My Adult Children Didn't Believe Me": 26 Normal Practices And Routines From The Past That Have Gen Z'ers Confused, Perplexed, And Puzzled

[Michie]

A fun article. I was not sure where to put it. Although I have no children, I got a kick out of reading this.
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I am not that old, but one time, I was telling my younger cousins about how Netflix used to be a mailing service, and they were absolutely gobsmacked. I myself was kinda shocked, too, because I'd just assumed that was common knowledge. (Wait 'til I tell them about the mythical world of Blockbuster.) So, when redditor u/MrDNLasked the people of r/AskOldPeople to share the "common knowledge" things from their time that younger generations might have a hard time believing, I was all in. Here are some of the responses that will either make you feel totally nostalgic or completely puzzled:

1."When the internet first came out, you couldn't talk on the phone and be online at the same time."



9."There were ashtrays everywhere: Homes, businesses, restaurants, hospitals, malls, designated areas in schools, and more. Even if you didn't smoke, it was normal to have ashtrays available for your guests in the house — like on the coffee table or in the kitchen."

Continued below.

Older Adults Are Sharing The "Common Knowledge" From The Past That Young Folks Might Be Surprised By

"Seatbelts weren't taken seriously by most people until the '90s."

www.buzzfeed.com

 

[Michie]

3."I'm just old enough to remember smoking on planes. It still blows my mind that that was a thing!"

—u/Linzcro
Maxiphoto / Getty Images/iStockphoto

 

[2PhiloVoid]

3."I'm just old enough to remember smoking on planes. It still blows my mind that that was a thing!"

—u/Linzcro
Maxiphoto / Getty Images/iStockphoto

After those international flights I took back in the 90s, and being the asthmatic I am, how could I forget that they were a "thing"?

 

[comana]

After those international flights I took back in the 90s, and being the asthmatic I am, how could I forget that they were a "thing"?

Smoking sections in restaurants. Not separate dining rooms but an imaginary line in the restaurant where you could smoke on one side and not the other but the entire building was smokey.

 

[MForbes]

Born on ‘60….need I say more?

 

[Yttrium]

We used to have an encyclopedia set. Heavy hardbacks that filled up a bookshelf. No Wikipedia back then. And all those hardbacks provided only a tiny fraction of all the info you can get on Wikipedia these days.

 

[MehGuy]

Sometimes when I think that people were still checking out movies regularly at Blockbuster when I was still in Highschool. Makes me feel really old.

 

[jayem]

I'm a 50s Baby Boomer. My grandmother gave me a record player just like this for my 6th or 7th birthday. I have no idea what happened to it. These are now vintage items and collectors will pay decent money if they're in working condition. But who listens to 45 records anymore?



Anyone remember S&H Green Stamps? They were given by participating stores to customers--mostly grocery stores as I recall. The more you spent, the more stamps you'd get. You pasted them in a little paper book. When you had enough filled books, you could exchange them at an S&H store for all sorts of household items. I think my mother got our living rooms lamps with Green Stamps.

I'm a native southerner, born and raised in GA. There were bad things back in those days, too. I remember gas stations had 3 restrooms--Men, Women, and Colored.

Not everything from back then is worth remembering.

 

[MForbes]

I'm a 50s Baby Boomer. My grandmother gave me a record player just like this for my 6th or 7th birthday. I have no idea what happened to it. These are now vintage items and collectors will pay decent money if they're in working condition. But who listens to 45 records anymore?

View attachment 342708

Anyone remember S&H Green Stamps? They were given by participating stores to customers--mostly grocery stores as I recall. The more you spent, the more stamps you'd get. You pasted them in a little paper book. When you had enough filled books, you could exchange them at an S&H store for all sorts of household items. I think my mother got our living rooms lamps with Green Stamps.


View attachment 342710


I'm a native southerner, born and raised in GA. There were bad things back in those days, too. I remember gas stations had 3 restrooms--Men, Women, and Colored.

View attachment 342711

Not everything from back then is worth remembering.

My wife and I still have a case full of 45 records and LP albums. We don't have a record player anymore, though.

I remember mom collecting green stamps. She use to let us kids lick 'em and put them in the books.

 

[durangodawood]

3."I'm just old enough to remember smoking on planes. It still blows my mind that that was a thing!"

As am I. I recall they had a smoking "section" that allowed everyone else to breath only partly smoky air.