# Without saying your age, what's something from your childhood that a younger person wouldn't understand? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 25, 2021, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/without-saying-your-age-whats-something-from-your-childhood-that-a-younger-person-wouldnt-understand/953138 "2021-10-25T01:08:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 14
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2021, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/without-saying-your-age-whats-something-from-your-childhood-that-a-younger-person-wouldnt-understand/953138/262 "2021-10-27T02:16:48Z")
The inability to refold a road map into its original was a cliche grounded in fact. However, it was impossible to survive in Los Angeles without a fat, spiral-bound Thomas Guide. Some people kept one in the house for planning and another in the car for traveling. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2021, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/without-saying-your-age-whats-something-from-your-childhood-that-a-younger-person-wouldnt-understand/953138/263 "2021-10-27T02:19:52Z")
> [@Railer13](#): > > Falling asleep with the radio under the pillow, listening to KOMA or WLS. Where did you live that you were listening to OK City and Chicago stations? Or was this a case of a station like KAAY Little Rock Arkansas? Even up in Wisconsin, we could tune that in late at night (for a moody show “Bleeker Street”, my favorite source for ‘deep cuts’ and new music). ---
**Author:** ![Railer13](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/railer13/32/9742_2.png) [@Railer13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Railer13)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2021, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/without-saying-your-age-whats-something-from-your-childhood-that-a-younger-person-wouldnt-understand/953138/264 "2021-10-27T02:21:43Z")
> [@Tibby](#): > > My favorite was a science & technology encyclopedia, whose name eludes me. I’d read each volume cover to cover My folks bought the 1962 or 1963 set of The Golden Book Encyclopedia. I think there were 16 books, and I read them cover to cover as well. Hadn’t thought about them in years, so thanks for the memory! ---
**Author:** ![Mallard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Mallard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mallard)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2021, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/without-saying-your-age-whats-something-from-your-childhood-that-a-younger-person-wouldnt-understand/953138/265 "2021-10-27T02:22:40Z")
> [@ChockFullOfHeadyGoodness](#): > > Pay toilets, period > Pay phones > Jukeboxes that have physical records inside and are not connected to the internet. > > You need cash? Go to the bank during business hours with your passbook. Walking into a bank wearing a mask and “swiping card” would land you in jail. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2021, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/without-saying-your-age-whats-something-from-your-childhood-that-a-younger-person-wouldnt-understand/953138/266 "2021-10-27T02:23:06Z")
> [@digs](#): > > Where did you live that you were listening to OK City and Chicago stations? > > Or was this a case of a station like KAAY Little Rock Arkansas? Even up in Wisconsin, we could tune that in late at night (for a moody show “Bleeker Street”, my favorite source for ‘deep cuts’ and new music). Those were [“clear-channel” stations](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clear-channel_station), which cranked up their wattage at night (while other AM stations on their frequency had to sign off at sunset), and could often be picked up many hundreds of miles away, depending on atmospheric conditions. ---
**Author:** ![Mallard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Mallard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mallard)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2021, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/without-saying-your-age-whats-something-from-your-childhood-that-a-younger-person-wouldnt-understand/953138/267 "2021-10-27T02:25:24Z")
> [@Railer13](#): > > > [@Tibby](#): > > > > My favorite was a science & technology encyclopedia, whose name eludes me. I’d read each volume cover to cover > > My folks bought the 1962 or 1963 set of The Golden Book Encyclopedia. I think there were 16 books, and I read them cover to cover as well. Hadn’t thought about them in years, so thanks for the memory! My parents bought encyclopaedia britanica around 1963ish and paid a small fortune. Used them extensively for homework assignments though. ---
**Author:** ![Railer13](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/railer13/32/9742_2.png) [@Railer13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Railer13)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2021, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/without-saying-your-age-whats-something-from-your-childhood-that-a-younger-person-wouldnt-understand/953138/268 "2021-10-27T02:27:21Z")
> [@digs](#): > > Where did you live that you were listening to OK City and Chicago stations? Central Kansas. We could get get both KOMA and WLS late at night. Never during the day, however. And the reception was just a bit sketchy. And, yes, we also got KAAY, also during the nighttime hours. Very familiar with Bleeker Street! Also WOAI from San Antonio. ---
**Author:** ![Mallard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Mallard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mallard)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2021, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/without-saying-your-age-whats-something-from-your-childhood-that-a-younger-person-wouldnt-understand/953138/269 "2021-10-27T02:31:00Z")
I had a rocket radio as a kid. Late night I could get AM radio stations a LONG distance away. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2021, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/without-saying-your-age-whats-something-from-your-childhood-that-a-younger-person-wouldnt-understand/953138/270 "2021-10-27T02:31:27Z")
If you dialed your own phone number on a rotary phone and hung up it would take so long for the signal to go through the mechanical switching stations that the phone would ring back. Driving over railroad tracks meant you came almost to a complete stop and slowly passed over them to avoid destroying the car because they didn’t pave the space between the rails. Kids would fight over the cardboard cap in milk bottles because the cream floated to the top of the bottle and stuck to it. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2021, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/without-saying-your-age-whats-something-from-your-childhood-that-a-younger-person-wouldnt-understand/953138/271 "2021-10-27T02:32:10Z")
