# 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:** 3
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2014, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-things-for-which-kids-today-have-no-context-another-list-of-how-things-have-changed/695035/41 "2014-08-07T17:23:59Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > Making popcorn in a pot or a special machine just for that purpose. The hippy parents where I live would be scandalized if you served kids microwave popcorn. Don’t you know that’s loaded with toxins? We make popcorn on the stovetop with a pot the way God intended. Actually, microwave popcorn really does suck compared with stovetop. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2014, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-things-for-which-kids-today-have-no-context-another-list-of-how-things-have-changed/695035/42 "2014-08-07T17:27:32Z")
> [@Shoeless](#): > > Also, second-run (dollar) theaters - do they still have those anywhere? Ours are long gone. “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? ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2014, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-things-for-which-kids-today-have-no-context-another-list-of-how-things-have-changed/695035/43 "2014-08-07T17:31:48Z")
> [@Lemur866](#): > > We make popcorn on the stovetop with a pot the way God intended. Actually, microwave popcorn really does suck compared with stovetop. True. Now to dig deep into my childhood- the old way of “going to the movies”. You didn’t care about times. You _went_. Once there (laden down with your own popcorn, candy etc, but never enough, never enough) You watched: The Main feature. A secondary B film. A serial. A newsreel. A cartoon. Played Bingo or checked your ticket for a door-prize. A sing-along maybe. Standing for The National Anthem. It took half a day. If you arrived in the middle of a film, you just sat and watched until the film played again, no biggie. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2014, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-things-for-which-kids-today-have-no-context-another-list-of-how-things-have-changed/695035/44 "2014-08-07T17:33:17Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > 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? Not ringing a bell, but now I’m intrigued. Can you be more descriptive? ETA: Aha! I see DrDeth figured it out. Usually saw those at the pharmacy for some reason. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2014, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-things-for-which-kids-today-have-no-context-another-list-of-how-things-have-changed/695035/45 "2014-08-07T17:33:34Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > 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? Tube-tester. Old TV’s (and radios" had smaller Tubes, which burned out. You brought your tubes in, tested them, bought replacements. ---
**Author:** ![zoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zoid/32/336_2.png) [@zoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoid)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2014, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-things-for-which-kids-today-have-no-context-another-list-of-how-things-have-changed/695035/46 "2014-08-07T17:35:43Z")
> [@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? [Tube tester?](https://www.google.com/search?q=tube+tester&num=20&newwindow=1&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=trjjU5GpF8WPyATE14K4Ag&ved=0CAkQ_AUoAg&biw=1600&bih=713#facrc=0%3Bgrocery%20store%20tube%20tester&imgdii=_&imgrc=_) ---
**Author:** ![DChord568](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@DChord568](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DChord568)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2014, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-things-for-which-kids-today-have-no-context-another-list-of-how-things-have-changed/695035/47 "2014-08-07T17:38:11Z")
I’m pretty sure the idea of “making change” by counting the coins and bills up to the amount tendered (as opposed to just looking at the cash register) would foreign to most kids today. And by extension, few would know what [this thingee](https://img0.etsystatic.com/000/0/5997988/il_570xN.244092936.jpg) is. ---
**Author:** ![Canadjun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/76d3ee/32.png) [@Canadjun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Canadjun)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2014, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-things-for-which-kids-today-have-no-context-another-list-of-how-things-have-changed/695035/48 "2014-08-07T17:39:32Z")
> [@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? Tube tester? (as in radio tubes - what came before transistors) ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim_r.mortiss/32/142_2.png) [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_R.Mortiss)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 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/695035/49 "2014-08-07T17:40:10Z")
Telling someone “you sound like a broken record!” ---
**Author:** ![Skammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skammer/32/143_2.png) [@Skammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skammer)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2014, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-things-for-which-kids-today-have-no-context-another-list-of-how-things-have-changed/695035/50 "2014-08-07T17:45:33Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Now to dig deep into my childhood- the old way of “going to the movies”. > > You didn’t care about times. You _went_. Once there (laden down with your own popcorn, candy etc, but never enough, never enough) You watched: The Main feature. A secondary B film. A serial. A newsreel. A cartoon. Played Bingo or checked your ticket for a door-prize. A sing-along maybe. Standing for The National Anthem. It took half a day. If you arrived in the middle of a film, you just sat and watched until the film played again, no biggie. I’m 45 and that is all way before _my_ time. Although, when I was a teen and wanted to go to the movies, we’d have to go to the newspaper and find the entertainment section where the local theaters would have ads announcing what movies were playing and at what times. The largest theaters might have as many as three or four screens! Also it wasn’t so long ago that if you were driving somewhere with people in more than one vehicle, you had to plan out where you would meet or stop along the way. If you got separated on the road without a designated meeting place, you probably wouldn’t see them again until you all arrived at your final destination. And if you were in a caravan and someone had to stop to pee or get gas, you had to pull up beside the others on the highway and make complicated hand motions to signal that you were getting off at the next exit. ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2014, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-things-for-which-kids-today-have-no-context-another-list-of-how-things-have-changed/695035/51 "2014-08-07T17:46:20Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > 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? About when did you see this thingy? Could it have been a tester for vacuum tubes? Back To The OP I love theremins. A theremin, on the chance some of you don’t know, is a musical instrument played by moving your hand close to two antennae without actually touching them. I use to explain their workings by saying “It’s like how you can make the television signal stronger by putting your hand close to the antenna without touching it.” Then, all the kids got cable. So, I switched to using a radio antenna as an explanation. Now, all the kids have Sirius and iPods. Other stuff Playing a home console with only one joystick and only one button. 