# The Things For Which Kids Today Have No Context (another list of how things have changed) **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 7, 2014, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-things-for-which-kids-today-have-no-context-another-list-of-how-things-have-changed/695035 "2014-08-07T14:43:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 14
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2014, 12:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-things-for-which-kids-today-have-no-context-another-list-of-how-things-have-changed/695035/261 "2014-08-09T12:49:55Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > Yes, and? That’s why kids are so baffled by headphones even though they’ve probably got dozens of pairs lying around the house. The cameraman hands them a pair and says, “Act like this is the craziest thing you’ve ever seen.” ---
**Author:** ![davida03801](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b5e925/32.png) [@davida03801](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davida03801)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2014, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-things-for-which-kids-today-have-no-context-another-list-of-how-things-have-changed/695035/262 "2014-08-09T12:59:17Z")
Growing up in a small town we could roam anywhere. A mile or so east to west and perhaps 1/2 a mile north and south. From the age of 7 to 8 or so me and my buddies would go out on a summer day do as we like, wherever. Come back for lunch, and head out again after lunch. These days kids lives are so much more structured, and parents keep a tab on them 24-7. A loss IMHO. ---
**Author:** ![Ranger\_Jeff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranger_jeff/32/2065_2.png) [@Ranger\_Jeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranger_Jeff)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2014, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-things-for-which-kids-today-have-no-context-another-list-of-how-things-have-changed/695035/263 "2014-08-09T13:02:31Z")
Besides the annual broadcast of “Wizard of Oz”, there was an annual broadcast of “Peter Pan” starring Mary Martin. Ed Sullivan Locally produced live children’s TV shows that local kids could appear on. The controversy when comic books went from 10¢ to 12¢ The 5¢ candy bar ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2014, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-things-for-which-kids-today-have-no-context-another-list-of-how-things-have-changed/695035/264 "2014-08-09T13:37:09Z")
> [@DChord568](#): > > I’m in a band that plays that circuit. Not Masons, but Elks/Eagles/Moose/VFW/American Legion. In the more outlying areas, these are basically drinking establishments, though I’m sure they do a few things related to fraternal or military endeavors. But in my experience, you don’t have to bring any such credentials in order to become a member. > > I don’t know that I’ve encountered too many 21-year-olds at these places, but I would say there are a fair number in the 30-45 demographic. It’s to get away from the 21 year olds trying to ruin their hearing. It’s the official place to go for the “get off my lawn” crowd. In my day we had good music like the Beatles and Led Zeppelin and we smoked our pot outside behind the dumpster. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2014, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-things-for-which-kids-today-have-no-context-another-list-of-how-things-have-changed/695035/265 "2014-08-09T13:40:52Z")
> [@Ranger\_Jeff](#): > > Besides the annual broadcast of “Wizard of Oz”… It was a huge deal to watch the WOZ when you got a color TV. The moment Dorothy steps out of her house was magical. This was back when TV shows were still made in B&W. ---
**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:** [August 9, 2014, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-things-for-which-kids-today-have-no-context-another-list-of-how-things-have-changed/695035/266 "2014-08-09T14:07:32Z")
> [@chappachula](#): > > yep! > A “trip-tik” was a long, thin booklet with spiral binding at the top, printed at your request by the AAA office. It was a very narrow map–basically just a strip,showing only your specific route and a few inches of map-space on either side of it.You flipped through the pages as you drove along the route… > > I never understood the purpose, since the exact same info was available on any regular map, with no limitation to just a specific route. AAA still does Trip-tiks, although they’re not long and slim and top-bound any more; plus they’re reprinted from Google maps. Trip-tiks also had hotel, gas and eating establishments designated at exits (I never saw that on a regular map) and they printed the distances on the side columns (how far you’ve come, how far you have to go), if you couldn’t make the next 125 miles you could look for a motel. I think certain “attractions” were also notated. Usually there were explanations on adjoining pages. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2014, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-things-for-which-kids-today-have-no-context-another-list-of-how-things-have-changed/695035/267 "2014-08-09T14:16:49Z")