> [@Andy\_L](#): > > Some kind of pantograph? Nope. It seems it’s called a Stereoplotter. This may even be the same person who was in the item I watched. [https://aerialservicesinc.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/B8-Stereo-Plotter-Historic.jpg](https://aerialservicesinc.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/B8-Stereo-Plotter-Historic.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2021, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/without-saying-your-age-whats-something-from-your-childhood-that-a-younger-person-wouldnt-understand/953138/272 "2021-10-27T02:32:29Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > > [@digs](#): > > > > Where did you live that you were listening to OK City and Chicago stations? > > > > > Or was this a case of a station like KAAY Little Rock Arkansas? Even up in Wisconsin, we could tune that in late at night (for a moody show “Bleeker Street”, my favorite source for ‘deep cuts’ and new music). > > Those were [“clear-channel” stations](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clear-channel_station), which cranked up their wattage at night (while other AM stations on their frequency had to sign off at sunset), and could often be picked up many hundreds of miles away, depending on atmospheric conditions. Wisconsin here too. If I didn’t have to stay up on school nights to hear Bleeker Street after midnight after BTO and Stevie Wonder were put to bed, I might have amounted to something. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2021, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/without-saying-your-age-whats-something-from-your-childhood-that-a-younger-person-wouldnt-understand/953138/273 "2021-10-27T02:45:52Z")
> [@Slithy\_Tove](#): > > Wisconsin here too. When I was a little kid, we lived in the Chicago area, and my mom listened to a “beautiful music” station (WAIT 820); when we’d get in the car after dark, the radio would be picking up WBAP in Fort Worth; we loved the funny commercials with overblown Texas accents. After we moved to Green Bay, I’d take advantage of the clear-channels to listen to WLS and WGN out of Chicago, late at night. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2021, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/without-saying-your-age-whats-something-from-your-childhood-that-a-younger-person-wouldnt-understand/953138/274 "2021-10-27T03:21:30Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > After we moved to Green Bay, I’d take advantage of the clear-channels to listen to WLS and WGN out of Chicago, late at night. I know I could find them on the internet and download them but I miss the Mystery Theater at night when driving. they were great and kept you awake. ---
**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:** [October 27, 2021, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/without-saying-your-age-whats-something-from-your-childhood-that-a-younger-person-wouldnt-understand/953138/275 "2021-10-27T03:31:12Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > > [@digs](#): > > > > Where did you live that you were listening to OK City and Chicago stations? > > > > Or was this a case of a station like KAAY Little Rock Arkansas? Even up in Wisconsin, we could tune that in late at night (for a moody show “Bleeker Street”, my favorite source for ‘deep cuts’ and new music). > > Those were [“clear-channel” stations](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clear-channel_station), which cranked up their wattage at night (while other AM stations on their frequency had to sign off at sunset), and could often be picked up many hundreds of miles away, depending on atmospheric conditions. I was able to pick up KMOX in St. Louis from Johnstown, PA due to night time atmospheric skip. ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2021, 6:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/without-saying-your-age-whats-something-from-your-childhood-that-a-younger-person-wouldnt-understand/953138/276 "2021-10-27T06:24:37Z")
Remodeling the house, we took out all the lath and plaster. Of course, the old 2 X 4’s were not milled so they were actually that dimension so you had to be careful when replacing the old wood with new. ---
**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:** [October 27, 2021, 6:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/without-saying-your-age-whats-something-from-your-childhood-that-a-younger-person-wouldnt-understand/953138/277 "2021-10-27T06:57:06Z")
> [@Tibby](#): > > Then there was the time my mantis egg case hatched in my first grade classroom. Many mantises emerged. The teacher was not amused. How was I supposed to know to put a lid on the jar? This happened to me, in my bedroom. Hundreds of baby mantises, all over the house. I remember my mom ordering me to vacuum the drapes, not very happy with me. And who had a calculator like [this](https://www.ebay.com/itm/284445631269?chn=ps&norover=1&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-117182-37290-0&mkcid=2&itemid=284445631269&targetid=1262779892329&device=c&mktype=pla&googleloc=9051739&poi=&campaignid=14866892363&mkgroupid=129483442273&rlsatarget=pla-1262779892329&abcId=9300677&merchantid=113498105&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIwNXelf7p8wIV6GxvBB3-_w_3EAYYASABEgIOjvD_BwE)? You needed a stylus. ---
**Author:** ![nightshadea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7ba0ec/32.png) [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2021, 7:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/without-saying-your-age-whats-something-from-your-childhood-that-a-younger-person-wouldnt-understand/953138/278 "2021-10-27T07:03:04Z")
> [@TRC4941](#): > > A can of Shasta for 25 cents sometimes they’re 25 cents sometimes 35 depending on how old the machine is > [@Smapti](#): > > Collecting comics from individually-sold pieces of Bazooka Joe bubble gum and mailing them in for prizes was still a thing when I was young, but I’m fairly sure it had ended by the time I reached my early teens. I’m pretty sure every word of that would make absolutely no sense to some of my Gen-Z coworkers. believe it or not, they still do this … just bazooka comes in a normal square pack instead of the 3 cent sizes ---
**Author:** ![Bonum\_Legatum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bonum_legatum/32/6183_2.png) [@Bonum\_Legatum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bonum_Legatum)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2021, 10:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/without-saying-your-age-whats-something-from-your-childhood-that-a-younger-person-wouldnt-understand/953138/279 "2021-10-27T10:04:53Z")
TV or radio: Turn it on and waiting for the tubes to warm up before seeing the picture or hearing a sound. Turning the TV off and seeing the screen collapse to a white dot in the center before going completely blank. Hmm. Maybe a younger person would understand the first one - it is like booting up a computer. ---
**Author:** ![nightshadea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7ba0ec/32.png) [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2021, 11:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/without-saying-your-age-whats-something-from-your-childhood-that-a-younger-person-wouldnt-understand/953138/280 "2021-10-27T11:11:29Z")
my first 2nd hand tv the “kmc” black and white special…als0 the black and white and color switch on early computers and consoles ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2021, 12:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/without-saying-your-age-whats-something-from-your-childhood-that-a-younger-person-wouldnt-understand/953138/281 "2021-10-27T12:06:57Z")
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