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There used to be a TV series called "Beyond 2000". It aired in the 80s and 90s. People would watch it for a fascinating glimpse into the future. Sometimes it’d blow our minds. Imagine not needing a key to unlock a door, and using a card instead? A “lap” computer! Or a robot that could play chess? Just wow.

Now that we've moved two decades beyond 2000, we have biometric access systems, robotic surgery, 3D printed limbs, electric powered cars. Things certainly have progressed. Redditor u/Red_Baronnsfw found out just how much the world has changed when they asked older people: What's one thing normal at your time but is now bizarre to even think about?

From paper maps, dialing telephones, written letters from penpals, to having to flip through the Yellow Pages to find a phone number… Keep scrolling for an epic trip down memory lane. And find out what life was like for people born before 1980.

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#1

“What’s One Thing Normal At Your Time But Is Now Bizarre To Even Think About?” (50 Answers) Childhood autonomy.

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!

fiblesmish , kevin laminto Report

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Graham_Illegal
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3 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This is still common in countries with excellent public transportation, greater public safety, and much less paranoia.

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#2

“What’s One Thing Normal At Your Time But Is Now Bizarre To Even Think About?” (50 Answers) I used to have several pen pals in different countries. There was nothing better than coming home from school and finding a letter.

minsandmolls , molenira Report

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#3

“What’s One Thing Normal At Your Time But Is Now Bizarre To Even Think About?” (50 Answers) Arriving at the airport shortly before takeoff, checking your luggage with minimal to no hassle, and boarding your flight.

FaberGrad , Natã Romualdo Report

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Ivona
Ivona
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3 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Also, going to the gate with your family and having them send you off, or wait at the gate to meet someone.

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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

“What’s One Thing Normal At Your Time But Is Now Bizarre To Even Think About?” (50 Answers) The sounds younger people will never know of listening to your modem connect to the internet. It was such a specific, strange series of noises that is instantly recognizable to anyone who lived during the time of dial-up modems.

sittinginthesunshine , Pixabay Report

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#5

“What’s One Thing Normal At Your Time But Is Now Bizarre To Even Think About?” (50 Answers) Paper maps. You had to figure out your own route to where you wanted to go and road trips seemed more of an adventure back then.

Dangerous_Arachnid99 , Leah Newhouse Report

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Libstak
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3 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I love paper maps, it's true it makes travelling feel like a true adventure.

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#6

“What’s One Thing Normal At Your Time But Is Now Bizarre To Even Think About?” (50 Answers) Rampant sexism. I couldn't even open a bank account when I got married.

everyonesmom2:


Same. My husband had to sign so I could get a driver's license.

Gold__star , MART PRODUCTION Report

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3 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I cringe sometimes watching comedies from the 70s and 80s. Like, what were thinking?

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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.

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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

“What’s One Thing Normal At Your Time But Is Now Bizarre To Even Think About?” (50 Answers) The Yellow Pages.

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."

Gomphos , Paul Sableman Report

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3 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

And you could call information in another city and get them to tell you the number if you had the name.

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#8

Having all the phone numbers of my family, friends and work memorized because there were no cell phones.

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Gavin Johnson
Gavin Johnson
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3 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

485 2509, I left that house 32 years ago, 485 7503 the girl who dumped me 34 years ago, 486 7703 Grandma & Grandad now sadly deceased. Area code deliberately left off obviously.

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#9

Making ashtrays as a craft project in elementary school.

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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

“What’s One Thing Normal At Your Time But Is Now Bizarre To Even Think About?” (50 Answers) World Book Encyclopedia.

If you were rich, you'd have the Encyclopedia Britannica.

woodwerker76 , World Book Report

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Don Adams
Don Adams
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3 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Not rich. A local grocery store (around 1968 or so) sold the Columbia Encyclopedia at around $3.99 per volume (22 volumes in the complete set). Decent enough encyclopedias, but it took like 5 months to collect all the volumes (in alphabetical order). Luckily I did not have to do a report on the Yangtze River early in the school year...

