# 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:** 70
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUBv.2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanubv.2/32/3260_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUBv.2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUBv.2)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2022, 12:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/without-saying-your-age-whats-something-from-your-childhood-that-a-younger-person-wouldnt-understand/953138/1383 "2022-08-18T12:08:00Z")
Sandalfoot or reinforced toe? ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2022, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/without-saying-your-age-whats-something-from-your-childhood-that-a-younger-person-wouldnt-understand/953138/1384 "2022-08-18T13:19:44Z")
If you talk to a young person these days about an “overhead projector,” they assume you mean a video projector, either for a smart board or standalone, because they are literally over their heads, near the ceiling. [![](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/61ERhEpRNwL._AC_SX679_.jpg) ](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/61ERhEpRNwL._AC_SX679_.jpg) ---
**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:** [August 18, 2022, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/without-saying-your-age-whats-something-from-your-childhood-that-a-younger-person-wouldnt-understand/953138/1385 "2022-08-18T13:52:59Z")
Good point. I knew what was meant there, prolly my kids (in their 30s) would know, but kids in school now would likely assume it meant a projection TV. ---
**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:** [August 18, 2022, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/without-saying-your-age-whats-something-from-your-childhood-that-a-younger-person-wouldnt-understand/953138/1386 "2022-08-18T14:03:19Z")
> [@OttoDaFe](#): > > I was texting my daughter about something we’d discussed several times before, and I started off with “At the risk of sounding like a stuck record …” Then it occurred to me that stuck/skipping records probably fit this cate Which raises the question - what will a younger person think of Leroy Anderson’s music(?) - one incorporated the sound of a skipping record and another was played with a manual typewriter. Is the sound of a robotic vacuum cleaner so different that Malcom Arnold’s orchestral piece (which incorporates vacuum cleaners) will be next? ---
**Author:** ![Arakhin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e99b99/32.png) [@Arakhin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arakhin)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2022, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/without-saying-your-age-whats-something-from-your-childhood-that-a-younger-person-wouldnt-understand/953138/1387 "2022-08-19T02:45:48Z")
Checking the sign every time we went to McDonalds to see if the number of billions served had increased since last time. It was the end of an era when they stopped counting at 99 billion and now the newer signs just say “billions and billions served.” ---
**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:** [August 21, 2022, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/without-saying-your-age-whats-something-from-your-childhood-that-a-younger-person-wouldnt-understand/953138/1388 "2022-08-21T12:42:28Z")
> [@Bonum\_Legatum](#): > > Is the sound of a robotic vacuum cleaner so different that Malcom Arnold’s orchestral piece (which incorporates vacuum cleaners) will be next? It would certainly add to the gaiety of nations if were done with a couple of Roombas ridden by cats. ---
**Author:** ![QMatic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/aeb1de/32.png) [@QMatic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QMatic)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2022, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/without-saying-your-age-whats-something-from-your-childhood-that-a-younger-person-wouldnt-understand/953138/1389 "2022-08-21T15:53:54Z")
> [@Machine\_Elf](#): > > Hiking boots were pretty much like this when I was a little kid: heavy, stiff-sole, stiff-leather construction for which you had best wear two pairs of socks, lest you destroy your feet in short order. [![](https://assets.trailspace.com/assets/a/1/8/9255448/20200623_143335.jpg) ](https://assets.trailspace.com/assets/a/1/8/9255448/20200623_143335.jpg) Full-on alpine-style mountaineering boots such as the Galibier Super Guide were so stiff that professional alpine guides would break in a new pair on easier ground one year, ready for serious climbing the next. I met one guide who complained that they would only get really comfortable just before they wore out. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2022, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/without-saying-your-age-whats-something-from-your-childhood-that-a-younger-person-wouldnt-understand/953138/1390 "2022-08-21T17:03:43Z")
Seeing gun racks with guns in them in the back of pickup trucks was common. A gun rack was like a standard decoration for your pickup. The Sears catalog used to sell an array of gun racks for your truck (and lots of mail order guns). It was not uncommon for a high school to have trucks in the parking lot with gun acks. Driven by students. We had hunter training in high school, and you were allowed to bring your unloaded gun to class so long as it remained in a case. Before 1969 you had to be 14 to own a gun. After 1969 the minimum age was 16, and wasn’t raised to 18 until the late 70’s. This was in Canada. We were also awash in army surplus guns after WWII. Buying and owning a mchine gun was totally okay, and before 1951 they didn’t even need to be registered, or for that matter have serial numbers on them. Even in my childhood in the 60’s and 70’s you could buy army surplus Lee Enfield .308 rifles for something like $30. Lots and lots of farmers had a Lee Enfield. ---
**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:** [August 21, 2022, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/without-saying-your-age-whats-something-from-your-childhood-that-a-younger-person-wouldnt-understand/953138/1391 "2022-08-21T21:10:21Z")
> [@Arakhin](#): > > Checking the sign every time we went to McDonalds to see if the number of billions served had increased since last time. I remember when the sign said 2-_million_ and they sold for 12-cents. The inflation calculator says that’s equivalent to $3 today and they mostly seem to for for $1.40 so there’s been some more efficiency/cost cutting done. ---
**Author:** ![dorvann](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/df705f/32.png) [@dorvann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dorvann)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2022, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/without-saying-your-age-whats-something-from-your-childhood-that-a-younger-person-wouldnt-understand/953138/1392 "2022-08-22T02:38:06Z")
Speaking of guns I remember use to have these gun cases with clear glass doors to display their guns in their living rooms. I really don’t see them anymore; most people have their guns locked up in gun cabinets/safes. ---
