# WHy do old people.... **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 12, 2019, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-old-people/835443 "2019-06-12T21:25:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**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:** [June 13, 2019, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-old-people/835443/41 "2019-06-13T13:24:58Z")
I’m old and I’ve never driven. I’d ask you why young people walk so damn slowly, but I know the answer: It’s hard to walk and talk or text at the same time. BTW, why can’t young people put that damn device down for five minutes? I’ve always gone to bed early. Nothing about the late night life interests me, and I love the early morning, when the day is still new. Getting out for that first cup of coffee and a long walk makes the day better. ---
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2019, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-old-people/835443/42 "2019-06-13T13:33:34Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > I’m old and I’ve never driven. I’d ask you why young people walk so damn slowly, but I know the answer: It’s hard to walk and talk or text at the same time. BTW, why can’t young people put that damn device down for five minutes? > . Back in your day, people didn’t walk and talk? ---
**Author:** ![Mcmechanic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@Mcmechanic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mcmechanic)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2019, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-old-people/835443/43 "2019-06-13T13:41:32Z")
I’m in my 40’s, but to me a 1979 Lincoln Continental Mark V is the epitome of a luxury car. I hope they bring back the old Luxo-barges by the time I’m 60. ---
**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:** [June 13, 2019, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-old-people/835443/44 "2019-06-13T14:01:00Z")
> [@CarnalK](#): > > Back in your day, people didn’t walk and talk? Yes, but only to other people who were actually physically present and walking with them. Back then, if yo heard someone talking to someone who wasn’t there, you thought “Crazy person.” Today, you think “Cell hone addict.” ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2019, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-old-people/835443/45 "2019-06-13T15:02:52Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > The answer to every “Why do old people…?” question is “Because they’re old.” No, the answer is the same as the answer to all those “Why do young people . . ?” questions; which is that just about always lots of them don’t. I am 68. stay up way too late, strongly prefer to drive small cars except when I need to drive the work van because otherwise the load won’t fit, and have to be careful to restrain myself in order not to get speeding tickets. Occasionally I just feel like driving slow on the back roads but if so I’ll pull over and get out of the way – unless the reason that I’m driving slow is that I know something about the road that I suspect the driver of the car behind me doesn’t; such as, there may be a large wide piece of farm machinery around this blind curve. ---
**Author:** ![Doctor\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctor_jackson/32/32_2.png) [@Doctor\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2019, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-old-people/835443/46 "2019-06-13T15:06:00Z")
> [@SuntanLotion](#): > > Does anyone have any theories on why elderly people do certain things? Its got me wondering why 1. Why do the elderly go to bed so early and 2. Why do they drive so slow. > Anyone? Please, sir/madam, before we go any further would you care to define “elderly”? It may go a long way in aiding our understanding of your question. ---
**Author:** ![GESancMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gesancman/32/2923_2.png) [@GESancMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GESancMan)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2019, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-old-people/835443/47 "2019-06-13T15:13:02Z")
> [@Filbert](#): > > My Grandpa drove really s…l…o…w on most roads and ohmygodhowfast?! on motorways. Yeah, mine too. When I was 16, my family went to L.A. for a cousin’s wedding. My grandparents lived in the Pasadena area, and the wedding was at Newport Beach, about an hour away. This was in 1987, so Grandpa was… 72 at the time. Anyway, I decided to ride with my grandparents going home. It was Newport Beach on a Saturday afternoon, and the town was jam-packed with kids my age leaving the beach. And here I was in my grandparents’ car, driving the couple-of-miles stretch to get to the freeway, doing five or ten under the speed limit, holding up an endless line of cars behind him. I was laying down in the back seat of the car, dying of embarrassment. Then he got on the freeway, and floored it. The speed limit was still 55 at the time, and he did 80 the whole way home. Now I was thinking “alright Grandpa!” ---
**Author:** ![RobDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f07891/32.png) [@RobDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RobDog)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2019, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-old-people/835443/48 "2019-06-13T15:19:47Z")
> [@Doctor\_Jackson](#): > > Please, sir/madam, before we go any further would you care to define “elderly”? It may go a long way in aiding our understanding of your question. I can report that the OP forgot that she posted her question, and wandered off to the mall, where she was apprehended “accidentally” shoplifting Depends. She’s back home safely now, and will be sure to answer your query after a nice nap and some tea. ---
**Author:** ![xizor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xizor/32/102_2.png) [@xizor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xizor)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2019, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-old-people/835443/49 "2019-06-13T16:05:01Z")
> [@Ambivalid](#): > > My theory has always been that, due to the decline in various cognitive and physical functions, older people gravitated towards large, big framed vehicles as a way to feel safer and more secure on the road. Hmm, my theory has always been that older people choose cars that are easier to get in and out of. And those tend to be cars with bigger doors, hence bigger cars in general. ---