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#11

“What’s One Thing Normal At Your Time But Is Now Bizarre To Even Think About?” (50 Answers) Sitting on my dad's lap while he was driving. He let me steer, too.

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.

LouisePoet , LightFieldStudios Report

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3 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Riding in the back of the pickup, the wind in your hair.

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#12

Parents whacking kids with things. Belts, sticks, hangers, wooden spoons, rulers. It’s what parents did. Nobody even blinked when it happened.

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.

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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.

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#13

“What’s One Thing Normal At Your Time But Is Now Bizarre To Even Think About?” (50 Answers) Photos were expensive, more rare, and took time to even see how they turned out.

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.

DangerousMusic14 , Glenn Carstens-Peters Report

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Gavin Johnson
Gavin Johnson
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3 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I remember one hour photo production coming to our local chemist, thinking it was amazing and we’d never get faster. Now I can take a photo and send it straight to my photo quality printer in 30 seconds, no need to even leave the house. Even better I can email it to my cousin in Australia (I’m in the U.K.) and HE can print it in under 30 seconds. The world’s gone mad!

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#14

When I started working, women were required to wear nylons/pantyhose. And dresses/skirts were preferred. "Pant suits" were considered "casual".

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.

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Limey
Limey
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3 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Same OP. I am not 80 either and I remember ALL this. It’s much closer in time than young people imagine now. The time that woman have been free to do/work/dress as they please is SO MUCH shorter than the time we weren’t. That’s why we must not let certain people take us backwards to that, here in the US

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#15

“What’s One Thing Normal At Your Time But Is Now Bizarre To Even Think About?” (50 Answers) Smoking in hospitals and on airplanes.

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."

WoodsColt , Zamaie Chinye Report

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3 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

My high school not only had a sanctioned smoking area for students, there was an unsanctioned area for smoking pot out by the tennis courts and EVERYBODY knew it. You could see the kids smoking pot over there. I think the teachers just thought "Well, we know where they are ..."

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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.

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#16

Always carrying dimes, later quarters, when on a date, in case things went sideways.
allflour:

Phone booths. Dude every now and again I need one still and they are gone!

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#17

“What’s One Thing Normal At Your Time But Is Now Bizarre To Even Think About?” (50 Answers) Calling the movie theater to see what was playing and what the showtimes were.

Appropriate_Canary26 , Jake Hills Report

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#18

No seatbelts and having 2car keys. One ignition key and one trunk key.

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Shark Lady
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3 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I can remember going with my dad to get seatbelts fitted into our car.

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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.

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#19

“What’s One Thing Normal At Your Time But Is Now Bizarre To Even Think About?” (50 Answers) As soon as I turned 13, it was assumed by the entire neighborhood that I would babysit. It was common for me to have three kids under the age of seven for hours at a time. This was considered normal for all my friends, too.

TXteachr2018 , hwilson8 Report

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PeepPeep the duck
PeepPeep the duck
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3 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I was so lucky I was the naughty girl kid growing up so no one in their right minds would have ever trusted me and I wouldn’t have wanted it 😂

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#20

Children going off to friends' houses all day, without their parents knowing where they are. Kids traveling around like feral animals in packs, riding bikes, chasing the ice cream truck.

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#21

“What’s One Thing Normal At Your Time But Is Now Bizarre To Even Think About?” (50 Answers) Having to actually, get up off my butt, to change the TV channel or to answer the phone, hanging on the wall.

GCKrazy , jijieforsythe Report

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On New Year's eve 1999, parts of the world held their collective breath. The masses waited for planes to fall from the sky, computers to stop working, bank vaults to burst open, and the world to end. Billions were spent preparing for the worst. The Y2K bug was about to bite as the clock struck 12. Or so some thought...