**Author:** ![Pleonast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pleonast/32/1183_2.png) [@Pleonast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pleonast)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2022, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/without-saying-your-age-whats-something-from-your-childhood-that-a-younger-person-wouldnt-understand/953138/1393 "2022-08-29T16:17:14Z")
Not sure it’s been mentioned: colored toilet paper. Now it’s always white. (A quick google shows it’s still available, but not at reasonable prices.) ---
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2022, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/without-saying-your-age-whats-something-from-your-childhood-that-a-younger-person-wouldnt-understand/953138/1394 "2022-08-30T17:46:07Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > That is generally what is being referred to but originally the term referred to slapping both ears at once. It was quite dangerous, besides the physical impact of the slaps eardrums can be ruptured. For maximum effect the hands are cupped and then flatten on impact forcing air into the ears. By boxing both ears at once the victim can’t pull away from either side. Unless done lightly this will easily daze a person or cause them to lose their balance and fall, a little harder and damage to the ear can be permanent. Yes, I’ve had my ears boxed (lightly) and it is very unpleasant. ---
**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:** [September 1, 2022, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/without-saying-your-age-whats-something-from-your-childhood-that-a-younger-person-wouldnt-understand/953138/1395 "2022-09-01T02:39:07Z")
We were having a discussion at a restaurant last night on why is the popular side dish called “French fries” and various friends had various opinions from plausible to momentously stupid so I finally googled the damn thing. I remember back when crazy couldn’t be easily fact-checked. Of course, my flat earth antivaxx cow-orker has his own cites as well. ---
**Author:** ![california\_jobcase](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@california\_jobcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/california_jobcase)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2022, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/without-saying-your-age-whats-something-from-your-childhood-that-a-younger-person-wouldnt-understand/953138/1396 "2022-09-24T02:51:25Z")
Home-based businesses were common back in my old neighborhood, a small town of about 2500. From my front porch I could see a Zenith TV business, a general contractors’ office, and a beauty shop, all housed in the owners’ homes. There were two other TV shops like the one I mentioned in town also. I used to help the TV guy from two doors down deliver TVs- these were still the big furniture CRT kind. ---
**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:** [September 24, 2022, 11:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/without-saying-your-age-whats-something-from-your-childhood-that-a-younger-person-wouldnt-understand/953138/1397 "2022-09-24T11:08:36Z")
I suspect today’s youngsters might freak out at my mother’s pressure cooker: [https://collection.sciencemuseumgroup.org.uk/objects/co48493/easiwork-pressure-cooker-1936-pressure-cooker](https://collection.sciencemuseumgroup.org.uk/objects/co48493/easiwork-pressure-cooker-1936-pressure-cooker) My dad tried making pease pudding (stewed down dried yellow peas, rather like polenta - horrible, but he loved it) in it, but opened the lid without letting the pressure off. Mother was _not_ amused. ---
**Author:** ![Tibby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tibby/32/17030_2.png) [@Tibby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tibby)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2022, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/without-saying-your-age-whats-something-from-your-childhood-that-a-younger-person-wouldnt-understand/953138/1398 "2022-09-24T13:34:45Z")
> [@PatrickLondon](#): > > I suspect today’s youngsters might freak out at my mother’s pressure cooker: Oh yes, vintage pressure cookers were freak-out-inducing gadgets for sure. My mother’s pressure cooker didn’t _look_ as frightful or steam-punk as your mother’s device, but it certainly freaked me out as a kid. Her 1940s-era cooker looked like this: [![](https://s.ecrater.com/stores/57268/4f2c2caf93241_57268b.jpg) ](https://s.ecrater.com/stores/57268/4f2c2caf93241_57268b.jpg) It wasn’t so much the _look_ of the cooker that scared me, it was the infernal rattling and sound of escaping steam coming from the regulator on top. To me it sounded like a compression bomb that was ready to explode. I refused to venture into the kitchen when Mom’s pressure cooker was up to steam and rattling away. I envisioned mass carnage with blood, gore, and body parts flying everywhere. Today I use an InstaPot pressure cooker on a weekly basis. No rattling. No high-pitched escaping steam. Just flavorful, uber-tender food cooked quickly and efficiently. Kids these days need horrific kitchen devices that scare the pants off them. They keep the rugrats out of the kitchen when you’re cooking. ---
**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:** [September 24, 2022, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/without-saying-your-age-whats-something-from-your-childhood-that-a-younger-person-wouldnt-understand/953138/1399 "2022-09-24T15:27:26Z")
> [@Tibby](#): > > Her 1940s-era cooker looked like this: My mother had that exact device in our kitchen. Mostly used for artichokes. ---
**Author:** ![JenM](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/2bfe46/32.png) [@JenM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JenM)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2022, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/without-saying-your-age-whats-something-from-your-childhood-that-a-younger-person-wouldnt-understand/953138/1400 "2022-09-24T15:46:07Z")
Phones with phone cords, leaving a message on an answering machine, Space Invaders on Atari, “go outside and play, come in when the streetlights come on”, thank you/please/may I (manners and respect are a thing of the past). ---
**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:** [September 26, 2022, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/without-saying-your-age-whats-something-from-your-childhood-that-a-younger-person-wouldnt-understand/953138/1401 "2022-09-26T14:29:25Z")
Working for the same employer for your entire working career. ---
**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:** [September 26, 2022, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/without-saying-your-age-whats-something-from-your-childhood-that-a-younger-person-wouldnt-understand/953138/1402 "2022-09-26T15:54:02Z")
Getting paid, with regular raises, so that you didn’t need to job-hop to make ends meet. And getting a pension. [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=69) [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=71)