# Things you loved as a kid that you now think are terrible **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 20, 2023, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-loved-as-a-kid-that-you-now-think-are-terrible/985857 "2023-06-20T20:44:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![Jaycat.again](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jaycat.again/32/11525_2.png) [@Jaycat.again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jaycat.again)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2023, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-loved-as-a-kid-that-you-now-think-are-terrible/985857/123 "2023-06-23T21:58:00Z")
Depending on the upper age of being a “kid” … Catcher In The Rye. ---
**Author:** ![MikeF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@MikeF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MikeF)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2023, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-loved-as-a-kid-that-you-now-think-are-terrible/985857/124 "2023-06-23T23:49:05Z")
Soda. Any kind. Drank it by the gallon. Now, I can stand the stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2023, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-loved-as-a-kid-that-you-now-think-are-terrible/985857/125 "2023-06-23T23:52:29Z")
> [@Jaycat.again](#): > > Depending on the upper age of being a “kid” … Catcher In The Rye. I only read this as an adult, but I can totally see this effect with that book. It’s clearly the type of book that teens can latch onto and say, “Yeah, everyone is a stupid bastard!” and then you grow up and realize, well, Holden is an annoying prick. ---
**Author:** ![LVBoPeep](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/858c86/32.png) [@LVBoPeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LVBoPeep)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2023, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-loved-as-a-kid-that-you-now-think-are-terrible/985857/126 "2023-06-24T00:16:07Z")
Scallops for me - one of the first types of seafood I had as a kid that wasn’t baked cod. We especially loved PF Changs Kung Pao scallops and might still be able to stand those but they haven’t had them last few times I’ve gone as an adult. Even though I still love crab, shrimp and most fish, I am just put off by the sweetest and texture of scallops. I can eat them and if the outside is nice and crispy/caramelized, I may like the first few bites but after a little while, the taste becomes off to me and I can’t have more than a few. ---
**Author:** ![Disinfectus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/disinfectus/32/11085_2.png) [@Disinfectus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Disinfectus)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2023, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-loved-as-a-kid-that-you-now-think-are-terrible/985857/127 "2023-06-24T01:23:50Z")
Snack-Pak pudding. In the cans, I loved it (even though it had a slight metallic taste). The stuff in the plastic containers is horrific. I would also include Chef-Boy-R-Dee pizza, which I loved as a kid, despite growing up on Long Island which has amazing pizza. But I’m also only speculating that I think it is terrible now because there is no way in hell I’m actually making one to see what it tastes like. ---
**Author:** ![dougrb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/76d3ee/32.png) [@dougrb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougrb)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2023, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-loved-as-a-kid-that-you-now-think-are-terrible/985857/128 "2023-06-24T01:55:22Z")
> [@Disinfectus](#): > > I’m also only speculating that I think it is terrible now Give it a try… > [@Things you loved as a kid that you still love as an old person](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-loved-as-a-kid-that-you-still-love-as-an-old-person/985565/95): > > I was a big fan as a kid but tried one recently. It was marginal. I also loved Chef Boyardee pizza mix and tried one of those recently. That’s still pretty dang good. About the same price as a (blah) cheap frozen pizza but with a little more work. ---
**Author:** ![Disinfectus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/disinfectus/32/11085_2.png) [@Disinfectus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Disinfectus)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2023, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-loved-as-a-kid-that-you-now-think-are-terrible/985857/129 "2023-06-24T03:31:41Z")
Damn it. Now I might have to. ---
