50 Things People Somehow Accepted As Completely Normal In The Early 2000s That Were Definitely Very, Very Weird

1.Everyone's parents opening up their computer browser, seeing this, and just saying "looks good to me":

A highly cluttered computer screen filled with multiple toolbars, pop-ups, and excessive browser add-ons. Summarizes the chaotic user interface with many overlapping elements

2.Having a whole-ass desktop computer in your kitchen that the entire family used:

A boy types on a computer at a kitchen counter. Another boy writes at a table while a man observes

Very chill sitch.

Portland Press Herald / Getty Images

3.A seemingly endless amount of pictures of SpongeBob looking like this:

The image shows two illustrations of SpongeBob SquarePants. The left one depicts him in a suit holding cash, and the right one has him wearing street-style clothes with jewelry

4.And like this:

SpongeBob SquarePants is depicted as an emo character with black hair covering one eye, dark eye makeup, and a black outfit with a skull belt buckle

If you had this as your MySpace pic, it meant you once listened to Something Corporate.

youtube.com

5.Going into the grocery store and seeing tubes upon tubes of Shrek GoGurt:

Yoplait's Gogurt boxes and packets featuring Shrek characters are spread out on a wooden surface

Look at that all that goop, folks.

youtube.com

6.Convincing people the iPhone was worth the money by showing them that one app where it looks like you're drinking a beer:

a man drinking out of a fake beer app

Steve Jobs' vision: finally realized.

A very smart and cool fellow

7.Every dad on the planet carrying around a little leather BDSM case for their flip-phone:

A classic Nokia cellphone with a case is shown from the front and back, highlighting the phone's buttons and the case's clip and protective cover

8.That absolutely terrifying Honeycomb mascot being shoved in our faces:

A large-eyed, grinning squirrel-esque animated character in a classroom, with students sitting at desks in the background

Chills.

NABISCO

9.This particular type of floor being in every single fast food restaurant:

Patterned floor with a mosaic of square tiles arranged in a geometric pattern

I can hear my shoes on the sticky surface right now.

reddit.com

10.Watching full-length movies that cost tens of millions of dollars to make on an iPod with a two-inch screen:

An iPod with earphones displays a scene from Twilight featuring Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart

The future is...TWO INCHES!

Twitter: @twilightreborn

11.Constantly quoting that one Bill O'Reilly video wherein he swears:

Meme showing Bill O'Reilly shouting with overlaid text: "F**K IT, WE'LL DO IT LIVE." The expletive is partially censored. News studio background

12.Every single corporate logo looking like this:

A meme by spectrumspace showing an abstract human figure, saying many health orgs had similar logos. bogleech comments, "yeah actually what was up with that."

Very, very odd.

bogleech.tumblr.com

13.Everyone having these purses that pretty much immediately came apart:

Three crochet tote bags with circular embellishments. The left bag is light with white and pink circles, the top right is grey with grey and white circles, and the bottom right is pink with pink and white circles

14.This commercial, which was basically a fever dream:

A person using HeadOn, with the text "Apply directly to forehead" and "HEADON" on the screen

APPLY DIRECTLY TO THE FOREHEAD. OKAY?!?!?!

youtube.com

15.A Shrek phone? A SHREK phone? A Shrek phone:

Front, side, and back views of a green LG flip phone with a basic screen and distinctive antenna design, resembling animal ears

Steve Jobs is shaking right now!

Verizon

16.Literally every single person on Earth thinking that talking baby in the E-Trade commercials was the funniest thing they had ever seen:

A baby sits in a high chair in a room with a crib and furniture visible in the background

The baby talks, folks. THE BABY TALKS!

youtube.com

17.Just throwing an incredibly random tie with every single outfit:

Anne Hathaway at the Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards 2004, wearing a white blouse with a tie, jeans, and pointed shoes

Rough stuff.

Frank Micelotta / Getty Images

Or throwing on a graphic tee to a formal event:

Anne Hathaway standing in front of a beach backdrop wearing a "FedUp" t-shirt, jeans, and a belt

Folks, we love Anne Hathaway. All respect and much love to A.H.

