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As we grow up, not only do we learn to master many new skills, become more and more independent, smarter and build our own character, but also see the world in a very different way. And it actually does change as we grow older - what used to look nice doesn't impress us anymore, something that we dreamed about looks meaningless and some friends who looked perfect with time turned out to be not so saintly. 

But you know what also changes dramatically? Our understanding of wealth and money. As kids, we tend to look at things such as matching plates at our friends house or full shelves of snacks or desserts that were on display in some bakery and think that only super rich people can have that. However, it turns out that actually, they are not that fancy, and most of us can actually afford to have them without being multi-millionaires.

Well, it is still fun to remember them and look at these things now as we grow up. We just don’t feel as fancy anymore when, let’s say, drinking soda from a straw instead of the bottle. So speaking about that, recently one Reddit user started a thread asking folks what they used to think was fancy as kids that is actually not. And I believe that every one of us can relate to many of them.

More info: Reddit

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#1

36 Things Kids Thought Were Super Fancy But Were Actually Not Really, According To Netizens My friends whose kitchens were filled with junk food like Captain Crunch, Twinkies and Ding Dongs, hot dogs and American cheese. I thought they were so fancy and I was so jealous.

My mom cooked from scratch every day, and we thought we were so neglected because she wouldn't buy that s**t for us to eat. We were so lucky. Thanks, Mom.

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SofieTheMJFan
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

When I was younger, I would wonder why my friends would get sick so often, and get the flu yearly. I didn't realize until later, and also when I asked him, that it was because my dad refused to buy us junk food. We drank a lot of water, took vitamins and ate home-cooked food. He made sure we had sleep and plenty of outdoor activity. Only occasionally, like at a birthday, were we allowed to eat junk food, and we still weren't allowed to go wild. He made sure we were healthy, and we thought he was the worst 😅 I'm thankful to him for doing that, and also for letting us eat in social settings so as to not feel left out

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#2

36 Things Kids Thought Were Super Fancy But Were Actually Not Really, According To Netizens Back in my day, kids who had crayola 120 colored pencils were considered the elites of society.

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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I was that kid 😂 I begged my abuelita to buy me some every time we went to Wal-Mart

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#3

36 Things Kids Thought Were Super Fancy But Were Actually Not Really, According To Netizens Viennetta ice cream cake was the peak of fancy for me.

KaleidoscopeVast9290 , cyclonebill Report

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Jackie Warner
Jackie Warner
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Snap. We had it once for Christmas. The unattainable food for rich people turned out to be just cleverly marketed vanilla ice cream with chocolate.

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#4

36 Things Kids Thought Were Super Fancy But Were Actually Not Really, According To Netizens My grandparents had a laundry chute in their bathroom- the dirty clothes would land in a basket in their basement next to the washing machine. I thought this was amazing and the #1 thing I would look for in a house one day.

llcmomx3 , Annie Spratt Report

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detective miller's hat
detective miller's hat
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

We had one of these in my old house. Nearly caused an international incident when my 5-year-old brother put himself down the laundry chute and got stuck.

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#5

36 Things Kids Thought Were Super Fancy But Were Actually Not Really, According To Netizens Ferrero Rocher chocolate.

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#6

36 Things Kids Thought Were Super Fancy But Were Actually Not Really, According To Netizens I thought that having a second, older fridge in your garage meant your family was rich.
Actually, hell, if you had a garage at all I thought you were rich.

CoolBugg , whyamiKeenan Report

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#7

36 Things Kids Thought Were Super Fancy But Were Actually Not Really, According To Netizens A fridge with an ice dispenser built in

Cold_Community5162 , Curtis Adams Report

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#8

36 Things Kids Thought Were Super Fancy But Were Actually Not Really, According To Netizens Cutting sandwiches diagonally.

