Viral Moments Before TikTok
This video featured a toddler’s outrage because of his brother chomping on his finger — again.
What is “Charlie Bit My Finger”?
These rainbow-swirled yogurt cups made every kid feel like they were eating pure chaos.
What is Trix yogurt?
This electronic pet would beep for food at the least convenient moments imaginable.
What is a Tamagotchi?
“It’s a pillow, it’s a pet…”
What is a Pillow Pet?
This Scholastic event was the Super Bowl of elementary school.
What is the Book Fair?
This American Idol audition featured a contestant who went viral for his unforgettable audition featuring the lyrics, “Lookin’ like a fool with your…”
What is “Pants on the Ground”?
This candy came in a plastic bottle with a twist-off top and enough sugar to power a small city.
What is a Baby Bottle Pop?
What is a Tamagotchi?
What are Heelys?
This insurance company insisted for years that “15 minutes could save you 15% or more.”
What is GEICO?
This online game site perfected the art of distracting every student during computer class.
What is CoolMathGames?
This viral moment features a teenager pointing at a police officer’s footwear and yelling the now-iconic phrase that roasted an entire generation’s sneakers.
What is “WHAT ARE THOOOOSE?!”
These fruity candies were basically tiny flavor bombs — and every commercial made it seem like your head would literally morph into fruit when you ate them.
What are Gushers?
These plush pets came with an online world where you could decorate a room and feed them virtual food.
What are Webkinz?
“F-R-E-E That spells free.” This ad screamed at you to check your credit score online, reminding everyone that financial panic could be just a click away.
What is FreeCreditReport.com?
This reading program gave you points for finishing books and was responsible for many attempted speed reads.
What is AR (Accelerated Reader)?
This infamous YouTube trend dared people to swallow a spoonful of this spice — and one girl with an afro delivered a legendary coughing fit heard around the internet.
What is the Cinnamon Challenge?
This chocolate drink came in a yellow bottle, tasted like chocolate water, and somehow still had a chokehold on every kid at the gas station.
What is Yoo-hoo?
This toy said “Bop it! Twist it! Pull it!” and stressed out an entire generation.
What is a Bop-It?
This kids’ music brand covered all the hits but made them… painfully G-rated.
What is Kidz Bop?
These classroom boards froze, glitched, or refused to calibrate literally every time a teacher needed them.
What is a SmartBoard?
This viral spoken-word YouTube “interrogation” featured a guy calling out his girlfriend with lines like, “You went where? With who? Oh really? That's how you feel?”
What is “Asking All Them Questions”?
This snack pack included crackers and a tiny red stick you’d use to spread cheese that was somehow both delicious and structurally questionable.
What are Ritz Handi-Snacks? (Accept: Handi-Snacks)
These colorful, bendable wax sticks let kids twist, shape, and create anything from glasses to wacky sculptures.
What are Bendaroos?
In this classic commercial, a kid buys a can of pasta or soup at the store, and it magically rolls all the way home.
What is Chef Boyardee?
This colorful rubbery tool snapped, stretched, and popped in your hands, and somehow kept kids entertained for entire lessons while teachers tried to stay calm.
What are Silly Bandz?