Fire up the time machine—this is a pop culture rewind you can feel. Join us as we count down our picks for unforgettable moments we’re dying to experience again. Our trip revisits Pokémon Go mania, the iPhone reveal, early YouTube virals like “Charlie Bit My Finger,” the “Infinity War” snap, Game of Thrones finale hype, the Twilight frenzy, Gaga’s meat dress, MySpace’s heyday, Britney’s 2000 VMAs shake-up, and the Madonna–Britney–Christina kiss.
00:05Welcome to Miss Mojo, and today we're looking at the most exciting moments from the century so far that we'd love to experience again.
00:13How could it hurt you when it looked so good?
00:19The Avengers Infinity War Cliffhanger
00:22What did it cost?
00:27Everything.
00:28There are 23 movies in Marvel's Infinity War saga in total, with Infinity War and Endgame being the two major concluding films.
00:36There was a debate about whether or not Endgame lived up to expectations, but everyone agreed that the end of Infinity War was pulled off amazingly.
00:49No, no, no, no.
00:52No one expected them to be brave enough to kill off half of the characters we'd grown to love.
00:59Then we had to wait an entire year to see them saved.
01:02In that time, the film's ending was on everyone's mind, with basically every single line becoming an internet meme.
01:09Game of Thrones Season 8 hype.
01:18In the years since, many fans haven't stopped criticizing the series' conclusion, constantly joking about the terrible dialogue and questionable writing decisions.
01:28Have you shot your final scenes yet, and are you happy with how things ended?
01:33Yeah.
01:34Yeah.
01:35She didn't say yes.
01:37You didn't say yes.
01:38After the showrunners cut out major book plotlines, such as Young Griff and Euron's Apocalypse,
01:44wrapping it up satisfyingly became a challenge.
01:47Still, before episode 8's release, all fans were desperate to see it end.
01:52No shows from the 2010s rivaled its hype, and millions of viewers were invested in it.
01:57Do you speak their tongue?
02:02Tell them to lift their swords.
02:04Its quality had been waning for years in fairness, but fans hoped it could be brought back for one last hurrah.
02:11One reason given for its failure is that the entire cast and crew were fed up, and their lack of passion is easy to see.
02:18I told you what would happen if you betrayed me.
02:20You did.
02:22Lord Varys, I, Daenerys of House Tal Yarrison, first of my name, breaker of chains and mother of dragons, sentenced me to die.
02:31Twilight Frenzy
02:32Few franchises have the same energy surrounding them as Twilight did during its prime.
02:37The first film was released in 2008, and then we got one every year until 2012.
02:43Now you know.
02:46That's your future.
02:48Unless you decide on another course.
02:50At the time, there was a major debate over their quality.
02:54Now people largely agree they were seriously flawed, but also that they were an absolute blast to live through.
03:00During a cross-country tour, almost 6,000 people, mostly teens, jammed at Dallas Mall to get a glimpse of Edward.
03:09All fans were on Team Edward or Team Jacob, except for the Team Bella crowd, who believed neither of the supernatural hunks was right for her.
03:19Surprisingly, there haven't been any spin-offs in the years since, except for a couple of novels released by Stephanie Meyer.
03:26I am very excited to finally, finally, announce the release of Midnight Sun on August 4th.
03:33Lady Gaga's Meat Dress
03:35It's not often a pop star will come out of nowhere and then dominate global charts within two years of releasing their debut single.
03:42A major reason Lady Gaga became so popular was her eccentricity.
03:47The epitome of this was her beef dress at the 2010 VMAs.
04:00It was one of the most significant fashion statements of the century so far.
04:04It was in protest of the American military policy Don't Ask, Don't Tell, which barred openly gay individuals from serving.
04:11But we decided to do the meat dress because I thought to myself, if you are willing to die for your country, what does it matter how you identify?
04:20It was incredibly controversial, prompting a global discussion on the ethics of using animal flesh to make a statement.
04:27The dress was shown at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, as well as other venues.
04:33It smelled like meat. It was thrilling to wear.
04:35There's a corset under this, but the corset was sewn to the meat. So this is actually a garment.
04:42The introduction of the iPhone.
04:44Gen alphas probably have no memory of what phones were like before Apple revolutionized them.
04:50You zoom in or zoom out by pinching or un-pinching with your fingers. It's spectacular.
04:55Until then, pretty much all they were good for was texting, calling, and maybe playing Snake.
05:00The first iPhone was unveiled in 2007, and it transformed the industry.
05:06From web surfing, to a menu of your voicemails that look more like emails, to Google Maps.
05:13It's not true GPS, but it does show you each driving instruction.
05:17In hindsight, the early iPhones were quite clunky, but at the time, they were mind-blowing.
05:23Virtually everyone wanted to get their hands on one, and for a few years, they were a luxury item.
05:28By the early 2010s, tons of alternatives had flooded the market, and by 2014,
05:40smartphones were basically ubiquitous and have remained that way since.
05:44Madonna, Britney Spears, and Christina Aguilera kiss at the VMAs.
05:49The 2003 VMAs come from a period many of us are nostalgic for.
05:54Britney, Madonna, and Aguilera were three of Pop's biggest names.
05:58The trio performed both Like a Virgin and Hollywood together, and it was a show for the ages.
06:09The primary reason it's still remembered is that Madonna kissed the other two pop stars toward Hollywood's conclusion.
