Something "kids" today wouldnt know about....

[Vagabond]

If someone would have tried to describe my current phone to me in, say, 1980 I would have a hard time grasping anything except making a phone call.

Remember when these seemed so futuristic?

 

[Tesla]

Microfiche
The Dewy Decimal System

 

[Cachoo]

Remember when these seemed so futuristic?

And now they look so simple!

I was thinking about sports and I remember the host of the NBC soccer show, “Men in Blazers”, talking about driving from bar to bar and town to town trying to find someone showing the World Cup in the 80’s. Not only were they not showing it—most of the people had no idea what he was talking about. I think that has changed considerably since then.

 

[Prancer]

The Dewy Decimal System

Still around. And not only still around, but still the most commonly used library system.

My husband and I were talking about how many things we have adapted to over the decades and trying to decide if we have had it easier or harder than our parents, who lived through so many changes and upheavals. As someone posted on my Facebook page a while back, 1981 is as far removed from 2023 as 1939 was from 1981. That seems hard to believe, and yet.

 

[ballettmaus]

Do traveler checks still exist?

For Euro-Europeans, country specific currency. And Germany used to have checks until the Euro, so German kids likely don't really know what a check is. Ironically, the check we had was called Euro check. I was genuinely confused why it was gone after the Euro came.

 

[nlloyd]

True story - my husband worked on the software development for ATM. I actually told him it was a silly thing to do. "Why would you drive up to a machine to get cash? Just go to the bank on Friday evening and get cash out."

He liked to remind me of that for 25 years or so. Then one day it didn't seem to be that funny anymore. Every now and then, he'll mention it. But mostly we do online banking so even the ATM is becoming a not so important thing.

In a similar vein, I never thought coffee shops like Starbucks would take off the way they did. I didn't think people would be willing to pay that kind of money for a specialty cup of coffee. Similarly, I never thought restaurant or coffee shops' development of outdoor patios adjacent to busy roads would be a success in North America. I thought they were a European import whose relocation on busy streets was doomed to fail. Who wanted to breathe in exhaust fumes while drinking coffee or having a meal? Wrong on both counts.

 

[Prancer]

Do traveler checks still exist?

Apparently so.

 

[Karen-W]

Similarly, I never thought restaurant or coffee shops' development of outdoor patios adjacent to busy roads would be a success in North America. I thought they were a European import whose relocation on busy streets was doomed to fail. Who wanted to breathe in exhaust fumes while drinking coffee or having a meal?

The pandemic is what really made those take-off. Without that, I doubt they'd be a thing at all in North America.

 

[Vash01]

Girls not being allowed to wear slacks to school (pubic). In my case, that lasted until my junior year of high school. In elementary school we could wear slacks under our dress when it snowed, but they had to come off when we got to school. When my older sister was in college, shorts could only be worn on your dorm floor. You could wear long pants in the lobby to get your mail, but only dresses/skirts were allowed outside of the dorm. William & Mary, mid-late 60s.

Credit cards could disappear too. During my recent visit to Sedona I tried to get a pizza delivered to my hotel room. I was told they don't take credit cards for delivery. I must pay by Apple Pay. I had to create that account (with a lot of struggle). If I paid by credit card, I would have to pick up the pizza. I hate paying electronically/by phone Pay.

 

[Vash01]

I think ATM machines will eventually disappear, but it will take a long time. Kind of like pay phones. They used to be everywhere and now they're pretty much only at airports and at a few other places. But ATM's, I think bank tellers will be limited to one per shift before ATM's disappear. But I agree that people aren't using them as much. Most transactions can be done with mobile banking and most places accept Apple or Google pay, in addition to credit/debit. I still carry emergency cash with me just in case, but most people I know stopped doing that a few years ago.

I always carry plenty of cash with me, for emergency, though I use mostly credit cards.
I have seen some people struggle while trying to pay by their phone, and hold up the line. It is irritating. Why not use credit cards or just cash?

 

[Vagabond]

Apparently so.

Travelers checks still exit, but American Express doesn't issue them any more. Neither do AAA, the Bank of America, or Wells Fargo.

It's kind of like how rotary phones still exist, innit?

 

[once_upon]

Do traveler checks still exist

I found one in a file several years ago, when we moved. I took it to the bank to cash it, at the main bank office in my city (Wells Fargo)

It took 2 tellers who called over the manager to review it, determine what it was, that it was legit to cash it. All three were in their 20's.

 

[millyskate]

Rushing to buy the newspaper to find put the results of a sporting event that happened the day before...

