# Say something that is true to a person in 1985 that will make you sound like a crazy person **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 20, 2022, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/say-something-that-is-true-to-a-person-in-1985-that-will-make-you-sound-like-a-crazy-person/968283 "2022-07-20T20:59:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 18
**Author:** ![Heracles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heracles/32/487_2.png) [@Heracles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Heracles)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2022, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/say-something-that-is-true-to-a-person-in-1985-that-will-make-you-sound-like-a-crazy-person/968283/341 "2022-08-29T01:24:34Z")
This one’s nice (post 340 by @Andy_L ). It would have been pretty hard to grok in 1985, especially with the non-gendered pronouns. ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2022, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/say-something-that-is-true-to-a-person-in-1985-that-will-make-you-sound-like-a-crazy-person/968283/342 "2022-08-29T01:40:49Z")
Thank you. ---
**Author:** ![Shalmanese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shalmanese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shalmanese)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2022, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/say-something-that-is-true-to-a-person-in-1985-that-will-make-you-sound-like-a-crazy-person/968283/343 "2022-08-29T01:48:22Z")
In 2022, the fastest flight you can take is slower than the fastest flight you can take in 1985. In 2022, the fastest flight you can take is slower than the fastest non-Concorde flight you can take in 1985. In 2022, the largest aeroplane in production is the Boeing 747. They will also be ending the production of the 747 next year and it’s likely we’ll never make a plane as big as the 747 ever again. 1985 is closer chronologically to the last time anyone has been on the moon than 2022. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2022, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/say-something-that-is-true-to-a-person-in-1985-that-will-make-you-sound-like-a-crazy-person/968283/344 "2022-08-29T02:21:22Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > The internet would not be a surprise, since it was already around. Most people in 1985 didn’t know what the “internet” was. The way it’s changed things would come as a lot of surprises. ---
**Author:** ![CaptMurdock](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/captmurdock/32/11736_2.png) [@CaptMurdock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CaptMurdock)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2022, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/say-something-that-is-true-to-a-person-in-1985-that-will-make-you-sound-like-a-crazy-person/968283/345 "2022-10-01T21:17:32Z")
And Sherlock Holmes was played by an American actor. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2022, 8:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/say-something-that-is-true-to-a-person-in-1985-that-will-make-you-sound-like-a-crazy-person/968283/346 "2022-10-02T08:35:12Z")
We are talking about casting roles—this kind of thing has been common all along. John Wayne as Genghis Khan, Dick Van Dyke as an Edwardian chimney sweep, etc. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2022, 8:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/say-something-that-is-true-to-a-person-in-1985-that-will-make-you-sound-like-a-crazy-person/968283/347 "2022-10-02T08:51:58Z")
Ralph Macchio and William Zabke just finished the fifth season of their wildly popular Netflix series _Cobra Kai_ in which they reprise their characters from the Karate Kid movies. In many places there are more stores selling the ingredients for a joint than stores selling the ingredients for a martini. And you know what? There’s not a seed in an ounce! ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2022, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/say-something-that-is-true-to-a-person-in-1985-that-will-make-you-sound-like-a-crazy-person/968283/348 "2022-10-02T13:44:33Z")
A millilitre of seawater typically contains millions of viruses, \>90% which cannot be classified into known types - of which there are more than 200,000 different ones - and very, very, very few which affect people at all. They thrive in the cold Arctic Ocean (once thought to be too cold) and in water 4000 feet below the surface and in Washington. _Yet none of them have orange hair._ (This bizarre fact, completely unexpected, was discovered after 1985 showing just how science knows about viruses, which might have been in the news more recently.) ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2022, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/say-something-that-is-true-to-a-person-in-1985-that-will-make-you-sound-like-a-crazy-person/968283/349 "2022-10-02T15:57:38Z")
Trees are communicating with each other via, among other means, the medium of fungi. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2022, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/say-something-that-is-true-to-a-person-in-1985-that-will-make-you-sound-like-a-crazy-person/968283/350 "2022-10-02T16:52:05Z")
> [@thorny\_locust](#): > > are communicating with each other via, among other means, the medium of fungi What’s this a reference to? ---
**Author:** ![Pardel-Lux](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pardel-lux/32/20182_2.png) [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2022, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/say-something-that-is-true-to-a-person-in-1985-that-will-make-you-sound-like-a-crazy-person/968283/351 "2022-10-02T16:55:25Z")
> [@Dr.Strangelove](#): > > What would be a shock is that Europe would couple their energy supply to Russia in the first place. But we did, and Ronald Reagan strongly opposed to that even before 1985. It was a thing in 1982, I am sure, I remember that year well. > [@Dr.Strangelove](#): > > That this would prove to be a strategic mistake would be highly _un_surprising to them, I think. I still mantain that this was no more crazy than the USA relying on Saudi Arabian oil. The surprising thing is that the Russians/Putin have turned out to be crazier than the Saudi Arabians, MBS included. ---
