Technology in the 80s and 90s was emerging as a new and shiny thing, a glimpse into the future, something that promised to make our daily lives better and easier. But that wasn’t always the case. Some electronics in those days were more complicated than they should have been, and felt like they required a Master’s degree to operate with overly complicated instruction manuals. Here are some examples.
#1: The VCR
Not even our parents fully knew how to operate the VCR, even though it was a quintessential item in any household in the 80s and 90s. If you wanted to record a show on TV, you had to set the exact right timing, the arcane channel codes (do you remember those?), and pray no one hit the “stop” button too soon. It was a while thing, but it was pretty much our only option, and it was worth it when it worked right.
