We all have those awkward, less-than-flattering photos that are best left buried in the past. Fortunately for most of us, these glimpses of our unsophisticated, weird, or quirky selves are stashed in inaccessible attics or basements. The same can’t be said for a few folks who, for some reason, shared their throwback snaps online.

In their defense, most of us could always use a nostalgic walk down memory lane. But again, these images don’t exactly paint these people in the best light and let’s just say that once you make your way through the list, you’ll be happy that the joke is at someone else’s expense.

Boy Meets Vacuum

Anyone raised in the ‘80s and ‘90s must remember the excitement of buying a new appliance. These devices were groundbreaking pieces of technology at the time, and they all promised to make life easier. Take this young man, for instance; he found the perfect friend in this vacuum cleaner.

He reportedly fell in love with almost every appliance, but the vacuum held a special place in his heart. When his mom took him for portraits at the photo studio, he found the perfect prop in the photographer’s broom closet. And this picture now serves as a reminder of the time when a boy met his first true love.

Tis’ the Season, but Not Everyone Agrees

Doesn’t this family portrait just warm your heart? The leaves of autumn are in full bloom, and this is back when folks went outside to take pictures rather than posing for commercialized studio pictures. Even with all the markers of merry and cheerful days ahead, everyone but one person in this image agrees that “it was the season.”

It’s even more hilarious how the rest don’t care much about the young tot who is pitching a fit and planted face down on the ground. If there was ever a poster, this family embodies the saying about the show going on.

The ‘90s Were a Wild Time

The ‘90s were a wild time, judging by this duo’s outfits, and let’s not even talk about the woman’s hairstyle. Wearing head-to-toe denim looks was so en vogue from the ‘80s going into the ‘90s. Nobody ever needs that much denim, but the style has a way of reinventing itself, and several trends from that epoch have made a comeback in recent times.

Colored denim pants are back with a bang, and in particular, most folks seem to favor them in pastel and sorbet hues. Denim dresses have also weaseled their way back into summer wardrobes, and the boho-chic style is quite popular.

Breaking Bad

School Picture Day allows kids and their folks to capture memories of the school year. They are often the photos that go on school IDs and yearbooks, which is why every student knows to turn up dressed their best for the special day. Several kids have had the worst happen on such occasions, from terrible hair days to wearing a wildly hilarious t-shirt.

This little girl didn’t know that she was signing herself up for decades of teasing when she wore this tee for picture day. Her mom reports that her siblings wouldn’t let her hear the end of it, and now, it’s earned its spot in the vault of viral photos.

Sweet Magnolia

Before its discontinuation in 2009, Kodachrome was the go-to option for colored photographs. Their popularity peaked between the ‘50s and ‘90s, and National Geographic exclusively used them for half a century. Now, this trendy woman’s daughter scanned old Kodachrome slides and found this lovely photo.

She possibly wanted to have it framed, and her mom posing near the magnolias made it every bit a sweet photo. That is until you keenly look at the background and realize that there is something creepily peering over her shoulder. The question is, who was he, and did she know that he was lurking behind her?

Grandpa’s Secret is Out!

Every family has a cool relative the kids love and can’t wait to have around for the holidays. This family hosted their grandpa for Easter, and as per tradition, the household posed for a photo to make a lasting memory. The pink pants aside, everything looks peachy until your eyes veer towards the edge of the picture.

There is grandpa downing what looks like his first, or perhaps third, Easter beer. The gentleman who submitted this photo recalls that they always took their pictures before heading out to church. That only makes it even more awkward, but we are sure grandpa spent the whole day in a cheerful mood.

Get it Over with!

Little Bo Peep over here looks like she wasn't one anyone would describe as a ball of sunshine. It's pretty evident that she mastered the art of having a diva attitude quite early. Her mom loved having them take professional photos, but like every other kid on the planet, they didn't quite like the sessions.

In her case, she often spent the picture sessions in a frumpy mood. It ended up being quite an exercise to get her to sit still and quiet enough to snap a decent photo. On this occasion, her thoughts are written all over her face; "just get it over with!"

Rudimentary Photoshop

The smiley angel at the front shared this photo explaining that her dad didn’t appear in the original picture. Her folks had a rough patch, and her dad missed out on this particular photo session. They later patched things up, leaving them with the task of somehow including him in this image.

A little Photoshop magic would have easily done the trick, but back in the day, some creative arts and crafts came to the rescue. They cut up a portrait of him from another picture and pasted it on this one. As for her older sister, their mom painted over her Arachnophobia shirt using MS Paint.

A Chilling Photo

This is a photo of a man chilling with his pet snake, only that the behind-the-scenes explanation is equally as chilling. The snake reportedly snaked its way from his pants, which is quite awkward, to say the least! Add in the mustache and mullet, and this is a totally ‘80s photo!

Speaking of men’s hairdos from the yesteryears, rat tails, Jerry curls, and perms were popular at the time. For reference, Hasbro produced a 1990 doll of Jordan Knight, a band member of the New Kids on the Block, featuring his signature rat tail. Bandana-type headbands were equally trendy at the time.

