# 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:** 17
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2014, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-things-for-which-kids-today-have-no-context-another-list-of-how-things-have-changed/695035/321 "2014-08-11T16:27:40Z")
> [@Tremblay](#): > > I browsed the thread-- and sorry if I missed this one- but people who bagged at the grocery stores that were not cashiers. I’m not sure if any grocery stores have people who bag anymore! > > I’m not that old yet (under 30), and I was trying to explain to the young cashier at my local grocery store how there was a person besides the cashier who bagged groceries. He was amazed there was such a job. Separate baggers are alive and well at Western-style grocery stores in Thailand. ---
**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:** [August 11, 2014, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-things-for-which-kids-today-have-no-context-another-list-of-how-things-have-changed/695035/322 "2014-08-11T16:39:03Z")
> [@Tremblay](#): > > I browsed the thread-- and sorry if I missed this one- but people who bagged at the grocery stores that were not cashiers. I’m not sure if any grocery stores have people who bag anymore! > > I’m not that old yet (under 30), and I was trying to explain to the young cashier at my local grocery store how there was a person besides the cashier who bagged groceries. He was amazed there was such a job. We have that at our grocery stores in the greater seattle area. ---
**Author:** ![Mister\_Rik](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mister_rik/32/491_2.png) [@Mister\_Rik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Rik)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2014, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-things-for-which-kids-today-have-no-context-another-list-of-how-things-have-changed/695035/323 "2014-08-11T16:52:38Z")
> [@Procrustus](#): > > We have that at our grocery stores in the greater seattle area. Yup, still plenty of Courtesy Clerks at Safeway. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2014, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-things-for-which-kids-today-have-no-context-another-list-of-how-things-have-changed/695035/324 "2014-08-11T16:52:53Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > I’m a bit disappointed Seth MacFarlane’s proposed remake of _The Flinstones_ never got past the script stage. Seth MacFarlane?:eek: He would have shit over it so bad that there would be a new highest mountain of poop.:mad: ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2014, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-things-for-which-kids-today-have-no-context-another-list-of-how-things-have-changed/695035/325 "2014-08-11T16:54:19Z")
> [@Tremblay](#): > > I browsed the thread-- and sorry if I missed this one- but people who bagged at the grocery stores that were not cashiers. I’m not sure if any grocery stores have people who bag anymore! > > I’m not that old yet (under 30), and I was trying to explain to the young cashier at my local grocery store how there was a person besides the cashier who bagged groceries. He was amazed there was such a job. Baggers work in Atlanta area Kroger. They may be people who can switch to running a cash register, though there are several at my Kroger whom I have never seen running a cash register. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2014, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-things-for-which-kids-today-have-no-context-another-list-of-how-things-have-changed/695035/326 "2014-08-11T16:56:37Z")
> [@marshmallow](#): > > The idea that using the shiny new graphing calculator is cheating. > > There was a black and white device called a newspaper that would be delivered to your house, sometimes by a child on a bicycle. It had all sorts of stuff smashed together, like news, stock prices, lame comics, sports stats, advice columns, political editorials, crossword puzzles and advertisements/coupons, etc. > > . The idea that using a \*calculator \*was cheating. There still is. ---
**Author:** ![Tremblay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e56c9b/32.png) [@Tremblay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tremblay)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 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/695035/327 "2014-08-11T16:59:59Z")
> [@Procrustus](#): > > We have that at our grocery stores in the greater seattle area. > [@Mister\_Rik](#): > > Yup, still plenty of Courtesy Clerks at Safeway. Thank you for the clarification. I did not know that. ---
**Author:** ![Tremblay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e56c9b/32.png) [@Tremblay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tremblay)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2014, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-things-for-which-kids-today-have-no-context-another-list-of-how-things-have-changed/695035/328 "2014-08-11T17:04:58Z")
> [@Evil\_Captor](#): > > Baggers work in Atlanta area Kroger. They may be people who can switch to running a cash register, though there are several at my Kroger whom I have never seen running a cash register. Giant Eagle is in my area (and I think they are somehow tied with Kroger) and the cashiers both ring and bag. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2014, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-things-for-which-kids-today-have-no-context-another-list-of-how-things-have-changed/695035/329 "2014-08-11T17:06:13Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > The idea that using a \*calculator \*was cheating. > > There still is. It _is_ cheating, if you’re using it to perform functions on which you’re being tested. Using it to multiply conversion factors sample weights and other numbers on a high school chemistry exam? OK. You’re being tested on your knowledge of chemistry, not your ability to multiply a series of five-digit numbers. Using it to come up with derivatives of polynomials during a calculus exam? Not OK. ---
**Author:** ![etv78](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d78d45/32.png) [@etv78](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/etv78)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2014, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-things-for-which-kids-today-have-no-context-another-list-of-how-things-have-changed/695035/330 "2014-08-11T17:14:49Z")
My Boston area Shaw’s has baggers. I don’t know what gives you the idea baggers don’t exist anymore. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2014, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-things-for-which-kids-today-have-no-context-another-list-of-how-things-have-changed/695035/331 "2014-08-11T17:17:43Z")
