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Guy shares the 'one sound in the entire world' that divides those born before and after 1998

It'll make you cringe or feel absolutely nothing.

via TheGlassSniper/TikTok and 30pin Pictures/Flickr

The Glass Sniper is taking people back to 1998.

A popular TikToker known as The Glass Sniper is going viral with a video that struck a chord with people who remember the early days of the Internet. In the video, he teases a specific sound that was everywhere before it suddenly disappeared into the collective memory of those born before the Clinton-Lewinsky scandal.

“There is only one sound in this entire world that will forever separate the old generation from the new one,” Glass Sniper said in the viral video. “'For when the new generation hears it, they'll have no idea what we're talking about. But when the old generation hears it… We cringe!” The sound, of course, is the squeak of a dial-up modem connecting with an Internet service provider or ISP, as they were known back in the day.


@theglasssniper

New year. New Generation. What year is the line drawn? Lol

New year. New Generation. What year is the line drawn? Lol

One of the biggest problems with dial-up internet was that if you were online, no one in your home could use the phone, which caused some big domestic problems. Also, if you used a long-distance phone number for your dial-up number, you could be in for a hefty phone bill.

phone bill, big bill, unexpected bill, aol bill, america online, shocked man, moneyA man is shocked when he looks at his phone bill. via Canva/Photos

"I can hear my mom yelling 'IM ON THE PHONE!'" — MacksMom1990 wrote in the comments. "Followed by...You've got mail," DawnMichel added. "I can already hear my sister yelling at me to get off the computer so she can call her friend," Uncle B wrote.

"I figured it would be that sound, or the sound that the tv made after there no more tv shows at night ( when they showed the colour palette)," Isabellers Unniers wrote. "That sound reminds me of the time when I didn’t have to worry about anything, no stress (other than that damn noise) or anything," That_silver300 added. "The way my head popped up like a damn meerkat when I heard it..." MagnusDavis345 commented."

aol, america online, aol disc, hard disc, 1990s, '90s nostaligia, you've got mailAn old America Online disc.via Karl Baron/Flickr


For those of you who don't remember the early days of dial-up modems, in the mid-'90s, America Online (or AOL) was the most popular internet service provider, and it offered chat features, web browsing, and email, all in one package. Its chat rooms allowed people to connect anonymously with others in real-time, and, at that time, no one had photos, so you had to trust that the person was who they said they were.

In 1999, AOL grew to over 18 million subscribers and was the largest internet provider in the country. However, after a merger with Time Warner, dubbed "one of the worst mergers in history," in 2001 and the development of broadband internet, AOL's dial-up services quickly became a dinosaur.

Although they’re uncommon, people still use dial-up modems. For some comparison, in 2002, 55 million people in the U.S. used dial-up internet, but that number quickly dropped to 51 million in 2003. As of September 2023, 400,000 people in the U.S. still have dial-up internet.

This article originally appeared last year.

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The 6 discontinued food and drink products that people are demanding come back immediately

Why did they ever go away?

Photo Credit: Goleh|Wikimedia

6 nostalgic products people demand make a come back

There's something from nearly everyone's childhood that simply no longer exist, whether it be a toy, television show or snack. But it seems to be that the snacks are what causes people to feel most upset when that nostalgia kicks in. Maybe it's because as you age you no longer play with toys and aren't very interested in tween shows from the 80s or 90s, those sorts of things are expected to go away.

Foods and snacks on the other hand really crank up the fond memories because they're things you can taste and smell. You remember them with all of your senses. So when someone asked what discontinued food do you still mourn, more than 30k people had something to add to the list. Here are some of the most requested:

1. SoBe Drinks

The "lizard drink" 90s kids just couldn't get enough of. Technically, you can still find the drinks in very few places, they're just extremely difficult to locate and have been since early 2021 according to Mashed. One person wrote in the Reddit thread that Washington state has them in select areas, prompting one person to reply, "please tell me where you've seen it, I live in Western WA and have not seen it in years. I am willing to drive literally hours for a sobe." Apparently grocery stores in Kenmore, Washington carry the 90s drink or you can buy them in bulk from the PepsiCo website supposedly.