Institutionalized racism and sexism, coded into law and organizational bylaws Leaded gasoline and the poisons that resulted City-blanketing smog Cars that were death traps and cheaply made, with a lack of safety equipment and glass that shattered into jagged edges upon breaking Having your favorite teacher quit because she got married or pregnant and was forced out because of it Measles, mumps, polio, tuberculosis The Cold War and threat of nuclear annihilation. Nowadays, we just make up impossible shit that can destroy civilization, (like zombies). Jello molds featuring fish and crab. Actually, just the general horribleness and blandness of food everywhere, with a lack of ethnic diversity. Housing shortages Lack of environmental/ecological awareness. CFC’s. DDT. A world in which there were more starving people than well-fed people. Nowadays, there are more obese people than there are starving people, a dramatic change from when I grew up. A world in which educational opportunities were very limited, except for those of us lucky enough to be born white and male. A world in which an African-American president was an impossibility. A world in which totalitarianism was the most common form of government. A world in which you, as a non-smoker, had to suffer in silence because of the acceptability of smoking. Hell, you were even expected to have ashtrays for your smoking guests, so they could smoke in your house even if you didn’t smoke yourself. A world in which food and housing cost vastly more, as a percentage of take-home pay, than today. Since 1950, the price of food has dropped **75%** (inflation adjusted.) ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2014, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-things-for-which-kids-today-have-no-context-another-list-of-how-things-have-changed/695035/268 "2014-08-09T14:36:58Z")
> [@Skammer](#): > > My niece is going of to college next week and I (jokingly) asked her if she had a message board for her dorm room door. “So when your friends come looking for you and you’re not there, they can leave a message that you’ll see when you get home.” I think she thought I made up that idea myself. On a cruise ship, cell phone usage is expensive - and you still use the message board method of communication with a group. ---
**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:** [August 9, 2014, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-things-for-which-kids-today-have-no-context-another-list-of-how-things-have-changed/695035/269 "2014-08-09T14:46:47Z")
> [@Ranger\_Jeff](#): > > Besides the annual broadcast of “Wizard of Oz”, there was an annual broadcast of “Peter Pan” starring Mary Martin. And the Rogers and Hammerstein musical of [Cinderella](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cinderella_(musical)#1965_version) ---
**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:** [August 9, 2014, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-things-for-which-kids-today-have-no-context-another-list-of-how-things-have-changed/695035/270 "2014-08-09T14:54:32Z")
Long distance driving before interstate highways. Central Maryland to northern Alabama took 22 hours in the mid-60s. Most recent time was 11.5 hours. ---
**Author:** ![DChord568](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@DChord568](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DChord568)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2014, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-things-for-which-kids-today-have-no-context-another-list-of-how-things-have-changed/695035/271 "2014-08-09T14:56:02Z")
> [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](#): > > AAA still does Trip-tiks, although they’re not long and slim and top-bound any more; plus they’re reprinted from Google maps. Trip-tiks also had hotel, gas and eating establishments designated at exits (I never saw that on a regular map) and they printed the distances on the side columns (how far you’ve come, how far you have to go), if you couldn’t make the next 125 miles you could look for a motel. I think certain “attractions” were also notated. Usually there were explanations on adjoining pages. Yes to all of this. You beat me to it. Trip-Tiks had far more information from a closer perspective than standard maps. You could easily focus on just a portion of your journey, and they weren’t unwieldy like a folded paper map. A good friend of mine retired about three years ago and then took a part-time job at AAA. When he came for a visit no more than a couple of years ago, he had a standard spiral-bound Trip-Tik with him. So I suspect they’ve been phased out at different rates depending on the individual AAA location. ---
