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Netflix asked people to share DVDs they 'forgot' to return, and the result was pure nostalgia

Getting that red envelope in the mail was coolest thing ever.

netflix 25 years, netflix forgotten dvds, netflix
Photo by Mollie Sivaram on Unsplash, Twitter

To think, this icon was nearly synonomous with a bleating goat sound.

Once upon a time in the late '90s, in the prestreaming days of yore, before binge-watching was even a word, a company called Netflix entered the scene, killing brick-and-mortar movie rental stores like Blockbuster with its promise of entertainment delivered to your doorstep in a crisp red envelope.

Whether it was a tried-and-true title or something on the more adventurous side that was selected from the online “queue”—my choice was usually some kind of French arthouse film because I desperately wanted to be cool—the combination of excitement and convenience (at least for that time) was simply unbeatable.

netflix anniversary, first netflix dvdMovie nights are the best nights.Giphy

Nowadays we have access to content of our choosing 24/7 (thanks in part to Netflix) and that inexplicable feeling of getting a new DVD in the mail is mostly a fond, though distant memory.

To celebrate its 25th anniversary (don’t you feel old now?) Netflix posted a bunch of company fun facts, and they did not disappoint.


For instance, you know that iconic, satisfying “tudum” sound that plays when you enter the platform? The one sort of reminiscent of “Law & Order?” That was almost the sound of a bleating goat instead. Yeah, bullet dodged there.

Also, the very first DVD ever rented was Tim Burton’s “Beetlejuice.” Whoever that first customer was, they obviously had great taste.

Here are a few other gems curated by MovieWeb:

  • The most popular profile icon, used worldwide on 11 million profiles, is the “Boss Baby” icon.
  • Netflix originally had a placeholder name of Kibble—yep, like the dog food.
  • Following the launch of "The Queen’s Gambit," there was a 125% increase in chess board sales.
  • Netflix had its own awards show called "The Flixies."
  • The first Netflix Original was “Lilyhammer.”
  • There was once a campaign for “Netflix socks,” which detected when you fell asleep and paused the show or movie you were watching.
  • “Squid Game” is Netflix’s most popular title ever.

In 2021, Ben & Jerry’s created a Netflix & Chilll’d ice cream flavor, featuring peanut butter ice cream, sweet and salty pretzel swirls, fudge brownie bits and excuse me while I whisk away to the grocery store…

Netflix later posted a follow-up tweet asking folks to share any DVDS they “forgot” to return and still have. Since the company never charged late fees, people simply paid their monthly subscription and could return films whenever they wanted. Or, you know, not at all.

Though the company promised no one would get in trouble, some were lightheartedly suspicious.

But for the most part, people were brave. And their replies were a delightful cruise down memory lane.

Sharing their envelope for the movie “Crimson Tide,” one person wrote “I’ve been holding on to this for years!!! I really like this movie but I lost the DVD in the cabinet and never sent it back.” Relatable.

Another person, showing off their Coen Brothers flick “Burn After Reading,” joked that “finally after 14 years I can get this off my chest."

Others simply shared their nostalgia for a bygone era.

Technology continues to move forward at a lightning fast pace, advancing everything along with it. But one thing always remains the same—humans need comfort and entertainment. The ways we get it might evolve, but the need will always be there. And though Netflix is arguably not without its flaws, it has played a major role in fulfilling that need.

So go ahead, grab a blanket, turn off the lights and celebrate this milestone. What a time to be alive.

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William Shatner describes the profound grief he felt when he finally went to space for real

The OG Captain Kirk's real-life space experience holds important lessons for us all.

"William Shatner" by Gage Skidmore is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.

William Shatner's trip to space wasn't what he expected.

Statistically speaking, the number of humans who have traveled into space is insignificant. But the experience of leaving our home planet and venturing into the great beyond is incredibly significant for the individuals who have actually done it.

One of those fortunate humans is actor William Shatner, who spent three years pretending to hurtle through space in his iconic role as Captain James T. Kirk on the original "Star Trek" series. As captain of the USS Enterprise, Captain Kirk was dedicated to exploring "strange new worlds," seeking out "new life and new civilizations" and boldly going "where no man has gone before."

Naturally, Shatner has spent a lot of time pondering what it would be like to actually experience leaving Earth, and when he took the opportunity to join Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin trip to space in October 2021 at age 90, he was able to compare how his expectations met up with reality.

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Angela Lansbury, icon of the stage and screen, dies at 96. Fans celebrate her life online.

Lansbury nabbed her first Oscar nom at only 19 years old.

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She was a star through and through.

For many, Dame Angela Lansbury represented a once-in-lifetime combination of talent, grace and charm.

Whether she played a singing teapot, a baker-slash-murderess or a book-writing, crime-solving sleuth, the London-born actress with one of the world’s most beloved voices delivered lasting, iconic roles that stayed in people’s hearts.

On Tuesday, October 11, 2022, “just five days shy of her 97th birthday," Lansbury’s family announced that she “died peacefully in her sleep at home in Los Angeles.”



Though it is sad to see her go, her long life of gracing the stage and screen is certainly worth celebrating, and her legacy will not be forgotten.

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WestJet flight attendant's funny safety presentation may actually make flying safer

Nobody's zoning out during this safety spiel.

Photo by Hanson Lu on Unsplash

A flight attendant makes the safety demonstration highly entertaining.

Most of us who fly on commercial airlines with any regularity at all have heard the preflight safety presentation so many times we tune it out. Emergency exits forward and back, seat cushions act as flotation devices, put your oxygen mask on first before assisting others, and so on. Once you've heard it a couple of times, you feel like you've got it down.

However, we've seen evidence that most people actually don't have it down. In 2018, a Southwest flight had an emergency midflight and passengers were asked to put on their oxygen masks. Photos from the flight showed that the majority of passengers put them on incorrectly, indicating that people actually do need to be paying attention to the flight crew's standard safety spiel.

Let's face it, though. Even most flight attendants appear to be robotically going through the motions in those presentations, and who can blame them? They have to do the same thing over and over hundreds if not thousands of times.

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