# Things that are telling-- about your age. **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 12, 2002, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-telling-about-your-age/113716 "2002-06-12T20:50:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Michael\_Ellis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/977dab/32.png) [@Michael\_Ellis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Michael_Ellis)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2002, 6:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-telling-about-your-age/113716/61 "2002-06-14T06:38:44Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Fionn \* > \*\*I realized I couldn’t remember a time before cable. I remember watching “You Can’t Do That on Television” on Nickleodeon when I was 6. \*\* I remember that show, I around that age when it was on. 1989, I think. I remember the days when MS-DOS 4.0 was state of the art. The first computer I used was a Compaq DeskSomething with no hard drive, monochrome screen, two 5.25" floppie drives and an 8086 processor. I also remember Betamax cassettes, I was still using them up until 1996, then my Beta VCR broke down. I still listen to LPs, and I remember when they were still available on those TV music product commericals. ---
**Author:** ![Lure](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ba8739/32.png) [@Lure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lure)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2002, 7:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-telling-about-your-age/113716/62 "2002-06-14T07:03:57Z")
The thing that reminds me I’ve got a few miles on is when people discuss history that were "current events"in JHS.in the National Scholastic paper.Is that still printed?Listening to Billy Joel’s “We didn’t start the fire”-and remembering every event like it was in last weeks Newsweek. I even volunteered for "trouble in the Suez"while in the Navy-and most people don’t even know what it was.Not the sort of war story you can hand down to the ensuing generations.Remembering when war stories were a source of pride to the men that told them,and we as kids admired them for it. Fibber Mcgee & Molly The Quiz kids Rationing Dinosaurs Rocks The big bang This is depressing– I’m not as good as I once was But I’m as good once as I ever was :)🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Atreyu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5e9695/32.png) [@Atreyu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atreyu)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2002, 8:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-telling-about-your-age/113716/63 "2002-06-14T08:26:46Z")
Leave it to a kid to be the first person to make me feel old. A number of years ago, I sold my old Atari 520ST computer to a 12-year-old kid that was the son of one of my mom’s friend. I also included all of the programs and games as well. Somehow the conversation got onto the subject of video games, and I mentioned that the very first video game I remembered playing was “Pong.” (I was born in 1973, and my parents had it.) The kid looks at me, and with a completely blank look says, “What’s Pong”? I could’ve shot him. [sub]He had never heard of the Atari 2600 either.[/sub] ---
**Author:** ![Nightime](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/e9c0ed/32.png) [@Nightime](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nightime)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2002, 10:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-telling-about-your-age/113716/64 "2002-06-14T10:04:42Z")
> [@](#): > > I was talking to a pal of mine about typing my college papers on a manual typewriter. I typed my college papers on a typewriter too. Last year. Am I the last person to get a computer? ---
**Author:** ![Fern\_Forest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/71c47a/32.png) [@Fern\_Forest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fern_Forest)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2002, 10:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-telling-about-your-age/113716/65 "2002-06-14T10:48:23Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Fionn \* > \*\*I realized I couldn’t remember a time before cable. I remember watching “You Can’t Do That on Television” on Nickleodeon when I was 6. \*\* I remember when Nickelodeon was Caliope and I can still sing the song "One potato, two potato, three potato, four, when you watch Caliope there’s a whole world to explore. Five potato, six potato, seven potato, eight Caliope’s for kids like me. It’s neat. It’s fun. It’s Great." I also remember Playboy coming to cable, altough I wasn’t allowed to watch although I may have managed to sneak a peak in the middle of the night although I was too young to do anything about it. I remember when my high school hooked up to all the high schools across the state and you could sit and chat with other kids. I also know I was the only kid at my school who got it. The Pecos Kid from 1991. I also remember going to school one day and EVERYONE was talking about The Beastie Boys. I mostly didn’t watch TV back then (except for Robotech, Dallas and Knots Landing(85-86)) so I had no idea what they were so excited about. ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21906_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2002, 11:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-telling-about-your-age/113716/66 "2002-06-14T11:05:04Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Octavia Smythe-Bunion I. Esq. \* > \*\*_Tie a yellow ribbon round the old oak tree…_ I believe that’s a WWII song (possibly earlier), but they were playing it on the radio in my area the day they released the hostages. I remember getting on my bike and going around the block and seeing yellow crepe paper and ribbons tied to trees. > \*\* Actually, it was written in 1973, and recorded by Tony Orlando and Dawn. It was about a guy returning from prison, and it became the anthem of the hostages. ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21906_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2002, 11:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-telling-about-your-age/113716/67 "2002-06-14T11:07:13Z")
yoiks, I read right past **lel** ’s link. Never mind… :o ---