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As Forbes reported, "computers around the world weren’t equipped to deal with the fact of the year 2000. Their software thought of years as two digits. When the year 99 gave way to the year 00, data would behave as if it were about the year 1900, a century before, and system upon system in an almost infinite chain of dominoes would fail. Billions were spent trying to prepare for what seemed almost inevitable."
#22

“What’s One Thing Normal At Your Time But Is Now Bizarre To Even Think About?” (50 Answers) Just not knowing. If you were meeting up with a friend at a certain place and time, and they didn't show up, there was no way to follow up. If you didn't know whether a certain celebrity was alive or dead, you asked a friend and hoped they were right. Where is the closest veterinarian? What does it mean when my car makes a beeping sound? What year did the Hundred Years War end? What should you do if you break a toe?

Pre-internet, all of these things were mysteries and you had to hope you had smart friends or a very well-stocked library nearby.

Editing to add that applying for jobs was the worst. You'd have to submit your resume in paper, then go home and wait for a call that might never come, meanwhile you could be out looking for other jobs.

nakedonmygoat , Eren Li Report

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Ava Lemar
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3 months ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Without cell phones, my parents would leave the telephone number of the restaurant they would be dining at for the evening for us on a piece of paper. And in an event of emergency, you could call the restaurant and ask them to find your group or parent and have one of them come to the phone.

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#23

Small corner stores, “I’m buying beer/cigarettes for my mom/dad/grandpa” and coming home with exactly that.

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Mike F
Mike F
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3 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The owners of the stores where I grew up knew our parents, and us, before we could talk. You knew what was in the area behind the check-stand because you saw it from the time you were a toddler. They knew your name and let you slide if you were a nickel short and would sell you smokes with a note, but never alcohol. Perhaps it was different before the 60's, but certainly not in our neighborhood.

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#24

The dewey decimal system was the only way to find a book.

Li_3303:


And Librarians! (I’m a retired librarian).

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In a bizarre "twist of fate", on 1 January 2000, we entered the 21st century. A whole new millenium. Much ado about nothing. Babies were born. Life went on. Not a single plane fell from the sky. The masses breathed a collective sigh of relief and continued partying like it was 1999.

Just as we find some things super strange about the past, it’s quite likely that the kids of the future will look back on the 2020s and wonder what the hell we were thinking. Afterall, with every new era comes a new normal. What do you think seems normal now but will seem oddly peculiar in a couple of years? Let us know in the comments.

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#25

“What’s One Thing Normal At Your Time But Is Now Bizarre To Even Think About?” (50 Answers) 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.

Airplade , Abstrakt Xxcellence Studios Report

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3 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

My wife and I still have the letters we wrote to each other over 30 years ago. Some of those letters have crossed the ocean with us on various moves 3-4 times.

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#26

The milk man. Milk, eggs, cheese and other dairy-adjacent items delivered to the house weekly. And the milk and OJ was in glass, returnable bottles.

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Bernd Herbert
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3 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Well, the reusable bottles were definitely better for the environment.

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#27

“What’s One Thing Normal At Your Time But Is Now Bizarre To Even Think About?” (50 Answers) Anytime you answered a phone you had no idea who was calling you.

Not knowing 1 single person's phone number - except my vet's office of of 30 years. For some reason it is the only number I still remember. Not including Jenny's number of course.

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#28

The last day of school before Christmas in 1975, in my small town in California, the school bus broke down and the principal gave us a ride in the back of his Chevy pick up truck.

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PeepPeep the duck
PeepPeep the duck
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3 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I once had a late detention where my mums wife wouldn’t let my mum pick me up from school and made me walk home, my vice proncipal saw me half way and said ‘get in but don’t tell anyone’. I was so lucky he gave me a lift home, I’d be walking for 2 hours and had 2 more to go and it was already getting dark 😂

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#29

“What’s One Thing Normal At Your Time But Is Now Bizarre To Even Think About?” (50 Answers) How utterly unsupervised we were as tiny children. I remember taking care of my brother by myself for the full summer while my parents worked starting at 8, he was 4.

alwayssoupy:

Yes, and my parents would leave us 4 kids in the car while they stopped for groceries. It seemed like they were gone for a while, but I'm not sure now. At least long enough for everyone to be dared to honk the horn, run the windshield wipers, and if we were really brave, get out and run in a circle around the car.

