Mental Floss

THE '90S

Universal Pictures Home Entertainment

You’re a Lebowski. I’m a Lebowski. Twenty years after its release, pretty much everyone loves the Coen brothers' classic. But that wasn’t always the case.

Adam D’Arpino




Karen Neoh, Flickr, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons

In 1988, one year before 'Cops' began asking the bad boys of America “What'cha gonna do when they come for you?,” noted victims’ advocate John Walsh was turning every American with access to Fox into a potential crime-solver on 'America’s Most Wanted'.

Jennifer M Wood




Hulton Archive, Getty Images

In 1996, the Spice Girls took the world by storm when they released the song “Wannabe” from their debut album, 'Spice.'

Garin Pirnia






Fox

'The Simpsons' has had an impressive track record for predicting future events. A 1998 episode showed the 20th Century Fox logo with "A Division of Walt Disney Co" beneath it.

Jake Rossen




Mill Creek Entertainment

The quintessential annoying neighbor went from pitching milk and pizza in regional commercials to starring in 10 feature films. Let's see the Pillsbury Doughboy do that.

Jake Rossen






Mike Mozart, Flickr // CC BY 2.0

When U.S. Army Corps bombardier Max Spencer Adler was shot down over Europe and imprisoned by the Nazis during World War II, it’s not likely he dreamed of one day becoming the czar of penis-shaped lollipops and lava lamps.

Jake Rossen
ABC

From 'Full House' to 'Perfect Strangers,' if you turned on a TV set in the 1990s, it was impossible to escape ABC's Friday night "TGIF" lineup.

mentalfloss .com
Paramount Pictures

It takes just 14 words—“Welcome to Good Burger, home of the Good Burger, can I take your order?”—to make a ‘90s kid swoon with nostalgia.

Tara Aquino