**Author:** ![Common\_Tater](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/common_tater/32/13846_2.png) [@Common\_Tater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Common_Tater)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2023, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-loved-as-a-kid-that-you-now-think-are-terrible/985857/130 "2023-06-24T03:44:29Z")
Pepsi and Mt Dew offer “throwback” versions made with sugar in lieu of corn syrup sweeteners. They taste much better, and crisp, to my buds. Small specialty brands are good too. Spring Grove (Minnesota) has a dynamite Black Cherry soda, made with cane sugar. Corn syrup flavored drinks seem a bit sour, cooked, more than sweet. But, I rarely drink any soda, liquid carbs just aren’t part of my routine. I am a lot more selective though, if I’m going to consume empty calories they had better taste good. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2023, 11:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-loved-as-a-kid-that-you-now-think-are-terrible/985857/131 "2023-06-24T11:30:58Z")
When I was a kid I absolutely _loved_ SenSen. Friends would ask me about it and I’d offer a tiny piece, which they’d promptly spit out. I don’t even know if it’s still available, but I don’t wanna try it. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2023, 11:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-loved-as-a-kid-that-you-now-think-are-terrible/985857/132 "2023-06-24T11:45:44Z")
Airbrush fantasy art, the kind you’d see on the sides of vans, like a big eagle against a lightning storm , or a pegasus being ridden by a half-naked sword-wielding warrior. Used to love that kind of art. Whoa nelly, not anymore. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2023, 12:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-loved-as-a-kid-that-you-now-think-are-terrible/985857/133 "2023-06-24T12:17:53Z")
I once saw Anne McCaffrey at a convention, and she said that authors don’t have control over the art on the covers of their books. So a lot of the pictures on the Pern books were dramatic, like the pictures you mentioned. She said the only one she really cared about, that depicted riders and dragons realistically was the cover of the White Dragon. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2023, 12:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-loved-as-a-kid-that-you-now-think-are-terrible/985857/134 "2023-06-24T12:37:01Z")
> [@Common\_Tater](#): > > Pepsi and Mt Dew offer “throwback” versions made with sugar in lieu of corn syrup sweeteners. They taste much better, and crisp, to my buds. Small specialty brands are good too. Spring Grove (Minnesota) has a dynamite Black Cherry soda, made with cane sugar. It might just be the sweetness of sugar @MikeF is finding to be a turn off now. I don’t love Pepsi or Coca-Cola, even in their cane sugar varieties, but I do like some of Faygo’s sodas. There was a sale last week and I bought a pack of Black Cherry from Faygo and while nothing to flip my lid over, it is quite tasty and I limit myself to one little can(150 calories!) per day. I do like Pepsi Zero Sugar, though. 99% of diet sodas are terrible, but that one is quite good. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2023, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-loved-as-a-kid-that-you-now-think-are-terrible/985857/135 "2023-06-24T12:53:35Z")
80s music ---
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2023, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-loved-as-a-kid-that-you-now-think-are-terrible/985857/136 "2023-06-24T13:02:52Z")
There are so many 80’s films/TV shows that just don’t hold up at all. Too many to name, but _Strange Brew_ is a standout. ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2023, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-loved-as-a-kid-that-you-now-think-are-terrible/985857/137 "2023-06-24T16:46:14Z")
Thrills chewing gum advertised itself as tasting like soap. This claim was barely true, maybe a little, maybe for ten seconds. But kids used to live to buy it, and give pieces to their contemporaries. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2023, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-loved-as-a-kid-that-you-now-think-are-terrible/985857/138 "2023-06-24T20:03:12Z")
> [@Odesio](#): > > > [@Biotop](#): > > > > Gatlinburg is a sad tourist trap next to the beautiful Smoky Mountains. When I was a kid I, for some reason, got excited, even thrilled, for our family trips there. I should have known better even then because the town is the worst exploitation of what should be IMHO almost sacred ground. > > I had an ok time in Gatlinburg around 2005 or so. But walking down mainstreet, I was accosted by people trying to sell me tickets to attractions and I did get tired of it pretty quickly. I also saw a dude walking around in a hoodie with a swastika on it, so there was that. I don’t feel the need to ever go back. Branson, Missouri is pretty much the Ozark Mountains equivalent to the Smoky Mountains’ Gatlinburg. Hokey, tawdry, and full of hawkers. Probably some of the alternative spelling of “hawker” too, but I didn’t notice them especially on my last visit. > [@GuanoLad](#): > > Airbrush fantasy art, the kind you’d see on the sides of vans, like a big eagle against a lightning storm , or a pegasus being ridden by a half-naked sword-wielding warrior. Used to love that kind of art. Whoa nelly, not anymore. What’s wrong with Elvis singing a duet with Jesus upon a background of puffy clouds, all airbrushed onto black velvet? Have you no _taste_, Man? ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2023, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-loved-as-a-kid-that-you-now-think-are-terrible/985857/139 "2023-06-24T20:34:58Z")