As if He Never Existed!

These days, when we break up with someone, it's painful but still an easy process to "delete them" from our life. It essentially means pressing control + z on the photos stored on our computer and pulling down the ones from our social accounts. Back in the day, folks had to get a little more creative.

The person who submitted this snap explains that when her folks divorced and her dad remarried, her mom went through their family albums to tweak the pictures they took together. All it took was the labor-intensive process of cutting up or erasing using white-out to remove the images of her dad from such pictures.

An Album Cover

Anyone who doesn't know the origin story of this photo would be forgiven for believing it's the cover of an '80s album. Believe it or not, this is the picture-perfect portrait of someone's family photo. The person who submitted it said their grandma doesn't understand why people giggle when they see the picture.

You must have also noticed the copious number of sweater vests in this throwback picture, and that is quite simply because they were all the rage at the time. Puffy down vests also shot up in popularity in the '80s, thanks to Marty McFly's look from "Back to the Future."

The Loggers

Here is yet another throwback photo that looks like a band’s album cover. The person who submitted explained that her dad is the guy on the far right, and the rest are his brothers. It’s written on their faces; it must have been pretty awkward when the photographer asked them to squeeze in.

The music is among everything that made the ‘80s a genuinely great decade. New bands emerged, churning out varied genres of music. To name a few, Michael Jackson released his “Thriller” album, Bruce Springsteen captured the nation’s heart with “Born in the USA,” and Whitney Houston cemented her status as diva extraordinaire with her self-titled album.

Nothing to See Here, Just a Regular Homicidal Day in this Household

The guy who submitted this photo explained that he is the budding reporter sporting a red shirt, his sister is the murderer, and their dad played the role of the victim. He said they had a neighbor who worked for the local news channel. Their dad came up with the idea to stage this photo, blood stains on his back and all.

Snapped in 1975, it brings up memories of the notable events that took place at the time. Bands like The Runaways, Iron Maiden and Motorhead started releasing great hits. It’s also the year when Paul Allen and Bill Gates teamed up to establish Microsoft.

The Original Soccer Mom

To summarize, this is a photo of the original soccer mom, well, hockey, if you will. The guy who shared the image explained that it was a photo of him, his younger brother, his mother, and his soon-to-be-born brother. Their mom took a family friend's advice, and they all posed for this picture, dressed up in their hockey gear.

Even better, the image won a couple of awards at a Newport photo show. They proudly hung it up in their house growing up, and needless to say, it served as a conversation starter for some awkward conversations whenever they had visitors over.

A Spicy Kind of Christmas

Every family maintains certain sets of Christmas traditions, and for most, that includes hurdling together for a heartwarming photo to go on the holiday cards. Typically, that also means wearing matching pajamas or coordinated outfits for the picture. In this case, dad doesn't seem to have gotten the memo.

We wonder why he chose to stay shirtless for the photo, or were they going for a spicy connotation? Whatever the case, they must have raised quite a few eyebrows when they sent out their Christmas cards that year, if at all the image ended up on their season's greeting stationery.

When Quality Checks Didn’t Exist

Before digital photography equipment and smartphones existed, folks had to wait to get photos developed. It meant that you didn’t really have the chance to do some quality checks on the spot and perhaps take a couple more pictures for safety. This man’s sister ended up with this rib-cracking image documenting her high school graduation.

The year 1986 was a huge one for photography because Kodak scientists invented the first ever megapixel sensor. With the ability to record 1.4M pixels, the result was a high-quality 5 x 7-inch digital print. The following year, the brand released several products that could store, manipulate, transmit and print still video images.

A Bubbly Holiday

The person who shared this image explained that it was a photo of their family celebrating the holidays in 1987. It goes to show how the '80s were a genuinely different time, and no one had a problem taking such photos with their folks. If someone snapped it in the current age of social media, this photo would certainly never see the light of day.

For pop culture fanatics, several TV shows made their debut in 1987, including "Married… with Children," "Full House," and "A Different World." The Bangles also blessed the airwaves with their cult-favorite hit "Walk Like an Egyptian," while Bon Jovi released "Livin' on a Prayer."

The All Hallows Prophet of Doom

The woman who shared this picture explained that they never celebrated Halloween while growing up. On one occasion, they begged their folks to allow them to go trick-or-treating, and it’s the year that their parents finally heard their pleas. The only catch is that their dad tagged along as they went door-to-door dressed up as the Prophet of Doom.

It explains why their household didn’t care much about All Hallows’ Eve. The holiday believed to have borrowed several Celtic harvest festival traditions is popularly known as Halloween these days. With predominantly pagan roots, the Samhains reportedly Christianized the occasion as All Hallows’ Day.

Vintage Influencers

The woman who shared this holiday snap from the ‘90s explains that their outfits were gifts from their neighbor who worked for Marlboro cigarettes. Their mom thought that since the sweatshirts they received from the said neighbor were red, they were perfect for the Christmas pictures.

