# How were things different when you were a kid? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 4, 2026, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-were-things-different-when-you-were-a-kid/1029032 "2026-04-04T22:45:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 10
**Author:** ![minor7flat5](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/minor7flat5/32/258_2.png) [@minor7flat5](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/minor7flat5)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2026, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-were-things-different-when-you-were-a-kid/1029032/182 "2026-04-06T14:30:20Z")
> [@Llama\_Llogophile](#): > > There were no commercials before movies (I’m not counting previews of upcoming films). I was a projectionist when they started showing commercials before films! I worked for United Artists, and it was 1989ish and I remember having to add a Coke commercial before a film and being curious about the novelty. It was very short, so maybe that’s why I wasn’t annoyed. I should have seen it for what it was: the thin end of the wedge. ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2026, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-were-things-different-when-you-were-a-kid/1029032/183 "2026-04-06T14:33:47Z")
You didn’t make popcorn in a microwave, because most folks didn’t have a microwave. “Quick and easy” popcorn was Jiffy Pop. It came in its own pan and you just popped the cardboard top off, put it on the stove, and waited for it to finish popping. The popped corn was contained in foil that expanded. It is still popular with campers so it hasn’t gone away completely. [![](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/71M+G+O-6wS._AC_UF894,1000_QL80_.jpg) ](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/71M+G+O-6wS._AC_UF894,1000_QL80_.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Llama\_Llogophile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@Llama\_Llogophile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Llama_Llogophile)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2026, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-were-things-different-when-you-were-a-kid/1029032/184 "2026-04-06T14:37:28Z")
> [@minor7flat5](#): > > I was a projectionist when they started showing commercials before films! I worked for United Artists, and it was 1989ish and I remember having to add a Coke commercial before a film and being curious about the novelty. It was very short, so maybe that’s why I wasn’t annoyed. I should have seen it for what it was: the thin end of the wedge. It’s the main reason I no longer go to movies. I’d like to - I like the shared experience of seeing a movie with an audience. But I’ll be damned if I’ll pay an admission fee to be shown commercials. ---
**Author:** ![Mighty\_Mouse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mighty_mouse/32/7776_2.png) [@Mighty\_Mouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mighty_Mouse)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2026, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-were-things-different-when-you-were-a-kid/1029032/185 "2026-04-06T15:17:21Z")
I was referring to the other items that Mr Dibble mentioned, things that were related to the social and political situation in South Africa in the 1970s and 1980s. I grew up in Pakistan in the 1970s and 1980s and experienced some similar conditions as he did, but mine were more related to religious rather than racial propaganda/discrimination/fuckery. Blue laws about Sunday trading (or Friday/Saturday trading in some countries) definitely have parallels in the American experience of that same time frame. ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2026, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-were-things-different-when-you-were-a-kid/1029032/186 "2026-04-06T15:18:35Z")
> [@Moriarty](#): > > Jeopardy stopped a winning streak at 5 games, and the most valuable Double Jeopardy clue was worth $1,000 And there used to be a perp walk to the podiums, “now entering the studio are today’s contestants…” ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2026, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-were-things-different-when-you-were-a-kid/1029032/187 "2026-04-06T16:05:48Z")
Yeah, it wasn’t blue laws in general that I was posting about (hell, our German posters would also know all about that still), it was the particular wrinkle about bakeries I was mentioning. I know a lot of stuff would be outside most US experience, but I feel it does them some good to be periodically reminded of this. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2026, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-were-things-different-when-you-were-a-kid/1029032/188 "2026-04-06T16:12:21Z")
> [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](#): > > I think the “noon time” version of The Sun I mentioned was just the 6AM edition with the front page updated. When I started working in downtown Chicago, in the late '80s, the Chicago Tribune (a morning paper) would publish a “Final Markets” edition, which was largely sold by vendors standing outside of the city’s downtown train stations and L stations during evening rush hour. The Final Markets edition was an unchanged copy of the morning’s edition, wrapped by a single sheet which featured one or two new news stories, and otherwise was filled with stock prices from that day’s market close. The NYSE closes at 3pm Chicago time, so that gave the Trib less than two hours to typeset that sheet with the closing stock prices, print up thousands of copies, wrap them around the morning’s paper, and get them out to their vendors prior to 5pm. They clearly had it down to a science, but the growth of the Web, which gave people the ability to check stock prices at any time, killed that edition pretty rapidly by the late '90s. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2026, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-were-things-different-when-you-were-a-kid/1029032/189 "2026-04-06T16:14:38Z")
