# When I'm 64, and other reminders that you are old **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 27, 2018, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-im-64-and-other-reminders-that-you-are-old/826788 "2018-12-27T15:08:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 14
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2020, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-im-64-and-other-reminders-that-you-are-old/826788/262 "2020-02-22T20:57:34Z")
> [@XT](#): > > . . . I even recall the first GUIs used and early demos of them…and people saying they would never be a thing. 😛 . . . I remember the first time I saw a graphic that showed that the computer was thinking. It was the little moving clock on a little mac. Considering how often computers could hang up completely, it was a relief to know that there was something still going on. Before the clocks and progress bars, you just had to sit there wondering if you were wasting your time and should have rebooted two minutes ago. > [@Snnipe\_70E](#): > > . . . > USING SLIDE RULES . . . . I went to college with a slide rule and discovered that hand calculators were a thing that was happening. They were wildly expensive and couldn’t do much, and the professors wouldn’t let you use them on tests, but they would let you you use your slide rule. > [@Cicero](#): > > I’ve used a slide rule. Whoever invented it needs rooting with a burnt stick. . . . . Beats doing it by hand. Although if you’re doing anything complicated you’d better do a simplified version by hand first, so that you know where to put the decimal point. > [@Chessic\_Sense](#): > > . . . You remember a gallon of gas costing only $2.10. . . . > > Your school only one computer per classroom, and you had to ask to use it. . . . I remember the Y2K-esque kerfuffle when gas prices went to a whole dollar. Neither the advertising signs nor the pumps were designed for the extra digit. I remember computers being added to two math classrooms, in high school. The in-class computers used Basic. There were actually two machines in each class. You used the first to create a ticker tape of your program and then you ran the ticker tape on the second. For Fortran, we still had to fill out the cards and send them out to be run. I wasn’t driving much at the time, but I think a lot of stations set their pumps to half the price per gallon and then doubled the amount shown. > [@ThelmaLou](#): > > I’m 70 and I don’t know what Pong is. :rolleyes: Ah, Pong. You have to be exactly the right age to have fully experienced it. I was a freshman in college and they put one in the school bowling alley. For a brief time, there was only Pong. And you’re an old woman if you remember not being allowed to wear pants to school no matter how cold it was. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2020, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-im-64-and-other-reminders-that-you-are-old/826788/263 "2020-02-22T22:47:41Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > I remember when Texas was a solidly Democratic state. And Vermont was rock-ribbed Republican. > [@DrForrester](#): > > She’s the sort who will just stare at you with an incredulous look. So, I don’t really know if she’s ever seen a printed map. She didn’t say either way. It may have simply never occurred to her that maps would ever be printed - and that people would actively use one for a practical purpose. A few years ago I was on an expedition in the mountains of Panama. My companions were all experienced hikers in their 30s. They were astonished when I pulled out my paper topo maps of the area. They said “Wow! Old school!” 😃 Actually, it was much easier to orient using them than on the tiny maps on their phones. > [@ftg](#): > > That it’s 2020 is starting to sink in. That means that 1970 was 50 years ago. Several interesting things happened in my life in 1970 or around then. All of that is a half century ago and counting. Think of this: for present high-school kids, the Vietnam War is almost as far in the past as WWI was for us when we were in high school. > [@Yllaria](#): > > I remember the Y2K-esque kerfuffle when gas prices went to a whole dollar. Neither the advertising signs nor the pumps were designed for the extra digit. I think the lowest price I ever saw was 15 cents a gallon someplace in the South in the late 1960s. > [@](#): > > Ah, Pong. You have to be exactly the right age to have fully experienced it. I was a freshman in college and they put one in the school bowling alley. For a brief time, there was only Pong. And then there was Asteroids. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2020, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-im-64-and-other-reminders-that-you-are-old/826788/264 "2020-02-23T00:01:25Z")
> [@Yllaria](#): > > And you’re an old woman if you remember not being allowed to wear pants to school no matter how cold it was. Pants? When I was in high school, one of the assistant principals made girls get on their knees, and if their skirt wasn’t long enough to touch the floor, they got sent home. And I got sent home once for wearing pants that didn’t have belt loops. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2020, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-im-64-and-other-reminders-that-you-are-old/826788/265 "2020-02-23T00:15:23Z")
I had my hip replaced due to wear and tear in November. Pretty much recovered. Mostly. But my 90 year old mother fell and broke her hip January 3rd 2020. Some change of plans ensue as I live 100 miles away. I tell ya, I feel like a young buck cause I can walk when I go to my moms skilled nursing center. I have a place for her to go though. That should be nice. Hey, this thread has given me ideas… I used to be one hell of a dirt bike rider, and have friends that are only 15 years younger that are into it. hmmmm… Can’t take it with you. The Yamaha IT 490 is… well… you’d have to ride one to know. I may like to find out what these big 4 stroke dirt bikes are like. ---
