# 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:** 59
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2022, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/without-saying-your-age-whats-something-from-your-childhood-that-a-younger-person-wouldnt-understand/953138/1163 "2022-07-07T12:43:07Z")
> [@thorny\_locust](#): > > Recycling? What’s recycling? We threw things Away. Conversely previous generations threw as little as possible away. Bones from the Sunday roast could be sold off to the rag and bone man, clothes and linens would be repaired/repurposed (as a child I had several sweaters my mother had re-knitted from unravelled old ones, shirt collars could be turned, sheets worn thin in the middle could be cut and turned sides-to-middle), butter papers could be saved for greasing baking tins, wrapping paper and string could be kept for re-use - not to mention screws, nails, odds and ends of all sorts. Some of that was the effect of WW2 shortages, but a lot was long-engrained “domestic economy” ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2022, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/without-saying-your-age-whats-something-from-your-childhood-that-a-younger-person-wouldnt-understand/953138/1164 "2022-07-07T12:58:05Z")
If you buy quarts of oil for your car these days, it comes in a plastic bottle with a cap you can unscrew and a neck that facilitates easy pouring. Back in the day, cans of oil were like cans of food: a steel cylinder with a circular lid crimped on each end. When you wanted to get the oil out, you grabbed a purpose-made pour spout like **[the one in this picture](https://fineartamerica.com/featured/vintage-motor-oil-can-and-pour-spout-paul-ward.html)**. You jammed it into the lid on one end of the oil can, and its sharpened edge would pierce the lid and fix the spout in place. Pour your oil into your engine, remove the spout, discard the can, and on to the next. Video here starts at the 2:00 mark and provides a 30-second demo of how you installed the spout on a can: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/DoZLF34OqqU/maxresdefault.jpg "Oil Can filler spout - how it was done") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DoZLF34OqqU) If your dad took care of your own cars, or if you were old enough yourself, you had one of these spouts wrapped in a rag on a shelf in your garage or basement. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2022, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/without-saying-your-age-whats-something-from-your-childhood-that-a-younger-person-wouldnt-understand/953138/1165 "2022-07-07T13:34:06Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > We just burned stuff in the backyard. Then, in the '60s, had an incinerator installed in the basement. Burned everything that could be burned, until it became illegal. In the fall we burned leaves. Eventually everybody was burning their leaves and so much smoke hung over the roads that cars began to run into trees and each other, not to mention loose piles of burning leaves at curbside, so it was soon illegal. ---
**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:** [July 7, 2022, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/without-saying-your-age-whats-something-from-your-childhood-that-a-younger-person-wouldnt-understand/953138/1166 "2022-07-07T13:51:59Z")
> [@PatrickLondon](#): > > Conversely previous generations threw as little as possible away. This is true. My mother, for instance, kept buttons; even when the garment they came from was past repair or repurposing for anything other than rags. Despite which type of behavior, about every farm around here has an old dump site somewhere in the woods, containing remains of just about everything that was thought past reasonable use or that the household just wanted out of the way and which hasn’t yet rotted away entirely over the years. That’s what people have done since there were people, of course – but what we left behind us or dumped in the midden used to be all natural materials, which either created no problem or fairly rapidly returned to a form in which they created no problem. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2022, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/without-saying-your-age-whats-something-from-your-childhood-that-a-younger-person-wouldnt-understand/953138/1167 "2022-07-07T13:56:23Z")
My first calculator in college was a log-log-duplex-decitrig. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2022, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/without-saying-your-age-whats-something-from-your-childhood-that-a-younger-person-wouldnt-understand/953138/1168 "2022-07-07T14:33:15Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > Burned everything that could be burned, until it became illegal. Rural living lags behind in this area. We still burn things like Amazon boxes. My town had “recycling” for about a year. There was a trailer parked in town where you could bring your glass and plastic recyclables. Bars/restaurants brought their empty bottles and the town felt they were taking advantage of the service, so it was discontinued. I tried taking recyclables to neighboring towns, but they required proof of residency. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2022, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/without-saying-your-age-whats-something-from-your-childhood-that-a-younger-person-wouldnt-understand/953138/1169 "2022-07-07T14:38:51Z")
> [@PatrickLondon](#): > > Bones from the Sunday roast could be sold off to the rag and bone man Okay, the “rag and bone man” is a new one for me. (googling, it appears it’s a UK thing) ---
**Author:** ![chela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chela/32/21582_2.png) [@chela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chela)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2022, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/without-saying-your-age-whats-something-from-your-childhood-that-a-younger-person-wouldnt-understand/953138/1170 "2022-07-07T15:19:42Z")
It’s probably been mentioned but I remember the paper boy coming around weekly on his bike to get paid for delivering the afternoon paper, it was small change iirc. . I suppose we tipped him a quarter. My brother had a route too, had to pay for his papers from the nickels and dimes he collected. The morning Herald was delivered from the back of a station wagon, I dont remember how they got paid. We had milk and egg delivery for a time. Suburban S Fla, had to get up early to retrieve it before it got hot. I remember having no ac in most places. Soon it was in vogue with a window sign advertising cold AC inside! ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2022, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/without-saying-your-age-whats-something-from-your-childhood-that-a-younger-person-wouldnt-understand/953138/1171 "2022-07-07T16:19:12Z")
> [@Railer13](#): > > Try driving a tractor without power steering. Much worse than a car! Oh hells yes. Too many summers spent on an ancient International Harvester with no springs on the seat discing Kansas wheatfields. My piles had piles. ---