You gotta admire the tenacity of the newspaper industry. ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2026, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-were-things-different-when-you-were-a-kid/1029032/190 "2026-04-06T16:18:59Z")
> [@engineer\_comp\_geek](#): > > You didn’t make popcorn in a microwave, because most folks didn’t have a microwave. “Quick and easy” popcorn was Jiffy Pop. It came in its own pan and you just popped the cardboard top off, put it on the stove, and waited for it to finish popping. The popped corn was contained in foil that expanded. The pain was you had to keep shaking the bloody thing else you’d get a bunch of scorched kernels at the bottom. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2026, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-were-things-different-when-you-were-a-kid/1029032/191 "2026-04-06T16:24:39Z")
> [@John\_DiFool](#): > > The pain was you had to keep shaking the bloody thing else you’d get a bunch of scorched kernels at the bottom Sure, but for an 8 year-old, that was the fun part. I’d definitely do this with my grandchildren if I knew where to buy some. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2026, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-were-things-different-when-you-were-a-kid/1029032/192 "2026-04-06T16:33:51Z")
> [@Procrustus](#): > > I’d definitely do this with my grandchildren if I knew where to buy some. One of our local grocery stores apparently still carries it, as does Amazon and Walmart. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2026, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-were-things-different-when-you-were-a-kid/1029032/193 "2026-04-06T17:01:52Z")
Time to re-watch **Real Genius**. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2026, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-were-things-different-when-you-were-a-kid/1029032/194 "2026-04-06T17:04:56Z")
> [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](#): > > Time to re-watch **Real Genius** “Burpo…this is Jesus talking.” ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2026, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-were-things-different-when-you-were-a-kid/1029032/195 "2026-04-06T17:05:49Z")
Outstanding. ---
**Author:** ![california\_jobcase](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@california\_jobcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/california_jobcase)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2026, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-were-things-different-when-you-were-a-kid/1029032/196 "2026-04-06T17:58:07Z")
> [@Procrustus](#): > > You took photos using film and so wouldn’t know how they turned out until you got them pack from the foto-mat booth or drugstore developer. I was in college before I learned the cheapest way to get film developed was with those yellow mail-in envelopes to Clark or York photo. I guess I didn’t trust them because of the other things I had mail-ordered in the past that took six weeks or longer to arrive so I was happily surprised to get my order back within a week! ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2026, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-were-things-different-when-you-were-a-kid/1029032/197 "2026-04-06T18:55:33Z")
Or you could just put a thin layer of oil in the bottom of a pot with a lid (glass lid is extra nice for this), add popcorn kernels, and cook like that. As a child I was fond of the “Circus” brand popcorn that had colored red, green and blue hulls that added some rainbow color to the finished product. You could also still buy wire basket popcorn poppers for heating over a heat source. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2026, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-were-things-different-when-you-were-a-kid/1029032/198 "2026-04-06T19:00:51Z")
> [@california\_jobcase](#): > > I was in college before I learned the cheapest way to get film developed was with those yellow mail-in envelopes to Clark or York photo. I guess I didn’t trust them because of the other things I had mail-ordered in the past that took six weeks or longer to arrive so I was happily surprised to get my order back within a week! I doubt it really required six to eight weeks for them to actually process and ship one’s order. My presumption is that mail order sat on your order until they had enough orders to justify a discounted bulk shipment to a regional distribution hub. ---
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2026, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-were-things-different-when-you-were-a-kid/1029032/199 "2026-04-06T19:42:38Z")
> [@OttoDaFe](#): > > When I was very young it was fairly common for cars to have a spotlight on the driver’s door — presumably to check addresses — so the theater would put a moving light on the screen that you were supposed to follow. I have no idea what you are talking about - are you talking about a light on the driver’s door directed toward the buildings that lined the street? And what did that have to do with the moving light on the screen? ---
**Author:** ![SCAdian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scadian/32/3292_2.png) [@SCAdian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCAdian)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2026, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-were-things-different-when-you-were-a-kid/1029032/200 "2026-04-06T19:47:37Z")
Presumably you were supposed to steer your spotlight to follow the ~~bouncing ball~~ light on the screen. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2026, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-were-things-different-when-you-were-a-kid/1029032/201 "2026-04-06T20:04:19Z")
I can’t say I remember ever seeing such an accessory except on police vehicles. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-were-things-different-when-you-were-a-kid/1029032.md?page=9) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-were-things-different-when-you-were-a-kid/1029032.md?page=11)