**Author:** ![Wallaby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/dc4da7/32.png) [@Wallaby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wallaby)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2020, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-im-64-and-other-reminders-that-you-are-old/826788/266 "2020-02-23T04:28:46Z")
> [@XOldiesJock](#): > > The hilarity of a co-worker and I talking about our prostates. Never thought I would catch myself doing anything like that. O god, yes. My regular co-worker Friday lunch (a quick pasta and a glass of wine), where we debated (and solved) most of the world’s problems,has now become a) Much longer, as more and more of us either retire, or get sacked and can’t be arsed looking for another job b) More than one glass of wine and c) Subjects for discussion tend to be much more medical ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2020, 7:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-im-64-and-other-reminders-that-you-are-old/826788/267 "2020-02-23T07:56:17Z")
For years and years my cousins and I used to hear our parents talking about their diseases, surgeries and medications. Now the parents are gone, and we talk about the same things. Passing of the torch. ---
**Author:** ![jerez](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c68b51/32.png) [@jerez](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jerez)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2020, 9:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-im-64-and-other-reminders-that-you-are-old/826788/268 "2020-02-23T09:08:24Z")
^Yeah, one tends to find oneself giving or receiving an “organ recital.” ---
**Author:** ![Toxylon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f05b48/32.png) [@Toxylon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Toxylon)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2020, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-im-64-and-other-reminders-that-you-are-old/826788/269 "2020-02-23T14:34:09Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > I have to cringe inwardly when I hear someone mention the 90s, followed by “I know my age is showing” or “I know I’m dating myself.” Well, I was an adult in the mid-90’s, and I work with people who were barely born by the end of the decade. Plenty of legit situations to “show one’s age” or “date oneself”. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2020, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-im-64-and-other-reminders-that-you-are-old/826788/270 "2020-02-23T15:45:17Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > Yesterday the thought occurred to me that I’ve been typing for 50 years and I learned to type on a manual typewriter. > > Many people today have never used a typewriter and some don’t even know what they are! The i.d.e.a. Museum where I volunteer swaps out its exhibit about three times a year. The one just opened earlier this month is [_The Art of the Story_](https://www.ideamuseum.org/2020/01/23/art-of-the-story-curators-statement/). It has props and set where you can do a literal puppet theater, displays about Character, Setting, and Plot, and on a pedestal, a somewhat worn Remington Quiet Riter with a few sheets of paper you can roll in. They had to look to find a fresh ribbon. The kids are fascinated by it. They recognize the keyboard but don’t press them anywhere near hard enough for a manual typewriter. ---
**Author:** ![rsat3acr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a3d4f5/32.png) [@rsat3acr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rsat3acr)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2020, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-im-64-and-other-reminders-that-you-are-old/826788/271 "2020-02-23T15:55:18Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > Yesterday the thought occurred to me that I’ve been typing for 50 years and I learned to type on a manual typewriter. > > Many people today have never used a typewriter and some don’t even know what they are! same here I took typing in 1974. I’d be willing to bet most people under 30 have never even seen a manual typewriter let alone know what it is. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2020, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-im-64-and-other-reminders-that-you-are-old/826788/272 "2020-02-23T16:08:04Z")
> [@Sangahyando](#): > > A reminder – or indication, anyway – today. I wanted to refresh my memory about an aspect of the works of the British author H.H. Munro (1870 – 1916), more commonly known by his pseudonym “Saki” – a specialist in black-humour / satirical, short stories. The majority of his characters would seem to be male – could not think off the top of my head, of any female ones. I Googled “Saki female characters”: the entire first page of “hits”, anyway, was about some Japanese manga or anime thing, concerning a bunch of different girls’ schools – Kiyosumi, Achiga, and sundry others. It seemed that those running the search engine, took it for granted that the just-described was well-known to everyone. Not to me – utterly new and unknown to me. I’m in my early seventies: became aware of the Japanese graphic-novels etc., phenomenon, quite some way into my life – by which time I was clearly too old and “square” to take any interest in it. > > Adding “H.H. Munro” to Googled words above, quickly got me what I wanted: but left me reflecting that someone such as me, for whom “Saki” means first and foremost the 19th / 20th century British guy as above; is in this day and age, definitely a dinosaur. An image search for Kirby art will return a pink ball rather than the comic book artist’s graphics unless you include the first name Jack. ---