2. McDonald's Box Cookies

In a far, far away time in the late 1900s, McDonald's used to carry delicious little boxes of cookies with McDonald's characters on the boxes. They came in similar boxes to old school animal crackers but the formula for those cookies were nothing short of delicious. Then the restaurant giant stopped carrying them after the mid 90s before bringing them back in the 2000s but in a small bag. They're gone again, now everyone has the sads.

"Those McDonaldland cookies were the only thing that got me through my first pregnancy. Just the smell of them would make the morning sickness fade. I miss them," one person shares.


3. Flintstones Push-Ups

Those push-ups were delicious and clearly orange was the superior flavor. Even though the ice cream treat was designed to be contained in the tube, you always wound up sticky with orange juices running down your arm and face. The paper tube was notorious for starting to disintegrate before you were able to get to the bottom. One person admitted that the treat was the one thing she knew would make her feel better while sick, "I was sick last week and my boyfriend asked what he could get me and I blurted out..."push-pops." I had no idea where it came from, but my soul knew. It remembered."

4. Orbitz drink

The drink that looked like a lava lamp with little flavored beads that bursted like boba. Orbitz wasn't around very long and maybe the fact that it did look like a decorative lamp had something to do with it but still people miss the non-carbonated drink. It came onto the market in 1996 and was gone by 1998. Someone suggested with the popularity of boba, Clearly Canadian may be able to pull off a comeback for the nostalgic drink, "Yes! I thought of the "lava lamp drinks". I think these would do better now with the popularity of boba. They were just too far ahead of their time."


Photo credit: Wikimedia

5. Carnation Instant Breakfast Bars

Apparently people have strong feelings about the discontinuation about these bars with more than one person cursing Nestle for the demise of the bar. Someone enthusiastically agrees the bars should've stayed around, "I'm not the only one!!!!!!!!!! Those things were amazing. They tasted good and were actually filling. Whoever decided to stop making those was a moron. They really need to bring those back."

6. Yogos

These delicious balls of childhood memories were apparently a choking hazard but it didn't stop people from eating them. Was it the risk of aspiration that caused the company to pull the plug on the yogurt covered treat? "My kid almost choked to death on one of these back in like 03-04. They were real good tho...," one person shares. According to commenters Costco has a dupe called Yoggies that tastes similarly to Yogos.


Y’all remember YoGos, or am I the only one?
byu/i_love_travel_ insnacking

Some other popular mentions were Altoids Tangerine Sours, Blue Pepsi, Crystal Pepsi and Fruit Stripe Gum. People are demanding that some of these things return so they can continue their nostalgic journey with the real thing in hand. While there's no plans to petition companies, at least people know they're not alone in their longing for long lost snacks.

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Mom has her Gen Z daughter rate 90s teenage heartthrobs and the reviews are so hilarious

We still love you, Zach Morris.

@caitlin.the.realtor/TikTok, used with permission

Wait, so 90's fashion is in, but 90's hair is out?

Every era has its own version of what’s attractive. And very rarely does that aesthetic hold power with the following generation. In fact, it often becomes the opposite of cool.

Just think of Elvis. He might have been a universal sex symbol for a time, but it also wasn’t long before his pompadour became passé. Same goes for Paul Newman’s rugged manliness, David Cassidy’s babyface, Tom Selleck’s mustache. Indeed, for everything a season.

Which brings us to the 90s. The age of beach blonde surfer boys (real surfing skills not required, but a plus). Of flannel, lots of flannel, and super chiseled bodies. Let’s not forget this was the dawning of the term “metrosexual,” and also the time period that brought us that Calvin Klein ad with Mark Wahlburg.

How exactly would these guys measure up with the Gen Z kids today?

That was the question Caitlin Baudhuin aimed to answer when she decided to have her Gen Z daughter rate teenage heartthrobs of the 90’s and 00s on a scale of 1-10.

Let’s just say…none of them made the cut. Which saddened many a millennial and Gen Xer.

First up: Zachery Ty Bryan, who played eldest brother Brad Taylor on “Home Improvement.”