06:18Hilariously, they cut to a shot of Britney's ex, Justin Timberlake, looking upset straight after the kiss.
06:25It was a scandalous moment, as many were outraged at seeing a same-sex kiss on TV.
06:31Hollywood, Hollywood, couldn't hurt you when it looked so good.
06:37It feels tame to us, but scandals like this still happen.
06:42For instance, Lil Nas X caused a stir after kissing a man at the BET Awards in 2021.
06:48The rise of MySpace.
06:55Nowadays, popular social media platforms feel set in stone.
06:59Well, before Facebook, TikTok, and even YouTube, there was MySpace.
07:04And Friendster was first, and we were trying to compete, so when people signed up, they wouldn't see anything.
07:09That's boring.
07:09So I put myself as this person that could connect everyone else, so you'd see people right when you signed up.
07:15It was the original global social network, and was the world's most popular from 2005 until 2009.
07:21It influenced music, friendships, and online culture as a whole.
07:26Here, look at my page.
07:27Maybe this will inspire you.
07:34Good lord, Donna!
07:35It still exists, but it's almost entirely forgotten about, and barely resembles its older self.
07:42It was exciting how customizable profiles could be, something modern social media has done away with.
07:48It was all the rage among young people, and undoubtedly influenced a ton of websites that followed.
07:54Although none of them feature everyone's favorite friend, Tom.
07:57Facebook is quite different.
07:59You know, it's mostly people talking to each other that know each other, and MySpace has always been more open.
08:04Britney Spears' 2000 VMAs performance.
08:08After starting her career as a Disney kid, Britney began making solo music in the late 90s.
08:14In 2000, she was on top of the pop scene.
08:17Oops, I did it again.
08:20I played with your heart.
08:23Got lost in the game.
08:25Oh, baby, baby.
08:27If you ask a VMAs fan what the show's greatest performance was, Britney's 2000 Oops, I Did It Again will likely be up there.
08:35Before the show, she was seen as America's sweetheart.
08:39When she appeared here in a skin-colored outfit, all that was ripped away.
08:43This marked a turning point in her career when she began to distance herself from the Disney star image.
08:59It was massively criticized for how revealing it was, as people were worried children would see it.
09:05But thankfully, now it's largely considered empowering.
09:18Early YouTube Viral Videos
09:20YouTube first launched in 2005, and by the end of the decade, it became known globally.
09:26Those early years were a wonderful era, and will likely never be replicated.
09:39Now viral videos are pretty common, facilitated through platforms like TikTok.
09:44Well, back when YouTube was new, so too were viral videos, and they felt so exciting.
09:49It's now considered the golden age of YouTube, before it was so heavily monetized, and felt more like the Wild West.
10:04Production value was on average substantially lower.
10:08With most posts, home videos, and random animations, it was a product of video hosting websites being entirely new.
10:15And those days are gone forever.
10:17Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions.
10:30Beyonce's Super Bowl Halftime Show.
10:32This performance redefines Super Bowl performance standards.
10:36Baby, baby, it's you.
10:38Come on, baby, it's you.
10:41Come on, baby, it's you.
10:43When I need you, baby, everything's nice.
10:47Super Bowl.
10:50One, two, three, four.
10:5126 MTV Video Music Awards.
10:54This was hands down one of the most iconic VMAs.
10:58Yo, Taylor.
11:01I'm really happy for you.
11:02I'm going to let you finish.
11:03But Beyonce had one of the best videos of all time.
11:09One of the best videos of all time.
11:11The Friends finale.
11:16It was an emotional send-off to one of the 90s' most important shows.
11:20So I guess this is it.
11:22Yeah.
11:25I guess so.
11:28This is harder than I thought it would be.
11:31It's going to be okay.
11:34The Lord of the Rings The Return of the King release.
11:37Over 20 years later, and this film hasn't aged a day.
11:41It's done.
11:43Yes, Mr. Proto.
11:47It's over now.
11:51The premiere of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone.
11:54It would have been amazing to witness the beginning of this franchise.
11:57So it's true.
11:59I mean, do you really have the...
12:02The...
12:03The what?
12:05The scar.
12:06Oh.
12:09Wicked.
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12:24Pokemon Go's launch.
12:28There are still tons of Pokemon Go players years after its release.
12:32In 2016, it felt like more people played it than didn't.
12:36Nostalgia hits in.
12:37Like, I'm a kid.
12:38I need to play this again.
12:39It's real life.
12:40Well, he texted me like 30 minutes ago saying let's meet up in Hollywood to catch Pokemon.
12:44Trying to catch them all, you know?
12:45For a few weeks after it dropped, millions were wandering around outside hunting Pokemon in the real world.
12:51It was super exciting, being able to catch them all, making us feel like real life trainers.
12:57This may be a cliche, but it was one of those moments you literally just had to be there to understand.
13:03One shout and hundreds stampede in the hopes of capturing Pokemon, fictional cartoon creatures, on their phones.
13:13It's kind of a semi-rare Pokemon, so everyone flocked over to catch one of their favorites.
13:18No other video game has encouraged people to go outside like this one, and we miss it badly.
13:23Tons of other games have mimicked its design, but none have been as culturally significant as Pokemon Go.
13:29I know a lot of my friends that are just like, wow, I never leave my house and go for walks, and I did like 10K this weekend because they're trying to kind of do things with the game.
13:37What pop culture moment would you like to go back to most?
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