Things that are foreign to your kids, that were normal for you...

[wilbret]

We were just talking about floppy disks the other day and our 20-something year old boys just stared at us like we were crazy. One finally said, “Why were they called floppy disks when they didn’t even flop?” We explained that the bigger ones were flexible and did flop, but then the smaller, hard plastic ones came along that didn’t flop but were still referred to as floppy disks. More blank stares.

512k floppies, then the MASSIVE 1.44mb floppy, then the holy moly 100mb zip drive.
I just got a 5tb drive that fits in my pocket, lol....

 

[RangerPooh]

DH was recently gifted an Atari game system (with plenty of add-ons) from a friend who's husband had passed away. My girls were going through the box and asked what the 5" floppy disk was? The game cartridges were explanatory, but only because they had pictures on them.

 

[kiddo76]

Was watching Annie ever really a national event like the Wizard of Oz? I have to question that...wait.... just to be sure, we’re talking about the 1982 Annie, right?

Before VCRs and HBO were common, ANY movie shown on TV was a national event.

I remember begging "Pleeeease can I stay up to watch (Wizard of Oz, Annie, Grease, Rudolph...)? I promise I won't be cranky in the morning and I won't fight with my brother and sister."

 

[fly girl]

Was watching Annie ever really a national event like the Wizard of Oz? I have to question that...wait.... just to be sure, we’re talking about the 1982 Annie, right?

I don't remember Annie being on either. Just Wizard of Oz.

How easy it is to get Xrays at the dentist today.

Recently I brought my son to the dentist for a check-up/cleaning. When we were leaving he smiled and said, "That wasn't so bad." I had to tell him about how horrible Xrays used to be when they used to jam those hard plastic things in our mouth and make us bite down. Ripped the heck out of our gums. Ouch! Anyone remember that?

Dentistry as a whole is soooo much more pleasant than decades ago.

My dentist still does it that way.

Mine does too! With the tube X-ray machine and the heavy vest you put on while sitting in the chair.

 

[kaytieeldr]

Mandating seat belts in vehicles did not equal mandated use

Correct. OP said we didn't have seatbelts, nothing about mandated usage.

Regrettable when dry humor needs to be explained, or flies over heads.

 

[Lumpy1106]

The Jerry Lewis MD telethon, and not because it was good (because it wasn't), but because it was the official end-of-summer break and you had to go to school the next day.

The whole family sitting down to watch what is on TV. My family doesn't understand my obsession with the Indy 500 or the Olympics - it's because I grew up with those being big events in our house and we all watched TOGETHER.

Long Distance phone bills - you can call anywhere you want for as long as you want now. My HS GF's parents actually changed their phone number so we wouldn't rack up such huge bills (LD was decide by prefix and that was somewhat flexible).

SO many more...

 

[wilbret]

The Jerry Lewis MD telethon, and not because it was good (because it wasn't), but because it was the official end-of-summer break and you had to go to school the next day.

The whole family sitting down to watch what is on TV. My family doesn't understand my obsession with the Indy 500 or the Olympics - it's because I grew up with those being big events in our house and we all watched TOGETHER.

Long Distance phone bills - you can call anywhere you want for as long as you want now. My HS GF's parents actually changed their phone number so we wouldn't rack up such huge bills (LD was decide by prefix and that was somewhat flexible).

SO many more...

I remember when MCI and AT&T, maybe others would pay you to switch. We would convert, take the $100 gift card, and switch back whenever we were able, with another gift card. I worked at Radio Shack in college, and we were required to ask every customer if they wanted to switch to MCI...

 

[wilbret]

Correct. OP said we didn't have seatbelts, nothing about mandated usage.

Regrettable when dry humor needs to be explained, or flies over heads.

Look, I don't want to argue, lest I get reported...ahem... re read the OP. It said, "nobody WORE seatbelts."
The spirit of the thread was about stuff that has changed, not fact checking. I digress. Peace and love. Please share something your kids don't do, that you did....

