It’s a strange feeling when you realize a product that used to be in every kitchen, commercial, or backpack, suddenly just isn’t there anymore. Often, they didn’t fade away with a huge “going out of business” sign hanging over the front door.
More often than not, these once beloved products quietly slipped out of production while nobody was paying attention. So here are 10 products that used to be everywhere but now barely exist at all.
Fruit String Things
This was basically a Fruit Roll-Up, but it was folded into complicated patterns of fruit leather hot-glued onto a piece of shiny pink or green paper. Then, you’ve got to take your time peeling little “strings” of fruit roll-up off the backing.
They were super satisfying to eat as a kid because it felt like you were working for your food, kind of like fingerpainting. Then one day, they were replaced by Fruit by the Foot and Gushers.
Milk Straws
For like a year or two there, every box of cereal seemed to come with these plastic straws filled with dissolvable beads of chocolate or strawberry flavoring. The idea was that you would drink the flavored beads with regular milk through the straw and end up with a milkshake.
For a few years in the mid-90s, they were everywhere but quickly went the way of the dinosaur, likely because people realized how easy it was to just mix chocolate syrup into regular milk.
Those Specific “Jazz” Paper Cups
You know exactly the ones: the white paper cups with the teal and purple zig-zag “solo jazz” splash on the side. They were literally at every water cooler, doctor’s office, and birthday party in America during the 1990’s.
These cups still exist online if you know where to look, but you have to search for them. Nowadays, they’ve been replaced with boring, clear plastic ones or generic brand cups.
Jell-O Pudding Pops
Remember when these things ruled the freezer aisle for a whole decade? It wasn’t just frozen pudding people were eating; it was that weird icy-yet-creamy texture that only these things could accomplish.
Stores stopped selling them because they actually cost the company more money to make and ship than regular ice cream pops. They weren’t unpopular; they were too niche for their own good.
Orbitz Soda
Behold, the coolest drink you could possibly imagine. It was a non-carbonated fruit soda that had little colorful gelatin balls floating around that refused to stay at the bottom of the bottle.
You felt like you were drinking from a bottle made from a lava lamp. The problem was that it tasted like you were drinking little soggy eyeballs. It made a huge splash in 1997 and disappeared by ’98.
The “Blackberry” Trackball
Before the iPhone took over the world, the BlackBerry was the ultimate status symbol for adults. And the coolest part about it was the little glowing white trackball in the middle of the keyboard.
It was super satisfying to scroll around with, but it got dirty and stopped working eventually; you had to clean it by rubbing alcohol on a q-tip like with those old computer mice. Touch screens became cheap enough and these things disappeared from stores.
Altoids Sours
These round tins of pure chemical misery were basically a tradition growing up. You’d peel the lid back, open the container and prepare for your taste buds to be destroyed by sour powder that tasted like it would scream if you licked it.
Tangerine was the best and worst thing that happened to your tongue, and raspberry was like taking a blowtorch to your mouth. They were everywhere in the mid-2000s. Then, like all good childhood things, they were suddenly discontinued in 2010.
Hubba Bubba Squeeze Pop
Kids these days don’t know how good they had it with solid candy. During the early 2000s, candy companies decided kids were bored with chewing and wanted to “squeeze” their sweets instead.
Introduced to the world was the Squeeze Pop; A tube filled with liquid lollipop goop shaped eerily similar to toothpaste. It was sugary, sticky and sold extremely well at gas stations everywhere.
Liquid candy was big for a little while until everyone realized how difficult it was to keep track of and parents and dentists everywhere probably breathed a sigh of relief.
3D Doritos
These took the classic cheesy Dorito flavor we all know and love and somehow puffed it up into an airy hollow triangle crisp. They even came in their own little plastic cylinder carrying case with the lid doubling as a bowl.
Found at every convenience store and gas station, they were an instant classic. But like all classics, they didn’t stay classic for long. They’d pop back every few years as a “limited edition” but have yet to fully return since their millennial heyday.
The Landline “Caller ID” Box
Remember when phones didn’t just automatically have caller ID built into them? You actually had to buy this annoying plastic box that sat next to your landline.
When someone would call you, you’d wait impatiently for that little digital screen to slowly scroll who was calling you. Then you had actual satisfying confirmation that yes, your friend was on the other line and didn’t just forget your birthday.
Sources: Please see here for a complete listing of all sources that were consulted in the preparation of this article.
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