Submitted by Hannah O, bully.

Recess was a show that I woke up every Saturday morning to watch. There were those awful days when I only caught the last two minutes of a show and was quite grumpy afterwards. I remember watching the Gus episode, “New Kid,” and being able to sorta relate to it. It’s hard to describe how great this show was. As a kid, I always wished my school’s fifteen-minute recess was as awesome as T.J. and the gang’s.

Submitted by Asiah M, balance beam champion.

SPOILER ALERT! The weights that allow this bird to balance on just about anything–a table edge, your finger, your nose–are located in the tips of the wings. I hope I haven’t ruined the magic for any of you. These simple marvels were, and still are, marketed as educational toys that teach children (and adults) about things like gravity and center of mass. And to think I just thought they were fun. Lesson learned. Off to physicist school!

Submitted by Alain C, party crasher.

Oh, the number of birthday parties we attended at Discovery Zone! I believe I probably logged more “party hours” at a Discovery Zone than I did at a Chuck-E-Cheese over the course of my childhood. Re-watching this advertisement (which sparked a dozen memories instantly), I realize it wasn’t the ball pit or the tubes you crawled through or the “party rooms” with cafeteria-style seating that brought me back each time; it was my favorite Nickelodeon characters coercing me! What clever (and cruel) cross-promotion. Ah, well. I stopped attending Discovery Zone parties at about the same time I noticed them shutting down around town. Just as well, right? You reach a certain age and ball pits no longer seem fun, they just seem icky.

Submitted by Aaron S and Carter W, ski bunnies:

Even as an adult, the yeti is still probably the most frightening thing ever.

When attempting to associate “computer games I played in my youth” with specific games, the first thing that comes to mind is Oregon Trail. The second thing that comes to mind is Ski Free. Damn, that yeti was fast!

Submitted by J Alexander, who knows what each letter of ROYGBIV stands for.

Who says it takes more than flashy colors to capture someone’s attention? I mean, that’s all Rainbow Brite was really about, yeah? Colors? Everything had a name relating to color, and, like, the plot was all about stealing and/or restoring color. And somehow that transformed into a billion dollar industry! For all of her success, Ms. Brite doesn’t seem to have done all that much work. Only 3 two-part specials and 8 regular episodes were made. But again: Billion dollar industry. Thanks to the toys and licensing. And, I suppose, a strong presence in pop culture that, to this very day, is referenced by shows like Talk Soup and Robot Chicken.