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3 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I remember walking down the road, kids all under age 10, to the gas station to buy snacks with the loose change we'd gathered together.

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#30

“What’s One Thing Normal At Your Time But Is Now Bizarre To Even Think About?” (50 Answers) Dogs pooping everywhere. NOBODY picked up dog poop.

Free roaming pets, especially dogs which is far more rare now except in rural areas. It was common to have one or two neighborhood dogs that everybody knew by name, just wandering around.

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Mabelbabel
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3 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

And dog poop was mostly a different colour-it was a clay/pale grey-white colour, not poop brown. It was something to do with the ingredients in commercially available pet food at the time I think.

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#31

Gas stations where they pumped your gas, checked your oil and washed your windows for that dollar or two you were spending. In the early 70s we would get 50c worth of gas to run around on all night.

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#32

Also hand me downs. Most kids lived in had downs. Even me the only girl got my brother clothes. People would b*****k you if you got a mess on you because ‘that jumper goes to your cousin Samantha next. It had already been through Debbie and Lyndsey now me. You have to look after your stuff especially clothes and we were taught to fix clothes too

Toys. You got one or two. Not a full room. By time your 10 it’s full but took time to build up a collection. I had a pink car. Brother 1 helicopter and brother 2 train so one toy each till we were like 4 and 5. We could play with toilet roll tubes. Coat hangers. Make up our own toys. We got hand me down toys aswell. But it was never just buy a toy. It was earned. Birthday present or Christmas or earned by doing good work or a job

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ynyrhydref56
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3 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Veteran of the 'girl child wearing older brothers' hand-me-downs' here

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#33

“What’s One Thing Normal At Your Time But Is Now Bizarre To Even Think About?” (50 Answers) The father of my children was 21 when I met him, I was 15. No one batted an eye. This was 50 years ago.

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Mary Hiers
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3 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

My parents met in school when they were 15. They married after high school and remained married for 67 years before dying within weeks of each other. I think they were both exceptionally lucky for one, and were both good, strong people willing to build a real partnership. (I've been divorced twice and refuse to ever marry again, so I know their commitment level isn't hereditary, lol.)

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#34

Chicken pox parties.

Scottybt50:


My wife recalls as a kid being sent over to visit a friend who had chicken pox.

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Ava Lemar
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3 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

My mom had my brother and I play together when I was experiencing chicken pox to ensure hed get it too. The thought was that it would be better for the household to get it all at once and be done with it.

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#35

If you wanted to watch your TV show you had to be in front of the television at the time it came on. If you missed it, you had to wait ages for it to show up and reruns. And you had to time your bathroom breaks with the commercials.

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3 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

And t.v. programming schedules were printed in your local newspaper.

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#36

I remember getting up extra early on Winter mornings to go across town before elementary school to add water and shovel coal into my grandmother’s boiler, stopping after school go shovel more, running over after supper to keep it going and again before bed. Had to keep granny warm if I wanted her brownies. .

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Judy Reynolds
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3 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Sounds like a good arrangement - your muscles in exchange for her brownies!

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#37

“What’s One Thing Normal At Your Time But Is Now Bizarre To Even Think About?” (50 Answers) Someone dropping in for an unexpected visit. We always had neighbors or friends just stopping by when I was younger.

These days I don’t even think I’d answer the door for my sister if she dropped in unexpectedly.

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leendadll
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3 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

My neighbor constantly drops by unexpectedly and I play deaf/dead.

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#38

Rushing to the bank on Friday to cash my paycheck.

