# the best things in life are old school **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 6, 2013, 6:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-things-in-life-are-old-school/652168 "2013-03-06T06:49:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2013, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-things-in-life-are-old-school/652168/61 "2013-03-09T00:30:03Z")
Snookers. The “stiff upper lip” Old-style beatings. -A shot and a beer for $0.25 -Polio epidemics -Cholera -Fallout shelters -Edsel sedans ---
**Author:** ![toofs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/4491bb/32.png) [@toofs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/toofs)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2013, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-things-in-life-are-old-school/652168/62 "2013-03-09T21:53:12Z")
> [@ralph124c](#): > > Snookers. > The “stiff upper lip” > Old-style beatings. > -A shot and a beer for $0.25 > -Polio epidemics > -Cholera > -Fallout shelters > -Edsel sedans Well, then. -Thalidomide. -Quaaludes. -Chicken pox. -Unfiltered cigarettes. -Honor killings. -Leaded gasoline. -Leaded paint. -Cast lead bullets. -Anything with old school lead. -Hydroelectric dam projects. -Colonialism. ---
**Author:** ![owlfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ac8455/32.png) [@owlfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/owlfan)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2013, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-things-in-life-are-old-school/652168/63 "2013-03-09T22:12:05Z")
Running around after dark playing hide and seek with the neighbor kids. We would hide behind garages and bushes and no one called the police. ---
**Author:** ![JBDivmstr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b4bc9f/32.png) [@JBDivmstr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JBDivmstr)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2013, 7:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-things-in-life-are-old-school/652168/64 "2013-04-22T07:50:54Z")
Drive-in movie theaters (although, those seem to be making a somewhat limited ‘comeback’, around these parts) Drive-in burger joints, where the waitresses were all young, pretty girls, on roller skates 6 oz. Coke in glass bottles, that only cost 5 cents hearing the ‘air raid’ siren at the local fire house go off, every Friday at noon boys bicycles with ‘ape hanger’ handle bars, ‘banana’ seats and ‘sissy’ bars ---
**Author:** ![6ImpossibleThingsB4Breakfast](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/6/e19adc/32.png) [@6ImpossibleThingsB4Breakfast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/6ImpossibleThingsB4Breakfast)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2013, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-things-in-life-are-old-school/652168/65 "2013-04-22T13:10:09Z")
Service station attendants who filled your car, checked your oil and water and washed your windscreen. A bag of mixed lollies that was bigger than your head and cost 20c. Wearing you best clothes to go into the city. Local bus drivers and shop keepers who knew who you were and where you lived. Milk deliveries. Parents who let you do stuff kids should do even if you occasionally hurt yourself. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2013, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-things-in-life-are-old-school/652168/66 "2013-04-22T13:59:23Z")
For my contribution to this thread I’d like to point to a similar one from late 2011 that had a similar purpose: [For Geezers Only](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=629169) which had 133 posts that might be worth a look. ---
**Author:** ![Dragwyr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dragwyr/32/2855_2.png) [@Dragwyr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dragwyr)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2013, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-things-in-life-are-old-school/652168/67 "2013-04-22T19:06:06Z")
> [@BMalion](#): > > Amen! > > Also, Saturday morning cartoons. Yes! Especially Underdog, Scooby Doo, and Johnny Quest! How about “old school late night”: Johnny Carson. The man was a legend and practically defined late night TV. ---
**Author:** ![MsJinx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/278dde/32.png) [@MsJinx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsJinx)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2013, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-things-in-life-are-old-school/652168/68 "2013-04-22T19:27:48Z")
Screen doors - the creak when opening, the bounce when closing. Front porch swings (my mom still has one) the clack of a manual (or even old electric) typewriter ---
**Author:** ![Kevbo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e47774/32.png) [@Kevbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kevbo)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2013, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-things-in-life-are-old-school/652168/69 "2013-04-22T21:54:40Z")
Kids riding their bikes places. Model airplanes running on glow fuel, flown in the school yard, and when people heard them they knew it was the sound of kids staying out of trouble, and didn’t call the police to enforce a noise ordinance. Bultaco and Hodaka dirt bikes. Can-Ams too…when 6" of suspension travel was considered a lot. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2013, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-things-in-life-are-old-school/652168/70 "2013-04-23T00:02:01Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > Butcher shops. > > Bakeries. > > Making popcorn over a fire. Not too long ago I made popcorn over a fire, in a pan with oil and everything, for some kids, to keep them entertained while their dad worked on my computer. They were amazed. _“How did you DO that?”_ They may never have seen popcorn popped in other than paper bags in the microwave. ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2013, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-things-in-life-are-old-school/652168/71 "2013-04-23T00:22:33Z")