787la57la47al , Asnim Ansari Report

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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The only way. It's infinitely superior to any other way, fight me

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#9

36 Things Kids Thought Were Super Fancy But Were Actually Not Really, According To Netizens Glass desks. Now I realise they’re just easily breakable pieces of s**t

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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

plus you cant get away with flipping the bird under ur desk at whoever is bugging you

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#10

36 Things Kids Thought Were Super Fancy But Were Actually Not Really, According To Netizens Shirley Temple/Roy Rogers drinks. I remember when my parents would take us to a "fancy" restaurant and we would be able to order these. I felt so adult! With the skinny straw and the maraschino cherry...

Iron_Chic , Tracie Hall Report

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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I still love me a Shirley Temple and order one for special occasions (non drinker).

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#11

36 Things Kids Thought Were Super Fancy But Were Actually Not Really, According To Netizens Double front doors on a house or having a 2- story house. A pool or ping pong table. Getting a store bought Halloween costume instead of one cobbled together from the "dress up" box. A Schwinn bike (mine was a Free Spirit from Sears.)

thusnewmexico , Ksenia Chernaya Report

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#12

36 Things Kids Thought Were Super Fancy But Were Actually Not Really, According To Netizens When I was young I used to refer to brands like Adidas as “designer”. I was obviously wrong, but for a kid who was only bought knock-off brands, usually from the local market, it was very aspirational.

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#13

36 Things Kids Thought Were Super Fancy But Were Actually Not Really, According To Netizens Desserts in the display cases (eclairs, bon bons, petifores, etc)

Med_Vamp , Alexandra Gornago Report

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#14

Nothing was better then Pizza Hut when I was a kid.

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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Cause they were actually a decent place at one point in time. Ahh the good ol days.

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#15

36 Things Kids Thought Were Super Fancy But Were Actually Not Really, According To Netizens Having funky grips for your pencils in first grade. Glitter glue, light up sneakers, having webkinz, having a bunk bed. I recall getting a webkinz and felt so rich 😹😹 any drink that was in a glass with a stem because I felt like an adult, and build a bear. i felt so cool rocking the little house box. When I turned 18 I got a job there and I apologized to my mom for asking for a build a bear every chance I got 😹 they’re so expensive.

ireallyamtired , Oleg Prachuk Report

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TheGoodBoi
TheGoodBoi
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Those light up shoes! You were elite with those. As soon as my little one could fit in some, I got her some. Now they are one of the most annoying things...

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#16

36 Things Kids Thought Were Super Fancy But Were Actually Not Really, According To Netizens Vanity license plates and checks with custom backgrounds. I thought my parents were so lame for not having these and thought both were so fancy. Now as an adult I find the idea of paying for either to be a complete waste of money and tacky.

Flimsy-Zucchini4462 , The Nigmatic Report

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#17

36 Things Kids Thought Were Super Fancy But Were Actually Not Really, According To Netizens The blue toilet cleaner in the water. I always thought we were getting out the hood with that one.

OkiNoProblem , Karolina Grabowska Report

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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Ah, the blue toilet cleaner. That stuff smelled so good to me. I was scared I would pass out and die instantly if I smelled it too much tho, so...

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#18

36 Things Kids Thought Were Super Fancy But Were Actually Not Really, According To Netizens Red lobster. And any hotel or motel- even c****y ones.

MonsoonMermaid , Mike Mozart Report

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#19

Buying the expensive package of school photos

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Amy S
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This is fancy as anything, my daughter had school photos recently and the expensive package was £88. I did not buy it.

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#20

36 Things Kids Thought Were Super Fancy But Were Actually Not Really, According To Netizens Restaurants with table cloths.

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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The quality of the table cloth is important, you'll pay more for better ones

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#21

36 Things Kids Thought Were Super Fancy But Were Actually Not Really, According To Netizens Swanson TV dinners with the dessert included

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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

When I first looked at the picture (before reading the package description) I thought the top left was a weird shaped fried egg. OK, I have issues. Where is the dessert by the way - the packaging perhaps?

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#22

Shrimp. When my brother and I got good grades or if there was any reason to celebrate, our dad would take us to Red Lobster or Long John Silvers and we’d get shrimp. I thought it was the height of luxury

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#23

36 Things Kids Thought Were Super Fancy But Were Actually Not Really, According To Netizens Getting to eat McDonald's all the time...

