#1
Once you were a certain age you were free range.
You were expected to act right out in the world and be home when you were told.
Other then that nothing was expected.
No play dates, no cell phone.
And certainly no posting the f*****g stupid thing you just did so others could see it.
When you did stupid s**t you kept it to yourself!
#2
#3
r/AskOldPeople is a cool spot online where you can ask older Redittors pretty much anything about life back in the day. It’s not a place to seek personal, health or mental health advice. It’s more for people to come together and reminisce about days gone by. Or for the curious, younger generation to find out how things worked for our forefathers. The community has built up an impressive 739 thousand members. Their main rule is that you can’t answer any of the questions unless you were born in or before 1980.
Some of the previous gems that have appeared in the sub include what people were scared of as kids that seem ridiculous now, and what meals their parents constantly made that they refuse to eat as an adult. But it was a question about things that once seemed normal and are now totally bizarre, that got us at Bored Panda thinking. Not just about the past but about the present and future too.
#4
#5
#6
everyonesmom2:
Same. My husband had to sign so I could get a driver's license.
Nowadays, smoking is frowned upon by some, and often strictly forbidden in public places. But there was a time when second hand smoke was everywhere. On planes, in restaurants, offices, cars carrying kids, and even hospitals. And before 1950, doctors would even appear in cigarette adverts. They had no clue that smoking causes cancer.
By the late 40s, people started seeing a spike in lung cancer and even death. But it wasn’t until the late 1980s that smoking on planes became illegal. And even then, it was only banned on U.S. domestic flights of less than two hours. International flights were finally made smoke-free in the 90s. Really not too long ago if you think about it.
In sharing their comments, Redditors spoke of how their schools had smoking sections, how they could smoke on submarines in their Navy days, and how a hospital ward was once filled with smoke after they'd just had throat surgery.
#7
not_falling_down:
And phone books in general. If you knew someone's name, you could find their address and phone number. And if you did not want you name and number in the book, you had to pay extra to have an "unlisted number."
#8
Just as cigarette smoke was considered sexy, safety wasn’t taken too seriously. Seatbelts were there for show. Some cars didn’t even have them. In the 1950s it became mandatory for racing drivers to wear seatbelts. And in the 60s, American passenger vehicles had to have them. But still, people didn’t really have to use them. That included babies and children. Believe it or not.
As Defensive Driving reports, “The National Ad Council ran countless ads for 25 plus years encouraging drivers to ‘Buckle Up’. States slowly starting implementing laws and by 1995, every state except New Hampshire had “Click it or ticket” laws. Currently, all states have a seat belt enforcing law.” And just as well, because the National Safety Council says seatbelts saved almost 375 thousands lives in the country between 1975 and 2017.
#10
If you were rich, you'd have the Encyclopedia Britannica.
#11
Also--cramming ten kids into a VW beetle (aged 10-14, birthday parties or picking up friends to play for the day), no seat belt, of course.
#12
My dad wasn’t the spanker in the family and one day my mom got mad and said he had to do it. I was scared because Dad was really strong. I put a book down the back of my pants. When I came and bent over his knee he saw my square butt and started laughing. My mom got so mad but Dad just couldn’t hit me and couldn’t stop laughing.
He never hit me once ever.
Secondhand smoke and a lack of safety precautions might not be sorely missed. But there are some things a few older Redditors want returned. Like pen pals and posted letters. “I used to have several pen pals in different countries,” wrote u/minsandmolls “There was nothing better than coming home from school and finding a letter.”
If you don’t know what a pen pal is, the Oxford Dictionary defines it like this: “a person that you make friends with by writing letters or emails, often somebody you have never met.” Almost like how we chat to strangers on social media. But it took a lot longer back then. Both to send a letter, and to receive a reply. Here is a really sweet story about two pen pals who finally met for the first time after 43 years.
#13
You too pictures, dropped your film off (e.g. at a photo booth/stand with a person in a grocery store parking lot or at a film processing shop) then waited for the film to be developed and printed (roughly a week), extra cost to expedite.
#14
The year I graduated from high school, I would not have been able to secure a mortgage from a bank as a single woman, salary notwithstanding. Even purchasing a car was iffy, banks did not lend to women without some sort of male guardian co-signing the loan. In the US.
It was routine to be passed over for positions as a female. There were no repercussions, it was normal. It was not considered discrimination; men needed the jobs more.
...and so very, very much more. And no, I'm not 80 years old.
#15
Disastrous-Variety15:
Or even better: in restaurants.
frank-sarno:
There was a smoking section in my high school. I remember a girl who I had a massive crush on coming back from the smoking area and thinking, "She's smokes. She's so TOUGH."
In an age of instant communication, it could seem strange having to wait days, weeks, or months to receive correspondence from a friend, family member or even lover. But that’s exactly how it was. u/Airplade said they remember “Running to my mailbox hoping to get a letter from my girlfriend away at college. Or finally getting that cool thing I mail ordered eight weeks ago.”
A type of email was invented in the 1970s, before the internet existed. But it wasn’t until the 90s that email, as we know it, became publicly popular. And today, we have text messaging, and even video calls. Folks back then could never imagine the instant gratification of greeting someone face to face. While using a mobile phone. And sitting, standing or walking on opposite sides of the world.
#16
allflour:
Phone booths. Dude every now and again I need one still and they are gone!
#17
#18
In the 70s and 80s, people thought there was a real possibility of living on the moon. It was thought that by the year 2000, we’d have colonies in space and we’d be “driving” flying cars. The "Space Race" had blasted off years earlier. Russia and America were going head to head to explore the great unknown. In 1975, Nasa even hired an artist, to illustrate their futuristic view of life on Mars and the moon. But as we now know, it was not meant to be.
#19
