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Recently, Reddit user friendlylobotomist took to the popular "Ask Old People" subreddit to ask, "What is something young people don't realize didn't exist when you were younger?"
"My dad once mentioned how he remembered when his family got their first microwave," they wrote. "Huh??? I thought those were invented in like, the '40s!"
The answers were pretty fun to read, so I decided to share some of the best. Enjoy!
1."Rolling luggage."
2."Bottled water."
3."Remote control for the TV."
4."Scanners at the grocery store."
5."Windows that you had to roll down in the vehicle...and we had two keys, one for the trunk and one to put in the ignition."
6."Cupholders in cars. You drank your coffee at home, at work, or in coffee shops. Also, people just didn’t walk around with food and drink all day."
7."Having more than one car. When Dad drove to work, we stayed home all day."
8."ATMs. We used to have to plan ahead and go to the bank during business hours. If you forgot to get cash before the weekend, you were pretty much screwed until Monday. Also, VCRs. If you missed the show when it aired, you had to wait for the summer reruns."
9."Color TV."
10."Up until the mid-1990s, most grocery stores didn't accept credit or debit cards. Cash and checks only. I remember the controversy when one big chain (QFC, now a part of Kroger) announced they'd accept cards. People worried that folks would go broke running up unaffordable credit card bills by putting grocery purchases on them."
"And, here we are..."
—u/redfox2008
11."Inexpensive calculators."
12."The vaccines for measles, mumps, chicken pox, and rubella did not exist when I was a kid. Hence, I and most of my compatriots got all of those. Some kids got two diseases simultaneously."
13."Air conditioning in vehicles (otherwise known as windows). Starbucks or similar coffee places. Girls' sports in high schools."
14."Backpacks for school kids. We just carried our books in our arms, really!"
15."I remember when the house phone got the long cord on it. You could suddenly walk more than two steps away from where it was attached to the wall in the kitchen. So much freedom!"
16."I still remember the first time I read about this newfangled adhesive device with the weird name of Velcro."
17."Direct deposit. Back in the day, everyone got paid by paper check on Friday, and it needed to be cashed at a bank. Imagine all the people in line at the same time on Friday — it could very easily be an hour to get your check cashed!!!"
18."Disposable diapers."
19."Gas pumps that were able to charge more than 99 cents a gallon. Who the hell thought gasoline would ever be more than a dollar a gallon?!"
20."Sunscreen. Unleaded gas. HIV. The TSA. Bruce Willis with hair."
21.And finally: "My wife teaches second grade. They absolutely didn't believe Sesame Street existed in the '70s, because 'there was no internet,' so there was no video. So then they were sure the internet was around in the '70s!"
