Kids have quite a strange definition of ‘rich,’ and sometimes, we thought the most ordinary things gave people status.
The fridge that did something extra
A fancy car was nothing compared to some special refrigerators. You know the kind, the ones that dropped ice straight into your cup. These seemed to suggest a family had money, or so it appeared. It just felt so futuristic that you didn’t have to open the freezer to get ice cubes out.
It simply appeared after you pressed a glass to the door. It was even better if the same door gave you water. These dispensers used to be more common in higher-income homes, but they’ve become something way more normal now. You’re unlikely to see a home without them.
Suddenly there were channels everywhere
Having cable TV was enough to turn a visit to a friend’s house into an afternoon of jealousy. They had Nickelodeon, MTV, ESPN, and maybe Cartoon Network too, while you were stuck with whatever was on the regular channels. Having so many choices felt enormous back then.
But it really wasn’t a luxury, as cable was already in over half of American TV households by 1990. So many ordinary families had it. But as kids, we didn’t care about that. We just cared that somebody else could watch cartoons whenever they wanted.
Your room became your own theater
A TV in the bedroom made it feel like you had your own apartment. You didn’t have parents deciding what to watch, after all, and you didn’t have to fight with your siblings over the remote. No, you could just lie in bed and watch whatever you wanted.
That sense of freedom made a television in the bedroom feel like a luxury. It didn’t matter that the TV itself might’ve been small or old. It didn’t matter that it came from another room. Just having one there was enough, although it doesn’t seem like such a luxury anymore.
Dinner arrived in a cardboard box
Pizza night felt so different from regular dinner. You didn’t have to help with cooking, for one, and you didn’t have to listen to your parent telling you to eat the vegetables first. Dinner came in a box, and it felt so special.
Getting it delivered was a little bit of a luxury, but driving to pick it up really wasn’t that bad. Pizza delivery itself became pretty mainstream decades ago. We saw it as fine dining, when really, it wasn’t.
The machine that handled the plates
Anyone who grew up washing dishes by hand would think a dishwasher was fancy. Seeing someone casually load dirty plates into a dishwasher felt so unfair, after all. They didn’t even have to scrub them. How incredible.
But the truth is that dishwashers had been spreading through middle-class American kitchens for decades. They weren’t just a thing for wealthy people by the late 20th century. Newer houses and apartments had them, although not having to scrub plates does still feel pretty good.
The cereal box with the familiar character
There was cereal, and then there was the cereal from the commercials. The difference between name-brand and store-brand was huge when you were younger, mostly because the branded box had the mascot. It had the cartoon colors and a prize, too.
The store-brand version always looked so cheap. Yet name-brand cereal wasn’t even close to being a luxury product, as companies like Kellogg’s and General Mills sold it by the millions in supermarkets across the country. It only cost a bit more than the generic version. The quality was not really much better.
The computer could actually go somewhere
Having a home computer was already a status symbol, but having a home computer that could get online was something else. Just the sound of dial-up made you feel like you were better somehow. You could connect to the world from home. It seemed so advanced.
It really wasn’t, though, and especially not when you compare it to the internet today. Practically everyone has internet access in their home. In fact, you seem a little behind the times if you don’t have it. It’s no longer something for tech enthusiasts and wealthy households.
Vacation came with a room key
Staying with relatives on vacation used to involve staying on somebody’s pullout couch and borrowing towels. That’s why staying in a hotel felt so special. You had those tiny shampoo bottles, after all, and that seemed so glamorous.
Even a basic roadside motel felt impressive when you were a kid. Except the thing is, motels were built around affordable travel for ordinary motorists. They were deliberately designed to be cheap, not something luxurious.
There was another bathroom somewhere
A home with a second bathroom felt absolutely enormous when you were a kid. Your own home likely had only one bathroom, so every morning involved someone waiting for someone else. But then you visited a friend. Then you learned there was another bathroom upstairs.
It made them sound rich, even though it really wasn’t that unusual. Tens of millions of American homes already had at least two full bathrooms by 1997, and millions more had an extra half bath. The plumbing blew our minds, basically.
The snack counter changed the whole outing
Going to the movies felt like a special treat. But being told you could buy popcorn and snacks at the movie theater took things to the next level. It felt like your parents had decided money no longer mattered for the evening.
Theater popcorn had been ordinary for decades, though, as it was cheap to make. It was easy for theaters to sell at a markup. Most U.S. movie theaters sold it in 1949, so it was hardly something luxurious. We just seemed to think that it was.
The pencil case had a pecking order
The first day of school involved showing off. It started with pens. You could have a plain notebook, and that would do the job, but the one with the cool cover was better. It was the same story with mechanical pencils and gel pens, along with scented markers.
Don’t get us started on that huge Crayola box with the sharpener in the back. But when you think about it now, none of those were luxury goods, and branded supplies were a normal thing to have in school. They certainly weren’t premium.
Sources: Please see here for a complete listing of all sources that were consulted in the preparation of this article.
14 old-school phrases that deserve a comeback
Some old school sayings were pretty weird but did a brilliant job of getting the point across, and here are fourteen that deserve a comeback.