> [@njtt](#): > > Are you under the impression these are obsolete? I bought a new one a couple of months ago. There were a wide selection available. Yep, clock radios are still a common thing; but it’s been a while since I’ve seen an _analog_ clock radio, like I had growing up. ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2014, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-things-for-which-kids-today-have-no-context-another-list-of-how-things-have-changed/695035/332 "2014-08-11T17:40:07Z")
> [@etv78](#): > > My Boston area Shaw’s has baggers. I don’t know what gives you the idea baggers don’t exist anymore. No doubt it’s simply different in the region he lives in, and separate baggers are rare or nonexistent there. ---
**Author:** ![Mister\_Rik](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mister_rik/32/491_2.png) [@Mister\_Rik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Rik)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2014, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-things-for-which-kids-today-have-no-context-another-list-of-how-things-have-changed/695035/333 "2014-08-11T19:05:01Z")
> [@Revtim](#): > > No doubt it’s simply different in the region he lives in, and separate baggers are rare or nonexistent there. I wonder if it’s a union vs. non-union thing. Safeway is a union shop, and maybe the union requires them to keep the position around. (FTR, I worked for Safeway, briefly, as a Courtesy Clerk in 1985). Outside of Safeway, I have no idea which chains are and are not union; I suspect that many independent grocers are non-union. ---
**Author:** ![Kimballkid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b5a626/32.png) [@Kimballkid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimballkid)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2014, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-things-for-which-kids-today-have-no-context-another-list-of-how-things-have-changed/695035/334 "2014-08-11T19:29:53Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > What? > > Headlights are controlled on one of the two arms protruding from the steering column. > > Back in the day there was a knob somewhere on the dashboard, and as mentioned, some cars had the “bright” switch on the left floor, along with the manual windshield washer pump. I didn’t realize 2012 was ‘back in the day’. You really need to broaden your database of cars. Not all are like you describe. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2014, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-things-for-which-kids-today-have-no-context-another-list-of-how-things-have-changed/695035/335 "2014-08-11T19:49:06Z")
> [@marshmallow](#): > > There was a black and white device called a newspaper that would be delivered to your house, sometimes by a child on a bicycle. It had all sorts of stuff smashed together, like news, stock prices, lame comics, sports stats, advice columns, political editorials, crossword puzzles and advertisements/coupons, etc. > [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > I’d wager that few people under _ **29** _ have seen teenagers delivering newspapers on a bike. Hey, I remember seeing those in a video game. You had to control a kid on a bike and make him throw those whaddyacallum? Newspapers? It was called… Wait, I’ll remember. Oh yeah. Paperboy. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2014, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-things-for-which-kids-today-have-no-context-another-list-of-how-things-have-changed/695035/336 "2014-08-11T19:57:21Z")
> [@Folacin](#): > > For some period time (mid to late 1970’s), one of the chain stations (I think Conoco) had pumps with a selector dial where you could get 5 or maybe 6 different octanes. I assume it was just mixing the high/low octane gas - I imagine it didn’t last long because how many people knew exactly which octane their car would run the best on? I’ve seen that relatively recently (in the past 5 years or so) in some QuikTrip gas stations (I think; maybe it was RaceTrac)- I got the impression they had 3 tanks- 87,89 and 93, and then mixed the others 50/50, since their grades were 87,88,89,91 and 93. ---
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2014, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-things-for-which-kids-today-have-no-context-another-list-of-how-things-have-changed/695035/337 "2014-08-11T20:35:06Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > Yep, clock radios are still a common thing; but it’s been a while since I’ve seen an _analog_ clock radio, like I had growing up. Were they ever popular? I sure remember analog alarm clocks, but I only remember ever seeing one with a radio. ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2014, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-things-for-which-kids-today-have-no-context-another-list-of-how-things-have-changed/695035/338 "2014-08-12T00:08:09Z")
Slide rules. ---
**Author:** ![Digital\_is\_the\_new\_Analog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a88e4f/32.png) [@Digital\_is\_the\_new\_Analog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Digital_is_the_new_Analog)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2014, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-things-for-which-kids-today-have-no-context-another-list-of-how-things-have-changed/695035/339 "2014-08-12T02:11:22Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > Yep, clock radios are still a common thing; but it’s been a while since I’ve seen an _analog_ clock radio, like I had growing up. Well, you know what they say about analog… On Topic…um…car radios that work without the key? My Dad’s VW Bug was like that. I was just a kid, so I don’t know how common that was. I remember we used to sneak into the car after he got home from work so we could listen to the radio. ---
**Author:** ![sinjin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ebca7d/32.png) [@sinjin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sinjin)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2014, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-things-for-which-kids-today-have-no-context-another-list-of-how-things-have-changed/695035/340 "2014-08-12T02:56:08Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > “Second-run” now can mean three or four weeks after release. We found such a place near here where we were able to see a movie less than a month old for $2.50. > > One thing that I never fully grasped as a young-un was that console-thingy at the front wall of the grocery store that had a bunch of various patterns of small holes in it. Anyone remember those or have any idea what I mean? It was to test your tubes. [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=16) [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=18)