Things we should bring back
Modern life has cancelled some true gems. I’m thinking about technology and experiences that have gone extinct, but should reclaim their rightful place in 2026.
Modern life has cancelled some true gems. I’m thinking about technology and experiences that have gone extinct, but should reclaim their rightful place in 2026. I’ll admit, some of these are uniquely Australian. But foreigners should experience these things too. Take a walk down Nostalgia Lane with me.
Video rental stores
The video store held unpredictable treasures. You never knew if the new movie you want to watch had enough copies left, or whether you would have to pick out something weird from the inner aisles. Oh and we didn’t have smartphones to check Rotten Tomatoes scores. You picked up a DVD case, read the back and hoped you had picked a winner. Often you would just pick something out based on the cover. The serendipity was part of the fun. There was no way to ‘optimise’ your viewing experience. If your top pick wasn’t available, you would just have to get something else and wait your turn. The video store marked the beginning of many weekend nights and pizza-fueled sleepovers. Now we just scroll through Netflix, checking ratings sites before we commit. If we don’t like what we picked, we can just go the home screen and repeat the process.
Lamington drives
When I was a kid, teachers would send us home with order forms for bulk lamingtons to raise money for the school. I know lamingtons usually aren’t vegan. But I would like to order vegan lamingtons in bulk. I could probably get some lamingtons at Costco, but that’s not as whimsical.
Movies with talking animals
I know the animated animals are still talking. But what happened to the ones with real and CGI creatures? I think the 1990s and early 2000s were the hey day of talking animal movies. We had Babe, Stuart Little and Snow Dogs. There was the iconic Australian movie about a Golden Retriever puppy called Napoleon taking an adventure in a basket attached to a party balloon. I remember there were a few parrot movies too.
Not having to verify every single password
Every time I type in a password, I need to type in a little code. I’m sick of it. I understand that two factor verification is an important security feature or blah blah blah. The little codes re driving me insane.
Mix CDs
In high school, my friends and I would make little mix CDs for each other. Each song was lovingly chosen for CD that could only hold 15 to 20 songs. We would sit at our computers and make little playlists, and wait for the CD to burn. Sharing a Spotify playlist just doesn’t give the same energy.
MP3 players
I was an iPod girlie. It all started started with a pink mini, and later a purple nano. I built my music library by burning CDs I borrowed from the library and swapping CDs with friends at school. It was amazing to be able to hold your whole library of music in your pocket, without having to carry tapes or CDs.
Apparently iPods are making a comeback. People are buying refurbished iPods online with far more storage and new batteries.
Recently I bought a digital audio player, which is basically an mp3 player that plays other types of files like .flac. I’ve written about how this little gadget has changed my relationship with music. I feel like I’m actually connecting with albums, and discovering music without an algorithm run by billionaires.
Making out with strangers at night clubs
Maybe I’m showing my age. But I don’t think the kids are doing this anymore. According to the news, Gen Z are drinking and having sex less than previous generations. In my town, there’s only one nightclub left. Where will the kids go to drink vodka Cruisers and spread germs with some random they can barely see between strobe lights?
When I was eighteen, I used to take a grainy photo on my not-very-smart phone so I could remember what my make out buddies looked like. When the hangover hit, I only that photo, a name and number. I couldn’t check them out on Instagram. I managed to lurk a few on Facebook, and found a few who weren’t so single. What a time to be alive.
Physical answering machines
My Nan still has one of these. People couldn’t reach you with a text or Instagram message. Each day you would wait to play your little tape to see if someone was trying to get in contact with you.
Reasonable petrol prices
This doesn’t need an explanation. Petrol is spenno.
Nicktoons
I grew up in the times of Rugrats, Rocko’s Modern Life and Aaahh!!! Real Monsters. They were so clever, and perfectly catered to both kids and adults. At the time, some of the innuendo went over my head. I started rewatching Rock’s Modern Life, and as an adult, I really relate to the anxious wallaby.
Being worried about Y2K
Remember when we were worried all the technology would go down as the year ticked over. Y2K also had some fun memorabilia. Now we have bigger things to worry about. The’s a cost of living crisis, wars, genocides and barely enough houses to rent. We’re exposed to atrocities through short videos on our pocket computers, suffer a 24/7 news cycle and pretend to be interested in LinkedIn. Let’s band together and worry about a hypothetical computer glitch.
I hope you enjoyed my trip down memory lane. If you want to read more, please subscribe.