**Author:** ![Fern\_Forest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/71c47a/32.png) [@Fern\_Forest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fern_Forest)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2002, 11:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-telling-about-your-age/113716/68 "2002-06-14T11:27:35Z")
I know who Luka is and where she lives. I even know what’s going on. ---
**Author:** ![EchoKitty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f4b2a3/32.png) [@EchoKitty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EchoKitty)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2002, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-telling-about-your-age/113716/69 "2002-06-14T12:51:14Z")
I remember seeing the Beatles live on Ed Sullivan…possibly the greatest moment of my life! Do they still have “filmstrips” in school? Those machines that copied stuff for hand-outs in school…Mimeograph (the ones with the purple text)? Dick, Jane, and Sally…are they still around? Cash registers that didn’t figure out the change for you. And writing down the customer’s order at McDonald’s. ---
**Author:** ![Squish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8797f3/32.png) [@Squish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squish)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2002, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-telling-about-your-age/113716/70 "2002-06-14T13:40:41Z")
Ooooh, the smell of fresh mimeograph ink! I had a MIA/POW bracelet when I was 11 or 12. School was dismissed and we were all sent home when the news broke that Martin Luther King, Jr. was shot. ---
**Author:** ![Osbie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/cdc98d/32.png) [@Osbie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Osbie)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2002, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-telling-about-your-age/113716/71 "2002-06-14T15:28:27Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Squish \* > \*\*School was dismissed and we were all sent home when the news broke that Martin Luther King, Jr. was shot. \*\* Really? They sent you home? That’s interesting. Was this a nationwide thing, I wonder? ---
**Author:** ![gex\_gex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/94ad74/32.png) [@gex\_gex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gex_gex)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2002, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-telling-about-your-age/113716/72 "2002-06-14T15:55:33Z")
What’s with the whole ‘kids don’t know what vinyl is’ bit? i’m eighteen. i know what a record player is. my dad has one. i own records (ok, i’m special in this regard). but how do these kids not know what rekkids are? what do they think djs are spinning when they make all them scratching sounds. anyone who gets this question from youthful idiots, direct them to a linkin park video, and ask them what the dj is doing. sheesh! and my personal contribution: **kids these days just aren’t into nirvana!** what the fuck is with that? nirvana is the ultimate in teenage cool! what is this limp bizkit shit? smells like teen spirit, man! ---
**Author:** ![EchoKitty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f4b2a3/32.png) [@EchoKitty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EchoKitty)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2002, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-telling-about-your-age/113716/73 "2002-06-14T16:09:53Z")
I don’t recall getting sent home when MLK died, but I was a white suburban kid. I think the reaction in black neighborhoods was quite different. Violence was pretty wide spread, if I remember correctly. ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2002, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-telling-about-your-age/113716/74 "2002-06-14T16:19:07Z")
I want to thank some of you for making me feel much better. I was not yet school age when MLK jr was assassinated. And I should explain the “What’s a record?” question. The person asking was about 5 at the time, so he’s allowed this small bit of ignorance. It still made both me and my cousin feel ancient, though. And yet. . . I misheard that lyric from “To Be Real” for longer than **Daj** has been alive. That sucks. ---
**Author:** ![Squish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8797f3/32.png) [@Squish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squish)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2002, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-telling-about-your-age/113716/75 "2002-06-14T18:01:59Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Octavia Smythe-Bunion I. Esq. \* > \*\*Really? They sent you home? That’s interesting. Was this a nationwide thing, I wonder? \*\* I don’t know. I remember the teachers and administrators walking around with looks of absolute shock, so I think it was just a decision on the part of the principal, and more for the adults than us kids. (Just FTR: I’m white) ---
**Author:** ![Morgainelf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Morgainelf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgainelf)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2002, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-telling-about-your-age/113716/76 "2002-06-14T18:33:26Z")
I saw an ad a couple of years ago that had a picture of the little round plastic thingy that you used to put in the middle of your 45s so that you could play them on your turntable without a big adapter. The ad said something like, “If you know what this is, then you need…(insert service/product here).” **Biggirl** , I just spotted your post on preview. Ugh. About 10 years ago I was teaching high school music. I tried to talk to the kids about the Beatles, and they had never heard of them. A friend recently bought an 8 track tape player on e-bay. He paid about $10 for an 8 track tape (also from e-bay) to play on it. I told him he wasted his money - I have about ten 8 tracks in my closet. (He’s now happily listening to my copy of Rod Stewarts “Do Ya Think I’m Sexy” on his 8 track player. I also gave him “Kenny Rogers Greatest Hits” and “Donna Summer Live Volumes 1 and 2.”) I also typed my college papers on a manual typewriter. And I remember when floppy disks were actually floppy. My boyfriend had a tape drive for his Commodore 64. Yes, it used actual tapes that looked like you could play them on a tape recorder. ---
