# 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:** 9
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2021, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/without-saying-your-age-whats-something-from-your-childhood-that-a-younger-person-wouldnt-understand/953138/162 "2021-10-25T22:16:53Z")
> [@thorny\_locust](#): > > They didn’t unplug; they were hardwired. You could leave the phone off the hook, but after a while it would start making noises at you. Oh. They were unpluggable in Australia. > [@Andy\_L](#): > > I’ll bet kids don’t scrounge through the neighborhood any more looking for glass bottles to turn in for a nickel. There was a bottle/glass dump at a local catholic school near us. We found that heaps of profligate people just dumped returnable bottles there, along with the non-returnable bottles the dump was intended to accept. So for a while we could get $2 or so (phwoar!) any time we wanted by going to the bottle dump and picking out the returnable bottles. Conveniently, the corner store where you could return bottles also sold confectionary. Then the local catholic priest noticed us doing this and put a lock on the bottle dump. He had no plans to return the bottles himself, you understand. He was just a cranky old asshole. ---
**Author:** ![jaycat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jaycat/32/3015_2.png) [@jaycat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jaycat)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2021, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/without-saying-your-age-whats-something-from-your-childhood-that-a-younger-person-wouldnt-understand/953138/163 "2021-10-25T22:20:42Z")
Darkrooms Halftones Blocks of wax (to put in the waxer and melt, for “cut and paste.”) Compugraphics and Varitypers. Developer and fixer. Cutting rubies. ---
**Author:** ![Galactus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/galactus/32/3581_2.png) [@Galactus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Galactus)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2021, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/without-saying-your-age-whats-something-from-your-childhood-that-a-younger-person-wouldnt-understand/953138/164 "2021-10-25T22:34:06Z")
If I wanted to play video games I had to go to an arcade. ---
**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 25, 2021, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/without-saying-your-age-whats-something-from-your-childhood-that-a-younger-person-wouldnt-understand/953138/165 "2021-10-25T22:48:51Z")
> [@mbh](#): > > My schools used mimeographs and ditto machines We called it a Gestetner. ---
**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 25, 2021, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/without-saying-your-age-whats-something-from-your-childhood-that-a-younger-person-wouldnt-understand/953138/166 "2021-10-25T23:02:51Z")
Bench seats in the front, so a kid could sit between Mom and Dad in the car (no seat belt, natch!) ---
**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:** [October 25, 2021, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/without-saying-your-age-whats-something-from-your-childhood-that-a-younger-person-wouldnt-understand/953138/167 "2021-10-25T23:06:36Z")
> [@Andy\_L](#): > > Bench seats in the front, so a kid could sit between Mom and Dad in the car Or if you just wanted to snuggle up to your girlfriend/boyfriend while driving. ---
**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 25, 2021, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/without-saying-your-age-whats-something-from-your-childhood-that-a-younger-person-wouldnt-understand/953138/168 "2021-10-25T23:13:27Z")
I’m not quite that old. ---
**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:** [October 25, 2021, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/without-saying-your-age-whats-something-from-your-childhood-that-a-younger-person-wouldnt-understand/953138/169 "2021-10-25T23:24:37Z")
> [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](#): > > Japanese beetles and lightning bugs (Fireflies). We’ve still got both. > [@Princhester](#): > > They were unpluggable in Australia. Ah. You were ahead of the USA. (Or aren’t talking about the 50’s and 60’s.) – Scabby knees and sunburns were normal. Complaining about them, if you were older than about 3, would get you called a crybaby (whatever gender you were.) ---
**Author:** ![kitap](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b9e5f3/32.png) [@kitap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kitap)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2021, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/without-saying-your-age-whats-something-from-your-childhood-that-a-younger-person-wouldnt-understand/953138/170 "2021-10-25T23:56:43Z")
> [@phs3](#): > > > [@MrAtoz](#): > > > > put it into a little mechanical gizmo, put some carbon paper on top of it, and slide a lever over it to make an imprint of the card > > Known in the industry as “knuckle busters” or “zip-zap machines”. And finally vanishing for realz as cards stop being embossed. My hotel still has one in case the power goes down or there is a prolonged computer outage, like the server being moved. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2021, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/without-saying-your-age-whats-something-from-your-childhood-that-a-younger-person-wouldnt-understand/953138/171 "2021-10-26T00:03:28Z")
\*Pshhhkkkkkkrrrrkakingkakingkakingtshchchchchchchchcch \*ding \*ding _ding"_ ---
