" Being constantly recite by our parents to back aside from the TV set screen , when we pose on the floor . "
So much can change from when we were young. So when theBuzzFeed Communitywasasked: “What’s something that used to be normal but would shock people today?” so many older folks delivered answers you have to read for yourself:
1.“We had no microwave! You had to boil your hotdogson the stove. Leftovers? You ate cold meatloaf sandwiches. Also, none of this vegan, gluten-free, organic garbage. No almond milk, no tofu, or even Baja Blast Mountain Dew. We would harvest potatoes from my grandparents’ garden. Wash the potatoes with the hose and then eat one. We lived to tell about it!”
2.“Using traveler’s checks in foreign countries, ATMs didn’t exist, and carrying too much cash made you a target for thieves”
— Anonymous , 55 , Canada
3.“Free-range kids! Best part of growing up in the ’80s and ’90s! Can we, as a society, please bring back unsupervised, unstructured play for kids?? Research literally backs this up as beingpositive for childhood development! AND is also beneficial for parents as it allows for more free time (that isn’t centered on the child and their needs. ‘You can’t pour from an empty cup’).”
4.“Driving a car before you had a license or on a parent’s lap. When not on the lap, I stood on the bench seat next to them. I would sit on my grandpa’s or mom’s lap while driving, and they’d let me steer. I was in elementary school driving my dad’s friend’s convertible — my sister has pics! I was taught to drive at 12, and at 14, I learned to drive a manual transmission in Ohio, in the snow, on a hill.”
— StephieEss
5.“Stores were never open on Sundays. You got what you needed the other six days. It was always a day families could enjoy relaxing or visiting someone. No work or no kids having sports obligations. Just a day of rest for all to enjoy each other, especially during the holidays. Seemed like everyone went to church and then enjoyed the day.”
6.“Some cigarettes came with coupons, which kids collected so we could get toys with them.”
— Anonymous , 83 , NJ
7.“Both my parents would give me a dollar and change to go up to the five and dime (one mile away) to buy them cigarettes when I was ten or eleven. Once I was grounded for losing a dollar in the wind.”
8.“Taking home-baked goods to school for a birthday party. I’d take in homemade cupcakes on my birthday. For special parties, mothers would bring all kinds of homemade food. Now, if a party is allowed (since it takes time away from ‘teaching to the test,’ the food must be store bought or individually wrapped, and must be free from things that cause allergic reactions! It’s sad to see how much times have changed for the worse!
— magicalsmoothie67
9.“Paying $.45 for a can of Coke, or $.60 for a 16-oz bottle. $.89 for a gallon of gas. Hamburger $.99 a pound.”
10.“Making one copy of a document by adding a piece of carbon paper between two sheets of blank paper before you write or type on them.”
— Anonymous
11.“Being constantly told by our parents to back away from the TV set screen, when we lay on the floor, watching the huge set that was in a piece of wood furniture. Today, we all hold the same type of phone screen inches away from our faces…but nobody seems worried about it!”
12.“When you didn’t know what time it was, you could dial: ‘H E 70211.’ In my town in southern California, people would still use the call letters from waaay back. The first time I heard that, I mean, there were letters on the numbers, so why not give it a shot? And I’ll be damned, ‘Welcome to GTE. The time at the tone is ….. I miss that.”
— Anonymous , 44 Roanoke , Va
13.“Having typing class as a required class in school, and I mean with an actual typewriter — the ones with the long keys that you could miss and have your finger drop three inches! Plus, paper tape White Out. There was no way to backspace! I always had a small plastic container with rectangular White Out paper with me. (I couldn’t buy more on Amazon when I ran out because Amazon didn’t exist.)”
14.“Knocking on doors to see if friends can come out to play. Or if bikes were on the lawn, that’s where your friends were. My son asks if I can text our neighbors to play. (But also, people tend not to answer the door anymore.)
— jnk84
15.“I bought everything from clothes to a Western saddle on layaway.”
16.“Back in the ’70s, phone companies had lower rates for making long-distance calls after certain hours. Our company sets aside time after 8 pm for that to happen. We would always wait until then to make calls.”
— Anonymous , 77 Sherburne , NY
17.“Taking pictures with a disposable camera and not being able to see the pictures until you got them back from being developed.”
18.“We had no phone at our home. So when I went out of town, I had to send a telegram stating ‘Reached Safely’ to assure my parents.”
19.“Wired hoop skirts were stiffened with thick starch and dried on the line so they would keep their shape. Girls who had more money could afford the preformed wired shirts.”
20.“Telephone party lines. You would pick up your phone to make a call, and there was someone else already in conversation with another person. Usually, they would say it was already in use when they would hear you pick up the phone. Then you would wait several minutes and try again. If they were in a long conversation and you were in a hurry to call, after several pickups, it could get a lot less polite.”
21.“Smoking was allowed during movies. News broadcast before the movie, and popcorn all over the floor.”
22.“COD: cash on delivery. As a teenager, I bought something at a fancy department store, and my mom paid the bill when it was delivered.”
— Anonymous , 68 , NYC
23.“Bank hours were 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.”
24.“Mom checked to make sure I had a dime in my pocket so that I could call home from a gas station phone booth if I had an emergency.”
25.“Camping out overnight in a friend’s backyard or in a nearby woods. No adults, just kids aged 8 to 12. Just grabbed a sleeping bag and told Mom and Dad that I would see them in the morning. We would roam the neighborhood or walk to a nearby burger joint and hang out until late.”