**Author:** ![Ranger\_Jeff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranger_jeff/32/2065_2.png) [@Ranger\_Jeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranger_Jeff)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2014, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-things-for-which-kids-today-have-no-context-another-list-of-how-things-have-changed/695035/272 "2014-08-09T14:56:04Z")
Annette Funicello. ---
**Author:** ![Catamount](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/catamount/32/2840_2.png) [@Catamount](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Catamount)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2014, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-things-for-which-kids-today-have-no-context-another-list-of-how-things-have-changed/695035/273 "2014-08-09T16:59:48Z")
> [@chappachula](#): > > yep! > A “trip-tik” was a long, thin booklet with spiral binding at the top, printed at your request by the AAA office. It was a very narrow map–basically just a strip,showing only your specific route and a few inches of map-space on either side of it.You flipped through the pages as you drove along the route… > > I never understood the purpose, since the exact same info was available on any regular map, with no limitation to just a specific route. They still have those. I never see anyone under 65 using them, though. ---
**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:** [August 9, 2014, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-things-for-which-kids-today-have-no-context-another-list-of-how-things-have-changed/695035/274 "2014-08-09T17:03:25Z")
> [@SpazCat](#): > > They still have those. I never see anyone under 65 using them, though. Watch it! 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2014, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-things-for-which-kids-today-have-no-context-another-list-of-how-things-have-changed/695035/275 "2014-08-09T19:37:00Z")
Seeing a commercial for Flintstones vitamins yesterday, I wondered if the typical kid these days had ever even seen an episode of the Flintstones or knew of it beyond vitamins and breakfast cereals. I won’t even ask about The Honeymooners… ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2014, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-things-for-which-kids-today-have-no-context-another-list-of-how-things-have-changed/695035/276 "2014-08-09T19:42:22Z")
> [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](#): > > Long distance driving before interstate highways. Central Maryland to northern Alabama took 22 hours in the mid-60s. Most recent time was 11.5 hours. I’m in my late 50s, and I don’t even remember that! ---
**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:** [August 9, 2014, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-things-for-which-kids-today-have-no-context-another-list-of-how-things-have-changed/695035/277 "2014-08-09T20:14:03Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > I’m in my late 50s, and I don’t even remember that! Mid-50s, here. To be fair, there may have been some stretches of interstate on the MD to Alabama route, but Tennessee was I-free. 'bama, too. (1968 or -9) ---
**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:** [August 9, 2014, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-things-for-which-kids-today-have-no-context-another-list-of-how-things-have-changed/695035/278 "2014-08-09T20:25:40Z")
> [@Jophiel](#): > > Seeing a commercial for Flintstones vitamins yesterday, I wondered if the typical kid these days had ever even seen an episode of the Flintstones or knew of it beyond vitamins and breakfast cereals. > > I won’t even ask about The Honeymooners… I think they’re still on the Boomerang cable channel. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2014, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-things-for-which-kids-today-have-no-context-another-list-of-how-things-have-changed/695035/279 "2014-08-09T20:31:38Z")
> [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](#): > > Mid-50s, here. To be fair, there may have been some stretches of interstate on the MD to Alabama route, but Tennessee was I-free. 'bama, too. (1968 or -9) I-95 is one of the oldest interstate highways in the system. We drove up and down it quite a bit in the 60s. ---
**Author:** ![Arrendajo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Arrendajo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arrendajo)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2014, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-things-for-which-kids-today-have-no-context-another-list-of-how-things-have-changed/695035/280 "2014-08-09T20:59:44Z")
> [@lew\_cody](#): > > Color TV shows trumpeted as being in color. I remember my brother and me watching the NBC peacock logo on our old black & white TV and saying “That would look \*\*\*so cool \*\*\*in color.” It was a few years before we got a color set. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-things-for-which-kids-today-have-no-context-another-list-of-how-things-have-changed/695035.md?page=13) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-things-for-which-kids-today-have-no-context-another-list-of-how-things-have-changed/695035.md?page=15)