Chris Walter / WireImage

18.A product a bunch of very high-up executives decided to name "GOOZE":

"Nickelodeon Goooze package, labeled 'Play-Stuff for the New Millenium', displaying phrases like 'Bubble It!', 'Squeeze It!', 'Hold It!', 'Stretch It!', 'Bounce It!'

19.U2 just being everywhere you looked:

Hand holding a U2 Special Edition iPod with signatures by U2 band members. A white iPod with a screen is visible in the background

Bono was inescapable.

Getty

20.Constantly harassing everyone on Facebook with, like, 27 "LOST MY PHONE, NEED NUMBERS" groups:

Jesse Miller tweets about how Facebook reminds users in 2009 they asked for phone numbers after losing contacts. The image shows several such posts from that time

Why was everyone losing their phone so often? WHY?!?!!

Twitter: @MediatedReality

21.Everyone thinking Chuck Norris jokes were the be-all and end-all of comedy:

A bearded man aims a firearm with text above and below him reading, "SANTA CLAUS WAS REAL UNTIL HE FORGOT MY PRESENT."

People seriously couldn't get enough.

Getty

22.Shrek Twinkies, complete with creamy green ogre filling:

Hostess Twinkies packaging features Shrek, promoting Ogre Green creamy filling. "While supplies last" is written at the bottom

23.Phones having a truly unfathomable amount of little fake diamonds on them:

A hand holding a pink, crystal-studded Motorola Razr flip phone with a small screen and VGA 4x zoom camera

Feel like this would scratch your dang ear up.

tiktok.com

24.The entire world being absolutely entranced by everything related to Diet Coke and Mentos for, like, two weeks:

Two people in lab coats conducting a Diet Coke and Mentos experiment, creating a large soda geyser in front of a brick building

People thought this was the greatest scientific discovery since Jonas Salks' polio vaccine.

Getty

25.People having something like this as their MySpace profile picture:

A stylized image of Marilyn Monroe with tattoos and a bandana featuring marijuana leaves, posing with two guns crossed in front of her chest

26.Signs that solely exist to stop people from wearing Heelys:

A sign with a red circle and a diagonal line over a shoe with wheels, accompanied by text: "NO SHOES with WHEELS!"

You gotta draw the line somewhere. You just gotta.

reddit.com

27.Every song on Earth having a squeaky version:

Text: "8 year old me would hear a song and b like hmmm ok let’s hear the chipmunk version"

28.Shrek Kid Cuisine that'll turn your tongue green:

Kid Cuisine "Shrek-ified" chicken breast nuggets meal. Includes corn, macaroni & cheese, green pudding, Happy Feet Madagascar sweepstakes info, and Shrek character image

29.A Britney Spears protective case for a Nokia phone:

Two mobile phone cases with images of Britney Spears lying down in a pensive pose. A name "Britney Spears" is partially visible on the right case

30.The Crazy Frog in a flat-brimmed hat with a huge gangsta chain on:

Crazy Frog wearing a black cap with a chain necklace labeled "Gangsta" in a cityscape background, with the text "1%100 CRAZY"

31.An American Idol PS2 game, for some reason:

Cover of PlayStation 2's "American Idol" game, featuring Randy Jackson, Simon Cowell, and Paula Abdul smiling in front of the American Idol logo

32.People wearing skate shoes big enough to house a family of four:

Close-up of someone wearing black and yellow sneakers while standing on a skateboard

Bigger than my freakin' apartment! Bada bing! Zuppa toscana!

Twitter: @DJNymz

33.A book about a dog with sunglasses saving the world from Y2K:

Book cover: "Y2K-9: The Dog Who Saved the World" by Todd Strasser. A dog types on a keyboard, with the tagline "Time and toilet paper are running out."