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TheGoodBoi
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I feel this one. My father did all the home made cooking and like a previous poster said, I wasn't fed c**p like McDonalds all the time so I'm good with it.

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#24

36 Things Kids Thought Were Super Fancy But Were Actually Not Really, According To Netizens When mom sometimes bought the large box with handmade chocolates from the chocolaterie in Husum near Copenhagen.
Granted, they were more expensive than the factory-made ones, but not crazy expensive.
They did taste way better, though.
Maybe because they were freshly made. XD

Fancy was also going to the warehouse Magasin (upper middle class) or Illum (upper class) in Copenhagen, instead of going to the cheaper warehouse Daells Varehus, which were for workers. They had basically everything you might need; their clothes were maybe not the latest fashion, but they lasted well, and they were fairly sturdy.
Mom was very proud when she could apply for and get an account card for Magasin. :)

Fancy was also dad getting a brand new car for the first time ever, in the late 1970's, when he had been repairing on the old Opel station wagon with chicken wire and plastic padding, because the bottom of the car was rusted through.
He was tired of buying c**p used cars, so getting a brand new shiny Opel from the dealer was big stuff for us. :)

MBAdk , Kristiana Pinne Report

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#25

36 Things Kids Thought Were Super Fancy But Were Actually Not Really, According To Netizens Old cars from fancy brands. Kids are always like "whoa he drives a BMW" without realizing it's not impressive to drive a 1999 BMW in 2023.

slightofhand1 , Joshua Köller Report

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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I feel affronted. I drive a 1999 BMW. I did buy it new, and it is a roadster though. I still have a hankering for the old E30 pictured though - my dad had a few of those over the years - always thought it was the best looking shape for the 3-series.

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#26

36 Things Kids Thought Were Super Fancy But Were Actually Not Really, According To Netizens Lunchables.

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#27

36 Things Kids Thought Were Super Fancy But Were Actually Not Really, According To Netizens Olive Garden

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#28

36 Things Kids Thought Were Super Fancy But Were Actually Not Really, According To Netizens Movie theatres. I thought it cost hundreds of dollars (which was millions in kid speech). I actually felt bad that my family kept taking us so I said no thanks its to expensive and they all laughed at me and took me to the movies lol

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#29

Small pickles called gerkins

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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

They're all gherkins, the small ones are called cornichons (or the tiny ones "cornichons extra-fins").

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#30

Commercial air travel

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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

When I was a kid in the 60s we dressed up to fly. I always wore sunglasses so as I turned and waved while going up the stairs I would look like a glamorous Hollywood star.

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#31

36 Things Kids Thought Were Super Fancy But Were Actually Not Really, According To Netizens Name brand potato chips.

Mom would always buy the cheap store brand chips. Her flawed logic was that they lasted longer than the brand name chips, and thus were a better value. The reality was that the store brand chips sucked, and nobody liked to eat them. The name brand ones were great, and they disappeared quickly. We had the good stuff when Dad did the shopping.

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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Most store brand items are the brand name, just in different packaging for

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#32

36 Things Kids Thought Were Super Fancy But Were Actually Not Really, According To Netizens Chicken Kiev

mlm-nightmare , Malmaison Hotels Report

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arthbach
arthbach
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Proper Chicken Kyiv (make in a kitchen) is wonderful. The factory-made, re-constituted moulded chicken stuff is just the same as chicken nuggets, with the addition of a bit of garlic butter.

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#33

36 Things Kids Thought Were Super Fancy But Were Actually Not Really, According To Netizens Sizzler

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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I'm not great with directions and back in the day when someone was giving them to me, I'd ask "where is that from the Sizzler?"

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#34

36 Things Kids Thought Were Super Fancy But Were Actually Not Really, According To Netizens Cheesecake Factory

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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Why did we think this was the epitome of fancy, upperclassmen dining out?

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#35

36 Things Kids Thought Were Super Fancy But Were Actually Not Really, According To Netizens Pot of Gold assorted chocolates.

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#36

Keebler rainbow m and m cookies

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