture best never shown to anyone. Ever.
posted by kate on 3-10-2008 at 4:36 pm
Three things that stuck out:
1) Why is the little girl playing the piano not wearing any pants?
2) I feel bad for the computer user with the Cubs t-shirt on – that childhood left significant psychological scars, I would bet.
3) That one picture that’s turned sideways in the Flickr group looks like it’s from 1890 or something? Do we have a 120 year person here? Wow.
Miss Cellania, I would sooooo have hit on you! Hahaha!
posted by Moon on 3-10-2008 at 4:54 pm
Thank you, Moon.
I could defend my picture by saying I NEVER looked nerdy… but the truth is that there are very few pictures of me before 1976, when my house burned down. This was later retreived from an old boyfriend, which explains the scotch tape rip on the left.
posted by Miss Cellania on 3-10-2008 at 5:25 pm
Just imagine the pix that didn’t get submitted… haha
posted by ann on 3-10-2008 at 5:57 pm
Yeah, Miss Cellania was/is a certifiable babe, as far as I’m concerned.
posted by RSN on 3-10-2008 at 6:43 pm
Man oh man, these pictures sure bring back memories.
posted by sherri on 3-11-2008 at 9:34 am
Sure, Miss Cellania, you say “Thank you” NOW, but back then, you would have slapped me silly! :)
I have the ultimate hippie nerd picture from 1972 or so, but my scanner is broken and the one at work is broken (new scanner/copier just installed, but the brain trust can’t figure out how to get it to work)
posted by Moon on 3-11-2008 at 1:40 pm
also note the open fly on the more colorful of our drunken, smoking heroes from the 70’s. truly nerdy indeed.
posted by lol on 3-11-2008 at 6:40 pm
My sister just unearthed a picture of me from 1984ish, in which I have undies on my head and a banana. No one has any backstory. I was 8. I’m terrified and will try to scan it in!
posted by amy on 3-24-2008 at 2:29 pm
Kathy,
I have that same Cubs ringer shirt and I still occasionally wear it. It has paint, gum, and pit stains but I still love it.
posted by danny on 2-2-2009 at 6:21 pm
Miss C, you’re gorgeous! And Stacy, I’m going to have to find a picture similar to the one you posted. I swear, we could have been twins (5 years apart or so.) Same glasses, same t-shirt, same horrible haircut.
Except my grandmother’s way shorter.
posted by Cassie on 4-17-2009 at 10:37 pm
the kid in teh first pic look slike “Peter” from The Cosby Show…that or a slimmer version of “Chunk” from Goonies
posted by Chris on 8-17-2009 at 5:20 pm
These were really funny…thanks for posting
posted by Alex on 9-30-2009 at 11:23 am