Do you remember what you ate for lunch when you were growing up? As a child of the 90’s, I recall kids ate a lot of Skippy peanut butter, countless Lunchables and, every so often, a WonderBall.
As it turns out, lunches haven’t changed all that much (with the exception of Spam sandwiches). Here are some of the highlights.
The 1900s
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Okay, so it goes without saying that no kid (unless they were raised by Anthony Bourdain or something) is going to like radishes. They’re peppery and a little bitter and, FYI, totally rock.
One tester even went so far as to say, “I feel so bad for my parents that they had to live like this.” She’ll learn math later.
The 1920s
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Egg salad was alive and well nearly a century ago, and, predictably, kids were not having it. Though one tester said at first he thought it was an Egg McMuffin, the general consensus was, “barf.”
The 1940s
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We can skip the 1930s because it was the Great Depression and lunches were boring (and pretty sparse). Exactly 0 percent of the kids were interested in this Spam sandwich. One girl even said she’d rather jump off a bridge than try it. While that might be a little dramatic, I can’t say I blame her. Ground up meat parts in a can? I’ll pass…
The 1970s
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Moving right along, the 70s usher in an era of ultra-processed foods. Bologna on white bread, unidentifiable cola drinks…one kid even though this lunch was from 2016. Another was surprised that soda was “back then” (ah, youth). Thank you, mom, for never feeding me bologna. Gag.
The 1990s
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Ahh, the 90s. I still remember the slippery, rubbery taste of the turkey sandwich Lunchable. And remember when our moms thought Snackwell’s were healthy because they were low-fat?
You can watch the whole, hilarious video here. Remember to thank your mom for packing you a lunch all those years, and be grateful it wasn’t Spam.