# 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:** 6
**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 5, 2026, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-were-things-different-when-you-were-a-kid/1029032/101 "2026-04-05T16:01:12Z")
Not familiar with those; we had paper roll caps which made a respectable **BOOM** when you whacked the whole roll with a hammer. ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2026, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-were-things-different-when-you-were-a-kid/1029032/102 "2026-04-05T16:03:42Z")
We had some guys in the Neighborhood that we’re playing with real guns Their dad’s came back from Korea with some “souvenirs”, junky 45 pistols. They took the firing pin out and glued a block of wood in the magazine well. Slide still cycled, hammer still cocked, trigger still worked. Nobody robbed a gas station or got shot by anyone. ---
**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 5, 2026, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-were-things-different-when-you-were-a-kid/1029032/103 "2026-04-05T16:04:50Z")
> [@Moriarty](#): > > It was common to pay for groceries by check Indeed. When I was a kid in the '70s, my parents did not have any credit cards (which were still a relatively new thing), and only had “charge cards” (which had to be paid off every month) for Sears and Montgomery Ward. Nearly everything else was paid for by check, or cash (if it was small). My mom would regularly get cash for the week’s needs by stopping at the courtesy desk at the grocery store, writing a check out to “Cash,” and having the store cash it for her. That courtesy desk was also where she would turn in the empty 8-packs of soda in glass bottles, to receive her deposit back (10c per bottle, IIRC). ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2026, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-were-things-different-when-you-were-a-kid/1029032/104 "2026-04-05T16:05:48Z")
> [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](#): > > Not familiar with those; we had paper roll caps which made a respectable **BOOM** when you whacked the whole roll with a hammer Yep. 3 cents a box, 5 rolls stuck together per box. ---
**Author:** ![griffin1977](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/977dab/32.png) [@griffin1977](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/griffin1977)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2026, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-were-things-different-when-you-were-a-kid/1029032/105 "2026-04-05T16:06:15Z")
> [@Moriarty](#): > > then your next door neighbor with a daughter had a favor so you gave her just a little kiss Personally all those stories in music, film, etc. of the lovable loser who finds love in the end were incredibly depressing as I was in fact a loser (a loveable one in my opinion) and I absolutely did not find love (at least not for like a decade afterwards) ---
**Author:** ![Moriarty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moriarty/32/49_2.png) [@Moriarty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moriarty)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2026, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-were-things-different-when-you-were-a-kid/1029032/106 "2026-04-05T16:07:34Z")
> [@pkbites](#): > > I had a Johnny Eagle. Look that up. > [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](#): > > I did look it up. If you stepped outside your house with one of those today, bye-bye _ **pkbites** _ courtesy of local LEO. Let’s see what you mean… [![](https://i.ibb.co/93GSPfjb/IMG-2172.jpg) ](https://i.ibb.co/93GSPfjb/IMG-2172.jpg) Or maybe you mean something like this… [![](https://i.ibb.co/TDJ7F7vz/IMG-2173.jpg) ](https://i.ibb.co/TDJ7F7vz/IMG-2173.jpg) Bwahahaha! Yeah, that’s asking for a “news at 11” moment. ---
**Author:** ![P-man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/p-man/32/3606_2.png) [@P-man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/P-man)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2026, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-were-things-different-when-you-were-a-kid/1029032/107 "2026-04-05T16:10:07Z")
I got a shotgun for Christmas at 11. I hunted rabbits and squirrels occasionally, but I don’t have to stomach for it now. ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2026, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-were-things-different-when-you-were-a-kid/1029032/108 "2026-04-05T16:10:32Z")
[![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/8gm7flPYacE/hqdefault.jpg "Johnny Eagle Toy Gun Commercial, 1950s-1960s") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8gm7flPYacE) ---
**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 5, 2026, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-were-things-different-when-you-were-a-kid/1029032/109 "2026-04-05T16:12:03Z")
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. [Fotomat - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fotomat) ---
**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 5, 2026, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-were-things-different-when-you-were-a-kid/1029032/110 "2026-04-05T16:12:46Z")
My God, that was priceless! And TWO key changes, yet! ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2026, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-were-things-different-when-you-were-a-kid/1029032/111 "2026-04-05T16:21:10Z")
