# 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:** 62
**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 14, 2022, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/without-saying-your-age-whats-something-from-your-childhood-that-a-younger-person-wouldnt-understand/953138/1223 "2022-07-14T22:54:09Z")
> [@Mama\_Zappa](#): > > How about this: Data entry on keypunch machines, where you produced those manila-colored punch cards, and had to empty out a bin of the punched-out bits every day. Learned how to do that my Freshman year of college. Luckily, my father hated liver even more than I do, so that particular dish was never a problem. Mom’s 4 Bean salad, OTOH…to this day I cannot and will not eat wax beans or lima beans, and kidney beans only when they appeared in my wife’s chili. ---
**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 14, 2022, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/without-saying-your-age-whats-something-from-your-childhood-that-a-younger-person-wouldnt-understand/953138/1224 "2022-07-14T23:24:48Z")
> [@Mama\_Zappa](#): > > How about this: Data entry on keypunch machines, where you produced those manila-colored punch cards, and had to empty out a bin of the punched-out bits every day. The bits make great confetti. Sometimes other card colors were used, but mostly that manila color. Punch cards are good and stiff and useful for cardboard construction projects. I would crease them lengthwise and use a stapler to build geodesic dome models out of them. I was also an expert in their intended usage, keypunch machines, sorters, duplicators, card readers, punches, and whatever the machine was called to print on the cards (a lot of card punches, the machine a computer uses to punch new card, did not print on the top of the card like keypunch machines did). I could also program the patch board controls for them. ---
**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 15, 2022, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/without-saying-your-age-whats-something-from-your-childhood-that-a-younger-person-wouldnt-understand/953138/1225 "2022-07-15T01:24:29Z")
Christmas wreaths made of the aforementioned punch cards. Fold, staple, assemble, spray paint color of your choice. Mine were always gold. ---
**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:** [July 15, 2022, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/without-saying-your-age-whats-something-from-your-childhood-that-a-younger-person-wouldnt-understand/953138/1226 "2022-07-15T01:27:12Z")
We also made Christmas trees. [![](https://aadl.org/sites/default/files/photos/N021_0795_005.jpg) ](https://aadl.org/sites/default/files/photos/N021_0795_005.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Morgyn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morgyn/32/3041_2.png) [@Morgyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgyn)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2022, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/without-saying-your-age-whats-something-from-your-childhood-that-a-younger-person-wouldnt-understand/953138/1227 "2022-07-15T02:12:01Z")
Adjusting the antenna to get a clearer picture on the big 3 networks, or on PBS, or on UHF. (It had to be pointing in different directions for each. Dad eventually installed a BIG antenna on the chimney that had a motor that let us rotate it from a box sitting on top of the kitchen TV.) ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2022, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/without-saying-your-age-whats-something-from-your-childhood-that-a-younger-person-wouldnt-understand/953138/1228 "2022-07-15T02:27:16Z")
“It’s [Cal Worthington](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cal_Worthington) and his dog, Spot!” ---
**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 15, 2022, 5:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/without-saying-your-age-whats-something-from-your-childhood-that-a-younger-person-wouldnt-understand/953138/1229 "2022-07-15T05:10:56Z")
I think growing up he had every kind of animal, except a dog. ---
**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:** [July 15, 2022, 5:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/without-saying-your-age-whats-something-from-your-childhood-that-a-younger-person-wouldnt-understand/953138/1230 "2022-07-15T05:23:32Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > The bits make great confetti. Although chad confetti looked fantastic thrown out of a high window it was too tiny and would get in the eyes of people in the street below. NYC banned the practice. ---
**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:** [July 15, 2022, 6:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/without-saying-your-age-whats-something-from-your-childhood-that-a-younger-person-wouldnt-understand/953138/1231 "2022-07-15T06:01:51Z")
Chads from paper tape was much finer than chads from punch cards. I did typesetting with paper tape for many years, and I know from experience what it’s like to have a container of chads dumped on your head. ---
**Author:** ![Mortimus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e36b37/32.png) [@Mortimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mortimus)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2022, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/without-saying-your-age-whats-something-from-your-childhood-that-a-younger-person-wouldnt-understand/953138/1232 "2022-07-15T15:01:52Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Christmas wreaths made of the aforementioned punch cards. Fold, staple, assemble, spray paint color of your choice. Mine were always gold. My mom was going through one of her many artsy-fartsy phases. She set up an assembly line to make punch card wreaths in our basement. My job was to spray paint the cards with canned spray paint. The lack of ventilation in our basement made the job a lot more enjoyable than it should have been. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2022, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/without-saying-your-age-whats-something-from-your-childhood-that-a-younger-person-wouldnt-understand/953138/1233 "2022-07-15T16:59:25Z")
> [@Morgyn](#): > > Adjusting the antenna to get a clearer picture on the big 3 networks, or on PBS, or on UHF. (It had to be pointing in different directions for each. Dad eventually installed a BIG antenna on the chimney that had a motor that let us rotate it from a box sitting on top of the kitchen TV.) People still do this. I did this last year after our move. Antennas large and small are big sellers online. Some are of the classic rabbit ears form. People cut the cable (at least as far as TV service goes) and use an antenna to watch the local stations. Stream for everything else. ---
