The 20 Most Nostalgic 'I'm This Old' Memes

Publish date: 2024-06-16

People are describing their ages using not words but nostalgic pictures...mostly of things from the '90s you've totally forgotten about. Let's take a walk down memory lane.

Robin Zlotnick - Author

Most memes are designed in such a way that they make you feel dumb if you aren't totally up on the newest, hottest internet lingo. (I am aware that the phrase "newest, hottest internet lingo" makes me sound approximately a thousand years old.) But not the "I'm This Old" meme. This meme is for old people who remember things from the past. Things like VHS tapes and those wildly ill-advised sniffable markers that we all used to shove up our noses.

The "I'm This Old" meme has people sharing pictures to describe how old they are without actually giving away their age. These are generally super nostalgic pictures of things from decades past that will make you go, "Oh yeahhhhh!" before a flood of memories whooshes into your brain. If you're old like me (born in the '80s, grew up in the '90s), get ready to be sent back in time, via meme.

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1. Floppy disks

Heck yeah, so much love for floppy disks! My favorite Fisher Price bowling game was on a floppy disk. Do you remember it? It was so fun! There was also the firehouse rescue game and the one that was just, like, driving a bus and picking up kids for school. It was riveting.

2. McDonald's Happy Meal McDino Changeables

Not going to lie, I only vaguely remembered these toys, which were a thing in 1990, and I had to watch a YouTube video of a guy playing with them to remember that they transform into little Happy Meal dinosaurs. Now I want a set.

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3. Minesweeper and Pinball

How many hours of your life do you think you spent trying to win Minesweeper? It's probably more than any of us care to admit. And that pinball game I think came around later, but I mastered it and used to play for hours. 

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4. 'Small Soldiers'

OK, so I knew that I knew this one from somewhere, but I had to send the picture to my fiancé to confirm. He flipped out about how incredible Small Soldiers is (I quote, "Kirsten Dunst, last Phil Hartman. It's a great movie"), and now we're watching it tonight. So, thanks, "I'm This Old" meme, for giving me my Tuesday night plans. 

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5. Power Rangers

I don't think there was a single kid who grew up in the '90s of any gender who didn't watch Power Rangers. Everyone had their favorite one. Obviously, mine was the Yellow Ranger because she was a girl but she wasn't girly like the Pink Ranger. Trini for life!

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6. Suncup

WOW, I saw this picture and was immediately transported back to summer camp, where they used to serve these at lunch time. We'd be all wet from the pool, eating sandwiches and drinking Suncups before our afternoon activities, which almost exclusively included making friendship bracelets and doing hand games.

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7. 'Our Friend, Martin'

There was no shortage of educational videos that attempted to be cool so kids would actually enjoy them, and Our Friend, Martin was the best of them. Oh geez, when you walked into class and your teacher rolled out the TV cart, you knew it was going to be a good day.

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8. MTV

You may not be old enough to remember when MTV actually played music videos, but you're probably old enough to remember this quality programming. Honestly, they should bring back My Super Sweet Sixteen because I bet it's extra bonkers now. The world is ending; these kids' parties are probably lit.

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9. Makeshift cubicles

This brings back so many memories. So much of your life is full of Scantrons and little blue books and timed tests and multiple choice and essay questions, and then, one day, all that is over. And instead you worry about paying bills and getting jobs and not microwaving fish in the office.

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10. Juice bars and frozen pizza

As a New Yorker, I have no problem saying with confidence that even bad pizza is good. Even those frozen rectangles of Ellio's pizza that you ate on Fridays in the school cafeteria were delicious! I used to live off those and Minute Maid Frozen Lemonades. Those were the days.

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11. Clippy

The golden age of software office assistants was in the late '90s and early '00s. Clippy, the paperclip with eyes, popped up to "help" you write your Word document, but almost never when you needed him. If you have ever screamed at the computer screen, "I am not writing a letter! Stop asking me if I need help writing a letter!" you probably know what I'm talking about.

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12. Accelerated Reader tests

I vaguely remember these early online reading tests. It was a huge thing in the '90s for computer programs to try to make it look like you were staring at a regular piece of paper. I don't know why. I'm glad we've graduated from that era.

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13. Bubble Beeper

There were so many bad brands of tasteless, gross gum out there when we were little, and Bubble Beeper might top the list. I guess it was sort of in the shape of a beeper, and the colors were neon, so people thought it was cool. But it wasn't. It was hard, bad chewing gum. Gimme Big League Chew or Bubble Tape any day over Bubble Beeper.

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14. 'Schoolhouse Rock'

Do kids today still watch Schoolhouse Rock in history class? If not, how do kids learn how a bill becomes a law? They kind of nailed it on the head with "I'm Just a Bill" from Schoolhouse Rock. I honestly don't think it will get any better than this. 

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15. 'Gulla Gulla Island'

Great. The second I saw this picture, the show's amazing theme song got stuck in my head, and now I'm pretty sure it will be there forever and ever. All you have to do is click on this and it will be stuck in your head too. Binya Binya! 

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16. Mini animal toys

I think I'm too old to remember these, but apparently, they were very popular with the kids in the early 2000s. They were available in toy gum ball machines in pizza places and kids would trade for the best ones. It just amazes me how many legit choking hazards parents used to let us play with.

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17. Wendy's "Biggie" size

"Oh yeah!" you might be saying to yourself right now. "Why did Wendy's get rid of their Biggie size?" Well apparently, people got confused by the size designation, so it was discontinued in favor of a more straightforward "small, medium, or large" scale. 

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18. Trix cereal

If you're old enough to remember when Trix cereal was shaped like actual fruit, congratulations. This was truly the golden age of kids' breakfast options. That stuff was so good. So full of sugar, and so so delicious. Apparently, "Classic Trix" is back, so today's kids will finally get to experience the glory. 

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19. The Disney Channel

OK, hold up. There are like three generations of Disney Channel shows represented here. Yes, I was all about Even Stevens  and Lizzie McGuire and Sister, Sister. But Hannah Montana and whatever show Selena Gomez was on [Wizards of Waverly Place — ed.] was way past my time, and — I think everyone would agree — past Disney's prime, too.

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20. Mr. Sketch Markers and Blockbuster

It's hilarious that scented markers were once a thing. What a truly terrible idea. We loved them, though! They were so gross! And I may be dating myself, but I loved perusing the shelves of Blockbuster (or the local video rental store), even through college. You used to have to work for your movie-watching ability, and I liked it!

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