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nottheactualphoto
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3 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

One place I worked had frequent trouble making payroll. So yes, we would all race to the owner's bank to cash our paychecks.

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#39

Putting my oldest child on the floor boards in car. This was before car seats. She was a newborn so it was clean, I couldn’t just put her on the seat otherwise when I stopped at lights she’d roll off😂.

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3 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I remember being really small and riding on the little shelf space between the back seat and the read window, looking at the stars on long trips. That would be SO illegal now with car seat laws.

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#40

Riding bikes and skateboards without helmets and pads. Also building ramps to see how many kids you could jump your bike over. (Thank you Evil Knievel and the Wide World of Sports).

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similarly
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3 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I didn't even see a bicycle helmet until I was an adult.

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#41

Girls couldn't wear pants in elementary school. Lots of pictures of snow days and we're wearing knee socks!

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Little Wonder
Little Wonder
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3 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

At one of our school assemblies in the early 90s, the Vice Principal stood up to say he was disappointed that so many of the girls were wearing jeans instead of the Winter Uniform and said firmly "Tights are just as warm as jeans" which to 300 teenagers was the funniest thing, and we started asking how he knew.

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#42

“What’s One Thing Normal At Your Time But Is Now Bizarre To Even Think About?” (50 Answers) I was talking with a young person yesterday and asked her if she knew what a "mother's little helper" was. In the 60s, suburban housewives were taking valium. It was legal, and commonly referred to as "diet pills." You could easily get a prescription. So many pill poppers back then.

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#43

Vehicle gas cap located behind the license plate.

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Richard Graham
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3 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

1950s GM cars (Chevrolet, Pontiac, Cadillac, Oldsmobile) had the gas cap behind a tail light. 26eb0a51b4...075273.jpg 26eb0a51b4e63d5e40f9b01be056e1d7-66c937d075273.jpg

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#44

“What’s One Thing Normal At Your Time But Is Now Bizarre To Even Think About?” (50 Answers) The sissy test. My sibling’s peer group required you erase a patch of your skin to prove you weren’t a sissy. I am female but I was no sissy! I was an idiot, however.

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#45

"Airing out water"


I grew up with my grandmother in an inpoverished area. The wealthier people (middle class) had the good water. Everyone else had water that was extremely sulfuric smelling/tasting. Think like strong eggs smell. We had to set out water overnight in open containers so the sulfur would evaporate. After a night of this then the water would taste/smell fine.

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Ava Lemar
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3 months ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

My grandfather lived in a smelly water area like that. He would visit us regularly, as we lived a few towns away and had a different water source, and he would bring a big plastic water canteen with him and fill it in our bathtub to take home with him.

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#46

As a child in grade school we had nuclear bomb drills. Yup. We’d all hide under our desks. Seriously! It’s kinda like TSA now - as if, what we doing, would somehow make everything alright.

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Ace
Ace
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3 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Nowadays they just have active shooter drills instead.

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#47

Boredom leading to creation.

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#48

When I was around 14-15 years old, there was a famous pop singer/guitar player in the neighborhood who would seduce all the 13-year-old girls we wanted to kiss. He was around 30-35 at the time, according to his Wikipedia bio. We obviously hated him with a passion, but that was because he was a much more successful competitor; it never crossed our minds that there would be something morally wrong with what he did ("grooming" was what poodle owners did to their dogs, back then). After all, all he did was what we wanted to do!, or so we thought.

I still hate that guy, and his songs, and the horse he rode in.

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Apatheist Account2
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3 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

We never heard the word "paedophile" back then either. My mum cautioned us to be aware of "funny men" (not meaning comedians or clowns - but looking back...).

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#49

Hitchhiking.

I never did it bc I was too young (in the 70s) when it was popular, and it had pretty much faded out by the time I was a teenager, but I remember hitchhikers were EVERYWHERE in the 70s.