 

[misskarne]

My sister came up with a good one at lunch yesterday: typing text messages by having to press the number buttons multiple times for each letter. And texts that were 30c each. Having to slink up to your parents guiltily and ask for more credit. And waiting to call someone until it was the proper time, and talk minutes.

 

[allezfred]

Smoking on airplanes.

 

[made_in_canada]

Smoking on airplanes.

Smoking in public generally here. Baby mic has a book about the human body and there’s a little blurb about lung damage from smoking and neither of my kids knew what smoking was. They thought it was talking about wildfire smoke.

 

[Dragonlady]

The pandemic is what really made those take-off. Without that, I doubt they'd be a thing at all in North America.

Hardly. I lived in Toronto for 30+ years. Every spring we celebrated the return of "patio season". This has been going on since I was a teenager - in the 1960's.

 

[just tuned in]

Saturday morning cartoons.

 

[Judy]

Yep—I don’t know why I remember something from 60 yrs ago. There was also the silver box on the porch where the milkman delivered glass bottles of fresh milk and picked up the used bottles.

Oh I remember that as a Cdn kid in my city too! I just remember it being delivered not what it was in though. I was really young.

 

[quartz]

I like to tell my young co-workers that when I started at the bookstore waaay back in 1987, all book title information was written on stock cards - every title had its own card, so we had huge boxes full of cards. Inventory counts were done manually, orders were hand-written up on triplicate carbon paper, put in envelopes, stamped, and sent off to publishers in the mail. We looked things up in massive volumes of Books in Print, which I believe were only put out every 3-4 years. For newer titles, we relied on publisher catalogues. (I really really miss those catalogues). Sometimes, publisher reps would come to the store and my manager would say, quartz, you have $5000 to spend, go have coffee with this rep. We weren’t open on Sundays, we took personal cheques, there was no tax on books, and every price ended in .05 so we needed to keep a good supply of nickels to give customers their nickel back.
I miss those bookstore days.

 

[Judy]

Manual typewriters!

 

[once_upon]

Iron lungs. The hospital i worked at decades ago kept one in the equipment storage room, just in case

 

[taf2002]

Playing outside until dark in the summer without any parental supervision - parents didn't even know where you were. Never locking your doors until bedtime & then sleeping with just screens on the windows.

 

[once_upon]

I know people says kids don't know about playing outside until dark - my grandchildren are outside around the neighborhood all spring, summer, fall.

Two rules - a certain block radius and need to answer the walkie/talkie when parents call out. Oh and no eating berries without parents identifying them first

 

[Lizziebeth]

Back in the late 80's - early 90's I travelled for my job and had a car phone. It was in a bag, had an antenna attached to the car and stayed in the car. It was so much better than finding a pay phone somewhere and calling the office on an 800 (WATS line!). The home office line was always busy - you got a busy signal and you had to keep trying.

In a previous job waaayy back, I had a boss that would call from a pay phone and leave a call back number. He had the habit of making a few more calls while he waited so the damn pay phone would be busy

I remember getting dial up internet and SO fell in love with the internet and would tie up the home phone for it seemed like hours at a time so I could not call him

 

[Judy]

Hardly. I lived in Toronto for 30+ years. Every spring we celebrated the return of "patio season". This has been going on since I was a teenager - in the 1960's.

Def. For us Cdn people with our winters .. we love patios. Even when it is facing a parking lot .

I’ll give credit where it’s due though as people live in different climates obviously.

 

[Judy]

Playing outside until dark in the summer without any parental supervision - parents didn't even know where you were. Never locking your doors until bedtime & then sleeping with just screens on the windows.

Yup we could go almost anywhere. Myself it was more daytime I think. I can’t remember re locking doors though. Pretty sure there were screens on the windows but .

I remember visiting my sister/boyfriend (married now) in Burnaby B.c. No screens on windows so weird to me. One scary thing flew in and my sister and I are freaking. Then my 6’5” future brother-in-law freaking too . I believe I hid in the bathroom I have no problem admitting I’m a wimp.

I really think though as strong and independent women are .. guys need to rescue us from weird flying bugs. Ok that might be just me.

 

[Jenny]

Cheers to fellow Canadians who know what patio season is

 

[once_upon]

Yes, we ask for waiters to seat us on patios every chance we get. Some allow us to do that from March thru November.

One of our frequented restaurant has mega heaters and will seat you year round.

 

[manhn]

Manual typewriters definitely exist. Vancouver has a couple of shops that sell manual typewriters, I am sure most hipsters spaces in big cities do something similar.

Even for things like making period piece movies and tv shows, all these old objects will continually exist. All those Stranger Things kids probably know how to use a rotary phone better than I can.

The only things I can think of is crossing into another country’s border without a passport?