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Man discovers the 'one sound' that divides those born before and after 1998

If you know, you know.

via TheGlassSniper/TikTok and 30pin Pictures/Flickr

The Glass Sniper is taking people back to 1998.

A popular TikToker known as The Glass Sniper is going viral with a video that struck a chord with people who remember the early days of the Internet. In the video, he teases a specific sound that was everywhere before it suddenly disappeared into the collective memory of those born before the Clinton-Lewinsky scandal.

“There is only one sound in this entire world that will forever separate the old generation from the new one,” Glass Sniper said in the viral video. “'For when the new generation hears it, they'll have no idea what we're talking about. But when the old generation hears it… We cringe!” The sound, of course, is the squeak of a dial-up modem connecting with an Internet service provider or ISP, as they were known back in the day.


@theglasssniper

New year. New Generation. What year is the line drawn? Lol

New year. New Generation. What year is the line drawn? Lol

One of the biggest problems with dial-up internet was that if you were online, no one in your home could use the phone, which caused some big domestic problems. Also, if you used a long-distance phone number for your dial-up number, you could be in for a hefty phone bill.

phone bill, big bill, unexpected bill, aol bill, america online, shocked man, money A man is shocked when he looks at his phone bill. via Canva/Photos

"I can hear my mom yelling 'IM ON THE PHONE!'" — MacksMom1990 wrote in the comments. "Followed by...You've got mail," DawnMichel added. "I can already hear my sister yelling at me to get off the computer so she can call her friend," Uncle B wrote.

"I figured it would be that sound, or the sound that the tv made after there no more tv shows at night ( when they showed the colour palette)," Isabellers Unniers wrote. "That sound reminds me of the time when I didn’t have to worry about anything, no stress (other than that damn noise) or anything," That_silver300 added. "The way my head popped up like a damn meerkat when I heard it..." MagnusDavis345 commented."

aol, america online, aol disc, hard disc, 1990s, '90s nostaligia, you've got mail An old America Online disc.via Karl Baron/Flickr


For those of you who don't remember the early days of dial-up modems, in the mid-'90s, America Online (or AOL) was the most popular internet service provider, and it offered chat features, web browsing, and email, all in one package. Its chat rooms allowed people to connect anonymously with others in real-time, and, at that time, no one had photos, so you had to trust that the person was who they said they were.

In 1999, AOL grew to over 18 million subscribers and was the largest internet provider in the country. However, after a merger with Time Warner, dubbed "one of the worst mergers in history," in 2001 and the development of broadband internet, AOL's dial-up services quickly became a dinosaur.

glass sniper, 1990s internet, aol, america online, modems, telephones, '90s nostalgia america online email GIF Giphy

Although they’re uncommon, people still use dial-up modems. For some comparison, in 2002, 55 million people in the U.S. used dial-up internet, but that number quickly dropped to 51 million in 2003. As of September 2023, 400,000 people in the U.S. still have dial-up internet.

This article originally appeared last year. It has been updated.

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Pizza Hut's quiet retro redesigns tap straight into Gen X and Millennial nostalgia

Take a trip right back into the '90s.

Image via\u00a0Ed! at English Wikipedia
Original Pizza Hut in Athens, Ohio.

Pizza Hut is a staple in American dining culture. Founded in 1958 by brothers Frank and Dan Carney in Wichita, Kansas, Pizza Hut holds a nostalgic place in the hearts (and stomachs) of Millennials and Gen Xers who grew up going there on Friday nights or after school in the 1990s.

In the Reddit forum r/Millennials, member kkkan2020 shared something amazing and nostalgic with their peers: "There's a Pizza Hut in North Carolina that is untouched by time; red cups for beverages, light fixtures, jukebox, table cloths, and even has the salad bar."

The post led to a flood of Millennials sharing their memories of Pizza Hut growing up, and the revelation that Pizza Hut has quietly been reintroducing its retro designs into restaurants across America since 2019. "It's a Pizza Hut Classic. It's a marketing move to get people to come back to Pizza Hut," one commented, referencing journalist Roland Pujol's list of Pizza Hut Classic locations that have opened across the country.



Many Millennials shared the same sentiment about modern Pizza Huts compared to the ones they grew up going to in the '90s. "I was literally just thinking about this over the weekend as I drove past the grey eyesore that sadly replaced our classic Pizza Hut. I want them to go back to what they were," one wrote. "The arcade is needed. The salad bar is needed. Booths are needed. It’s part of the experience. There’s no experience anymore, and that goes for all of the fast food restaurants. Now we just have cheap, plastic food. These new places are just stale."