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#50

Typing homework. And keeping citations on index cards. God help you if you dropped the cards.

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#51

In an office if coffee was needed, it was expected that the female would make it, even if she outranked the males.

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Damned_Cat
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3 months ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

One of my old bosses (M60) used to have his secretary make coffee for him. When she was out, he would ask me to do it. I would deliberately make the worst coffee imaginable. Like 1 scoop of coffee for a full pot of water. When he complained that the coffee was too weak, I made it with like 10 big scoops of coffee for a 3/4 full pot of water.

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#52

Enormous TV consoles that took 4 grown men to move.

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John Nelson
John Nelson
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3 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

And some of them had a record player on one side, and a liquor cabinet on the other. We just used that to store records though.

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#53

My dad's company used to have a christmas party every year where all the kids were entertained and they even had nice gifts for everyone at the end. I cannot imagine a large corporation doing that any more, hell we dont even have a christmas party for employees any more- But this is not the bizarre thing.

My brother has a newspaper clipping from this party, saved because he was right at the front of the photo. He was doing some tidy up and found it. The Bizarre thing was that in the article next to this one, there was a photo of a young female worker who had just been crowned miss [Boring corporation] in the company beauty contest, which had been run across several company locations.

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#54

Hm, well in high school I was on the drill team and every Friday they'd weigh us and if you didn't make weight (ie small enough) you didn't get to perform at the game that night. Public high school. I'm guessing the school would get sued if they did that now.

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DramaDoc
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3 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

My mother was a stewardess (not flight attendant) in the late 1960s and she tells stories of how they used to have regular weigh-ins; overweight and the 'girls' would get really talked to. She worked for the (long-gone) Mohawk Airline out of Utica, NY, and her uniform included white gloves and a pillbox hat (a la Jackie O). She was also considered "big" since she was 5' 9" and weighed like 130lb at the time...

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#55

You couldn’t visit a loved one in the hospital until you were 14 or Fathers to Be had to wait in waiting room in the 70’s. I believe it was the mid80’s when Dads were allowed in the Delivery Room.

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Ava Lemar
Ava Lemar
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3 months ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

And hospital stays were so long. After my mother gave birth to my brother in 1980, she was in the hospital for 10 days. And she didnt even have any health complications nor was he a sick baby. It was just standard.

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#56

Party lines. We shared a phone number with other households. Each party had a unique ring pattern. And when you went to make a call, another party could be speaking so you’d have to wait.

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3 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

There is a fun old movie that features party lines. It is entitled Pillow Talk with Doris Day and Rock Hudson.

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#57

Job listings by gender.

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Pandemonium
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3 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Just yesterday I saw under the Job For A Woman heading: President of the US mf-ing A

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#58

Rampant sexual harassment in the workplace.

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Cee Cee
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3 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Regularly being flashed by random men when in my school uniform. A favourite was a man in a car asking for directions. Go over and guess what it was not a gear stick he was holding.

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#59

White dog poop.

Canadian_shack:

The How Stuff Works podcast has a piece about this. If I recall correctly, the formulation changed and no longer contains so much calcium, which would turn white as it dried. My sister and I had a whole conversation about that at one point because our dog had eaten crayons and there was confetti-colored dog poop all over our childhood backyard after that.

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#60

Going to a travel agency to book plane tickets.

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Mabelbabel
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3 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

In the UK, we had Teletext. It started in the early 90s, and it was transmitted via television networks-the graphics were glaring white or yellow text on a bright blue background, and it scrolled through pages selling cheap holidays-once you'd picked a location and dates, you phoned up to book it. No brochures, no fancy pictures, just a scrolling list of destinations that they sold off cheap, and usually at very short notice. That was seen as far more exciting than going to a travel agent.

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#61

A common saying if you asked about seat belts until the 80s. No. I don’t wear seat belts. I’m a safe driver.