Unknown to them, they were vintage influencers and didn’t even know it. However, we doubt that the Office of Inspector General would approve of this endorsement, even at the time. We also have to wonder if Santa Claus is related to them and if they kept the suit handy for the family Christmas photos.

Through the Good and Bad…

Some days turn out so terrible that all you can do is smile and maybe even take a photo to remember what you overcame. That describes this image of these folks who just crashed their car into a random person’s house. Having walked out of it unscathed, they decided to pose for a commemorative picture with the destruction in the background.

It’s incredible how they could all afford to look at the brighter side of things, but we doubt the homeowner who has to deal with the aftermath felt the same way. Hopefully, they had an available auto policy that could pick up the tab on the home repairs.

Nightmare at the Petting Zoo

A day spent at a petting zoo sounds like tons of fun unless you are the girl in the background being ambushed by a bunch of animals. These two and their folks visited the Bandon-based West Coast Game Park with their folks in 2000.

When their folks saw one of their daughters holding a baby goat, it melted their hearts, and they snapped this picture. They didn't notice that their other daughter, who'd been feeding a deer, had to deal with an uprising of the animals all of a sudden. Still, it doesn't look like anything terrible happened to her.

Money to Buy another Baby, Bush, and Tiger

It’s heartwarming when tots take the time to appreciate their moms. This one had a laundry list of sweet things to say, starting with apologizing for messing the house when they followed her around the house. Next, the sweet little kid also apologized for the times that they were mean.

Now, if he had money, he would buy his mom lots of vehicles, another baby, a new bush, a tiger, and a treadmill to boot. It’s easy to see why this mom held onto this sweet letter, and the effort that went into making the mother’s day card with the cutout photos makes it even more precious.

The Family Clown

Kids go through several phases growing up, from having favorite blankets to being picky about eating certain foods. Then there are a few who get attached to items like articles of clothing, and more than often, it tends to be Halloween costumes. This little boy seems to have gone through such a stage at one point.

In his case, no one could separate him from his mask, and it happened to be quite a choice. We imagine he wore it everywhere, and the family picture wasn’t an exception. At least he can confidently claim the title of being the family clown.

The Shining Moment

This woman and her family toured their new house as a young girl, around four years old. It was 1989, and their swanky abode was still under construction when her family dropped by to check on the progress. Her folks kept taking pictures of her as she wandered around the rooms, and then this hallway photo happened.

Anyone who is a huge Stanley Kubrick fan knows that it is reminiscent of the chilling scene from his 1980 masterpiece, ''The Shining.'' You almost get the feeling that a second girl is about to walk into the frame to complete the scene recreation.

The Cutest Reindeer Baby

Awww, is this not the cutest photo you have seen in a while? The little one looks so chubby and delightful, wearing nothing but a reindeer antler. We would be forgiven to think that the sweetheart is a model by the pose and perfect smile.

The woman who shared this snap explained that her husband is a sucker for these kinds of shots. It's become a standard go-to pose for their children's photos, and they always look for the latest reindeer hats each year as props. Thankfully, they look so adorable; hence there is nothing to complain about. Just pray they will keep it up for years.

Close Shot

Some photographers have all the luck in the world, capturing images at the right moment. Take a look at this image. What was supposed to be a beautiful family portrait did not quite turn out as planned. A frisbee player, even though not intentionally, was about to ruin a great shot and hurt someone.

Luckily the man of the house was keen, and he swerved before it hit him right in the face. We hope his wife was also fast enough because it appears to be headed in her direction. This family will probably laugh at the picture while being grateful no one was hurt during the process.

Microscopic Arm

When this family was posing, they did not know the end results. They hoped for an attractive pic they would send out on their Christmas card. While dad may not be amused at all, we can only imagine how the rest of the gang burst out laughing once they saw the image.

There was probably a little person behind the brood that made the guy appear to have a tiny hand. The individual behind the snap may also have had ill intentions or is just a funny human being. There is no way they did not notice something wrong with the pic that might have ruined a sweet family moment.

No Smiling Here

Although most siblings usually have nothing but pure love for each other, it is not always lovey-dovey in the home. Parents often have to deal with brothers and sisters yelling at each other or having instances where they are mean to each other or fighting.

When taking pictures, moms and dads usually want prints that present their children as a united front smiling and embracing each other. Not these, though. They opted for a more authentic look where no one was smiling, but they all looked serious. We do not doubt that they love each other and have many heartwarming pics.

Wish Daddy

What happens when dad does not show up to the family shoot? He instantly gets replaced. The mum must have reminded the love of her life a million times that they would take a pic together with the young ones. The man either forgot or was not interested in the whole idea.

When her husband was a no-show, the wife decided to give her offspring a new celebrity dad for the day. He might have either laughed or become mad after seeing the snap. We hope it was hung somewhere to remind him that he must show up for family pics, or he will be instantly replaced on the frame.