Toy Story is 20 and Other Surprising Celebrations From 1995!

The number 20 has special meaning this year. My daughter turns 20 on the 20th. It's her Golden Birthday.  What a fun number to be celebrating on a golden day. 

This special occasion got me thinking what turn of events happened 20 years ago in 1995. How could 20 years have come and gone so quickly? 

What sparked these thoughts was not only my daughter celebrating 20 years but also learning that the movie Toy Story is celebrating its 20th anniversary. Wow, hard to believe!

Image Source:  Pixabay.com

Undoubtedly, this movie was a major part of my daughter’s childhood. It was probably the first movie that she experienced as a young child. 

That movie must have been played 100+ times in our household. It holds a wonderful memory for me as I remember distinctly her out loud laughter at one very random scene of this movie. It wasn't even a outwardly funny scene, but the movement of one toy struck her funny bone and made her giggle with tears every time. When she laughed - I laughed. Such sweet memories. 

Toy Story was the first feature-length film to be made entirely using computer generated imagery. The film produced by Pixar Animation Studios grossing $361 million worldwide and released on Thanksgiving weekend, which was the highest grossing domestic film in 1995. 

Of course, we owned the VCR cassette of this movie, but surprisingly, also celebrating 20 years is the invention of the DVD.  Honestly, I'm more shocked that it's only been 20 years as it seems we've had DVD's forever. The old VCR days just seems so ancient to me now. 

Amazon and EBay were formed in 1995, along with the release of Microsoft Windows 95. We've become so accustomed to these elements being a part of our lives that it's hard to believe that 20 years has passed already.

Do you remember what dance craze you were dancing at your family reunion, school party or wedding reception?

That's right; 20 years ago we were dancing “The Macarena.” It was the most iconic example of 1990s dance music and ranked #1 greatest one-hit wonder of all time by VH1.  The tune was performed by Los del Rio who sang the lyrics with such a catchy Latin swing that you wouldn’t know that the song was actually about a woman named Macarena who cheated on her boyfriend while he was in the army. Aaaand, not just with one guy, but two!! This song and its choreographed dance moves were a big hit at my daughter's elementary school festivals. 

The kids didn't know they were doing this rhythmic line dance to the beat of a cheating woman. It’s, most likely, not the first song we’ve had no idea what the lyrics were about, but sang and danced to them anyway. 

Right along with my daughter having her 20th birthday, Mister O and I, earlier this year, had celebrated our 20th wedding anniversary. Yep, 1995 was full of memorable moments and surprises!

Other 1995 introductions were the PlayStation, George Foreman Grill and Starbucks Frappuccino. Interested in other trivia from 1995? Check these links. "15 Things Turning 20 in 2015" and "20 Pop Culture Moments You Won't Believe Happened 20 Years Ago."  

Image Source:  Pixabay.com

What history making moments will we be talking about 20 years from now in 2035? Possibly, driver-less vehicles, holograms and tube transportation. 

Funny, I just saw a Star Wars spoof where Donald Trump is the voice of Darth Vader in this "Darth Trump" video.  A bit of a stretch, but who knows...it could happen!

So many unknown possibilities in our future and where do we go from here?

Like Buzz Lightyear proclaimed with a leap, it'll be  “To Infinity and Beyond!”

Put your smile on and unwrap

   A Square of Chocolate,

Laurie O

If you like it, love it and want more of it, please subscribe to A Square Of Chocolate here and get every post delivered to your email. You can also follow me on Twitter and Instagram.