Nostalgia about Pizza Hut is still strong and filled with sensory memories. "Absolutely miss the old school vibe with the stained glass lamps, the nubbly red plastic cups, the table cloths, and the salad bar and pizza buffet. I know I'm old, but the pizza just tasted better back then. It wasn't fancy dining, but it was always a treat to go there," someone shared. Another commented, "Thinking the same thing. Still remember the excitement as a kid of learning we were going to Pizza Hut for pizza! Those red glasses, the smell of pizza in the air, the faint arcade sounds from the corner, the red glasses filled with soda. Heaven, I tell you."

pizza hut, old pizza hut, vintage pizza hut, retro pizza hut, pizza hut gif Ringo Starr Advertising GIF Giphy

Pizza Hut's food and atmosphere back in the day offered an unmatched ambiance. "I used to go to Pizza Hut during off-peak hours by myself and would just eat from the buffet and read a magazine (no cell phones at the time) and just relax. For some reason, it felt peaceful there," noted one comment. Another shared, "Came here for this but also those lamps. In my Pizza Hut, there were different colors, and my brothers picked where to sit based on the Ninja Turtles' color."

Others appreciated the food itself. "All you can eat Lunch buffet," one wrote. Another reminisced, "The pizza WAS better back then, when they made fresh dough daily and their sauce wasn't loaded with sugar." Another nostalgia chaser added, "I keep thinking to myself, was it just my taste buds as a kid that made every pizza taste amazing, or did they really have a different recipe that was switched out sometime in the '90s? Especially the dine-ins.. I can remember a distinctly different taste which was amazing."

Pizza Hut, pizza hut classic, pizza hut retro, old pizza hut, vintage pizza hut Pizza Hut Classic.Image via Reddit/Otacon73

Many Xennials reminisced specifically about Pizza Hut's "Book It!" program, where they earned a free personal pan pizza for achieving reading goals. "Yasssss that just brought some pleasant scent memories too (pan pizza & the smell of library books)," one commented. Another shared, "It literally started me on the path to become a life-long reader." One other Xennial added, "Book It! still exists. And I just noticed they have a summer parent program so kids can still set and reach goals and get that free pizza!"

pizza, pizza hut, pizza hut book, sausage pizza, '90s pizza hut, book it, Pizza Hut's 'Book It' reading program.Image via Reddit/Remytron83

With Pizza Hut Classic restaurants bringing back the retro aesthetic, the memories keep coming. "I grew up working class in the '80s, my family only went to restaurants for kids' birthdays or other special occasions. We only ate out about 3-4 times a year. I always chose Pizza Hut when it was my turn, and it was an incredible treat. I can smell this photo, and it's pure nostalgic heaven," one commented.

"Personal pan pizza, the dessert pizzas, those red drinking glasses, a smoking section (lol for authenticity's sake), and that damn unique smell at the tables. Good times, good times," said another fan. Good times indeed.

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The super interesting reason why people in the past looked so much older than people today

It isn't just the hairstyles.

via Nick Denner/Flickr and Canva/Photos

How are these both high schoolers?

Have you ever looked back at your parents’ high school yearbook and thought that all the 11th graders looked like they were in their early 30s? Whether they were in school in the ‘60s and the kids had horn-rimmed glasses or the ‘80s with feathered hair, they looked at least a decade older than today's high school kids. One wonders if in 30 years, kids look at a yearbook from 2025 and see boys with broccoli cuts and girls with nose rings and they think, “What are they, 35?”

The folks at Bright Side did a deep dive into the phenomenon and found a few reasons why people looked so much older in the past than they do now. It’s a mix of how our minds perceive older fashion and why people age more gracefully in modern times.

Why did people look older in the past?

“Specialists have looked into this phenomenon, and it does have some scientific facts to back it up,” the narrator states. “It's not necessarily that our ancestors looked older; it's more that we appear to look younger. And younger as generations go by, that's because over time humans have improved the way they live their lives in the us alone over the last 200 years.”

- YouTube www.youtube.com

A big reason people looked a lot older when photography became common in the late 1800s is that it happened at a time when we were making tremendous advances in public health. The 1880s to the 1920s were a time of rapid advancement, when we began to understand infectious diseases and how they spread. “We gained access after safer types of foods, and we understand the importance of clean water. Our individual lifestyle choices can impact the way we look,” the video says.

The way we work has also drastically changed how people look. Working in an office for eight hours a day in air conditioning will keep you a lot younger-looking than working all day as a Victorian chimney sweep. Plus, for people who work outside, sunscreen has made it much easier to protect our skin and decrease wrinkles.

Let’s not forget the importance of a straight, white smile. Advances in dental care also help make people look younger.

1970s girls, high school girls, girls in uniforms, old high school photos, nostalgia A "girl gang" in 1976. via Earthworm/Flickr

Why do people wearing styles from the past appear older?

Finally, there’s the clothes issue, and, yes, this does have a big impact on how we view the age of people from the past. “Our brains are wired to associate old trends with being old,” the video says. “For example, your grandpa might still have the shirt he wore in that 1970s picture, and it's because of that shirt that you retroactively associate that trend with being old, despite the fact that your granddad does look younger in the picture than he looks today. “

girls in school, '60s high school girls, class room, old-school cool, GIrls in class in the 1960s.via Phillips Academy/Flickr

In the end, the fact that people look a lot younger today than they did in the past is a testament to how the quality of life has drastically improved since cameras were first invented. However, that doesn’t mean that fashion has improved at all. You have to admit that your dad with that fly butterfly collar in his 1977 graduation photo looks better than that multi-colored, Machine Gun Kelly-style hoodie you see guys wearing in high schools today.

