People Are Sharing Everyday Things That Were Totally Normal 20+ Years Ago But Are Now Nonexistent
Yes, yes, yes, of course, lots of things change with time. But life moves so fast that sometimes you don't even realize how much things have changed until you stop and think about it. Especially with things like technology, which we all quickly adapt to and don't even notice how it changes everyday things we used to do.
Paramount
And recently, Reddit user u/OldAboba asked: "What was normal in the '80-'90-'00s but rare or nonexistent now?"
BET
Lots of people reminisced about all those things we really don't do at all today. Here are some of the top-voted and best answers:
1."Playgrounds made of steel, wood, and gravel."
"Metal slides that felt like molten steel in the summer."
"So I remember being a kid (born in early '80s) and hanging out at the park by where my sisters played soccer games.
Middle of the playground structure was a hollow metal tube about two stories tall with a ladder in it. Idea being, you popped in at the ground, climbed up, and there were two or three points where you could pop out at different areas of the structure.
Well, that tube was just a sheet of metal rolled into a tube and riveted together. Put that in direct sunlight and it got hot.
Made climbing up it a game of 'the sides are lava.'
On really hot days, kids would cram into the tube, then someone would say '1, 2, 3, go!' and everyone would press their backs against the metal. Last one to stay in contact won the eternal respect of the playground, some first-degree burns, and an honorary mention in that year's Darwin Awards."
2."Video rental stores."
"I remember it was never easy to go in and just find one movie. You were literally walking through memory lane and came out with four or five films.
Also remember the day the Blockbuster where I live closed. Every DVD went on sale for $1. I easily blew $130-plus that day... worth it."
3."Corded phones/landline phones."
NBC
"And phonebooks."
"No kidding. I still get one dropped off at my home once a year that I didn't ask for — what am I supposed to do with it other than throw it away?"—Vampiric2010
4."A handwritten list of phone numbers."
"And memorizing a lot of them."—BadMacaroniArt
"This. It was such a good brain training tool. I used to be able to remember so many numbers. Now I am down to two, my partner's and my childhood home phone number."—cofftea_run
5."Rushing to the bathroom during a commercial break and your sibling yelling, 'Hurry up! It's back on!'"
TV Land
"Yup, no need to hurry back now. Television with ads give you more than enough time so that you can come back without rushing."
6."Calling collect or buying pre-paid long-distance phone cards. When I was in college, my mom would send those cards with 300 minutes so I would call her. I had quite the collection."
20th Century Fox
7."My mom getting asked if she wanted a smoking or non-smoking section when we would go out to eat. Spoiler: She always chose the smoking section 🤢."
8."Going round to someone's house without calling or texting them beforehand."
9."Being bored. For example, sitting in the dentist's office with your mother with absolutely nothing to do but listen to soft rock. Maybe there's a Highlights magazine on the table, but we all know some other kid already solved all the puzzles."
"Puzzles? I don't remember any puzzles. I just went straight to the 'Goofus and Gallant.' The lessons I learned from those two made me into the man I am today."
10."Public phone booths."
"Carried change in my pocket for most of my childhood and for a significant portion of my adult years just in case I needed to make an emergency call. I remember walking up to the phone booth with my Mum to make phone calls because we didn't have a house phone back then (early 1980s). It reeked of tobacco and urine."—zerbey
11."Buying new music and videos on tape."
12."When it comes to bootlegging media, it was common for some shady sells from a random car. Most didn't care about the quality, just as long they get to see the work."
13."Kids playing outside unsupervised."
"OMG, so true. My mom left me so unsupervised. I used to roam around from 4pm to 7:30 pm all over the place, sometimes with friends, sometimes alone."
"Kids playing outside unsupervised. If you were bored back in the day you could just wander around the neighbor hood for a little while, and you would most likely find somebody to play with. We never see that anymore where I live. The playgrounds are empty, and so are all the other places that were used in the same way."
14."Long-distance phone charges (in the US). It used to be very expensive, but now it's often free or trivially cheap. Back in the '80s and '90s, roommate friendships were wrecked over long-distance bills."
NBC/ Warner Bros. Television
"I had a coworker in 2001 get in trouble for making long distance (Baltimore to Philly!) calls on her work extension."
15."Dialing 10-10-220."
"Shit! I totally remember 10-10-220 and the commercials, but I don't think I even remember using it."—igottathinkofaname
"It was 'The Better Way to Call!' If you dialed 10-10-220 before making a long distance call, it would route you through a different long distance provider, possibly giving you lower rates. The closest analogy to today's phone environment would be using one of the millions of MVNOs instead of AT&T/T-Mo/Verizon. You'll still be using one of the big three's equipment to call/text/use data but you're paying someone else who pays them."—Toy_Guy_in_MO
16."Cars having cigarette lighters and ashtrays."
"I've always driven older cars my whole life. So when I finally got a new car and noticed no cigarette lighter and ashtray I was a little peeved (being a smoker). I mean that's the last thing I'm thinking about buying a new car."
17."Colored/dyed toilet paper."
18."YOU'VE GOT MAIL [AOL]."
Warner Bros.
"Automatically heard the voice when I read this."—whatever13576569
19."Floppy disks."
"I got 200 of 'em still sealed in the original packaging. Some day some very important machinery somewhere will break and no one will have a floppy disk to save it. And that's when I release my evil villain-type video holding the world hostage unless I get 1 million dollars for one of my disks."
20."Portable cassette and CD players."
21."Writing letters. ✍️"
"Handwritten letters...cannot remember the last time I wrote one or received one in the mail."
"Mailed paper invitations & handwritten thank you notes."
22."Ringtones with singing animals, hahaha."
23."Recording songs from the radio and trying to cut the talking at the beginning of the songs off 😅."
Roadshow Entertainment
24."Faxes. They used to be everywhere (houses, offices, etc.). Now it's a rare sight."
25."Writing a check for the cashier and the carbon paper. Feel old now."
26."TVs with loud buzzing sounds and the static they made. Also good commercials that were funny and not garbage like the new ones."
27."Not being able to reach someone on the phone and being OK with no one answering. People now expect you to be accessible at all times."
Design Taxi/ giphy.com
And lastly...
28."Ability to pay attention. I was a really big reader, and I find the always-available social media has made reading a lot harder. In general, I cannot pay attention to hobbies or activities in the same way."
"Only read the first line and went straight to the next comment, so yeah…"
You can read the full thread of responses on Reddit.
Note: Some responses have been edited for length and/or clarity.
