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The modern world is incredibly fast, not only because today we can literally get to anywhere in the world in a day, or even less. Not only because of the speed at which we consume content, moving from two-hour movies through ten-minute YouTube videos to minute-long TikTok shorts. The speed of the modern world also lies in how quickly knowledge becomes obsolete.

Indeed, experience is becoming outdated, and what a couple of decades ago was considered unshakable worldly wisdom is now perceived as a funny absurdity. And, for example, Gen X'ers in various viral online threads like this recall examples of such outdated and baseless things from their childhood with humor and nostalgia.

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#1

Various 'Life Truths' Gen X'ers Were Told As Kids Turned Out To Be Utter Nonsense, Like These 30 You won’t always walk around with a calculator in your pocket.

aging_genxer , Polina Tankilevitch Report

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Nikki Sevven
Nikki Sevven
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

We're also walking around with a phone, a phone book, an address book, a clock, an alarm, a stopwatch, a timer, a library, a stereo, a gaming console, a newspaper, a word processor, a photo album, interactive maps...

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#2

Various 'Life Truths' Gen X'ers Were Told As Kids Turned Out To Be Utter Nonsense, Like These 30 I had to unlearn everything i was taught about the age of exploration, and american history in general.

We had a serious problem with making heroes out of powerful, and very flawed, individuals while minimizing the experiences and suffering of others

anon , Markus Winkler Report

Final score:
107points
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SofaKing
SofaKing
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Great history teachers teach you how to think for yourself and drawn your own conclusion even if it's not popular. If you think you need to "unlearn" history at any point, then your history teachers failed you.

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#3

Various 'Life Truths' Gen X'ers Were Told As Kids Turned Out To Be Utter Nonsense, Like These 30 Just go to college and you’ll get a good job, your major doesn’t matter.

valentinegirl81 , Andrea Piacquadio Report

Final score:
100points
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David H
David H
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

of course major matters, Engineers make money, soft humanities do not unless they go to law school after

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Why exactly Gen X'ers? In fact, this is absolutely reasonable - these are representatives of the last generation in the history of human civilization (unless, of course, for some reason we give up technical progress) whose childhood and partly youth passed before the start of this insane online breakthrough that we all made in the late nineties and continue doing to this day. The last generation for which gadgets and the internet were not an integral attribute of their daily life growing up.

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#4

Various 'Life Truths' Gen X'ers Were Told As Kids Turned Out To Be Utter Nonsense, Like These 30 Technology would give us so much free time in the future, that we'd only have to work 5 - 10 hours a week. And, we'd be able to do it from home, and employers would be on board with it.

That one still hurts.

Exotic_Zucchini , ThisIsEngineering Report

Final score:
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RabidChild
RabidChild
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

We never figured employers would just pivot to expecting one person to do the work of three.

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#5

Various 'Life Truths' Gen X'ers Were Told As Kids Turned Out To Be Utter Nonsense, Like These 30 Trickle down economics is a good thing and not at all a way to consolidate wealth to the top.

One_Clown_Short , Mathieu Stern Report

Final score:
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#6

Various 'Life Truths' Gen X'ers Were Told As Kids Turned Out To Be Utter Nonsense, Like These 30 Plastic bags will save the earth because we won't have to kill as many trees to make brown paper bags to carry groceries.

i-touched-morrissey , Anna Shvets Report

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Min
Min
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Yes! I remember being told off for killing trees when I chose paper instead of plastic at the grocery store.

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This implies another logical assumption - those who raised the future Gen X'ers were even less ready for fast progress, and perceived it with quite understandable skepticism towards this "newfangled stuff". And these older folks transferred their attitude, for example, to computers from TVs or radio. Hence the dozens, hundreds of absolutely ridiculous demands on the use of gadgets that we encountered in childhood.

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For example, my grandma also repeatedly told me not to sit close to the TV or I'd go blind. And it doesn't matter what kind of TV it was - a fossil kinescope dinosaur or an incredibly advanced (for the second half of the nineties, of course) LCD monitor. After all, the older generation had this, well... whatchamacallit, life experience!
#7

Various 'Life Truths' Gen X'ers Were Told As Kids Turned Out To Be Utter Nonsense, Like These 30 Eggs are bad for you. No, wait, they are good for you…hang on, are they bad again?