34.Mario with an arm tattoo:

Mario promotes the Game Boy Advance SP Tribal Edition. The advertisement features the console's design, a chance to win prizes, and a list of included items

35. Shrek POPCORN:

Twitter: @DinosaurDracula

36.These absolutely ridiculous fries:

Five bags of Funky Fries with different flavors on a table, each accompanied by a pile of fries matching the flavor indicated on the bag

And with that, two people finally got their wish: blue fries.

Getty

37.A Wii disc that lets you stream Netflix:

A hand holds a Netflix Instant Streaming Disc for Wii along with its sleeve. The disc and sleeve both have instructions to use the disc to watch instantly and not return it to Netflix

Just like the pioneers.

reddit.com

38.A Britney Spears inflatable chair that promises you'll be "coolin' like Britney":

Box for a Britney Spears inflatable chair featuring her image, with phrases "Coolin' like Britney!", "Stylin'", and "Groovin'" on a colorful background

39.Mutant green ketchup:

A person holds a bottle of Heinz EZ Squirt Blazin' Green Ketchup next to a hot dog with green ketchup on it

It's still hard to believe our country reached this point.

Gary Tramontina/Sygma via Getty Images

40.The majority of the human race celebrating International Talk Like a Pirate Day:

Marissa Hudgins posts on Julia Sheer's wall on September 19, 2010, saying, "AHOY MATEY! tis ye national talk like ye pirate day. aarrrghhhh!!"

It's crazy to think now, but literally, everyone thought this was so funny.

Twitter: @marissa_hudgins

41.Shrek Rice Krispie Treats, held together with a mysterious green substance:

Rice Krispies Treats Shrek Limited Edition cereal box featuring Shrek and Donkey. The treats are shaped like ogres, and the box includes Shrek-themed graphics

Is that some goop? Saints preserve us.

Kellogg's

42.A man named Darrin being the end all, be all of dancing:

Cover of "Darrin's Dance Grooves" VHS tape featuring Darrin Henson, Britney Spears, NSYNC, and Jordan Knight with playful caption, "I need to find a tape player stat."

43.Squeezable BUTTER?!?!?!?!

Two Parkay Fun Squeeze bottles, one electric blue and one shocking pink, with a plate of a waffle with a smiley face drawn using the blue spread

44. Shrek...waffle sticks??? SHREK WAFFLE STICKS?!?!?!

Twitter: @DinosaurDracula

45.A lit'ral $120 Rugrats bowling ball:

Bowling ball with the Rugrats cartoon characters, labeled 12 lb and priced at $120.00

46.Waffles stuffed full of fruity GOOP:

Eggo WAF-FULLS box with strawberry waffles, served on a plate with a bite taken, alongside glasses of milk and orange juice

MORE GOOP. MOOOORE GOOP!!!!

youtube.com

47.Shrek body wash, for anyone who has needed to smell like the infamously good-smelling Shrek:

A hand holds a bottle of Dial body wash featuring Shrek from the movie "Shrek 2." The bottle has a toy of Shrek on top and promotes "Ogre Apple" scent

Hey, Dial, I wanna speak to the manager! The soap manager! Okay! Sure.

Twitter: @_johnfranklin_

48.A 50 Cent Bulletproof-themed XBOX:

White Xbox console with black tribal design and "50 Cent - Bulletproof" text in gold

Been hoping and praying for a bulletproof XBOX for years. Finally got it.

Twitter: @Will_M_Anderson

49.An electric toothbrush that only plays one song, an Ashley Tisdale song:

Tooth Tunes electric toothbrush with packaging featuring Ashley Tisdale, promoting the song "Be Good to Me" for 2 minutes of music while brushing

50.MULTIPLE video games featuring the Burger King King:

The image shows three Xbox game covers featuring the Burger King mascot: "PocketBike Racer," "Sneak King," and "Big Bumpin'." He is smiling and driving a go-kart

And, finally, a SHREK CHIA PET:

Shrek Chia handmade decorative planter. Image shows a Shrek-themed Chia planter with green sprout hair next to its packaging