# Things you're suprised under-30s don't recognize **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 26, 2010, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-youre-suprised-under-30s-dont-recognize/548101 "2010-07-26T21:06:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 15
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2010, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-youre-suprised-under-30s-dont-recognize/548101/281 "2010-08-05T19:45:14Z")
Ohhhh. ---
**Author:** ![Belrix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed655f/32.png) [@Belrix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Belrix)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2010, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-youre-suprised-under-30s-dont-recognize/548101/282 "2010-08-05T20:45:59Z")
> [@Jet\_Jaguar](#): > > Wait, what? They don’t teach cursive anymore? That’s news to me. How are you supposed to sign your name? My kids are learning cursive in school. However, my signature is printed, though highly stylized. I abandoned cursive in college. ---
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2010, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-youre-suprised-under-30s-dont-recognize/548101/283 "2010-08-14T02:30:57Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > It’s amusing to me how much this thread has drifted away from things “under-30s” don’t know to things people think 5 year olds don’t do. There are a lot of people under 30 who actually grew up with crank windows and antenna TV. :rolleyes: Yeah, and another thing to bear in mind is that some people just don’t pay attention to what’s going on around them. I wouldn’t be surprised if a 20 y/o today didn’t know that Paul Reubens used to be Pee-Wee Herman. Then again, they might know, due to being a fan of Tim Burton and having seen all his films. I would definitely be unsurprised if a 20 y/o didn’t know that Paul Reubens was arrested for indecency, or whatever it was, in 1991. But I was **very** surprised when my 20 y/o friend, **in** 1991, saw Reubens on the cover of Rolling Stone with the headline “Who Killed Pee-Wee?” and said, “I didn’t know he died!” To me, the important thing is someone being interested when they’re shown or told about something they’re not familiar with, and wanting to know more. ---
**Author:** ![AWB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bb73d2/32.png) [@AWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AWB)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2010, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-youre-suprised-under-30s-dont-recognize/548101/284 "2010-08-14T03:46:53Z")
> [@Girl\_From\_Mars](#): > > Intermissions in movies, so you could go get snacks or go to the bathroom. I remember they had them up to the early 90s (or at least they did in New Zealand, which at the time was described as the rest of the world in the 50s). The last movie I went to that had an intermission was “The Last Temptation of Christ”, which had a running time of 164 minutes. ---
**Author:** ![AWB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bb73d2/32.png) [@AWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AWB)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2010, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-youre-suprised-under-30s-dont-recognize/548101/285 "2010-08-14T03:56:58Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > > [@cochrane](#): > > > > You mean people would actually draw a blank if you said “What’s up, Doc?” or told them they were “deth’picable?” Or asked what happened to the Earth-shattering kaboom? > > > > My old fogey moment occured several years ago when a friend of my then 12 year old nephew picked up an 8 track cartridge and asked, “What’s this? A video game?” > > Of course people under 30 know who the Looney Tunes are. People thinking they wouldn’t is one of the reasons why this thread is ridiculous at times. > > As for 8 tracks, you have to admit, [they do look like Atari games](http://www.soundsaver.com/8track.jpg). I used to have the high score on “Sunfighter”. :D:D:D ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2010, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-youre-suprised-under-30s-dont-recognize/548101/286 "2010-08-14T04:38:41Z")
> [@kunilou](#): > > My daughter is 28 and has something few of her friends do. A vaccination scar. > > Before smallpox was officially eradicated in the late 1970’s, people would get a small scratch on their arm with a needle that had been coated with a weakened version of the smallpox virus. On most people, this would cause a puss-filled blister to rise at the site, which would result in a permanent scar. > > We were old-school, and insisted she be vaccinated, even though there hadn’t been a case of smallpox in the U.S. in more than 30 years. Of course, in those days, responsible parents thought loading up their kids with all types of vaccines was a _good_ thing. How did you manage to get her a smallpox vaccine? My friends and I are 3-5 years older than her, and all our parents were refused when they tried to get us vaccinated. They officially stopped giving it in 1972, so I guess it’s only surprising that your kid got it. ---
