By ALEX MARSHALL and KELLY SMITH
As their backpacks become lightweight drawstrings and their attendance begins to dwindle, this year’s crop of Jericho High School seniors is beginning to come to terms with its final year of high school being halfway over. A widespread wave of nostalgia has swept over the class of 2014 and has caused seniors to reminisce about the defining aspects and items of their childhood, many of which no longer exist.
From Gushers commercials that scarily made kids’ heads turn into fruit to an Oreo-inspired cereal that fulfilled every child’s dream of eating cookies for breakfast, the ’90s and early 2000s were steadily satisfying our sweet tooth. The never-forgotten Wonder Ball was a temptation that beckoned to all chocolate-lovers as we waited alongside our parents on supermarket checkout lines. This delicious treat was a milk chocolate sphere filled with an exciting mix of hard candies in the shapes of beloved TV characters such as Scooby Doo and SpongeBob. “Half the excitement of the Wonder Ball didn’t just come from eating the chocolate itself, but also from reaching the hollow center and discovering which characters were inside,” said senior Lauren Goldstein. Unfortunately, after some eager consumers accidentally choked on the hidden treasures, the treat was discontinued.
However, nothing came close to the sensation that accompanied dipping miniature cookies into a pool of delectable icing. DunkAroos were the go-to after school treat for many kids, and anyone who dared to bring a pack or two to school for snack time had to fight off grubby hands trying to get some frosting. Another culinary hallmark were the ever-popular “curiously strong” sour Altoids. Tangerine, mango, raspberry, and apple flavors were commonly carried in students’ backpacks and could always be found sitting on school desks for easy access. Jericho senior Morgan Hamerman told us that her mother would always carry these in her purse. “I would beg my mom daily to eat some of them,” Hamerman said. “Even though they were too sour for me, I still loved them anyway.”
During the late 1990s and early 2000s, pop music dominated. It has been about a decade since Kelis’s milkshake brought “all the boys to the yard” and Gwen Stefani taught us how to spell “bananas.” Let’s take a moment to wish our favorite songs released in 2004 a happy 10th birthday! Some of these include Kelly Clarkson’s “Since U Been Gone,” Kanye West’s “Jesus Walks,” Maroon 5’s “This Love,” The Black Eyed Peas’ “Let’s Get It Started,” and Britney Spears’ “Toxic.” If this didn’t make you feel old enough, both Britney Spears’ “…Baby One More Time,” which went platinum in the U.S. 14 times and the Backstreet Boys’ “Millenium,” which went platinum 13 times in the U.S., are turning 15 years old.
Similarly, the “Friends” television series premiere aired 20 years ago and the series finale aired 10 years ago, “Monster’s Inc.” hit the big screen 13 years ago, and finally, the movie that almost every teenage girl can quote perfectly, “Mean Girls,” starring Lindsay Lohan, Tina Fey, and Rachel McAdams, was released ten years ago. It has been ten years since Gretchen Weiners failed to make “fetch” happen. And of course we can’t forget to give a shoutout to some of our other lost childhood favorites such as “Rugrats” (1991-2004), “Power Puff Girls” (1998-2004),”Hey Arnold” (1996-2004), “Recess” (1997-2001), and “Lizzie McGuire” (2001-2004).
