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Whether we like it or not, most of us will become our parents one way or another - from something as small as the way they laugh or maybe something as profound as the same career path. Some of us crumble at the notion that we could share similarities with our less hip parents - but for the kids of the parents in these vintage photos, the levels of cool exuding from their older generation are something they can only hope to aspire to.
Bored Panda presents a new photo list of times kids came across old photos of their parents only to realize their parents were cooler than them. So scroll down below to check out some old-school photo treasures and upvote your favs. Maybe it will inspire you to ask your own cool parents to show you what they were like when they were young!
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#1
My Favorite Picture Of My Mom. She Was The Only Girl In Her Welding Class In 1984. Byrd High School, Shreveport, Louisiana
Generational differences - sometimes it's hard to get an explanation of what the older generations were thinking other than "It was a different time." Progress is great but what are some things older people may miss about their youth? First we have the style. There is a reason we love shopping at vintage stores - because compared with the some of the looks of today our parents had some pretty cool looks. But when did Americans decide to trade in their tailored slacks for leggings? Casual fashion went through many milestones to reach where it is today but in 1966 James Laver, a renowned historian of dress, told a group of fashion industry executives, “Clothes of the sexes are beginning to overlap and coincide.”
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#2
My Mom Flew Helicopters For The Army In The 80s
#3
My Mother Doing A Handstand On Two Skateboards (Circa 1980's)
Phoebe Bean 5 years ago
I´d say a handstand on one skateboard is quite impressive, but on two... just W O W.
Millennials may think they are the most connected generation with all of the various media platforms but this has caused less trust and isolation among these young people. According a survey 56 per cent of those aged 22 to 37 would trust an ordinary person in the street to tell the truth, compared to 77 per cent of baby boomers."Levels of social trust have been argued to be a strong predictor of national economic growth, levels of life satisfaction and suicide rates," it says.
#4
My Dad (Front) In Vietnam In 1971. He Didn’t Know This Photo Existed Until I Came Across It Randomly On The Internet. He Cried When He Saw It
#5
My Dad At His First Job At Nasa!
We all have our vices - but maybe the younger generation has healthier ones. With anti-smoking campaigns like 'truth' smoking isn't as widely accepted and definitely not depicted in the 50's Mad Men style way. Our parents grew up in a different time though, for example ot wasn't until the 1990s that smoking on airplanes was banned completely.
#6
Chuck Norris Pinned By My Dad
#7
My Dad And His Veterinarian Mother, With Their Pet Lion Which They Raised For Two Years, 1959
Hipsters may think that they are a step ahead of the rest with their beards and man buns - but just as it is with their vintage fashion sense they must pay their respects to the pioneers of long hair fashion. Long locks on both men and women became a trendy look in the 1960s and 1970s, Before that you would have been side-eyed for your unruly mane.
#8
My Dad Diving Off The Starboard Fin Of A Submarine And Into The Pacific Ocean In The Summer Of 1983
#9
My Mom Holding Myself Whilst Writing Her Master Thesis On The Macintosh Classic II (1991)
Want to know why your parents are cooler than you? Because the things we think are trendy now began back in their day. Walk into any Urban Outfitters and you will see walls with vinyl records and record players. Well vinyl records were created in the 1950's and your parents definitely weren't using these discs for decoration - anyone feel like listening to the Beatles?
#10
My Friends Parents Are Celebrating Their 47th Anniversary This Week. Here's Them Being Badasses In The 70's
#11
My Mom Was A Homicide Detective In The 80s
Walkus-Andrew Andrea 5 years ago
I really like this one because so-called gender roles were still expected in the 1980s. Your mom is so confident in a career that is quite exciting. Kudos to her!
#12
My Mom, Age 15, Smoking At An Allman Brothers Concert With A Broken Arm. Watkins Glen '73
#13
My Parents In 1972 In Front Of Their Store In Paris
#14
1969 Vietnam: My Father’s Version Of A Selfie Before Selfies Were A Thing
#15
My Dad A Zoo Keeper In 1992
He was the only one at the time who could call the rhinos by name and they would come running like dogs. They enjoy a scratch behind the ear like dogs too.
