While most ‘90s kids did things the same way, Canadians did it differently, and here are eleven things that only true ‘90s Canadian kids had.
Right by the TV
Anyone who was around in the ‘90s likely remembers a time when asking for a music video involved more than a tap or swipe. No, it was a whole process.
MuchMusic knew all about this, and they leaned into viewer interaction during the ‘90s by encouraging audience members to call in or even fax their requests directly to the station.
They’d have shows that literally gave out a fax number on air. Sure, it sounds a little ridiculous now, but it was completely normal in those days, and many Canadian kids would have a handwritten request sheet sitting near the family fax machine.
It sounds pretty outdated today, though.
Something from the rental counter
Jumbo Video was a lot more than your regular rental place, as it had far more of its own thing going on. The chain started in 1987 and became well-known for giving out free popcorn.
So much so that their yellow popcorn buckets became part of the brand itself, and many ‘90s Canadian kids had one of them at home. Yes, really. They weren’t from a movie theater.
These containers stuck around for much longer than the tape that people rented, and that’s part of the reason why they’re so memorable.
A commercial you still remember word for word
What made the House Hippo advert stick was partly the hippo itself, but also the fact that it wasn’t trying to say anything. It was released in 1999 as part of a Canadian PSA campaign, with every detail being weirdly specific.
There were crumbs on the counter and peanut butter on a slice of toast, making it look real enough that kids believed the commercial. That was the whole point.
Canadian kids from the ‘90s have distinct memories of this advert, and MediaSmarts even brought it back temporarily years later. It was that well-remembered.
A magazine that felt like part of the channel
You couldn’t exactly find Whoa! Magazine by accident because it was something directly tied to the YTV network. Released during the tail-end of the ‘90s, it essentially turned the channel into something you could hold.
The pages included plenty of show content, puzzles, contests, and bright layouts that mirrored the style of YTV. Of course, the magazine didn’t last forever, but those who had a copy likely still remember reading through its pages.
The magazine felt like an extension of the channel itself. As a result, it managed to stand out more than many other channels at the time.
A pack from the corner store
Opening a pack of O-Pee-Chee cards was a real experience during the ‘90s. The Canadian company was based in London, Ontario, and its hockey packs included a stick of bubble gum that many kids couldn’t wait to get their hands on.
Sure, it was usually rock hard once you opened it. But that was part of the fun. The format of packing cards with gum was a pretty recognizable part of how O-Pee-Chee packaged things back then.
One from the stack at home
It’s not like anyone went out of their way to get an Eaton’s catalogue in the ‘90s. Yet, during the ‘90s, they somehow existed in practically every Canadian house, to the point that Library and Archives Canada actually keeps records of these mail-order books.
It says quite a bit about how common they were in those days. Unfortunately, Eaton’s shut down in 1999, leaving ‘90s kids as the last remaining generation to be around during Eaton’s catalogue days.
They likely still remember flipping through these catalogues and circling them during the festive season. Nobody blinked when one of these catalogues showed up at home because it was a regular part of life before online shipping.
A cassette in the bedroom drawer
You’ll only really click with Mini Pops if you had the luck of growing up with them. They were a Canadian kids’ act connected to K-tel, and their music came out between the late ‘80s and ‘90s.
Today, these cassettes are an obvious sign of someone born during the ‘90s.
Quite a few kids had one of these tapes sitting in a drawer or stacked near a new player. They were one more cassette, mixed in with everything else.
The thin notebook from school
It’s weird how, with some things, you don’t notice them until they disappear, and notebooks are one of them. There used to be one for every subject and on every desk in Canadian classrooms during the ‘90s.
Each time a teacher said ‘take one out,’ you’d grab the same thin book, with the soft cover and stitched spine. They were immediately recognizable. Brands like Hilroy made the most common kinds of notebooks in the ‘90s.
Rather than being a choice, they were simply what you got from the teacher. You’d fill one in a week or two, then grab another without thinking too much of it all.
The folder with the three fasteners
The majority of people outside Canada will give you a blank look when you ask them what a ‘duotang’ is. But they didn’t need an explanation in a Canadian classroom. Sure, the word itself still exists today, yet it’s only ‘90s Canadian kids who know what a real Duo-Tang was.
It was a thin folder with little metal clips that, somehow, never lined up when you were in a rush to do something. You could guarantee that the papers would rip and the holes wouldn’t match.
However, with a real Duo-Tang, everything still stayed in there anyway. A desk full of these folders, slightly bent and overstuffed, was a regular sight to behold in Canadian classrooms back then.
The bottle that didn’t look right
A lot of people noticed Orbitz sitting on the shelf before they even understood what they were. This novelty drink came out in 1996, and the first thing most people saw was the little beads that floated inside, neither sinking nor mixing.
They simply lay suspended in the drink. Most of the time, the drink looked off in a way that made people stop to pick it up, with CBC’s archive also talking about the drink’s short-but-sweet moment in the ‘90s.
Sadly, it didn’t last long. The drink disappeared by 1999, although a lot of Canadians who grew up during the ‘90s still have fond memories of it.
The flavor that felt temporary
Speaking of drinks, there was a time in the ‘90s when regular soda wasn’t enough, so companies kept trying new versions. But they didn’t always stick around, and 7 UP Orange Chill was a prime example of that.
While it did launch in other countries, the name ‘7 UP Orange Chill’ was a Canadian exclusive, and it’s one of the many varieties that 7 UP has had over time. Unfortunately, the drink wasn’t meant to stay forever.
It remains one of the many drinks that only ‘90s kids remember, and more specifically, those from Canada.
Sources: Please see here for a complete listing of all sources that were consulted in the preparation of this article.