3 D movies being in black and white and requiring red and blue lenses. Having a game for your home console but still wanting to play at the arcade because the arcade machine had much better sound and graphics. (Since home technology has finally caught up with arcade machines, I expect arcades to go back to air hockey, pinball, and shooting games.) ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2014, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-things-for-which-kids-today-have-no-context-another-list-of-how-things-have-changed/695035/52 "2014-08-07T17:49:39Z")
Going to your friends’ houses to see if they were home and could come out and play. Now, parents are expected to call first, or even make “play dates.” My son does sometimes just go knock on doors of people in our building, but sometimes when we’re outside, and he wants someone to come out, and I’m there with him, he doesn’t want to run in and knock on the door, he wants me to use my phone to call and see if the other kid can come out. Also, my son has so far never stood in line more than three people deep to see a movie. I remember standing regularly in lines that went around the block. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2014, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-things-for-which-kids-today-have-no-context-another-list-of-how-things-have-changed/695035/53 "2014-08-07T17:49:59Z")
Or, it _could_ be a tube tester.😛 ---
**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 7, 2014, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-things-for-which-kids-today-have-no-context-another-list-of-how-things-have-changed/695035/54 "2014-08-07T17:50:20Z")
> [@mhendo](#): > > In addition, the idea that you can’t just click to start at the beginning of whatever song you want. Remember the days of fast-forwarding and rewinding cassettes, trying to find the exact right spot on the tape for the song that you wanted to hear? I remember when I first encountered cassette players that would automatically _fast-forward to the beginning of the next song_. Magic! > [@Jophiel](#): > > TV Guides as a magazine or newspaper listing. > > Which you needed because you had one chance to watch what you wanted to watch and would have to decide if you were going to watch Program A, Program B or go out that evening 'cause you sure weren’t doing more than one. And when the new one came in the mail, you’d look through it to see if there were going to be any specials on next week you’d want to be sure to watch. > [@raspberry\_hunter](#): > > Also recently we had the book about carefully counting how many exposures on a roll of film the main character has left Once in a while, when I’m taking pictures I still have to remind myself not to worry about “wasting film.” I remember when, if you wanted a new computer game, you had to _type it in yourself_, out of a magazine. ---
**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 7, 2014, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-things-for-which-kids-today-have-no-context-another-list-of-how-things-have-changed/695035/55 "2014-08-07T17:53:23Z")
I remember when there was no such thing as a computer game. ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2014, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-things-for-which-kids-today-have-no-context-another-list-of-how-things-have-changed/695035/56 "2014-08-07T17:58:59Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > I remember when there was no such thing as a computer game. I remember sitting on my father’s lap playing Adventure and a version of Animal, Vegetable, Mineral he programmed. I still have that computer. On top of it is new fangled gizmo that plays 20 questions and fits in my palm. I remember when only people who were very rich or very important had mobile phones. I remember there being a thriving market in fake IDs. (I’m assuming with all the holograms and stuff it’s much more difficult and costly to fake an ID these days) ---
**Author:** ![psychobunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/54ee81/32.png) [@psychobunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychobunny)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2014, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-things-for-which-kids-today-have-no-context-another-list-of-how-things-have-changed/695035/57 "2014-08-07T18:05:20Z")
> [@](#): > > And when the new one came in the mail, you’d look through it to see if there were going to be any specials on next week you’d want to be sure to watch. Ok, I’ll admit I still do this. I may be the only person left with a subscription to TV Guide. Otherwise, how do you know if there’s a new show starting or a special you might want to watch? It would take hours to scroll through the TV Guide online with all their pop-ups and I refuse to go to every channel and review an entire week. So, once a week I sit down with the TV Guide, flip through the prime-time listings, and see if there is anything new that I find interesting. (Recently, for example, I watched a history detectives on Glenn Miller’s disappearance that I would never have known was on otherwise) (I know that a lot of cable companies recommend shows that you “might like” but this seems limiting. It reminds me of when I was a child and the librarian would say “What kinds of books do you like to read?” “Um-all of them? Whatever looks interesting at the moment? Seriously, can I just browse the shelves and pick something?”) All of the above of course has nothing at all to do with the fact that I only have basic cable, so there is actually no online TV Guide, not to mention that I still tape everything on VHS and watch it later, although I promise to get a DVR just as soon as I get caught up watching the shows I’ve already taped-I believe I am almost up to August, 2012. ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2014, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-things-for-which-kids-today-have-no-context-another-list-of-how-things-have-changed/695035/58 "2014-08-07T18:08:22Z")
Knowing what the word “dial” means, in terms of entering a phone number, tuning a radio station, or seeing what time it is. ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2014, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-things-for-which-kids-today-have-no-context-another-list-of-how-things-have-changed/695035/59 "2014-08-07T18:11:26Z")
Replicative Fading It used to be that you’d tape a song or a movie or xerox an image and give it to a friend. They would make a copy and give it to a friend- and so on. Each copy of a copy would have new errors and defects. Burning a song to a CD is digital. So every copy is just as good as the original. This works for copying MP3s too. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2014, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-things-for-which-kids-today-have-no-context-another-list-of-how-things-have-changed/695035/60 "2014-08-07T18:13:03Z")
Yes to all, it was in fact a tube tester. I do not recall ever seeing anyone use it. I was six or seven years old when my dad finally decided to buy a television set. A couple years later, at a friend’s house, I first saw _the Flintstones_ in color. Later, when I saw _Star Trek_ in color, I thought, how garish. [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=2) [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=4)