Baudhuin’s daughter graciously gave Bryan a 3. That’s the numerical version of “meh.”

Next: James Van Der Beek from “Dawson’s Creek.”

Appalled, her daughter says “It's so bad. It's like, I don't even know.”

At this point, you must be thinking, “well, she must be a Joshua Jackson kind of gal.” As Baudhuin explains, you were either Team Dawson, played by Vanderbeek, or Team Pacey, played by Jackson.

But after being shown a picture of Jackson, Baudhuin’s daughter makes a face like she’s just had bad shrimp, and says, “That's two. The last one was a four, that one's so bad. He's so ugly.” Ouch.

Finally, Baudhuin’s Hail Mary is “Saved By The Bell”’s Mark-Paul Gosselaar, aka Zack Morris.
@caitlin.the.realtor Episode 1 of my daughter rating my teen hollywood heartthrobs of the 90’s. 🤦🏻‍♀️🤣 #greenscreen #90skids #90steenheartthrobs #dawsonscreek #teampacey ♬ original sound - Caitlin - Memphis, TN Realtor

Before ranking Gosselaar at a measly 2.5, her daughter says, “Why is his smile like, it looks like he's not even happy. It looks like he's fake smiling. And then like his hair, like why is that a sleek back?”

This last one seemed to hurt folks the most. “The disrespect for Zach Morris!” one person wrote. Meanwhile, another said that ranking him that low was “criminal.”

But wait, there’s more. Baudhuin did a round two, many heartthrobs inspired by viewer suggestions. See the victims below:

-Shane West from “A Walk To Remember” got a 3, primarily due to his spiky hair. Baudhuin’s daughter is clearly not a fan of 90’s hairstyles. To which her mother asks, “have you seen boy’s hair these days?” Fair point!

-Freddie Prince Jr. from “She’s all That.” Another 3.

-Joseph Gordon Levitt, as seen in his role for “10 Things I Hate About You.” Levitt got a whopping 4 or 5! Progress!

-Erik von Detten from “The Princess Diaries.” This time Baudhuin asked her daughter to “ignore the greasy hair.” Which must have worked, cause he got a 5.5, thus winning this unofficial beauty contest. Still brutal though.

@caitlin.the.realtor Part 2 of my daughter rating 90’s/early 2000’s heartthrobs. We have a sort of winner! 🎉 #greenscreen #90s #early2000s #heartthrobs #awalktoremember #princessdiariesmovie #shesallthat #10thingsihateabout ♬ original sound - Caitlin - Memphis, TN Realtor

So there you have it. Beauty trends indeed come and go for men too. And on the bright side, even if our childhood icons don’t have the Timothée Chalamet Effect, it’s nice to know that by and large the definition of heartthrob has become way more diverse and inclusive. Thanks for that Gen Z, even though your candidness is savage sometimes.

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Gen Xers are sharing the 15 things that people under 25 will 'never understand'

"Hello, and welcome to Moviefone!"

via Adria Berrocal Forcada/ Unsplash, Daniel Schludi/Unsplash and Sam Dan Truong/Unsplash

Casette tapes, film cameras and landlines were a big part of the pre-2000 world.

There have been a few momentous changes since the dawn of the new millennium, creating an invisible line between those born before and after. The big events that forever changed culture are the creation of the smartphone, dawn of social media and terror attacks on 9/11.

People who were born in 1999 or later have, for the most part, lived in a world where they were either too young to know what life was like before these events or weren’t born yet.

That’s not to say that one era is better or worse. But, when an entire generation has no idea what it is like to go through a day without being connected to the internet, we’re bound to eventually lose any understanding of living IRL 24/7.

Those of us who haven’t lived in a world without intense security while traveling will be less inclined to return to a time when it was easier to move through the world without fear. People who live in a time where everything is available on demand have no idea how much they should appreciate the convenience. Back in the day, if you missed a show, you may not ever have a chance to see it again in your entire life.

A Reddit user named Haunting_Ad_1224 posed a question to the AskReddit forum that got a lot of Gen Xers and older generations, nostalgic for the days before Y2K. They asked the forum, “What's something that people under 25 will never understand?” and received nearly 2,000 responses. The commenters talked a lot about the benefits of being able to disconnect while also sharing their nostalgia for the days of landlines and cassette tapes.