> [@Cheesesteak](#): > > OTOH… watching Justice League, the cartoon series, that show is hot garbage, was always garbage, and I feel shame for encouraging the network to continue airing it. Whoa. You mean the one that morphed into Justice League Unlimited? With Dan Riba at the helm? greatest Superhero series of all time? That series? To me, it is jawbreakers. Too damn sweet. Roller coasters- I now can just skip them. > [@NinthAcolyte](#): > > Bologna. When I was a kid my favorite sandwich was bologna and mustard on wheat bread. I still eat it but only Hebrew National and that rarely. > [@echoreply](#): > > And my unpopular choice, _A Wrinkle in Time_. It was the same thing. I was again astounded by how boring and contrived the story was Sadly, I found out the same thing. Still has moments. The film, altho beautiful was total drek- sadly. > [@solost](#): > > Campbell’s Chicken Noodle Soup. Yeah, I now serve Progresso. > [@hogarth](#): > > I felt the same way when I reread _Dragons of Autumn Twilight_ as an adult. The whole series has not help up well, sadly. Nor has that world to adventure in. > [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > I read all of Piers Anthony’s stuff until I suddenly just started gagging at the thought of it. We all do that. The first couple are actually kinda fun, then… > [@Common\_Tater](#): > > Even us culinary cro-magnon types have noticed canned food quality No, we just grew up. Still- Hormel Chile- No beans- is THE chilidog topper. > [@Odesio](#): > > By all accounts Chuck E. Cheese pizza is terrible though. No longer terrible. It has improved to “kinda meh”. Or “barely edible”. > [@ChockFullOfHeadyGoodness](#): > > ’m convinced that is the **only** reason milllenials continue to enjoy _Space Jam_ or _Hocus Pocus_ enough that both got legacy sequels. Look, I watched _Hocus Pocus_ a couple times. Kinda fun. But cheese&rice, how did it become a 'classic"? > [@Dung\_Beetle](#): > > [Carnac the Magnificent] “Things that are white, nasty, and should be kept in a jar!” You win the Internet for today! Collect your trophy at the desk. > [@puzzlegal](#): > > I still like Prydain, but I’ve had terrible rereading both _a wrinkle in time_ and _the phantom tollbooth_. I still like Phantom Tollbooth. ---
**Author:** ![dorvann](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/df705f/32.png) [@dorvann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dorvann)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2023, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-loved-as-a-kid-that-you-now-think-are-terrible/985857/140 "2023-06-24T20:43:30Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > . It’s clearly the type of book that teens can latch onto and say, “Yeah, everyone is a stupid bastard!” and then you grow up and realize, well, Holden is an annoying prick. That’s what I feel like trying to watch _Porky’s_ again. The “teens” in that movie are a bunch of pricks. ( ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2023, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-loved-as-a-kid-that-you-now-think-are-terrible/985857/141 "2023-06-24T20:52:08Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > When I was a kid I absolutely _loved_ SenSen. Friends would ask me about it and I’d offer a tiny piece, which they’d promptly spit out. > > I don’t even know if it’s still available, but I don’t wanna try it. They are still available, but I don’t know why you would want to eat a shock absorber. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2023, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-loved-as-a-kid-that-you-now-think-are-terrible/985857/142 "2023-06-24T21:00:35Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > Airbrush fantasy art, the kind you’d see on the sides of vans, like a big eagle against a lightning storm , or a pegasus being ridden by a half-naked sword-wielding warrior. Used to love that kind of art. Whoa nelly, not anymore. To tie two topics together, I recently saw some airbrush art in Gatlinburg. [It was pretty bad](https://i.postimg.cc/yYVx6T91/IMG-20230606-165801756-HDR-smaller.jpg). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-loved-as-a-kid-that-you-now-think-are-terrible/985857.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-loved-as-a-kid-that-you-now-think-are-terrible/985857.md?page=8)