**Author:** ![E.Thorp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/898d66/32.png) [@E.Thorp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E.Thorp)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2010, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-youre-suprised-under-30s-dont-recognize/548101/287 "2010-08-14T04:41:06Z")
I guess I’m not surprised about this, but it was funny… A conversation at work: one coworker celebrating his 58th birthday, and me (I was 40) and a younger coworker (maybe 26). As we were teasing the birthday boy about getting older, he said “Yeah, I should be like Jack Benny and just keep telling everyone I’m 39.” Of course, I came back with “You know, if you remember Jack Benny, you’re not 39.” And right on schedule the 26-year-old: “Who’s Jack Benny?” ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2010, 6:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-youre-suprised-under-30s-dont-recognize/548101/288 "2010-08-14T06:59:38Z")
1. - sprinkler insert for recycled beer/pop bottles. these were used to sprinkle water on cloths while ironing them before the invention of the water reservoir iron. 2. - smudge pots on roads - They looked like canon balls with small cylinders on top. They were lit with a fire and left on the side of the road next to a sawhorse painted with black and yellow stripes. ---
**Author:** ![polymorphism](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/d9b06d/32.png) [@polymorphism](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/polymorphism)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2010, 7:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-youre-suprised-under-30s-dont-recognize/548101/289 "2010-08-14T07:19:31Z")
> [@](#): > > How did you manage to get her a smallpox vaccine? My friends and I are 3-5 years older than her, and all our parents were refused when they tried to get us vaccinated. They officially stopped giving it in 1972, so I guess it’s only surprising that your kid got it. I got mine as an infant in (probably) 1975, because my mother and I were flying to Okinawa. ---
**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 14, 2010, 7:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-youre-suprised-under-30s-dont-recognize/548101/290 "2010-08-14T07:25:04Z")
> [@E.Thorp](#): > > I guess I’m not surprised about this, but it was funny… > > A conversation at work: one coworker celebrating his 58th birthday, and me (I was 40) and a younger coworker (maybe 26). As we were teasing the birthday boy about getting older, he said “Yeah, I should be like Jack Benny and just keep telling everyone I’m 39.” > > Of course, I came back with “You know, if you remember Jack Benny, you’re not 39.” > > And right on schedule the 26-year-old: “Who’s Jack Benny?” I certainly hope your response was to put your hand to your cheek, give the 26-year old a withering stare, and say, “Now, cut that out!” 😃 ---
**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:** [August 14, 2010, 12:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-youre-suprised-under-30s-dont-recognize/548101/291 "2010-08-14T12:11:44Z")
> [@E.Thorp](#): > > I guess I’m not surprised about this, but it was funny… > > A conversation at work: one coworker celebrating his 58th birthday, and me (I was 40) and a younger coworker (maybe 26). As we were teasing the birthday boy about getting older, he said “Yeah, I should be like Jack Benny and just keep telling everyone I’m 39.” > > Of course, I came back with “You know, if you remember Jack Benny, you’re not 39.” > > And right on schedule the 26-year-old: “Who’s Jack Benny?” As has already been mentioned, we must differentiate between those who are too young to have been exposed to certain things, and those who don’t know because they do not pay attention / are not instinctively curious. I mean, I know about Sherman’s March to the Sea, for example, and get this: _I was not even born yet!_ (I was born shortly thereafter) 🙂 mm ---
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2010, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-youre-suprised-under-30s-dont-recognize/548101/292 "2010-08-14T13:57:37Z")
> [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](#): > > > [@NinjaChick](#): > > > > We didn’t, and I still have no idea what all this talk of TV dials is about - the dial was somehow physically connected to an antenna outside? > > Two different kinds of dials: One on the tv actually changed the channel, like the dials on old microwaves set the . . . setting. > > The dial I mentioned earlier was for people who had motor-driven antennas, and they used a dial (ours was about as big as a saucer), to tell the motor which way to turn the antenna. Your package also came with sticky numers for your dial so that you could easily tell where to set your antenna for best reception. This was a separate unite about as big as a mouse pad, and usually sat atop the console TV, which was what most people had back then. I’m 38 and i have no memory at all of that second dial you mention here. I had plenty of TVs that had UHF and VHF dials to change the channel but our Antenna just sat on the roof (still does actually). ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2010, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-youre-suprised-under-30s-dont-recognize/548101/293 "2010-08-14T16:04:36Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > And believe it or not, but new episodes of Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom are still being produced. Ah yes, Marlin Perkins: _“Baby cheetahs need security. Your family can have security, too, with Mutual of Omaha’s…”_ > [@JoelUpchurch](#): > > Do schools still have overhead projectors? It seems like it has been over 10 years since I’ve seen one. I still see the occasional overhead projector, although they have been nearly totally obsoleted by PowerPoint. But when did you last see an opaque projector? ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2010, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-youre-suprised-under-30s-dont-recognize/548101/294 "2010-08-14T16:35:54Z")
