POPULAR CULTURE DIGEST

Let's pick up the slack, shall we?

#7) Pogs, Tamagotchi, Magic Eye Books, and other Toys from the 90s...
Whose brilliant f-ing idea was it to create pogs? Were they actually (more importantly, HOW were they actually) able to pass as real toys that kids enjoyed playing with? They were measly cardboard cut-outs shaped like large coins or disks that had Jar-Jar Binks or some pseudo-celebrity face on them. The more well-known or reputable the person or thing on the pog, the more desirable and valuable that pog becomes (but who really gives a sh*t, a pog is a pog is a pog, and in the end, they all are just a waste of space except for when you can sell them on ebay for a whopping 15 bucks a pop, then they become actual money-making schemes rather than just a kid-friendly poser form of currency). I guess the whole idea behind pogs and the game of winning and collecting as many pogs as you can get has its value... It teaches kids to learn how to barter, trade, negotiate... (and gamble, cheat, steal, and become captalistic swines...). All in the spirit of fun though. Just don't forget to say you're playing for keeps at the start of the game. Otherwise, you're screwed out of a Pink Power Ranger pog (which in real life would have a utilitarian value equal to or less than that of a Coca-Cola bottle cap).

Tamagotchi. The handheld digital pet that had kids in an all-consuming craze to feed what was an otherwise inanimate, yet super-needy bit of information. That damn thing wouldn't stop beeping sometimes! Of course the perks were that I don't think I've ever felt so attached and maternalistic towards anything much less a computerized object before Tamagotchi totally got me! [gag with me with a spoon] Those Japanese peeps think of the darnest things! Again, how these things became such a hit with the kids, I have no idea. But I guess they were great to have for kids who lived with or were themselves allergic to cats, dogs, tigers, bears, whatever new pet the toy was carrying at the time.

Magic Eye books. Ok, now this was something that I have to admit I was a fan of. Some might say that they were just a fake and deceptive ploy to get people to crisscross their eyes and look totally retarded but I can attest that they really do work and the images really can be seen. In all sincerity, these books were really nothing short of amazing. I saw many splendid things, and how they really do work, again... I have no idea, but they were brilliant.

So those were a few of my memorable recollections of the toys from the 90s. Of course, there were many others... like Chia Pets, the precursor to Tamagotchi and other digital pets. Beanie babies, Furbys, Trolls, that darn Tickle Me Elmo and its incessantly annoying giggle-fits... Lots others...