This article originally appeared in June.

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Millennials hilariously dissect why they made 'duckface' a thing in early 2000s photos

"We thought we were so cute."

Image via Canva

Millennials discuss why they started doing 'duckface' pose in photos.

Millennials are fully claiming responsibility for the emergence of the "duckface" pose in photos. Duckface, best described as the pose popularized back in the 2000s that saw everyone sucking in their lips and then pushing them out in a pout (like a duck's beak) somehow became the go-to pose when taking pictures. And now, Millennials are trying to figure out how (and why) they made it a thing.

On a Reddit forum of Millennials, member AdSpecialist6598 shared: "Going through some old photos I had forgotten how many of the girls did duckface. It is crazy how often it happened and why was it ever a thing?"

The prompt got Millennials reminiscing about their days serving duckface--and contemplating why they did it in the first place. Here are 19 hilarious responses from Millennials dissecting the 'duckface' trend, and why it remains a go-to pose today.

zoolander, duck face, duck face pose, blue steel, zoolander gif Zoolander Blue Steel GIF Giphy

"It's a quick way to make your cheekbones look sharper and your face slimmer It's been used in modeling years before it became an online phenomenon, there's a reason they made fun of it in Zoolander. It just wasn't known as duckface at the time. When done subtly it can look nice." —yosayoran

"Still happening but with copious amounts lip filler so less effort from the duck is needed." - Pristine_Charity4435

"I think a lot of the time, making a dumb or a silly face in a picture on purpose prevents looking dumb or silly on accident. It's like a preemptive defense against hurting your own feelings lol." —boinkbeepboop

duckface, duckface gif, duckface pose, duckface pic, peace sign victorias secret kiss GIF Giphy

"YES! People who weren’t part of this generation always miss this. We are the ultimate irony generation and while lots of people did this earnestly, there was this pressure to not take yourself too seriously online because it would have been seen as cringey." —ferriswheel41

"Especially since millennials were the first generation to have cameras in our hands 24/7 with an immediate way to publicly view/share photos! It's a lot easier to take one goofy photo than it is to take 100 photos trying to look a certain way, and then staring until they all look terrible and so you don't post anything lol 🥲." —boinkbeepboop

"Yep. Made the lips pouty and cheek bones protrude. Now people use FaceTune and use filler and, in the case of influencers and celebrities with the financial means, plastic surgery like buccal fat removal, chin and cheek implants. Your more everyday person uses filler (cheaper) and they often get that pillowy look." —doesitspread

millennial pose, duckface, duckface pose, duckface pic, selfie Peace Smile GIF by MASH Athletics Giphy

"Kind of makes sense. I remember my second year teaching out of college, kids were sucking shot glasses to make their lips bigger. Felt like duckface was our early Xanga / MySpace tamer version of that." —aceituna_garden

"I firmly believe it’s because they thought their face was ugly. Like 'I’ll purposely make a weird face, then no one can tell how ugly I am' obviously mental bs that most teenage girls go through." —No-Function223

"I feel like the Olsen twins popularized this." —SpinachTroubles

olsen twins, duckface, olsen twin gif, olsen twins duckface, duckface pose creepy ashley olsen GIF Giphy

"if i take a selfie i still do it. not as often as i used too but it was more of a self conscious issue. my teeth are/were really messed up. we couldn’t afford braces and i was heavily bullied over it. i’m in braces now as an adult but I'm not sure i’ll ever get comfortable with it." —AntGroundbreaking102

"We were awkward. The ability to take constant pictures of ourselves was brand new to me and I never knew how to hold my face. So that and a lot of way too wide open fake excited face for me in my youth. I'm sure there are other reasons but this was mine lol." —whateverwhatis

"It was supposed to be a cute and sexy attention grab thing, and despite the meme potential, tbh SOME (!) people did it well I guess? I only knew the over the top meme pics everyone joked about, but most of the time it was a more subtle 'smoochy' face, at least where I came from. Like just puckering up slightly." —bubuplush

dueces, throw up a deuce, duckface, duckface pose, duckface pic Woman Goodbye GIF by Eva Constance Giphy

"We thought we were so cute 😁." —badnewsbets

"Because smiling for a picture was trying too hard and it was cooler to look ironic and silly 😮💨🥴🫣." —kittymommameowmeow

"It was and I quote 'Cute and quirky'." —KaioKenshin

selfie, duckface, duckface pose, duckface selfie, duckface pic Jimmy Fallon Reaction GIF Giphy

"NGL, I still love it 🤣🤣🤣." —Prudent-Hovercraft35

"Years ago I was taking a picture of a girl where I worked. She kept making the duck face, and I kept telling her to stop and to just smile. It took a good 10-15 minutes to finally get a good smile out of her. At the time, it was just second nature for girls." —concernedfriend08822

"It's how girls tried to edit features of themselves before phones did it for you." —asexyzombie

"now girls just inject their lips and cheeks to make the same face with less effort! We've come a long way." —ConsciousParable

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