**Author:** ![kambuckta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/53a042/32.png) [@kambuckta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kambuckta)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2022, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/without-saying-your-age-whats-something-from-your-childhood-that-a-younger-person-wouldnt-understand/953138/1234 "2022-07-15T21:41:56Z")
Push-out triangular side windows in cars. I still wish they were a thing now! Leaving your empty milk bottles (with money underneath) either on the front veranda or near the driveway for the milkman to swap for full ones. Going to the local ‘milk-bar’ with 20c in your hand and coming back with bags-full of lollies (and milk). Milk bars don’t exist here in Aus pretty much any more. ---
**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:** [July 16, 2022, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/without-saying-your-age-whats-something-from-your-childhood-that-a-younger-person-wouldnt-understand/953138/1235 "2022-07-16T00:41:19Z")
> [@kambuckta](#): > > Leaving your empty milk bottles (with money underneath) either on the front veranda or near the driveway for the milkman to swap for full ones. Our dairy provided an insulated metal box for the milkman to leave the milk in on the porch. When payment was due, my patents would put a check in an envelope and put it in the box with the empties for the milkman to collect. ---
**Author:** ![kambuckta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/53a042/32.png) [@kambuckta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kambuckta)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2022, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/without-saying-your-age-whats-something-from-your-childhood-that-a-younger-person-wouldnt-understand/953138/1236 "2022-07-16T01:29:12Z")
We left cash. If I recall correctly, a pint of milk back then cost 7c, so a 5c + a 2c piece were left as payment. When I was a little bit older and getting into some mischief with friends, we’d do raids on doorsteps and steal the milk-money from under the bottles. Thank goodness I didn’t continue with such a life of crime. 😆 ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2022, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/without-saying-your-age-whats-something-from-your-childhood-that-a-younger-person-wouldnt-understand/953138/1237 "2022-07-16T01:46:12Z")
Adams peanut butter adorned with a picture of J.P. Patches. B&I Circus Store, a variety store with a live gorilla on display. Two for a penny candy. Milk bottles with collectable caps at school. Duck And Cover. Mickey Rooney Rainier commercials. ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2022, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/without-saying-your-age-whats-something-from-your-childhood-that-a-younger-person-wouldnt-understand/953138/1238 "2022-07-16T02:23:51Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > Two for a penny candy. I used to take my $5 allowance down to the corner store strip mall a mile away (unsupervised on a bike) and spend it on ice cream or the arcade and whatnot. I learned my math skills spending every cent on penny, nickel and dime candy bins. Good times. ---
**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 16, 2022, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/without-saying-your-age-whats-something-from-your-childhood-that-a-younger-person-wouldnt-understand/953138/1239 "2022-07-16T15:24:24Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > Mickey Rooney Rainier commercials. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/VtbP2hOX9xA/hqdefault.jpg "Rainier Beer - Wild Rainiers - Mickey Rooney") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VtbP2hOX9xA) ---
**Author:** ![TRC4941](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trc4941/32/6792_2.png) [@TRC4941](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TRC4941)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2022, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/without-saying-your-age-whats-something-from-your-childhood-that-a-younger-person-wouldnt-understand/953138/1240 "2022-07-18T15:06:43Z")
Every neighborhood had a corner store. They carried the same items a convenience store carries now but these were usually family owned and operated. Ours had a butcher shop in the back. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2022, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/without-saying-your-age-whats-something-from-your-childhood-that-a-younger-person-wouldnt-understand/953138/1241 "2022-07-18T15:20:47Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > You know where I’ve seen these still in use recently? In certain banks. There’s a bank (maybe several) near here with two drive-through lanes. So one lane is alongside the teller’s window, but the other lane is away from the window. So they use the pneumatic tube to do transactions with the car in the far lane. Less than two miles from me: three lanes and an ATM on the corner. https://www.google.com/maps/embed?pb=%213m2%212sen%214v0%216m8%211m7%211s03yt3ZknaI3YayvJFPUmpA%212m2%211d38.8618622%212d-77.0926395%213f280.01%214f8.7%215f0.26 I’ve used that ATM because it’s often less busy than the one on the main drag. ---
**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 18, 2022, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/without-saying-your-age-whats-something-from-your-childhood-that-a-younger-person-wouldnt-understand/953138/1242 "2022-07-18T15:23:28Z")
Running over the hose at the gas station to make the bell ring. The little cardboard washer in the top from a soda bottle. Later tossing the pop-top into the can but then worrying that you’ll accidently swallow it and it will slice open your throat and you’ll drown in your own blood. But really you should keep the pop-top and give it to the American Kidney fund to buy dialysis machines. [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=61) [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=63)