The ‘90s were full of wild rumours, urban legends, and outright misinformation that somehow spread like wildfire — without the help of social media.
From schoolyard gossip to dodgy news reports and overprotective parents warning about ridiculous dangers, some of these myths were taken surprisingly seriously. Looking back, it’s hard to believe people ever fell for them. It’s hard to believe that people actually used to buy into these myths, that’s for sure.
1. If you swallowed chewing gum, it stayed in your stomach for seven years.
Every ‘90s kid was warned not to swallow their chewing gum unless they wanted it sitting in their stomach for the better part of a decade. The idea that gum would just refuse to digest and take up permanent residence in your body was enough to make kids panic if they accidentally swallowed a piece. In reality, while gum isn’t easily broken down by stomach acids, it passes through the digestive system like anything else. It’s not a good idea to swallow it regularly, but the idea that it just lingers in your gut for years was pure nonsense.
2. The Bermuda Triangle could make planes and ships disappear forever.
The Bermuda Triangle was the ‘90s equivalent of a horror story, with tales of planes vanishing mid-flight and ships disappearing without a trace. It was the subject of countless documentaries, school discussions, and even some terrifying book covers designed to make it seem like a real-life mystery. Of course, as time went on, people realised that the Bermuda Triangle isn’t actually any more dangerous than any other heavily travelled area of the ocean. There was no supernatural force at work—just bad weather, human error, and exaggerated storytelling.
3. The Millennium Bug was going to cause global chaos.
As the year 2000 approached, the Y2K panic was everywhere. The belief was that computers wouldn’t be able to handle the date change from 1999 to 2000, leading to worldwide system failures, power grid collapses, and even planes falling out of the sky. Some people went as far as stockpiling food and supplies, convinced that a digital apocalypse was coming. Then midnight hit… and nothing happened. The “Millennium Bug” ended up being one of the biggest non-events of all time, leaving people embarrassed that they ever thought the world would end because of a date format.
4. Playing video games for too long would ruin your eyesight.
Every ‘90s kid heard this one at some point: staring at a screen for too long would damage your eyes forever. Parents loved using this warning to get kids to turn off their Sega or PlayStation, but there was never any actual science behind it. While staring at screens for hours can cause temporary eye strain, it doesn’t permanently ruin eyesight. In fact, modern research suggests that near-focused activities like gaming or reading might have more to do with genetics and lifestyle than screen time alone.
5. Tamagotchis were banned from schools because they were too distracting.
At the height of the Tamagotchi craze, schools started banning the digital pets, supposedly because they were distracting kids from lessons. Rumours even spread that some schools banned them because teachers got tired of students breaking down in tears when their pixelated pet died. In reality, most schools banned them simply because they were noisy and encouraged kids to sneak them out during class. The idea that teachers were overwhelmed by emotional students was more of an exaggerated playground myth than the real reason they disappeared from classrooms.
6. The government was going to ban all cartoons deemed “too violent.”
Somehow, there was always a rumour that the government was planning to ban certain ‘90s cartoons for being “too violent” or “too aggressive.” Shows like “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles,” “Power Rangers,” and even “Looney Tunes” were supposedly under threat. While there were debates about TV violence, no major cartoon was ever outright banned. The closest thing was minor edits, like renaming |Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” to “Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles” in the UK. The idea that all action-packed cartoons were going to disappear was just another case of moral panic.
7. The ‘S’ symbol everyone doodled in school had a secret meaning.
That cool-looking ‘S’ shape that everyone doodled on their notebooks? There were endless theories about where it came from. Some said it was the symbol for a secret gang, while others insisted it was a hidden corporate logo or some kind of ancient rune. In reality, it was just a generic design that somehow got passed down through generations of schoolkids. It had no official meaning; people just liked drawing it because it looked cool.
8. McDonald’s hamburgers never decompose.
The ‘90s saw a rise in food conspiracy theories, and one of the biggest was the claim that McDonald’s burgers never decomposed. People believed they were so packed with preservatives that they could sit untouched for years without rotting. While fast food does dry out differently than homemade meals, the reality is that any food stored in the right (or wrong) conditions can appear to “last forever.” The myth was more of a scare tactic than an actual scientific fact.
9. Mobile phones could make popcorn pop.
At some point, a rumour spread that if you placed a few kernels of popcorn between two ringing mobile phones, the radiation would heat them up and make them pop. This myth resurfaced years later in viral videos, but it was always just a hoax. Mobile phones don’t emit nearly enough radiation to do anything remotely close to popping corn. The whole idea was based on a misunderstanding of how electromagnetic waves work — and a good dose of prank videos fooling people.
10. If you ate Pop Rocks and drank Coca-Cola, your stomach would explode.
One of the most bizarre ‘90s myths was that mixing Pop Rocks with fizzy drinks would cause a chemical reaction so extreme that your stomach would literally burst. Some even believed a kid had died from it, though no one could ever name who or where this happened. Of course, the whole thing was nonsense. The worst that could happen is a bit of an upset stomach, but nothing even close to an explosion. The rumour was so persistent that the makers of Pop Rocks had to issue statements reassuring people that their sweets were safe.
11. The internet was just a passing trend.
In the ‘90s, many people believed that the internet was a temporary fad, much like pagers or mini-disc players. Even some experts doubted it would catch on, with claims that it was “too complicated” and “not practical” for everyday use. Fast-forward a few decades, and the internet has become an essential part of daily life. The idea that people once dismissed it as a passing trend now seems laughable.
12. CD scratches could be fixed with toothpaste.
At some point, everyone in the ‘90s heard that rubbing toothpaste on a scratched CD could magically make it work again. The idea was that the toothpaste would fill in the scratches and smooth the surface. In reality, toothpaste often made things worse. While some mild abrasives might help with surface-level scratches, most people just ended up ruining their CDs with dried toothpaste residue. It was a classic case of ‘90s problem-solving that didn’t really hold up.