KnightArrogant , Erol Ahmed Report

Final score:
87points
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sofacushionfort
sofacushionfort
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I could do without a lot of the ones who get fertilized and emerge as human beings

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#8

Various 'Life Truths' Gen X'ers Were Told As Kids Turned Out To Be Utter Nonsense, Like These 30 Don't sit too close to the TV or you'll go blind! Then computers came and we would have to spend 8+ hours at work with a screen 5 inches from our eyes.

xantub , Vidal Balielo Jr. Report

Final score:
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Sprout
Sprout
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Close to the TV doesn't cause bad eyes, bad eyes cause sitting close to the TV

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#9

Various 'Life Truths' Gen X'ers Were Told As Kids Turned Out To Be Utter Nonsense, Like These 30 Not on fire as much as I thought I would be. So much “stop, drop, roll” growing up.

Also, DONT GET IN A STRANGERS CAR!”

Currently sitting in an Uber.

-Economist- , Muallim Nur Report

Final score:
78points
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“Now humanity is at such a unique point in its development, when life experience, if it is more than a few years old, sometimes turns out to be not only irrelevant - even harmful,” says Vladimir Nemertsalov, a school principal and teacher from Ukraine, with whom Bored Panda got in touch for a comment. "The same applies to many work skills. If back in the middle of the last century, for example, an engineer graduated from a university and could work for several decades on the old baggage of skills and knowledge, only periodically taking refresher courses, then today it is almost impossible."

"Hence the problem of ageism at work - after all, older, experienced workers have always been considered more valuable, and this paradigm is now breaking painfully. Because the ability to constantly learn in the modern world often turns out to be way more important than experience. So even if some advice that we were given a quarter of a century ago and before was really useful, now we are left with only a nostalgic smile for it," Vladimir summarizes.
#10

Various 'Life Truths' Gen X'ers Were Told As Kids Turned Out To Be Utter Nonsense, Like These 30 The food pyramid is a healthy way to eat.

cobra2814 , publicdomainvectors Report

Final score:
75points
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#11

Various 'Life Truths' Gen X'ers Were Told As Kids Turned Out To Be Utter Nonsense, Like These 30 Eating fat makes you fat.

Ok_Funny8572 , Michelle @Shelly Captures Report

Final score:
69points
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#12

Various 'Life Truths' Gen X'ers Were Told As Kids Turned Out To Be Utter Nonsense, Like These 30 The American Dream is achievable to anyone who wants it hard enough.

Fukshit47 , Josh Johnson Report

Final score:
69points
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Nikki Sevven
Nikki Sevven
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

GenX was the first generation for whom this was demonstrably false.

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No, all these words we have said do not at all mean that everything that we were taught in childhood should be treated with disdain, as outdated nonsense. Do not discard it - but take it critically, trying to extract the grains of remaining benefit. And, of course, feel free to crack up at the really ridiculous pieces of 'practical wisdom' coming from your childhood. So if you're a Gen X'er like me, please feel free to scroll this list to the very end and embrace some nostalgia. Or just sincerely laugh at these funny 'boomers' in case you're way younger.
#13

Various 'Life Truths' Gen X'ers Were Told As Kids Turned Out To Be Utter Nonsense, Like These 30 The human species evolved in a linear way. Neanderthals came before modern humans, and before that was one proto-human species after another, one at a time, as far back as turtles. Before that in deep time it's turtles all the way down.

Now we know of at least six human species coexisting all around Africa and Asia and Europe for a really long time, and sharing genes among them.

SmellyBaconland , Johannes Plenio Report

Final score:
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Dan Holden
Dan Holden
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

A large percentage of earth's population have Neanderthal DNA due to humans and Neanderthals interbreeding.

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#14

Various 'Life Truths' Gen X'ers Were Told As Kids Turned Out To Be Utter Nonsense, Like These 30 I took my son to a dinosaur exhibit, literally everything I learned about Dinosaurs is now wrong, including names of dinosaurs.

urstillatroll , Mike Bird Report

Final score:
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#15

Various 'Life Truths' Gen X'ers Were Told As Kids Turned Out To Be Utter Nonsense, Like These 30 Turns out I never got AIDS from a toilet seat GRANDMA.

SkeeevyNicks , dirtyboxface Report

Final score:
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Phred
Phred
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

You can get VD while sitting on a toilet, but it's a really uncomfortable place to have s*x.

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#16

Various 'Life Truths' Gen X'ers Were Told As Kids Turned Out To Be Utter Nonsense, Like These 30 Slightly foolish, but true lol

That quicksand would be a real life problem

TwoforFlinching613 , nshepheard Report

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#17

Various 'Life Truths' Gen X'ers Were Told As Kids Turned Out To Be Utter Nonsense, Like These 30 I’m a HS teacher and use Lies my Teacher told me by James Loewen as a reference for American history.

