# In the dustbin of our cultural history **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 10, 2020, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-dustbin-of-our-cultural-history/927703 "2020-12-10T00:57:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 23
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2021, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-dustbin-of-our-cultural-history/927703/442 "2021-01-20T00:27:41Z")
> [@Procrustus](#): > > > [@Asuka](#): > > > > I remember hearing on a podcast from the host that even in the early 80’s when he was a Middle Schooler they were all forced to take nude showers after gym and apparently both PE coachs would watch them all as they took a shower to “make sure” they were cleaning themselves. > > Since this is dustbin of cultural history thread, I’ll ask. Are kids no longer required to shower after PE in school? Or are the coaches just no longer closely monitoring? > > We started having a shower requirement in 5th grade. (late 1960s). I was uncomfortable about it at first, but you get used it. By the time I got to college I was willing to shower with practically anybody. We never showered after PE (1960s). Our coach said it took time away from actual physical education. You changed out of your gym uniform and went to class. Since you weren’t wearing street clothes, you didn’t have issues when you put them back on. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2021, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-dustbin-of-our-cultural-history/927703/443 "2021-01-20T00:34:41Z")
My high school gym uniform was a pair of shorts and a t-shirt, except the t-shirt was double-layered, with each layer being one of the school colors. That let you reverse it so we could be on different teams but the extra thickness was uncomfortably warm. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2021, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-dustbin-of-our-cultural-history/927703/444 "2021-01-20T00:38:57Z")
We wore gray uniforms with red lettering (school colors). If we needed to differentiate teams, we’d be either shirts or skins (shirtless). Once in high school, the boys and girls had a class together and some guy said the girls should be skins. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2021, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-dustbin-of-our-cultural-history/927703/445 "2021-01-20T00:41:55Z")
Shirts and skins is of course standard, but it can be awkward for overweight kids, or those who are freckled. Basically it’s another way kids can be bullied. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2021, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-dustbin-of-our-cultural-history/927703/446 "2021-01-20T00:45:43Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > My high school gym uniform was a pair of shorts and a t-shirt, except the t-shirt was double-layered, with each layer being one of the school colors. That let you reverse it so we could be on different teams but the extra thickness was uncomfortably warm. Ditto in both HS & junior high. The local sporting good stores sold all the combos for the 6 local schools. But depending on time of day and year that extra layer of T-shirt was welcome. > [@RealityChuck](#): > > If we needed to differentiate teams, we’d be either shirts or skins (shirtless). Did that a lot too. Especially when it got hot, being the skins was an advantage. > [@RealityChuck](#): > > Once in high school, the boys and girls had a class together and some guy said the girls should be skins. Now _there’s_ an original thinker. Not! Boys / men are so predictable. Good thing too. ---
**Author:** ![Sigene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df788c/32.png) [@Sigene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigene)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2021, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-dustbin-of-our-cultural-history/927703/447 "2021-01-21T02:55:07Z")
Jokes that no longer work…relegated to the dustbin in their own right. Cashier: Do you collect stamps? Customer: No, I build model airplanes. ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2021, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-dustbin-of-our-cultural-history/927703/448 "2021-01-21T03:31:31Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > We never showered after PE (1960s). Our coach said it took time away from actual physical education. Physical Education was popularized in the 1900s, in English speaking countries, by Herbert Spencer. He also popularized the (mostly European) idea that children are natural learners, and that education should follow the natural learning methods of children: and he thought (on evolutionary grounds) that children should be _educated_ in physical activity along the lines of natural play. Showers were an early 20th century American reaction to the rural background and limited opportunities for the urban migrant poor. The idea was that kids should be _taught_ to have showers. That’s why teachers observed the process and made sure kids did it right (as discussed in other threads). ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2021, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-dustbin-of-our-cultural-history/927703/449 "2021-01-21T04:22:26Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > y high school gym uniform was a pair of shorts and a t-shirt, except the t-shirt was double-layered, with each layer being one of the school colors. That let you reverse it so we could be on different teams but the extra thickness was uncomfortably warm. yeah we had those also. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2021, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-dustbin-of-our-cultural-history/927703/450 "2021-01-21T04:23:00Z")
I dont get it. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2021, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-dustbin-of-our-cultural-history/927703/451 "2021-01-21T04:27:06Z")
The cashier is asking if the customer collects Green Stamps (or some other trading stamps) that you get with your purchase and can exchange for gifts when you have enough. The customer thinks they are asking about his hobbies such as collecting postage stamps. Trading stamps were once very popular but are nearly extinct. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2021, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-dustbin-of-our-cultural-history/927703/452 "2021-01-21T04:36:07Z")
