From Blockbusters to Flowerpots

The afterlife of VHS tapes

Photo of the author, taken by my neighbor Honey at her home.

This morning, I dropped by my neighbor Honey’s place to hand her a pill — for her husband’s toothache. Just one. It’s Sunday, the clinic’s shut, and we don’t keep medicine at home. I found a lone pill rattling around in my drawer and walked over.

Her husband took it (again — turns out he’d already had the same one earlier), and while we were laughing about that, something by her doorstep caught my eye.

Under her flowerpots were… VHS tapes. Those chunky old cassettes we used to rewind with a pencil and blow the dust out of. Honey, unbothered, said she uses them to balance the pots.

I couldn’t stop grinning. These tapes once carried epic romances, action thrillers, and grainy birthday parties. Now they’re literally supporting houseplants.

We didn’t just use to watch movies, we collected them, even using a VCR (video cassette recorder) to record a favorite movie, concert or cricket match off the television.

My brother and I almost came to blows when he recorded over something I had taped (but hadn’t labeled.) VHS tapes used to be expensive, valuable, and scarce. We treasured these babies — and now they’re just plastic boxes with magnetic memory.

So if you’ve been wondering what became of all those VHS tapes — some are retired, sunbathing under crotons. Seems fair.

The Crown Jewels of the living room, now living out their retirement as pot stands.