KristenNicoleSpice , LexScope Report

Final score:
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#18

Various 'Life Truths' Gen X'ers Were Told As Kids Turned Out To Be Utter Nonsense, Like These 30 Columbus discovered America

Martholomeow , Pixabay Report

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#19

Various 'Life Truths' Gen X'ers Were Told As Kids Turned Out To Be Utter Nonsense, Like These 30 Memorizing geography. How many of those countries do not exist anymore? All of Yugoslavia, many countries in Africa, Burma, anyone?

Our time would have been better spent understanding the history of these areas, and not arbitrary lines set up by colonizers who didn't have an ounce of sense.

therealgookachu , Tima Miroshnichenko Report

Final score:
52points
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Ace
Ace
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Being renamed is not the same as ceasing to exist. Most of those that have been subdivided were an artificial grouping in the first place, forcibly set up by whatever Empire was in the ascendency at a given point in time.

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#20

Various 'Life Truths' Gen X'ers Were Told As Kids Turned Out To Be Utter Nonsense, Like These 30 Ulcers are caused by stress

The amount of sugar in the daily recommended diet

A world where everyone is able to communicate with everyone else will be a paradise of kindness and peace

Concussions are no big deal

johnbr , Sora Shimazaki Report

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pfeils wife
pfeils wife
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

"A world where everyone is able to communicate with everyone else will be a paradise of kindness and peace" -how wrong "they" were.

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#21

Various 'Life Truths' Gen X'ers Were Told As Kids Turned Out To Be Utter Nonsense, Like These 30 Fat is bad, sugar isn't that bad.

contactdeparture , Suzy Hazelwood Report

Final score:
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Luke T
Luke T
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Reality is the opposite sadly. I should know, sugar has caused all of my medical problems.

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#22

Various 'Life Truths' Gen X'ers Were Told As Kids Turned Out To Be Utter Nonsense, Like These 30 The tongue has a map of different taste buds that taste different things

umKatorMissKath , Godisable Jacob Report

Final score:
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#23

Various 'Life Truths' Gen X'ers Were Told As Kids Turned Out To Be Utter Nonsense, Like These 30 You have to wait a 1/2 hour after eating before you go back swimming or you'd get cramps

ispongeyou , Guduru Ajay bhargav Report

Final score:
49points
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#24

Various 'Life Truths' Gen X'ers Were Told As Kids Turned Out To Be Utter Nonsense, Like These 30 The metric system will be phased in by Junior High. I remember thinking how much sense it makes.

HotShark97 , Ono Kosuki Report

Final score:
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#25

Various 'Life Truths' Gen X'ers Were Told As Kids Turned Out To Be Utter Nonsense, Like These 30 If I swallow gum it will take seven years to digest

roninthe31 , nerd cinema Report

Final score:
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#26

That the only global history you need to know is western history. All other countries’ history isn’t important

Happierbutwiser Report

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PowellSkier
PowellSkier
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1 year ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I was never taught this. I was well aware of and taught the important contributions of China/East Asia and the Arab world.

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#27

Various 'Life Truths' Gen X'ers Were Told As Kids Turned Out To Be Utter Nonsense, Like These 30 Dinosaurs walked with their tails dragging on the ground

The Civil War was fought over "States Rights"

We'd be living on the moon with permanent bases by now

ultimate_ed , Cup of Couple Report

Final score:
40points
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#28

Various 'Life Truths' Gen X'ers Were Told As Kids Turned Out To Be Utter Nonsense, Like These 30 My top five:

1. Shaming fast food workers was classist nonsense.

2. No need for memorization of maps. We have the GPS and Google now.

3. Weed is not as evil as they made it out to be. Turns out the devil’s lettuce will be legal even in Florida gas stations (for medical purposes only, but hey, it’s progress)

4. Boyz 2 Men were more talented than we realized. Just listen to “it’s so hard to say goodbye to yesterday” and tell me you don’t need a hug.

5. Snackwells, Crystal Light, and Snapple were never actually “healthy.”

Coyote_Roadrunna , Kampus Production Report

Final score:
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hitex
hitex
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Boyz 2 Men were arguably the 1st big 'boy band' & I still love those songs today

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#29

Various 'Life Truths' Gen X'ers Were Told As Kids Turned Out To Be Utter Nonsense, Like These 30 Non stick pans are safe.

Kiwizoo , Daria Obymaha Report

Final score:
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Der Kommissar
Der Kommissar
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

If you've ever been hit in the head with a pan, you would know that they are not safe.

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#30

Various 'Life Truths' Gen X'ers Were Told As Kids Turned Out To Be Utter Nonsense, Like These 30 Almost all Americans are committed to democracy.

rushmc1 , Dyana Wing So Report

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Note: this post originally had 38 images. It’s been shortened to the top 30 images based on user votes.

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