# We were children once, and young... **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 21, 2004, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-were-children-once-and-young/270333 "2004-10-21T02:55:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![ouryL](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ouryl/32/6067_2.png) [@ouryL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ouryL)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2004, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-were-children-once-and-young/270333/61 "2004-10-22T16:30:06Z")
Ah yes!! Remember the psa’s that warned against glue sniffing which prompted kids to begin glue sniffing? :eek: :eek: 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2004, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-were-children-once-and-young/270333/62 "2004-10-22T16:52:40Z")
**HEY YOU GUYYYYYYYSSSSSSS!!!** And Come on and Zoom Zoom Zooma Zoom. Come on and Zooma Zooma Zooma Zoom. ---
**Author:** ![Anonymous\_Coward](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/94ad74/32.png) [@Anonymous\_Coward](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anonymous_Coward)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2004, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-were-children-once-and-young/270333/63 "2004-10-22T17:01:00Z")
> [@rolandgunslinger](#): > > BIG BLUE MARBLE > nuff said… Oh man. You took mine. Also, the TV show where you could shoot the screen was called “Captain Power”. Anyone else remember the show “New Zoo Revue?” ---
**Author:** ![bigdfrombigd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/df705f/32.png) [@bigdfrombigd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bigdfrombigd)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2004, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-were-children-once-and-young/270333/64 "2004-10-22T18:59:38Z")
Remember Smokey the Bear? “…Only you can prevent forest fires” and, "Who wants gum? …I DO, I DO!!! ---
**Author:** ![TellMeI\_mNotCrazy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tellmei_mnotcrazy/32/3419_2.png) [@TellMeI\_mNotCrazy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TellMeI_mNotCrazy)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2004, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-were-children-once-and-young/270333/65 "2004-10-22T19:05:27Z")
> [@delphica](#): > > Long distance calls. I swear I was in college before I made a casual long distance call. In high school, I was allowed to phone a friend I had made at summer camp for her birthday. During the school year, we wrote each other letters. Being able to call her was a special treat, and it had to be kept to about 5 minutes. Reminds me of one that might be more local. Nowadays, if you dial in-state long distance, you include the area code, but back when I was a kid, if it was in the same area code, you only dialed 1-555-1234. And payphones still cost a dime to use. ---
**Author:** ![fishbicycle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aeb1de/32.png) [@fishbicycle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fishbicycle)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2004, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-were-children-once-and-young/270333/66 "2004-10-22T19:14:50Z")
Thanks for reminding me! Long distance was just _verboten_ when I was a kid. If my mom had to make a call, it was as short as possible, and I wasn’t allowed to make long distance calls. Of course now, it’s a local call to the city that used to be LD in the '60s and '70s. When you made your call, the operator came on and asked for your number. Don’t say I told you this, but it was not entirely necessary to give _your own_ number to complete the LD call. Information was free. Calling the Operator was free. I can’t even think of the last time I had to talk to a phone operator! Also, in our town, there was only one exchange, so instead of dialing XXX-XXXX, you only had to dial the last four numbers to reach your party. Then it changed so that you had to dial X-XXXX. Yep, it was the dark ages. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-were-children-once-and-young/270333.md?page=3)