Why do the songs you heard when you were a teenager sound sweeter than anything you listen to as an adult? It is clear that the era in which you grow up shapes you forever. So what are some things Only People Over 50 Understand? Sounds funny to say ‘back in the olden days’….when for people my age, we clearly remember these things, right?
No swearing on TV shows or in movies
Is there anything you can’t say on TV anymore? The FCC defines profanity as the language that’s so “grossly offensive” to “members of the public” that it becomes a “nuisance.” Even by that vague definition, language deemed “grossly offensive” a decade ago would barely warrant a raised eyebrow these days.
Listening to an entire music album
The death of the album and the rise of the single perhaps mirrors the broader societal shift. The Internet makes the infinite accessible, yet, in the hours we spend tethered to the sprawling enigma, we tend to pursue what we already know, rather than search for the foreign.
The drive-in movie night (and make out with your boyfriend in the back seat)
In the 1950s, there were around 4,000 drive-in theaters around the United States. But just like peace, love, and American cars, drive-ins began to decline around the early 1970s. Today, there are only about 300 left, and it’s not like we can put them through some sort of captive breeding program or anything. In part, the decline is due to digital film
The physical act of opening a newspaper is an act of broadening
To get to a specific section, one has to move past others–metro, style, international news–physically moving material out of the way and, more often than not, stopping intermittently.
Watching your favorite TV shows at the exact time they were on
You had to be home to watch your favorites at that exact time. Everyone who was lucky enough to have a television had just one and it was located in the living room. There wasn’t any whatsoever to ‘record a show!’
No answering machines, beepers or cell phones
How did we get anything done?
Having one phone, connected to a wall, Phones In Booths…and what about the “Rotary dial telephone service”?
Carbon paper
Anyone remembers it? It was a thin sheet of light-brown paper that you inserted between two sheets of paper, usually in a typewriter (remember those?). By pressing on the top sheet, called the ‘original,’ with a writing implement or striking it with a key in the typewriter an exact copy could be imprinted on one or more sheets underneath.
Gas For Less Than $1/Gallon
Last time was in the late 1990s. Many people wonder if those days will ever return.
A milkman driving the milk truck around delivering glass bottles of milk to your doorstep
Getting A Telegram
Disposable Diapers: A Life-Changing Invention
How Fun Couples Dancing Can Be
“Hello, this is the operator.” Yep….you dialed ZERO and a real human answered and helped you make your call!
A typewriter
And most kids were required to take a typing class in school to learn the ‘keyboard’ by heart!
Do you miss any of these?