Me neither. Thank you, **Colibri**. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2021, 6:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-dustbin-of-our-cultural-history/927703/453 "2021-01-21T06:25:58Z")
And I used to lick them and stick them, I shoulda known. ---
**Author:** ![BippityBoppityBoo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bippityboppityboo/32/5745_2.png) [@BippityBoppityBoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BippityBoppityBoo)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2021, 6:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-dustbin-of-our-cultural-history/927703/454 "2021-01-21T06:39:23Z")
[DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)[Charter Member](https://boards.straightdope.com/g/Charter_Member) And I used to lick them and stick them, I shoulda known Just opened to this page and this was the only post showing. I’m a crusty old geezer but even I almost needed CPR. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2021, 6:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-dustbin-of-our-cultural-history/927703/455 "2021-01-21T06:48:13Z")
🤣 😂 😅 😆 😄 ---
**Author:** ![BippityBoppityBoo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bippityboppityboo/32/5745_2.png) [@BippityBoppityBoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BippityBoppityBoo)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2021, 6:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-dustbin-of-our-cultural-history/927703/456 "2021-01-21T06:52:13Z")
> [@BippityBoppityBoo](#): > > I’m a crusty old geezer but even I almost needed CPR. Perhaps _’crusty’_ was a poor choice of words on my part… ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2021, 10:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-dustbin-of-our-cultural-history/927703/457 "2021-01-21T10:40:14Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > Once in high school, the boys and girls had a class together and some guy said the girls should be skins. Of course, that was the totally ANSI-standard joke. We only had co-ed gym activities on days when it was raining outside and we all went inside the gym. For that, we didn’t even change into gym clothes except for tennis shoes, and they had activities like dance instruction or other co-ed activities that nobody ever liked. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2021, 10:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-dustbin-of-our-cultural-history/927703/458 "2021-01-21T10:44:33Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > And I used to lick them and stick them, I shoulda known. What you need to know about trading stamps (including slide show): [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/CmNkoRXFvGI/maxresdefault.jpg "Green Stamps (Green Eyes) - Allan Sherman") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CmNkoRXFvGI) ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2021, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-dustbin-of-our-cultural-history/927703/459 "2021-01-21T12:57:34Z")
> [@BippityBoppityBoo](#): > > [DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)[Charter Member](https://boards.straightdope.com/g/Charter_Member) > > And I used to lick them and stick them, I shoulda known > > Just opened to this page and this was the only post showing. > > I’m a crusty old geezer but even I almost needed CPR. Interesting. I don’t think that was deliberate on your part **Bipp** but you posted a link to @DrDeth’s profile and a separate link to the group “Charter Members”. There are but 381 of us Charter Members. Talk about an evolutionary bottleneck! The few, the proud, the {whatever year that was} True Believers! ---
**Author:** ![BippityBoppityBoo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bippityboppityboo/32/5745_2.png) [@BippityBoppityBoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BippityBoppityBoo)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2021, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-dustbin-of-our-cultural-history/927703/460 "2021-01-21T20:05:17Z")
Yeah, I messed that all up posting it. Mangled it thoroughly, tried to redeem it, hoping that benevolence on the reader’s part would let me slide, so as to not waste a straight line. I hate wasting straight lines. I’m a very johnny-come-lately to competing and my tech skills are mired back in the age of cursive. I couldn’t intentionally repeat that if I tried. Does _charter_ imply the group of 380+ originators of SDMB? You all started it lo some many years ago? That would be an exalted, elite group, indeed “the few, the proud”… If Discourse ever figures out how to allow it, if one paid a membership/registration fee, then I could become a _member_ vs. forever being a _guest_? I hate feeling like at any moment I’ll be uninvited and shown the door for using a fish fork on my salad. Can you tell I was always one of the last kids chosen to be on the kickball team? No talent at all. Enthusiasm, however, in spades. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2021, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-dustbin-of-our-cultural-history/927703/461 "2021-01-21T20:12:43Z")
> [@BippityBoppityBoo](#): > > Does _charter_ imply the group of 380+ originators of SDMB? You all started it lo some may years ago? That would be an exalted, elite group, indeed “the few, the proud”… No. Charter Members are those who paid for membership when the board went pay-to-post for several years during a financial crisis in 2004. They get a discounted membership and the title as long as as they continuously maintain their paid membership. They are an elite group, but not all of them were original members. The board has existed in its present form since 1999 (although with different software), but was preceded by another board on AOL. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-dustbin-of-our-cultural-history/927703.md?page=22) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-dustbin-of-our-cultural-history/927703.md?page=24)