> [@P-man](#): > > I got a shotgun for Christmas at 11. I hunted rabbits and squirrels occasionally, but I don’t have to stomach for it now. I had a Springfield Model 15 at age 10 (still have it). But I wasnt running around the neighborhood playing cops n robbers with it like the guys who had real (though nonfunctional) 45’s. ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2026, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-were-things-different-when-you-were-a-kid/1029032/112 "2026-04-05T16:25:04Z")
So no one remembers a time of no air conditioning in the house they or their neighbors lived in or the the car they were driven in–although maybe there was air conditioning in some businesses–like movie theaters. ---
**Author:** ![Railer13](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/railer13/32/9742_2.png) [@Railer13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Railer13)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2026, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-were-things-different-when-you-were-a-kid/1029032/113 "2026-04-05T16:26:02Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > My mom would regularly get cash for the week’s needs by stopping at the courtesy desk at the grocery store, writing a check out to “Cash,” and having the store cash it for her. Yep, that was common practice for both mom and dad when they needed cash. I can also remember the days before personalized checks. Check blanks had the bank name and, I assume, their routing number, but the writer of the check was identified only by their signature and account number, which they filled in. I think my parents got personalized checks sometime in the early to mid-sixties. > [@PastTense](#): > > So no one remembers a time of no air conditioning in the house We didn’t have a/c in our house until dad bought a swamp cooler in about 1966 or so. Fortunately we had a full basement with a kitchen which stayed relatively cool in the summers. ---
**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 5, 2026, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-were-things-different-when-you-were-a-kid/1029032/114 "2026-04-05T16:26:41Z")
Four words: Black vinyl car seats. With no AC. ---
**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 5, 2026, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-were-things-different-when-you-were-a-kid/1029032/115 "2026-04-05T16:29:01Z")
> [@Railer13](#): > > I think my parents got personalized checks sometime in the early to mid-sixties. I’m a bit younger than you, so I only remember the personalized checks (i.e., the ones with my parents’ name and address pre-printed). That was also long before when Deluxe (the big check-printing company) began to offer designs on their checks; I think the only options one had was blue or green checks. When they would re-order a box of checks, they were always delivered by UPS; it was about the only time we ever had something delivered by UPS, and it now makes me wonder what percentage of UPS’s business back in the '70s was delivering checks. ---
**Author:** ![Moriarty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moriarty/32/49_2.png) [@Moriarty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moriarty)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2026, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-were-things-different-when-you-were-a-kid/1029032/116 "2026-04-05T16:29:16Z")
> [@Railer13](#): > > I think my parents got personalized checks sometime in the early to mid-sixties. My mom had personalized checks in the 1980s, but the grocery store required your driver license number, so whenever she filled it out she added that to the top. I was always so impressed as a kid that she had memorized her driver license number. ---
**Author:** ![P-man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/p-man/32/3606_2.png) [@P-man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/P-man)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2026, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-were-things-different-when-you-were-a-kid/1029032/117 "2026-04-05T16:30:36Z")
If I’d done anything besides hunt or target shoot with mine it would have been gone. I was partial to the muskets that looked real. ---
**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 5, 2026, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-were-things-different-when-you-were-a-kid/1029032/118 "2026-04-05T16:35:32Z")
I read that as “muskrats.” ---
**Author:** ![P-man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/p-man/32/3606_2.png) [@P-man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/P-man)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2026, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-were-things-different-when-you-were-a-kid/1029032/119 "2026-04-05T16:37:18Z")
I hunted those because they damaged the dam of our pond and made the water level low enough to endanger the fish. ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2026, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-were-things-different-when-you-were-a-kid/1029032/120 "2026-04-05T16:38:51Z")
> [@PastTense](#): > > So no one remembers a time of no air conditioning in the house they or their neighbors lived in or the the car they were driven in–although maybe there was air conditioning in some businesses–like movie theaters We always had 2 window a/c in the house. But not in the cars until my pop bought a new station wagon in 1973. Before that cars had vents and those weird triangle windows that directed hot air from outside into your face. No power steering or brakes in many cars. On the highway it didn’t matter much. But on a 25mph street you earned that right turn. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-were-things-different-when-you-were-a-kid/1029032.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-were-things-different-when-you-were-a-kid/1029032.md?page=7)