Top 10 Facts That Will Make You Feel Old

#10: Mr. Miyagi Is Now Younger Than the Karate Kid

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The original “The Karate Kid” movie was released in 1984. Ralph Macchio, who portrayed the teenage protagonist, was nearly 23 when it premiered. Pat Morita, the man behind the famous Mr. Miyagi, turned 52 that year. Macchio now finds himself having surpassed the age Morita was during that first film, as he’s officially in his 60s. It’s unfathomable to think that such an iconic movie was released so many decades ago. Given its recent resurfacing due to the popular “Cobra Kai” series, those of us who saw the original in theaters now feel as old as Mr. Miyagi.

#9: “Survivor” Debuted More Than 20 Years Ago

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When “Survivor” premiered back in May of 2000, no one could have predicted how it would change the television landscape forever. It was a phenomenon, with over 51 million people watching Richard Hatch be crowned the first survivor. Although a handful of reality TV programs had been released before, “Survivor” really set the stage for an onslaught of this genre of television. With countless other reality based programming having both come and gone, “Survivor” has lived up to its name. More than two decades and a slew of seasons later, the show continues to attract viewers, some of whom likely were babies when it debuted.

#8: “Friday” First Entered Our Lives Over a Decade Ago

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As a new, young artist, Rebecca Black hoped that her debut single “Friday” would garner national attention and put her into the spotlight. Released in February of 2011, she did indeed find plenty of notoriety, but not the kind she expected. Both the song and music video were highly criticized upon their release, with the latter receiving 1.7 million “dislikes” on YouTube in the first months. Black later appeared in the Katy Perry video for “Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.),” and has since gone on to release other, more credible material. Still, “Friday” is hard to forget. Do you remember hearing it for the first time?

He’s been making music since the late 1980s. But hip-hop artist Eminem got his break with the “The Slim Shady EP” in 1997 and the identically titled “LP” album released two years later. His works back then often referred to his struggles as a young man and his daughter Hailie. The ultimate Christmas gift, she was born on December 25th, 1995, just a few years before his talents would be discovered by Dr. Dre. These days, fans can keep up with Hailie on social media! Nothing showcases the passage of time like realizing who you thought of as a child is now a grown woman.

It’s a parent’s worst nightmare. You go away for the holidays and somehow manage to forget one of the kids back at the house. It’s what happened to poor Kevin McCallister, who had the entire home to himself while the family was off to Paris. Macaulay Culkin was 10 years old when we met the young Kevin in 1990, while Catherine O’Hara, his on-screen mom, was 36. Culkin is now in his forties, making him several years older than O’Hara was in the film. He also has a child. Both stars have aged gracefully, but it’s astonishing to think of how long it’s been since their movie came out.

If you were a child when the second “Back to the Future” movie came out, you probably couldn’t wait for hoverboards and flying cars to be a real thing. 2015 seemed like an eternity away from the film’s 1985 setting. Yet here we are in the 2020s, and neither the cars or boards have found their way into any of our lives. No one wears their pants inside out, and neither self-drying coats nor widely available power laces have become a mainstay of our world, either. Thankfully, the trilogy has survived, so we can revisit the movies when we need to dream.

With the world now in the third decade of the 21st century, it’s hard to imagine that the realm of “Harry Potter” was a product of the 1990s. “Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone” was initially released in June of 1997 as J.K. Rowling’s debut book. Thus, a combination of novels, movies, and even theme park attractions all spun out of a story about a boy who learned of his magical gifts. Add to that the fact that Daniel Radcliffe, who played the titular character, is now over 30 years old, and it’s hard not to be shocked. Maybe Harry has a spell to turn back time?

She found major success with “...Baby One More Time.” But “I’m a Slave 4 U” showed the world a whole new side of Britney Spears. Growing from teen pop star to more provocative young adult, fans got an eye full when the video debuted in, brace yourself, September of 2001. That’s right. More than 20 years have passed since this amazing sweat-filled work came out and dialed the temperature up on every television it played on. Spears still finds ways to surprise and entertain her fans today, proving that her impact is timeless.

#2: “Friends” Ended Nearly Two Decades Ago

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Streaming Wars: Friends vs Seinfeld

There was a time when even the most popular of television shows would go off the air and be forgotten within a few years. But thanks to the world of streaming, old series seem to find new audiences every year. Such is the case with “Friends”. Having run from 1994-2004, it saw a huge resurgence when it hit Netflix. Then, after moving to HBO Max, it got a unique “reunion” special celebrating its legacy. It’s weird and somewhat sad to think that May 2022 marked eighteen whopping years since this iconic sitcom came to an end. After all, it feels like just yesterday we said goodbye to that perfect purple apartment!

Here’s a fun fact: if he aged, Bart Simpson would now be over 40! Indeed, the perpetual 10-year-old was likely born sometime in the late ‘70s or early ‘80s. If that doesn’t make you feel old, think about how “The Simpsons” itself debuted all the way back in 1989. It’s not the only memorable program from that year, either. Both “Seinfeld” and “Saved by the Bell” first aired then too, making it a remarkable time for historic television series. It seems like only a few years ago we were “yada yada yada”-ing, all while worrying about not having a cow. Where did the time go?!