# You know you're old when..... **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 15, 2005, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-know-youre-old-when/294657 "2005-03-15T17:17:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 3
**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:** [March 19, 2005, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-know-youre-old-when/294657/41 "2005-03-19T14:21:14Z")
> [@Case Sensitive](#): > > …when you realise that less time separates the end of WW2 and your birth, and the end of the Vietnam War and now. Heh. Make the latter _six times_ the former, if you want to feel old. Oh, and back to the OP. Conrail? _Conrail!?_ Try remembering when that herald replaced the worms in love PC (for Penn Central) herald _and_ still seeing the Pennsy keystones and NYC ovals around (although the railroads weren’t). DD ---
**Author:** ![SteveG1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2005, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-know-youre-old-when/294657/42 "2005-03-19T17:35:41Z")
1. All your coworkers are becoming grandparents. 2. Your new commanding officer arrives and your first thought is “who’s the kid” 3. A 67 GTO or 57 Chevy is still hot (instead of old and busted) 4. You look at the tabloid articles about the “fat actress” and still think she’s real good looking. Or, you suddenly realize that Captain Picard is way hotter looking than you’ve ever been :eek: 5. Had a skate key - check, had one 6. You catch yourself thinking the recent music all sounds the same, and get nostalgic for the “good old days” of the 60s 7. You mutter about “kids these days”, knowing full well that you used to be the one they were muttering about. ---
**Author:** ![jimmmy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/73ab20/32.png) [@jimmmy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jimmmy)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2005, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-know-youre-old-when/294657/43 "2005-03-19T18:00:01Z")
I am sure we have all seen this e-mail but it reminds me I am getting old (I edited the first 2 paragrapghs heavily) The people who are starting college this fall across the nation were born in 1986. They have no meaningful recollection of the Reagan era and probably not much of Bush 1. They were 4, 5, 6 years old during Gulf War I. Bush II has been president for circa +20% of thier lives. -----------------QUOTE (this was college freshman in 1998)---------------------- Their lifetime has always included AIDS. They never had a Polio shot and likely do not know what it is. Bottle caps have not only always been screw off, but have always been plastic. They have no idea what a pull top can looks like. Atari pre-dates them, as do vinyl albums. The expression “you sound like a broken record” means nothing to them. They have never owned a record Player. They have likely never played Pac Man and have never heard of Pong. Star Wars looks very fake, and the special effects are pathetic. There have always been red M&M’s, and blue ones are not new. What do you mean there used to be beige ones? They may have heard of an 8-track, but chances are they probably have never actually seen or heard one. The Compact Disc was introduced before they were born. As far as they know, stamps have always cost about 32 cents. Zip codes have always had a dash in them. They have always had an answering machine. Most have never seen a TV set with only 13 channels, nor have they seen a black and white TV. They have always had cable. There have always been VCR’s, but they have no idea what Beta is. They cannot fathom not having a remote control. They were born the year that Walkman were introduced by Sony. Roller-skating has always meant inline for them. They have never heard of King Cola, Burger Chef, The Globe Democrat, Pan AM or Ozark Airlines. The Tonight Show has always been hosted by Jay Leno. They have no idea when or why Jordache jeans were cool. Popcorn has always been cooked in a microwave. They have never seen and remember a game that included the St. Louis Football Cardinals, the Baltimore Colts, the Minnesota North Stars, the Kansas City Kings, the New Orleans Jazz, the Minnesota Lakers, the Atlanta Flames, or the Denver Rockies (NHL hockey, that is). They do not consider the Colorado Rockies, the Florida Marlins, the Florida Panthers, the Ottawa Senators, the San Jose Sharks, or the Tampa Bay Lightning “expansion teams.” They have never seen Larry Bird play, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is a football player. They never took a swim and thought about Jaws. The Vietnam War is as ancient history to them as WWI, WWII or even the Civil War. They have no idea that Americans were ever held hostage in Iran. They can’t imagine what hard contact lenses are. They don’t know who Mork was or where he was from. They never heard the terms “Where’s the beef?”, “I’d Walk a mile for Camel”, or “de plane, de plane!”. They do not care who shot J.R. and have no idea who J.R. is. The Cosby Show, The Facts of Life, Silver Spoons, The Love Boat, Miami Vice, WKRP in Cincinnati, and Taxi are shows they have likely never seen. The Titanic was found? I didn’t know it was lost. Michael Jackson has always been white. They cannot remember the Cardinals ever winning a World Series, or even being in one. Kansas, Chicago, Boston, America and Alabama are places, not groups. McDonalds never came in Styrofoam containers. Do you feel old now? Remember, the people who don’t know these things will be in college this year. ---
**Author:** ![Largo62](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/45deac/32.png) [@Largo62](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Largo62)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2005, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-know-youre-old-when/294657/44 "2005-03-19T20:16:26Z")
You know you’re if your first television hero was Hopalong Cassidy and your favorite cartoon was Crusader Rabbit. You know you’re old when you’re stopped at a railroad crossing and still have the urge to to wave at the engineer. You’re _really_ old if you imagine he might wave back. Or that the engineer had to be a “he.” You know you’re old when you remember watching test patterns on TV at about 6 p.m. waiting for the broadcast day to begin. You know you’re old when you remember the doctor coming _to your house_ with a little black bag. ---
**Author:** ![Foible](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Foible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Foible)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2005, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-know-youre-old-when/294657/45 "2005-03-19T22:55:03Z")
You know you’re old when they’re tearing down the obsolete store you still call “the new k-mart.” ---
**Author:** ![The\_Mad\_Hermit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b5ac83/32.png) [@The\_Mad\_Hermit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Mad_Hermit)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2005, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-know-youre-old-when/294657/46 "2005-03-19T23:32:09Z")
You know you’re old when you hear yourself saying “There used to be a big cornfield there, before they put in the Wal-Mart. There used to be a dairy over there, and this used to be a through road…” ---
**Author:** ![gfloyd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/d2c977/32.png) [@gfloyd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gfloyd)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2005, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-know-youre-old-when/294657/47 "2005-03-20T04:26:36Z")
I have to say that email about people in my generation is more than a little off. I was born in 1985. I freely admit I don’t remember a time without AIDS and am not entirely sure what Jordache jeans are. However, I remember watching Carson on the Tonight show, 8 track tapes and beige M&Ms. I know all about the hostage crisis in Iran and the Vietnam war isn’t ancient history, it was what happened when my parents were my age. Give my generation a little more faith. We aren’t stupid, naive or ignorant, unless of course your are the people that went to high school with me. Then all bets are off. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-know-youre-old-when/294657.md?page=2)