> [@Quimby](#): > > I’m 38 and i have no memory at all of that second dial you mention here. I had plenty of TVs that had UHF and VHF dials to change the channel but our Antenna just sat on the roof (still does actually). Kind of depends on where you live. In SE Michigan, they were never really common in the Detroit area, for example. But where I grew up on Lake Huron, having a rotor was indispensable for receiving our “local” Detroit channels. ---
**Author:** ![what\_do\_I\_type\_here](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a5b964/32.png) [@what\_do\_I\_type\_here](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/what_do_I_type_here)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2010, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-youre-suprised-under-30s-dont-recognize/548101/295 "2010-08-14T23:11:03Z")
I’m only 25 and I vomit whenever I see a little kid texting. ---
**Author:** ![C.Montgomery\_Burns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ecd19e/32.png) [@C.Montgomery\_Burns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C.Montgomery_Burns)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2010, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-youre-suprised-under-30s-dont-recognize/548101/296 "2010-08-14T23:35:02Z")
> [@E.Thorp](#): > > I guess I’m not surprised about this, but it was funny… > > A conversation at work: one coworker celebrating his 58th birthday, and me (I was 40) and a younger coworker (maybe 26). As we were teasing the birthday boy about getting older, he said “Yeah, I should be like Jack Benny and just keep telling everyone I’m 39.” > > Of course, I came back with “You know, if you remember Jack Benny, you’re not 39.” > > And right on schedule the 26-year-old: “Who’s Jack Benny?” I’m 29, and I’m a huge fan of Jack Benny. I’m watching his show right now as a matter of fact. Some people my age might know the name Jack Benny or even Rochester, but almost definitely wouldn’t know who Dennis Day or Don Wilson were. ---
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2010, 6:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-youre-suprised-under-30s-dont-recognize/548101/297 "2010-08-15T06:47:35Z")
Okay, here’s something: Is there a distinction between recognizing a word/name/phrase and recognizing a sight or sound? For example, an under-30 might be familiar with Pink Floyd. They might have **Dark Side of the Moon** on their iPod (I was gonna say “own it” ;)). But when “Money” starts, are they really going connect the cash register sounds with the title? When they’re so used to swiping debit cards and getting receipts fed out of laser printers? ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2010, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-youre-suprised-under-30s-dont-recognize/548101/298 "2010-08-16T01:21:41Z")
> [@Rilchiam](#): > > Okay, here’s something: Is there a distinction between recognizing a word/name/phrase and recognizing a sight or sound? For example, an under-30 might be familiar with Pink Floyd. They might have **Dark Side of the Moon** on their iPod (I was gonna say “own it” ;)). But when “Money” starts, are they really going connect the cash register sounds with the title? When they’re so used to swiping debit cards and getting receipts fed out of laser printers? Sure. I know kids less than half as old who would make the connection…because toy cash registers still make the noise 🙂 There were pretend rotary phones long after they sold them in department store too. ---
**Author:** ![Bytegeist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9dc877/32.png) [@Bytegeist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bytegeist)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2010, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-youre-suprised-under-30s-dont-recognize/548101/299 "2010-08-16T01:58:35Z")
> [@E.Thorp](#): > > And right on schedule the 26-year-old: “Who’s Jack Benny?” > [@cochrane](#): > > I certainly hope your response was to put your hand to your cheek, give the 26-year old a withering stare, and say, “Now, cut that out!” 😃 Either that, or rest your left elbow in your right palm, touch your left fingers to your cheek, and give a bemused stare to the audience. ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2010, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-youre-suprised-under-30s-dont-recognize/548101/300 "2010-08-16T03:22:05Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > My dad used Brylcreem. Might still do, for all I know, though he hasn’t got much hair now. My Dad used to use something like Brylcreem- maybe a competitor? It was a Blue Green Gel that had a rather pleasing scent- maybe made by the old spice company at the time (70’s early 80’s). I remember I would use it occasionally to knock down the bedhead cowlicks before I went to school. It was very uncool by that point and I only used it occasionally if I couldn’t shower and blowdry. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-youre-suprised-under-30s-dont-recognize/548101.md?page=14) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-youre-suprised-under-30s-dont-recognize/548101.md?page=16)