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Cee Cee
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3 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Clunk click on every trip here in the UK. Voiced I think by the horrible paedo Jimmy Saville.

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#62

Applying for jobs was the worst. You'd have to submit your resume in paper, then go home and wait for a call that might never come, meanwhile you could be out looking for other jobs.

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John Harrison
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3 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

If you haven't searched for a job recently, I've got bad news for you.

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#63

Elevator attendants. You told them what floor you wanted.

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#64

Rock stars and their hordes of underage teen groupies.

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Freya the Wanderer
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3 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

An old joke runs thus: "Q - What has 80 legs and no pubic hair? A - The front row at a [insert the name of some pop artist here] concert."

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#65

Open container laws. Everyone in the car could drink alcohol but the driver. And the drinking age was 18.

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Ace
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3 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Yeah, like it still is in most of the world, where are no rules about this at all, even the driver can have a beer if they want, legally speaking, as long as they stay under the prescribed limit.

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#66

Going out with curlers in your hair.

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DramaDoc
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3 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Women in S. Korea still do this. Or at least one curler in the bangs area. It's quite funny to see.

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#67

Cursive handwriting was taught in schools and how to look things up in a book and not Google. Both things are no longer taught and most people in their 20's can't even read cursive writing. Also driving a 3 on three most don't have a clue.

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#68

Renting beta vcr tapes at blockbuster.

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#69

This might be an odd one… When I was a kid in the 70’s we played board games and chess at very young ages without adults teaching us how to play. We read the instructions and taught ourselves. I was playing Yahtzee and Monopoly by age 6, and chess at 8. This was normal! All of my friends could play somewhat complex games too. That’s what we did when we hung out with friends, or when it was just my two siblings and me. Now, when I’m with my great nieces and nephews (my sister’s eight grandkids) they can’t or won’t even try to grasp the concepts and rules of a game like Yahtzee. These are really smart kids, advanced in reading and math for their ages. I think what they are missing is patience, attention span, and the ability to focus on one thing at a time. Even the 10-12 year olds have no interest in that. They don’t want adults to teach them how to play, and they don’t want to concentrate long enough to read the instructions themselves.

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3 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Milton Jones: during the war, board games were banned. My grandfather was arrested for being a Yahtzee sympathiser.

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#70

When I was in high school in the late 80's, it was no big deal for a guy that liked you to follow you home to find out where you lived. After he found out where you lived, he would hang around in the vicinity of your house in order to "get to know you" or offer you a ride to school. Usually it was a guy about your age, but sometimes it was a guy in his 20's. This happened to me, my friends and my sister. My parents thought it was funny, and no one gave a second thought to this at all. I'm glad that young women call this kind of behavior "stalking" now because that's exactly what it is. It was creepy then, and I'm glad that it's not tolerated now.

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Howl's sleeping castle
Howl's sleeping castle
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3 months ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

My classmate was very beautiful and she had this problem all her life. This created problems for me too because random guys would stop me to pass their love letters to her through me or show interest in me just to get closer to her.

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#71

Major Retail stores, even supermarkets, all closed on Sundays. (I miss those days).

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similarly
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3 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I don't miss those days at all. Very inconvenient not to be able to go anywhere, having to scrounge if you hadn't planned ahead on food, or if something broke down.

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#72

We, as junior high and high school students, having our shotguns in our vehicles so we could immediately go hunting after school.

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Ava Lemar
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3 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

My father's school district gave students a week off, or at least a few days off, as a school vacation, for the start of deer hunting season.

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#73

Casual Racism was very common in the 50s & 60s.

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#74

Bus conductors, and buses with open rears so you could jump on and off even when they were moving.

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#75

Did a class play in 7th grade (1982) about Thanksgiving and early settlers. We brought REAL shotguns as props. No one gave it a second thought. Also in high school (mid 80's) a few kids had gun racks WITH rifles and shotguns in the back window. I think the principal just asked them to leave the guns at home. Nobody cared.

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