Parents who grew up in the '70s and '80s recall experiences that will blow the minds of today's kids
In an era prior to the digital revolution, people lived a life that most kids of today can't even fathom.
Who among us hasn't heard people who grew up in the '70s and '80s talk about the good 'ol days. We have seen a lot of changes, some for the better and some for the worse. There's no question the digital revolution has completely changed the way people lead their lives. Now, you can't imagine stepping out of your home without your phone or not having all the information you need at your fingertips. However, a few decades ago, if you were out in public and needed to make a call, you had to use a pay phone. While pay phones haven't gone completely extinct, the U.S. Federal Communications Commission recorded that only 100,000 pay phones remain in the U.S., a massive drop from 2 million in 1999. Dan Wuori took to Twitter to share a memory that would seem implausible for today's kids. "My high school had a smoking area. For the kids," he said. He then urged others to share memories that would blow children’s minds. Many shared their memories from the '70s and '80s that the kids of today wouldn't understand, and it's just brilliant.
My high school had a smoking area. For the kids. What’s something you experienced as a kid that would blow your children’s minds?
— Dan Wuori (@DanWuori) April 24, 2022
Here are some of the best tweets we came across:
1. Smoking room in high school
We had a smoking room IN our high school. We also had cadet training and a shooting range in the basement of the school. We had Latin as an option and could drop math in Grade 10! Also in the « good old days »: we could smoke in class at Carleton, at the movies and on airplanes.
— 🇨🇦Jacques Leger🇺🇸 (@jacquesleger17) April 24, 2022
2. Parks that would be considered "dangerous" now
We stared Death in the eye every day. pic.twitter.com/zWHh5bvUym
— Ed Lettis 🌻 (@edbobgreen) April 24, 2022
3. Car seat for kids
Car seats that just hung over the front seat. Hang on, kid! pic.twitter.com/2DdCoXhqmf
— Bluenoser Forever (@long17_de) April 24, 2022
4. Kids piled high in the back of station wagons
We had a huge Ford station wagon. My folks would lay out two sleeping bags back there and my dad would drive us home if we stayed late at my uncle's house. Dad probably had a couple drinks in him. No seatbelts and he'd be smoking the whole time. pic.twitter.com/l92O8ErSPs
— SpaghettiNeutral (@SpaghettiNeutrl) April 24, 2022
5. Fries for lunch
Large fry as your entire meal in middle school. It was the most popular item too. Literally as it sounds. Just a large basket of French fries for lunch.
— Monique (@LivAnotherDay) April 24, 2022
6. Pay phones
My kids can’t wrap their brains around life pre-cell phone. Or imagine that at one point a cell phone was just a phone.
— Dan Wuori (@DanWuori) April 24, 2022
Using a pay phone that was outside the school gym to call my parents for a ride home from practice. But calling collect and saying "pick me up" and hanging up before getting charged. 😂
— Stacy Kratochvil 💟 (@StacyKratochvil) April 24, 2022
7. Buying soda in school
8. Graphic driver's ed film
Also, in Driver's Ed. We warched this film, "Blood on the Highways." 45 minutes of unedited film of fatal highway accidents. This was mostly before mandatory seatbelts. 45 years later, I remember the rear view mirror that split a guy's skull, imbedded in his brain.
— some call me Tim 🇺🇦 🌻 MAT Elem. Educ. (@realtimaier) April 24, 2022
9. Teachers smoked in class
Mine too. Up until my senior year. Also, my biology teacher smoked in the classroom. We used to tell time by how many cigarettes she had in her ashtray.
— rbe (@perdidostschool) April 24, 2022
10. Shotgun in the truck
I grew up in a rural area. It wasn’t unheard of for guys to have a shotgun in a gun rack in their trucks, parked at school. Could also carry large knives and openly chew tobacco in school. They don’t allow any of this now, which is good.
— High Plains Grifter (@Too_Grizzled) April 24, 2022
Truck with gun racks/rifles in the HS parking lot.
— FortWorthPlayboy (@FWPlayboy) April 24, 2022
(DFW too not a small town) pic.twitter.com/RnWiKQwKB7
11. Penpals
I wrote letters regularly to a penpal from a different country and then saved them all in a shoebox. Then in college I flew to “meet” her for the 1st time to participate in her wedding ❤️ But now we connect on FB 😂
— Ms.Teach (@MidwestTeach14) April 24, 2022
12. Ashtrays for Mother's Day
We made clay ashtrays as gifts for Mother's Day...whether moms smoked or not!😂
— Mark (@coach_mark1) April 24, 2022
13. Calling a radio to request a song
If you wanted to listen to a particular song, you had to call the radio station (and hope you got through) and ask them to play it for you.
— Sarah (@sarahbschaefer) April 25, 2022
14. Encyclopedias
Encyclopedias. There was no Google. And because we were low-income we didn’t even have the whole set. So my papers had to be on something starting with the letters A, B or C. I think we got those volumes from Sears for free in a raffle.
— Dr. Victoria Dooley (@DrDooleyMD) April 25, 2022
15. Smoking on a plane
I have smoked on an airplane. It sounds like a lie even to me.
— Paul Thornflesh (@vodajcek) April 25, 2022
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