 

[NYCgrrl]

Things that are foreign to your kids, that were normal for you

...Manners...

 

[wilbret]

Things that are foreign to your kids, that were normal for you

...Manners...

LOL. On topic.

 

[cabanafrau]

Look, I don't want to argue, lest I get reported...ahem... re read the OP. It said, "nobody WORE seatbelts."
The spirit of the thread was about stuff that has changed, not fact checking. I digress. Peace and love. Please share something your kids don't do, that you did....

I think you're missing the idea that your perspective as a parent of a certain age isn't a constant for all parents of various ages reading.

To be fair the post that you're so clearly bothered by very clearly delineated the idea that seatbelts became mandatory equipment (although not use) in 1968. They also mentioned the very questionable notion of children's carseats that existed for a period of time.

If the topic is interesting from the perspective of your children in relation to your age and experience as their parent, wouldn't the addition of more changes add to the interest?

 

[L&Lfan]

Correct. OP said we didn't have seatbelts, nothing about mandated usage.

Regrettable when dry humor needs to be explained, or flies over heads.

I can remember as a kid in the ‘60s siting on top of our flattened latched seatbelts which I don’t recall we ever used.

 

[RangerPooh]

Phone calling cards. This was a topic of conversation among our friends the other night. Remembering how back in college (mid-late 90s) our parents would buy us calling cards to call home/friends.

 

[Lumpy1106]

I can remember as a kid in the ‘60s siting on top of our flattened latched seatbelts which I don’t recall we ever used.

I remember getting mad because my younger brother would stand on the seat and he wasn't supposed to - can you imagine seeing that today?
I didn't wear seat belts until I started driving in '85 - and the girl I was dating insisted that I did. Good thing - I rolled my car a couple of months later (not a bad accident but probably kept me from getting hurt).

 

[Boopuff]

I remember "party line" phones in my dorm (1980) - four rooms shared one line - how fun! eight girls one phone! I also remember when MTV played videos! No one had cable tv. Taking computer science and having to type in all those punch cards to be fed to get a print out!

 

[Teresa Pitman]

My teenage grandson was at my house when my landline phone started ringing. Since he was standing near it, I asked him to answer it for me. He just stared at it and asked me "but how? How do you answer it?"

 

[fla4fun]

I remember getting mad because my younger brother would stand on the seat and he wasn't supposed to - can you imagine seeing that today?
I didn't wear seat belts until I started driving in '85 - and the girl I was dating insisted that I did. Good thing - I rolled my car a couple of months later (not a bad accident but probably kept me from getting hurt).

When we were young kids, dad used to put the inflated inner tubes we were taking to the beach on the floor of the backseat, and mom would make up a bed on top of them. My sister and I used to sleep stretched out across it all the way from Ohio to Florida and back. On other trips, we would sit on the floor and use the seat for a desk to color and play games.

I started using a seatbelt consistently when I got my first car. I knew a guy who rolled and totaled two vehicles a month apart (neither was his fault) and came out of both with no injuries. That was good enough for me.

 

[Luv Bunnies]

Well I guess technically if you opened it up the actual circular disc on the inside was still floppy, so to me that counts!!

Floppy, but not floppy!

 

[disneyseniors]

This is fun:
I remember being let out of the house in the AM to wander the small village where we lived. I only had to stay within the city limits.
Rotary phones. It's fun to see someone try to figure them out
Putting the kids into the back of the station wagon with blankets and pillows, and books for trips.
A tv with only 3 channels and I was the channel changer
Getting my first transistor radio which I carried everywhere.
There's more but can't remember them. Thanks, OP, for the fun thread.

 

[pensprincess]

Phone calling cards. This was a topic of conversation among our friends the other night. Remembering how back in college (mid-late 90s) our parents would buy us calling cards to call home/friends.

I just came across my phone calling card from when I went to Europe in 2002. It was the only way to contact my parents. I think I may have used it once I returned for a few calls that would have been long-distance charges otherwise.