Captain Marvellous ♥️ 5 years ago
Dude...now that is cool. It's amazing when humans and animals can reach a level of trust like that! If only the whole world was as kind as he was toward these poor creatures.
#16
My Father Who Shipped His Bike Over To England And Rode All Over Europe On It - 1973
#17
My Mom In The Police Academy, 1984
#18
My Mom As A Red Cross Volunteer In WWII. She Had Her Own Radio Show In The Pacific Theater To Counteract Tokyo Rose. 1944
#19
My Dad's Graduation Photo. Circa 1970's
#20
My Pregnant Mom At Gunpoint Trying To Get Home - May 1969 Berkeley
#21
Mom Spinning Records At Kwkh, Shreveport - 1977
#22
Pretty Rad Picture Of My Dad When He Was 22, In Texas, Taken In 1987. That Ghettoblaster Is Epic
#23
My Mom Fled Saigon In 1975. By The 90s, She Had Joined The US Air Force
#24
One Of My Favorite Photos Of My Parents In The Late 70s
#25
My Hilarious Father (With The Magazine) And My Grandfather, Grandmother, And Uncle At His Bar Mitzvah In 1972
Hello it Smee 5 years ago (edited)
His uncle face cracks up, could you imagine seeing this hung on someone's wall
#26
My Father Halfway Through Motorcycling Across Africa - 1980s
Paul Mcquaid 5 years ago
I know him!!! He was my married to my sister and they rode halfway around the world. He actually contracted malaria in Africa as well. Pretty sure my sister took this picture.
#27
My Dad Taking A Smoking Break While Fighting Saddam Husseins Army In The 80s
#28
My Mom Said She Gave This Up When She Had Me. I'm Pretty Sure She Stopped When I Was Old Enough To Want Some (1970's)
#29
My Dad Fishing... On A Nuclear Submarine 1966
#30
My Mom In The Hospital After Giving Birth To My Sister. Canada 1978. Smokes And Roasted Chicken
Jasmine Walker 5 years ago
Y'all worried about the cigarette, I'm sitting here looking at how great she looks after having a whole baby.
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What do you think ?
Biljana Malesevic 5 years ago
I envy those times. People knew how to live, and live each moment. They weren't stuck to their phones and gadgets, they weren't constantly TRYING to look like they are "cool", made up to look like dolls, and with made up fake smile somewhere "cool" like Idontknow, Hawai or Maldives? People just lived, without trying to prove anything to anyone, let alone complete strangers. We should just learn from this.
Lara L. 5 years ago
People tried to prove themselves back there the some as today. They just had different opportunities. There were more mobbing cases at school, more violence at home, the cold war going on ... Old times get often looked at with "pink glasses" (thats a german phrase to express, the way you see the world fluffy and beautiful when you are in love"
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Rachael Marrast 5 years ago
Yeah because everyone was outside back then. I grew up in the 80's 90's and loved it. Now I see kids staying in the house with a phone and tablet. So sad.
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Biljana Malesevic 5 years ago
I envy those times. People knew how to live, and live each moment. They weren't stuck to their phones and gadgets, they weren't constantly TRYING to look like they are "cool", made up to look like dolls, and with made up fake smile somewhere "cool" like Idontknow, Hawai or Maldives? People just lived, without trying to prove anything to anyone, let alone complete strangers. We should just learn from this.
Lara L. 5 years ago
People tried to prove themselves back there the some as today. They just had different opportunities. There were more mobbing cases at school, more violence at home, the cold war going on ... Old times get often looked at with "pink glasses" (thats a german phrase to express, the way you see the world fluffy and beautiful when you are in love"
Load More Replies... Rachael Marrast 5 years ago
Yeah because everyone was outside back then. I grew up in the 80's 90's and loved it. Now I see kids staying in the house with a phone and tablet. So sad.
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