Here are 15 things that people under 25 will never understand.

1. Taping songs off the radio

"Waiting for a song to come on the radio so you can tape it but completely forgetting until it comes on then making a mad dash to the radio." — Collieman 1123

"Or having the dj talk over the intro." — HorselRockit

2. The Time Lady

"Calling from a landline to get the current time." — Surround726

3. Calling for movie times

"Calling your local theater for show times." — Andushan

"Moviefone and a notepad and pencil." — PerpetualGazebo

"Or checking the newspaper for show times." — ieatboys999

4. Talking to parents

"Calling your friend’s house on the landline and making small talk with their parents when they were the ones who answered until your friend got to the phone." — McVinney512

"Calling a girl you have a crush on but her mom answers and you have a 20-minute conversation because she sounds just like said girl until you say something embarrassing and she realizes she is not talking to her brother." — GlyohedArchitect

5. Life before the internet

"I'm as addicted to my phone as the typical teenager, but I'm old enough to remember when I'd get off work at the end of the day and there was no expectation that I was reachable until I came back to work the following day. Good times, didn't appreciate it enough back then." — Moshethemean

"The idea that being asleep, having dinner, or watching a show was a perfectly good reason why no one answered the phone." — Reavenas

6. Privacy

"Privacy is rapidly going away. But the root cause is people not valuing it. If you told people in the '70s that people 50 years later would be happy to have open mics to multiple corporate headquarters in their living rooms they would freak out. There's no way you could convince someone from the '70s that people would actually want that and not value their privacy in any substantive manner. I can barely understand it myself." — Dcnblues

7. Boredom

"Went to use the bathroom the other day while my phone was charging, resorted back to the old days, and read the stuff on shampoo bottles." — Hairyemmie

8. Dial-up internet tone

"Trying to sneak online with dial-up when you're supposed to be asleep. There was no muting those dial-up tones." — XxVerdantFlamesX

9. Film cameras

"Taking pictures, then waiting for them to be developed to see if they turned out okay. YEAH, I am really old lol." — Ranjoko

"… resulting in a few dozen cherished memories you will keep as treasures in a box or on a wall. Not thousands of no-effort shots in the cloud no-one will ever look at except perhaps AI image scanners." — Moose2342

10. Life before 9/11

"You ever see movies where family or a friend is at the gate waiting for someone to get off the plane to hug them? Yeah that. ... People could often even accompany you on the airplane to see you off, and then they'd leave the plane before departure." — -DementedAvenger-

11. Being a free kid

"Being kicked out of the house for the day during the summer and riding your bicycles around town and buying candy with the 50 cents you have to your name. No phones, no tablets, just finding your friends at the or whatever. Having that become the best day ever." — CapricornMonk

12. Commercial breaks

"The mad dash to go to the bathroom or heat up food before the commercials ended and your show came back on." — Leokina114

"Alternatively, painstakingly programming the clock on your vcr, and setting it up to record the show on a blank tape." — Griffin Flash

13. The power of channel 3

"Using channel 3 as the source to play video games or use the VCR." — Substantial-Cream-93

"Also, when the reception went out, we had to go up to the attic to fiddle with the antenna. TV static is also different - went from fuzzy white noise to digital blips. We watched so many shows through static but when the pixels blip it's gone. Also now it seems we lose service way more often than when TV wasn't all digital." — Shewholaughslasts

14. Aging

"How quickly they will become 50." — Icy_Newspaper3739

"This is no joke. There’s a saying that the days are long but the years are short. Perhaps the most accurate phrases ever uttered." — Junior-Gorg

15. Disappearing

"Being able to just 'disappear' for a while. Before cell phones, there was a time when people couldn’t get ahold of you at all times for any reason." — Yikester

"This is something I love about flying, there's no way to contact me since I've never paid for WiFi. No calls, emails, Whatsapp, can't mindlessly scroll Reddit or watch YouTube, just completely disconnected." — Dr-Kipper


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