**Author:** ![kopek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kopek/32/337_2.png) [@kopek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kopek)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2019, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-old-people/835443/50 "2019-06-13T16:53:40Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > Well, I agree, 60s is just a kid. But man, 105 in a 55 – that’s 50 Murkin mileage units over the limit. Readers Digest version; being from a clan of gearheads we have tended to notice a lack of speed traps in tunnels and like places and sometimes in light traffic we tend to … I was on my bigger bike, conditions were perfect, it was one of the long tunnels down towards VA Beach and I opened it up a bit. As I exited (at like 60?) Mr Policeman fell in behind with his lights on so I nicely pulled over and cooperated I was honest that I was somewhere north of the C-note, that I didn’t know they had traps in the tunnels, and that I was somewhat embarrassed. He liked my bike, liked the fact that I had full safety gear on, and that I didn’t make any excuses. He let me off with a VERY stern warning. (_o_)/ As we were parting he asked me if I had any questions; I couldn’t help myself. I had to ask if they had gotten around to trapping bridges in the state yet. 🙂 Like I said, we all tend towards a little fast. ---
**Author:** ![DummyGladHands](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/49beb7/32.png) [@DummyGladHands](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DummyGladHands)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2019, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-old-people/835443/51 "2019-06-13T17:29:33Z")
Walk so slow. Up to about 5 years ago, I would bitch under my breath when I got behind them. Fast forward, now I am slower because dammit, falling breaks things and I don’t just jump up any more. ---
**Author:** ![Clawdio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d07c76/32.png) [@Clawdio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clawdio)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2019, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-old-people/835443/52 "2019-06-13T17:35:29Z")
My “why do old people” question: Why do they use a shopping cart to buy one can of soup at the grocery store? I mean… i assume its just harder to carry stuff, but SOP for old folks seems to be pushing a cart all over the store no matter what. ---
**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:** [June 13, 2019, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-old-people/835443/53 "2019-06-13T17:51:02Z")
Because a cart gives you something to hold onto and makes walking easier. And faster. Young people bitch too much about old people walking too slowly, all the while being on their devices and knocking into the old people they don’t notice. It also keeps you from falling when young people knock into you because they don’t see, what with looking at that damn screen all the time. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2019, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-old-people/835443/54 "2019-06-13T17:51:23Z")
> [@Clawdio](#): > > My “why do old people” question: > > Why do they use a shopping cart to buy one can of soup at the grocery store? > I mean… i assume its just harder to carry stuff, but SOP for old folks seems to be pushing a cart all over the store no matter what. It’s sort of a walker. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![DummyGladHands](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/49beb7/32.png) [@DummyGladHands](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DummyGladHands)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2019, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-old-people/835443/55 "2019-06-13T19:02:53Z")
> [@Clawdio](#): > > My “why do old people” question: > > Why do they use a shopping cart to buy one can of soup at the grocery store? > I mean… i assume its just harder to carry stuff, but SOP for old folks seems to be pushing a cart all over the store no matter what. Because for a lot of older people being in the grocery store is their only outing and chance of social interaction all day. And they’re lonely ---
**Author:** ![Helena330](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/helena330/32/531_2.png) [@Helena330](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Helena330)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2019, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-old-people/835443/56 "2019-06-13T19:54:09Z")
Ageism is alive and well here on the Dope. My mom is 80 and goes to bed at 3:00 or 4:00 am. I’ll have to tell her she’s doing OLD PERSON wrong. LOL. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2019, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-old-people/835443/57 "2019-06-13T20:40:20Z")
> [@Helena330](#): > > Ageism is alive and well here on the Dope. > > My mom is 80 and goes to bed at 3:00 or 4:00 am. I’ll have to tell her she’s doing OLD PERSON wrong. LOL. Maybe she’s covering the night shift. ---
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2019, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-old-people/835443/58 "2019-06-13T20:45:38Z")
My grandparents (91, 93) go to bed at 7PM. They wake up at 2AM and watch shows they recorded on their DVR. I don’t know why they do that. I guess at that age there’s no point fighting the sleepiness at sunset when you can get an early start on TV at 2AM. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2019, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-old-people/835443/59 "2019-06-13T20:51:01Z")
> [@DummyGladHands](#): > > Walk so slow. I am a fast walker. It doesn’t bother me when others walk slowly because of age/infirmity/preference. But if you are one of them, kindly keep to the right on sidewalks and in corridors and do not amble right down the middle blocking those behind you. Situational awareness, people. Above all, do not, as I pass you, crankily observe “Some people are in _such_ a hurry”. I have so far resisted the temptation to turn and respond “Some people have things to do before tottering off to the nursing home/crematorium”, but that day could be coming. ---
**Author:** ![CoastalMaineiac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e8c25b/32.png) [@CoastalMaineiac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CoastalMaineiac)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2019, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-old-people/835443/60 "2019-06-13T20:52:05Z")
> [@SuntanLotion](#): > > Does anyone have any theories on why elderly people do certain things? Its got me wondering why 1. Why do the elderly go to bed so early and 2. Why do they drive so slow. > Anyone? Maine is one of the oldest (by average age) states in the country. The one thing I’ve noticed is not so much that they drive slowly. It’s that they drive 40 miles per hour, \*\*\*everywhere \*\*\*, whether the actual speed limit is 25 or whether it is 55. I could understand driving more slowly because of the reduced reaction times that come with age, but driving so fast through residential areas seems to fly in the face of that logic. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-old-people/835443.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-old-people/835443.md?page=4)