**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 26, 2021, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/without-saying-your-age-whats-something-from-your-childhood-that-a-younger-person-wouldnt-understand/953138/172 "2021-10-26T00:04:16Z")
> [@thorny\_locust](#): > > They didn’t unplug; they were hardwired. You could leave the phone off the hook, but after a while it would start making noises at you. In the U.S., the old AT&T/Western Electric wall phones, like this one, were usually hardwired: [![](https://images.bonanzastatic.com/afu/images/fd20/b02e/8114_5545187085/s-l1600.jpg) ](https://images.bonanzastatic.com/afu/images/fd20/b02e/8114_5545187085/s-l1600.jpg) But, at least when I was a kid in the '70s, a lot of desk phones, like this one, were plugged into the wall with a cord, which could be unplugged: [![](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50227922023_335a5fb0e3_b.jpg) ](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50227922023_335a5fb0e3_b.jpg) The plug looked like this: [![](https://www.smcelectronics.com/TEL55.JPG) ](https://www.smcelectronics.com/TEL55.JPG) And the wall outlet looked like this: [https://www.oldphoneworks.com/images/P/DSC\_0051-04.JPG](https://www.oldphoneworks.com/images/P/DSC_0051-04.JPG) ---
**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:** [October 26, 2021, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/without-saying-your-age-whats-something-from-your-childhood-that-a-younger-person-wouldnt-understand/953138/173 "2021-10-26T00:07:45Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > at least when I was a kid in the '70s, a lot of desk phones, like this one, were plugged into the wall with a cord: In my recollection, also, phones that could be unplugged started showing up in the 70’s (along with phones that had buttons instead of dials). But I was talking about the 50’s and 60’s. ---
**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 26, 2021, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/without-saying-your-age-whats-something-from-your-childhood-that-a-younger-person-wouldnt-understand/953138/174 "2021-10-26T00:08:34Z")
> [@thorny\_locust](#): > > But I was talking about the 50’s and 60’s. Ah, gotcha! My apologies. ---
**Author:** ![Keeve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f07891/32.png) [@Keeve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Keeve)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2021, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/without-saying-your-age-whats-something-from-your-childhood-that-a-younger-person-wouldnt-understand/953138/175 "2021-10-26T00:28:33Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > The plug looked like this: Whatcha got there, just to educate the young 'uns, is actually a semi-modern adapter plug. Note the jack on top where a modern networking type plug could go. Prior to that, there would be a cord going from a desktop phone directly into that plug. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2021, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/without-saying-your-age-whats-something-from-your-childhood-that-a-younger-person-wouldnt-understand/953138/176 "2021-10-26T00:36:33Z")
Mix tapes in general. There was something special about making, and giving, or receiving a mix tape. Somebody took at least that amount of time to _create_ it for you, because it was all analog and real-time recording. I don’t really know, but I don’t feel like “Hey I made this playlist for you” carries the same cachet. ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2021, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/without-saying-your-age-whats-something-from-your-childhood-that-a-younger-person-wouldnt-understand/953138/177 "2021-10-26T00:45:19Z")
> [@elfkin477](#): > > \*Pshhhkkkkkkrrrrkakingkakingkakingtshchchchchchchchcch \*ding \*ding _ding"_ Is that a dial-up modem? (Dave Barry compared it to “a duck choking on a kazoo.”) ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2021, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/without-saying-your-age-whats-something-from-your-childhood-that-a-younger-person-wouldnt-understand/953138/178 "2021-10-26T01:22:08Z")
> [@thorny\_locust](#): > > Ah. You were ahead of the USA. > > (Or aren’t talking about the 50’s and 60’s.) Well my memory only goes back to very early seventies but if they had been unpluggable earlier, they must have made a concerted effort to upgrade everything, because I never saw a hardwired phone or the remnants of one. ---
**Author:** ![SuntanLotion](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suntanlotion/32/16165_2.png) [@SuntanLotion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SuntanLotion)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2021, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/without-saying-your-age-whats-something-from-your-childhood-that-a-younger-person-wouldnt-understand/953138/179 "2021-10-26T01:53:10Z")
You could buy laundry detergent that had a towel in it! ---
**Author:** ![gnarator](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gnarator/32/8266_2.png) [@gnarator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnarator)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2021, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/without-saying-your-age-whats-something-from-your-childhood-that-a-younger-person-wouldnt-understand/953138/180 "2021-10-26T02:17:08Z")
Me too. I started at 11, though. ---
**Author:** ![phs3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8491ac/32.png) [@phs3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phs3)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2021, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/without-saying-your-age-whats-something-from-your-childhood-that-a-younger-person-wouldnt-understand/953138/181 "2021-10-26T02:19:44Z")
> [@kitap](#): > > My hotel still has one in case the power goes down or there is a prolonged computer outage, like the server being moved. Better point out that more and more cards are no longer embossed, suggest they get a phone-based solution as a backup. [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=8) [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=10)