Who was the first to do it?

[Crafter_Man]

@Mr. Blue Sky

Also, I’ve yet to have the desire to own a cell phone.

Same here.

Last year, a coworker asked for my cell phone number. I told him I didn’t have a cell phone. He looked at me as if I were from Mars. :dubious:

[Bryan_Ekers]

@Electronic Chaos

You wish. I did that in 1984. When I was a year old.

For twenty minutes.

[ccwaterback]

I drove a car when I was 10 years old. I got a severe ass whoopin for that stunt.

[panache45]

@Otto

I’m reasonably confident that I am the first Doper to tour the Tower of London while dressed as Dee Snider from Twisted Sister, done in 1986.

I’m sure I’ve done that in a previous life.

[mhendo]

@ccwaterback

I drove a car when I was 10 years old. I got a severe ass whoopin for that stunt.

I also first drove a car at age ten. But in my case, i had an adult actually teaching me. We were on deserted, backcountry roads, and good friend of my aunt’s decided to give me some driving lessons. I had a lesson a day for the next week or so, and the next time we went to my aunts i also got some lessons from my stepfather.

Once i got to Grade 7 (high school in Australia), a lot of my friends came from farms, and most of them knew how to drive. Whenever i went to their proprties during the summer vacations, i usually got a chance to practice my driving.

[Clothahump]

@Genghis Bob

I’m getting cable tv installed *next * Friday.

What do I win?

I STILL do not have cable TV or satellite in my house. What do I win?

[Dunderman]

@fishbicycle

Was there a manual typewriter that did have a 1 key? I don’t recall ever seeing one - not to say that there wasn’t, I’ve just not seen one.

I’ve owned at least three of them, so yes, there were.

I didn’t own a DVD player (not counting the one that came with the computer) until I got one for my birthday last year (and I only wanted that because they wouldn’t release seasons three and four of Futurama on VHS). I still don’t own a CD player (not counting the ones that have come with my computers).

I still own a rotary phone. Now that I’m going to be living alone, I’m going to use it too!

[Ilisidi]

This thread makes me feel like de-lurking. Hello, all you nice people.

At 59, I still do not drive a car or ride a bike and never will.

I just acquired my first DVD player in January. I never leave my cellphone on, I only use it for emergency calling out.

However, I’ve used computers for all my legal drafting since the original IBM PC came out (1982, I think) and I got my first CD player in 1985.

The explanation, I guess, is that I’m basically a total klutz and old-fashioned but influenced from time to time by an early adopter brother.

P.S. I just bought an IPod, so I have finally crossed the bridge to the 21st century. But I bought it to listen to books, not music and you know what, it’s really hard to use. Especially that wheel thing.

[mhendo]

Welcome into the open, Ilisidi. Nice to see you start posting.

[Bren_Cameron_1]

Sidi-ji!!! bows

@nivlac

In days of yore before PCs and affordable wordprocessing programs, if you want to type a document with special symbols, you’d use a typewriter with changeable keys. To type a special character like the Greek alpha, I had to open the top cover of my trusty Smith Corona, remove the type on the end of one of the two special keys, snap in the special character I wanted, type the key, open the cover, reverse the process (or put in another key), etc. That was in the mid-70’s.

I got one of those bad boys for my high school graduation, in the mid eighties. Used it two or three times, but I never used the replaceable keys. A year into college I went high tech and started using WordStar, on a five inch floppy, in one of the computer labs.

I have never had cable. Other than that, I’m pretty average–got a cell phone, CD player, DVD, etc, right about when everyone else got one.

[Ike_Witt]

Let’s see…

First Video Game System: Oddyssey (parents bought it, I was 5 or 6) Circa 1972
First computer: 1980 (Commodor Pet)
First CD player: 1984 (I was the second person that I knew to get one)
First Cell Phone: Roughly the same time - maybe 1985
First foray on-line: 1987 or 1988
First DVD player: 1997 or 1998 (I don’t remember for sure)
I am a new world man.

[Fern_Forest]

@Tristan

I first got high, as near as I’ve been able to remember, at about age 6.

Needless to say, in many ways my childhood left a lot to be desired.

Well I can beat that. Rolled my first joint at 3. Quit at 4 so it wouldn’t effect my grades at kindergarten.

Was I the last born at home? 1974. Ok, I imagine I can be beaten by others in the world but I how about for US dopers?

[MidnightRadio]

@nivlac

Prior to the S-C, my dad picked up a used manual typewriter that did not even have the number 1 on a separate key. You had to use the lower case character for L. That was in the mid-60’s.

I have an old typewriter in the garage that I’d like to get cleaned up someday so I can use it and it has no “1” key. I knew about usting the lowercase “L” to make a 1, but how do you make an exclamation mark?

[Dunderman]

@MidnightRadio

I have an old typewriter in the garage that I’d like to get cleaned up someday so I can use it and it has no “1” key. I knew about usting the lowercase “L” to make a 1, but how do you make an exclamation mark?

Apostrophe + full stop.

[Annie-Xmas]

I taught myself to touch type on a manual typewriter at age 14. Which means I’ve been touch typing for 36 years!

I learned to read English at age 4, French at age 8, but didn’t learn basic writing until age 8. I still have problems with writing, which explains my hurry to learn how to type. In this age of computers, it’s the smartest thing I ever did.