Mental Floss

THE '90S









Tech Decks were classroom nuisances, brah.

From slap bracelets to finger-sized skateboards, these are the distractions that filled teachers' desk drawers in the '90s.

Jake Rossen
The Hanson brothers photographed in 1997, when "MMMBop" was topping the charts.

In 1997, the first Harry Potter book was published in the U.K., 'Titanic' arrived in theaters, and you probably had Hanson's "MMMBop" stuck in your head—whether you liked it or not.

Todd Gilchrist
Steve Jobs introduces the first iPhone during his keynote speech at Macworld on January 9, 2007.

From its first steps out of the primordial sludge of the ARPANET days to its current role as a vessel for cat videos and Netflix, we're taking a look at just some of the most important moments in internet history.

Todd Gilchrist




Many '90s kids will remember playing Zoombinis.

Zoombinis graced the screens of many a ‘90s PC, inviting kids to use logic and experimentation as they led a troupe of exploited island workers through a Deep, Dark Forest and the Mountains of Despair en route to Zoombiniville.

Zoë Randolph




We apologize in advance for getting "Macarena" stuck in your head.

Los del Río's “Macarena” became the second longest-running number one in Billboard history, shifted 14 million copies, and sparked a dance craze that spread everywhere from the Olympics to the Democratic National Convention.

Jon O'Brien
A crew of cozy Calico Critters.

Calico Critters—or Sylvanian Families, as they're known outside North America—took the toy market by storm in the 1980s.

Zoë Randolph
Lisa Loeb in 1994.

You may not remember some of these songs from the films for which they were recorded; you may have forgotten about some of these songs (or movies) entirely. But each one captures a very specific moment in the life cycle of the films, the artists, the deca

Todd Gilchrist




The kid in you is getting excited just looking at this picture.

That famous Toys "R" Us jingle that you can hum from memory? One of the world's most successful authors helped write it.

Anne Taylor




Bruno Vincent/Getty Images

Napster forever changed the way we listen to music. Here are 11 facts about this industry-changing computer software.

Kristy Puchko