**Author:** ![Tibby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tibby/32/17030_2.png) [@Tibby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tibby)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2022, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/say-something-that-is-true-to-a-person-in-1985-that-will-make-you-sound-like-a-crazy-person/968283/352 "2022-10-02T17:03:18Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > > [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > > > The internet would not be a surprise, since it was already around. > > Most people in 1985 didn’t know what the “internet” was. The way it’s changed things would come as a lot of surprises. Indeed, in 1985 I believe most of us anticipated the Internet becoming a useful tool for information and eCommerce. We didn’t anticipate it causing a complete paradigm shift in social interaction. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2022, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/say-something-that-is-true-to-a-person-in-1985-that-will-make-you-sound-like-a-crazy-person/968283/353 "2022-10-02T17:10:01Z")
I dunno. In 1985 we had Compuserve, AOL, The Source, The Well, Usenet, and about a thousand multi-line chatboards. Most of the friends I had were already teleconferencing. Compuserve had forums very much like thenSDMB. Sure, it wasn’t universal like it is now, and hadn’t made huge changes to the culture yet, but it wouldn’t have been crazy in 1985 to hear that everyone was doing it in 2022. ---
**Author:** ![abcdefghij](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/43a26b/32.png) [@abcdefghij](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/abcdefghij)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2022, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/say-something-that-is-true-to-a-person-in-1985-that-will-make-you-sound-like-a-crazy-person/968283/354 "2022-10-02T17:14:27Z")
Who, in 1985, were even cognizant of an “internet”? AOL didn’t exist yet, and even when it did, it’s debatable whether it, CompuServe, or Prodigy were precursors to the Internet or obstacles to it. MiniTel, as cool as it was for its time, certainly delayed adoption of the “real” internet in France. ---
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2022, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/say-something-that-is-true-to-a-person-in-1985-that-will-make-you-sound-like-a-crazy-person/968283/355 "2022-10-02T17:25:11Z")
I wonder how old you were in 1985 and what line of work you were in/what you were studying? I was still in college in 1985 and was still using punch cards for my computer science class in 1984 or so - I don’t think I had even heard of Prodigy/AOL/Compuserve until around 1994. I absolutely would have thought someone was crazy to say in 1985 that everyone would be using the “internet” in 2022 - and they would have had to explain what “internet” meant. ---
**Author:** ![Tibby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tibby/32/17030_2.png) [@Tibby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tibby)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2022, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/say-something-that-is-true-to-a-person-in-1985-that-will-make-you-sound-like-a-crazy-person/968283/356 "2022-10-02T17:27:28Z")
True, but in the 80’s I’d spend maybe 30 minutes on AOL or CompuServe every day or two before getting bored. And I still used a phone or live meeting to interact with people. I think that was pretty typical. I would have been flabbergasted if you told me in 2022 the average internet user would spend 6 hours and 58 minutes online every day. > **[Internet Stats & Facts (2021)](https://websitesetup.org/news/internet-facts-stats/)** > > This is the definitive list of Internet, hosting, mobile, domain name, e-commerce and social media statistics for 2021. ---
**Author:** ![Pardel-Lux](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pardel-lux/32/20182_2.png) [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2022, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/say-something-that-is-true-to-a-person-in-1985-that-will-make-you-sound-like-a-crazy-person/968283/357 "2022-10-02T17:47:56Z")
Perhaps to this thread? > [@The Wood Wide Web](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-wood-wide-web/972551): > > I’m currently reading a serious and well researched book which makes the claim botanists have recently discovered that trees in a forest, not always of the same species, sometimes communicate with each other. I presume this means chemicals and subtle forms of signalling, but not interpretative dance, smoke signals or secret handshakes. This has been summarized as “the wood wide web”. Which seems a bit glib. Is there any truth to these claims? I know little of older botany and less of recent… ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2022, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/say-something-that-is-true-to-a-person-in-1985-that-will-make-you-sound-like-a-crazy-person/968283/358 "2022-10-02T18:05:24Z")
> [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](#): > > And you know what? There’s not a seed in an ounce! 🎶No stems no seeds that you don’t need, Acapulco Gold is _badass_ we-e-e-ed 🎶 Thank you for that trip down memory weed. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2022, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/say-something-that-is-true-to-a-person-in-1985-that-will-make-you-sound-like-a-crazy-person/968283/359 "2022-10-02T18:13:09Z")
> [@Dr\_Paprika](#): > > A millilitre of seawater typically contains millions of viruses, \>90% which cannot be classified into known types I, for one, welcome our old [viral overlords](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YI3tsmFsrOg). ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2022, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/say-something-that-is-true-to-a-person-in-1985-that-will-make-you-sound-like-a-crazy-person/968283/360 "2022-10-02T18:20:49Z")
> [@DKW](#): > > Mike Tyson will annihilate all comers en route to unifying the heavyweight championship. He will then have one shocking defeat, one fairly unpleasant scandal, and one embarrassing in-ring mental breakdown, and then he’ll go on a slow, boring decline and fade away with zero fanfare. Frankly that Mike Tyson rehabilitated his public image is something that would be shocking to people in 2005. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/say-something-that-is-true-to-a-person-in-1985-that-will-make-you-sound-like-a-crazy-person/968283.md?page=17) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/say-something-that-is-true-to-a-person-in-1985-that-will-make-you-sound-like-a-crazy-person/968283.md?page=19)