**Author:** ![Lorenzo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4da419/32.png) [@Lorenzo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lorenzo)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2002, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-telling-about-your-age/113716/77 "2002-06-14T20:11:50Z")
While we were moving recently, one of my wife’s (much) younger coworkers spotted my 1979 BIC belt-drive turntable and exclaimed, “That’s a turntable!” as if he’d just spotted a Tyranosaurus Rex stomping through our living room. Not long thereafter that turntable needed a repair and I got a referral to a small shop in a faraway small town. Apparently the guy was once also in the retail end of the biz, but now his shelfspace was overflowing with antique ee-leck-tronics from the 50’s and on that he had repaired and were never picked up. Time warp. Sadly, I recognised almost everything there. The guy also had a rotating 8-track tape display case full of brand new, never opened, 25 year old tapes. Foghat. The Doobie Brothers. Golden Earring. Donnie and Marie. $3.99 apiece. I should have offered him twenty bucks for the whole kit and kaboodle. Quite the conversation starter. I wouldn’t know whether to put it in the living room or on my desk at work. ---
**Author:** ![jlsmith57](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/4bbf92/32.png) [@jlsmith57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jlsmith57)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2002, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-telling-about-your-age/113716/78 "2002-06-14T21:15:48Z")
I remember we had to wear dresses to school until I was in 7th grade. If it was cold, you wore pants under your dress and took them off when you got to school and hung them up with your coat. Creepy Crawlers! I loved creepy crawlers. I’d forgotten all about those! ---
**Author:** ![Una\_Persson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/una_persson/32/346_2.png) [@Una\_Persson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Una_Persson)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2002, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-telling-about-your-age/113716/79 "2002-06-15T01:26:03Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Biggirl \* > \*\*What have you said or done recently that “showed your age”? \*\* The last two nights in a row, I’ve made a large pot of tea, sat down in my chair, with one cat on my lap and one behind me on the seatback, and read a book until I dozed off _before 10:00 PM_, spectacles falling into my lap. I have turned into my Mother. I even want to start reading Agatha Christie. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![BiblioCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed8c4c/32.png) [@BiblioCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BiblioCat)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2002, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-telling-about-your-age/113716/80 "2002-06-15T02:25:27Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Sassy \* > \*\*We got a new “classic” radio station recently. I was checking it out, and spent the first two hours naming _every_ song within the first 30 seconds… and commenting (far too often) “I still have that album.” \*\* We have one, too. Their tag line is “Classic Hits of the 70s, 80s and more.” My 12 & 13-year-old daughters call it “Mom’s Oldies Station” And what’s really bad is singing along and remembering **all** the words to the songs. It’s almost pathetic to realize how many songs you know the words to. _Steve walks warily down the street With the brim pulled way down low Ain’t no sound but the sound of his feet Machine guns ready to go… Are you ready, hey, are you ready for this Are you hangin’ on the edge of your seat Out of the doorway the bullets rip, To the sound of the beat - yeah Another one bites the dust, Another one bites the dust…_ Why the hell do I still know the words to “Another One Bites The Dust” ?!? Why are those lyrics still lodged in my brain??? Yeah, I also find myself falling asleep during the 11:00 news. And saying the things my parents said, especially when my kdis complain about something. “When I was your age, all we had was three channels and PBS. That was it. And no remote control. And one TV in the house. And no VCR.” I can remember so-called “experts” predicting that video rental stores would never catch on. And I remember paying for a membership. I graduated from high school in 1982. Twenty frigging years ago. Only the Honors students were allowed to use the compter (yes, singular, computer. period) at my high school. I learned to type on a manual typewriter. I remember making a pencil mark on the bottom of the paper so I would know when I was coming to the bottom of the paper and would know when to stop and put a frash sheet in. Did you ever forget to set the paper width thing and be so busy looking at your fingers that you’d type right off the edge of the paper? No computer to wrap your words to the next line. 😃 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-telling-about-your-age/113716.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-are-telling-about-your-age/113716.md?page=5)