**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:** [July 7, 2022, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/without-saying-your-age-whats-something-from-your-childhood-that-a-younger-person-wouldnt-understand/953138/1172 "2022-07-07T16:24:16Z")
Midwesterners: do teams of high school kids still de-tassle corn? ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2022, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/without-saying-your-age-whats-something-from-your-childhood-that-a-younger-person-wouldnt-understand/953138/1173 "2022-07-07T16:44:42Z")
> [@Slithy\_Tove](#): > > Midwesterners: do teams of high school kids still de-tassle corn? My brother and sister did this as teenagers in the late 1970s in Wisconsin. My brother came home one day and said that he had done seven rows that day; my parents weren’t terribly impressed, until he pointed out that each row was a mile long. Looks like machines don’t do a good enough job, so [**manual detasseling is still a thing**](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Detasseling#Manual_detasseling): > Detasseling work is usually performed by teens; as such, it serves as a typical rite of passage in rural areas of the Corn Belt of the Midwestern United States. For many teens in these areas it is their first job. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2022, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/without-saying-your-age-whats-something-from-your-childhood-that-a-younger-person-wouldnt-understand/953138/1174 "2022-07-07T17:20:48Z")
> [@chela](#): > > It’s probably been mentioned but I remember the paper boy coming around weekly on his bike to get paid for delivering the afternoon paper, it was small change iirc. I remember those things called ‘noosepapers’ that boy was delivering. I don’t recall all the reasons people had those things delivered but I remember you could roll them up and squash bugs, start fires with them, and put them down on the floor where you expect a mess to be or use them to clean one up. ---
**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:** [July 7, 2022, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/without-saying-your-age-whats-something-from-your-childhood-that-a-younger-person-wouldnt-understand/953138/1175 "2022-07-07T18:06:10Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Too many summers spent on an ancient International Harvester with no springs on the seat discing Kansas wheatfields. Heh. My dad had John Deere tractors, that weren’t exactly ancient, but they weren’t state of the art, either. No cabs or umbrellas. ---
**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:** [July 7, 2022, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/without-saying-your-age-whats-something-from-your-childhood-that-a-younger-person-wouldnt-understand/953138/1176 "2022-07-07T18:10:01Z")
> [@Slithy\_Tove](#): > > Midwesterners: do teams of high school kids still de-tassle corn? Yes, and they are hiring. You can check out the job possibilities at [teamcorn](https://www.teamcorn.com/). ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2022, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/without-saying-your-age-whats-something-from-your-childhood-that-a-younger-person-wouldnt-understand/953138/1177 "2022-07-07T18:10:49Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > I don’t recall all the reasons people had those things delivered I recently was buying a newspaper from a coin operated box. The guy who fills the box yelled for me to wait, I was buying yesterdays paper. I told him that was fine, I was buying it for my bird’s cage. He laughed and gave me the entire stack of old papers. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2022, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/without-saying-your-age-whats-something-from-your-childhood-that-a-younger-person-wouldnt-understand/953138/1178 "2022-07-07T22:33:52Z")
Not rare at all. One bank near us has several drive-through lanes. The one closest to the building is the drive-through ATM. The other two lanes (maybe only one?) uses pneumatic tubes. When I used to volunteer at a hospital, they used pneumatic tubes to get medications etc. to the different floors. ---
**Author:** ![BippityBoppityBoo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bippityboppityboo/32/5745_2.png) [@BippityBoppityBoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BippityBoppityBoo)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2022, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/without-saying-your-age-whats-something-from-your-childhood-that-a-younger-person-wouldnt-understand/953138/1179 "2022-07-07T22:34:15Z")
> [@Slithy\_Tove](#): > > Midwesterners: do teams of high school kids still de-tassle corn? Yes, although it is declining (Nebraska). ---
**Author:** ![pirviii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pirviii/32/3233_2.png) [@pirviii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pirviii)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2022, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/without-saying-your-age-whats-something-from-your-childhood-that-a-younger-person-wouldnt-understand/953138/1180 "2022-07-08T03:51:16Z")
> [@Mama\_Zappa](#): > > The other two lanes (maybe only one?) uses pneumatic tubes. My credit union just got rid of their pneumatic tubes and added 2 ATMs to each lane. They were doing it during the height of the pandemic and I had to go to a different branch to get a replacement ATM card through their pneumatic tube since nothing was open inside yet. ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Feldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lord_feldon/32/341_2.png) [@Lord\_Feldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Feldon)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2022, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/without-saying-your-age-whats-something-from-your-childhood-that-a-younger-person-wouldnt-understand/953138/1181 "2022-07-08T04:10:12Z")
One of the credit unions in my town has something crazy like eight drive-through lanes, and a huge area in front for cars to wait. It looks more like a border checkpoint than a bank. There are never any cars. I’m pretty sure that it was associated with the factory that used to be right next door, and it’s built to accommodate a crush load of workers cashing paychecks at the end of a shift. I think someone made a bad bet on future trends, because it’s not _that_ old of a building. ---
**Author:** ![GaryM](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garym/32/241_2.png) [@GaryM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GaryM)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2022, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/without-saying-your-age-whats-something-from-your-childhood-that-a-younger-person-wouldnt-understand/953138/1182 "2022-07-08T13:32:50Z")
I don’t recall, but has anyone mentioned the insurance man who came weekly to collect the premium? I remember from the 50’s. The guy would appear and my Mom would give him some change, maybe 25 cents, and get a receipt. See you next week. It was probably term life insurance. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/without-saying-your-age-whats-something-from-your-childhood-that-a-younger-person-wouldnt-understand/953138.md?page=58) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/without-saying-your-age-whats-something-from-your-childhood-that-a-younger-person-wouldnt-understand/953138.md?page=60)