**Author:** ![Polyester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/b2d939/32.png) [@Polyester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polyester)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2020, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-im-64-and-other-reminders-that-you-are-old/826788/273 "2020-02-23T16:08:57Z")
Used old-fashioned cloth diapers, pins, and rubber pants on my kids when they were little. Remember helping my mom do laundry using a wringer washing machine. Wore bell-bottoms as a kid. Babysat for .25¢ an hour. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2020, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-im-64-and-other-reminders-that-you-are-old/826788/274 "2020-02-23T16:26:41Z")
I was talking with a friend yesterday and he related a story to me about an encounter with a young co-worker who didn’t get some pop culture reference he made. During the course of telling me this story about how old he was becoming, he mentioned he was born in 1981. I told him I was in college in 1981. ---
**Author:** ![Polyester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/b2d939/32.png) [@Polyester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polyester)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2020, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-im-64-and-other-reminders-that-you-are-old/826788/275 "2020-02-23T16:35:42Z")
Remember segregated school grounds in elementary school, boys on one-side, girls on the other. Riding in the backs of pickup trucks, and it was legal! ---
**Author:** ![Polyester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/b2d939/32.png) [@Polyester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polyester)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2020, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-im-64-and-other-reminders-that-you-are-old/826788/276 "2020-02-23T16:46:25Z")
When disposable diapers first made their debut, they had to be fastened using diaper pins. Baby Scott Disposable Diapers. The diapers looked like long, thick, menstrual pads, and they were used with gingham-print rubber pants that had snaps. ---
**Author:** ![Polyester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/b2d939/32.png) [@Polyester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polyester)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2020, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-im-64-and-other-reminders-that-you-are-old/826788/277 "2020-02-23T16:47:43Z")
I remember when smoking was allowed everyone, including inside department stores, etc. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2020, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-im-64-and-other-reminders-that-you-are-old/826788/278 "2020-02-23T17:41:30Z")
Every forty years the world gets topsy turvy. It just does. I lived through the 1960’s, and I lived through 9/11/2001. So we are on our way to the next big event circa 2040. You read it here first. ---
**Author:** ![Polyester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/b2d939/32.png) [@Polyester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polyester)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2020, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-im-64-and-other-reminders-that-you-are-old/826788/279 "2020-02-23T17:54:36Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > Every forty years the world gets topsy turvy. It just does. I lived through the 1960’s, and I lived through 9/11/2001. > > So we are on our way to the next big event circa 2040. You read it here first. Speaking of topsy-turvy, I wish I could go back to the 60’s/70’s. Just think our world today is a complete and utter mess. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2020, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-im-64-and-other-reminders-that-you-are-old/826788/280 "2020-02-23T18:09:09Z")
I actually feel sorry for people who didn’t experience the 1960’s. It was such a unique time in human history. Things got totally different in such a short time, and there’s no easy answer for what caused it. Compare that to 40 years later, when you can pinpoint the exact second every thing changed. ---
**Author:** ![ZonexandScout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zonexandscout/32/544_2.png) [@ZonexandScout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZonexandScout)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2020, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-im-64-and-other-reminders-that-you-are-old/826788/281 "2020-02-23T19:16:16Z")
A college friend of mine was cleaning out some of his personal papers last week and found several letters I had written him right after I graduated. They were typed and it reminded me that I was a better typist on a manual machine than a lot of people. But what really struck me was that I talked about building my own stereo to save money over purchasing one. Yes, back then you could buy preamplifier kits (both tube and transistorized) and amplifier kits from Dynaco and assemble them yourself. The preamps and amps were actually pretty highly regarded. Saving $60 or so by doing it yourself was a big deal. You can still find the units on eBay and through other third-party suppliers, but they are usually modified or otherwise updated. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-im-64-and-other-reminders-that-you-are-old/826788.md?page=13) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-im-64-and-other-reminders-that-you-are-old/826788.md?page=15)