Television shows that you had to be there when it aired, or you missed it. Columbia House Record Club, “Eleven for a Penny!!” “Call and let it ring once when you get home.” AM radio that played great Top 40 hits. Playing baseball until you couldn’t see the ball any more. The corner drug store that smelled like office supplies and you could get the latest Mad Magazine for 35 cents (cheap). mmm ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2013, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-things-in-life-are-old-school/652168/72 "2013-04-23T01:19:05Z")
> [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](#): > > … > > The corner drug store that smelled like office supplies and you could get the latest Mad Magazine for 35 cents (cheap). > mmm By the usual gang of idiots. ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2013, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-things-in-life-are-old-school/652168/73 "2013-04-23T01:31:35Z")
> [@6ImpossibleThingsB4Breakfast](#): > > Service station attendants who filled your car, checked your oil and water and washed your windscreen. You know those guys wore rings with blades in the palm-side? “Hey lady, you won’t get far with these belts. And these wiper blades are shot!” ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2013, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-things-in-life-are-old-school/652168/74 "2013-04-23T14:36:51Z")
Corningware and Pyrex. ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2013, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-things-in-life-are-old-school/652168/75 "2013-04-23T15:03:48Z")
Cooking on a grill that uses real charcoal. Reading a book made with paper. Hanging clothes to dry on the clothesline. ---
**Author:** ![Qwakkeddup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/90ced4/32.png) [@Qwakkeddup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qwakkeddup)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2013, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-things-in-life-are-old-school/652168/76 "2013-04-23T15:19:37Z")
Friends crawling through and exploring the woods. Playing all day getting dirty, scratched and bruised but not minding at all. Mom, after your bath, checking you over from head to toe for ticks, and putting calamine lotion on the poison ivy. Falling asleep on the couch with your feet in the air, and your head hanging upside down, that prompts Mom or Dad to get out the camera and take a picture to show you when your 20 odd years old. Going outside, after a blizzard, with a shovel in hand, vowing to find the car. Under 3-4 feet of snow. Actually finding the car, and digging it out enough to impress your Dad. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2013, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-things-in-life-are-old-school/652168/77 "2013-04-23T15:33:09Z")
Burning leaves in the fall. Double features of ‘50s Sci-Fi, separated by newsreels and cartoons . . . all for a quarter. Four shopping bags of Halloween candy; no fear of razor blades. Putting a penny on the record player arm so it won’t skip. Roasting a Thanksgiving turkey in a paper bag, filling the house with delicious smoke. Finding Indian head pennies, buffalo nickels and mercury dimes in change. Barbers rubbing Lilac Vegetal in your hair. Women dressing up to go shopping downtown (heels, gloves, hats with veils, etc.). People dressing up to travel in a plane. Watching Twilight Zone when it first aired, thinking we’d never see them again. Dime stores. With lunch counters. NYC subway cars with wicker seats. NYC automats. ---
**Author:** ![Kimballkid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b5a626/32.png) [@Kimballkid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimballkid)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2013, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-things-in-life-are-old-school/652168/78 "2013-04-23T20:12:32Z")
> [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](#): > > AM radio that played great Top 40 hits. Getting far away radio stations on the car radio late at night. > [@Qwakkeddup](#): > > Going outside, after a blizzard, with a shovel in hand, Going around shoveling other people’s walks, mowing their lawns or raking their leaves to earn some spending money. ---
**Author:** ![Obnoxious\_Hood\_Ornament](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/3be4f8/32.png) [@Obnoxious\_Hood\_Ornament](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Obnoxious_Hood_Ornament)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2013, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-things-in-life-are-old-school/652168/79 "2013-04-23T20:51:03Z")
- Giant monster movies with two guys in rubber suits grappling over a scale model of Tokyo. - Old video games. I’m talking freaking old: giant pixels, and arppreggiated sound effects to make your ears buzz. - Glam Sci-fi. Starbuck was a man. Full stop. ---
**Author:** ![handsomeharry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9c0ed/32.png) [@handsomeharry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handsomeharry)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2013, 9:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-things-in-life-are-old-school/652168/80 "2013-04-25T09:08:47Z")
Women wearing white gloves and hats to church. Gigantic polystyrene and chrome steering wheels in cars. Bench front seats in cars. Googie architecture. Three piece suits for men. Mini juke boxes (at each table) in diners. Home milk deliveries. Elevators with gates and operators for same. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-things-in-life-are-old-school/652168.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-things-in-life-are-old-school/652168.md?page=5)