you had to rent your phone from AT&T
I remember when...
you had to rent your phone from AT&T
...making popcorn in your home was a 20 minute proposition.
"You laugh at me because I'm different; I laugh at you because I'm on nitrous."
find me at Goodreads
...TV dinners offered a choice of Salisbury Steak, Fried Chicken, or Turkey with Gravy
Renting a video involved having a membership someplace.
"I won't kill for money, and I won't marry for it. Other than that, I'm open to just about anything."
-Jim Rockford
...there were no videos to rent, because home video recorders didn't exist yet! And if you wanted to watch a show, you had to stay home and watch it.
Last edited by Sarahfeena; 23 Feb 2011 at 08:50 PM.
Back when TV Guide served a purpose.Originally posted by Sarahfeena
"I won't kill for money, and I won't marry for it. Other than that, I'm open to just about anything."
-Jim Rockford
...we started using these at the office:
Last edited by Sarahfeena; 23 Feb 2011 at 09:12 PM.
... kids went trick or treating on their own.
TVs had separate dials for VHF and UHF stations.
Last edited by Orual; 23 Feb 2011 at 09:23 PM.
... the remote control was the youngest child.
The word radical meant something.
"I won't kill for money, and I won't marry for it. Other than that, I'm open to just about anything."
-Jim Rockford
...when http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citadel_%28software%29 this was the internet.
Actually, I think our Atari computer utilized the QuickBBS ST, not the STdel, but...
Last edited by Ramses; 23 Feb 2011 at 11:15 PM.
Telephones had rotary dials.
Shops didn't open on a Sunday
In the land of the blind, the one-arm man is king.
Tv was in black and white.
...all of which tasted exactly the same.
"You laugh at me because I'm different; I laugh at you because I'm on nitrous."
find me at Goodreads
We got rid of ours around 1990.
... cable boxes had long cords for the tuner.
... kids carried a dime for the pay phones in case you got lost.
... catalog stores where common.
... Woolworth existed and you might eat lunch at their counters.
... 50 cent Ice cream cones could be had at some pharmacies.
... McDonald's still had the giant golden arches and looks like a stand rather then a restaurant.
Chain letters were sent on paper. (This one fascinated my kid when he found it in a Calvin and Hobbes comic.)
In Ireland (and Britain) there are numerous Argos outlets which is a catalogue store. Was a novelty for the missus.
There was leaded as well as unleaded gasoline at the pump.
"You laugh at me because I'm different; I laugh at you because I'm on nitrous."
find me at Goodreads
Gas stations had attendants who pumped your gas for you. And checked your oil and cleaned your windshield.
Pay phones cost a quarter.
... Actually, that pay phones existed.
and you could fail inspection if the nozzle hole was too big for a car that took unleaded even when leaded was no longer available at stations.
Getting cash meant getting to a bank during working hours.
"I won't kill for money, and I won't marry for it. Other than that, I'm open to just about anything."
-Jim Rockford
Well for my parents. I had an ATM card from the time I was 18 and before that my paychecks were just cashed.
Spelling checking meant looking a word up.
"I won't kill for money, and I won't marry for it. Other than that, I'm open to just about anything."
-Jim Rockford
...it was exciting to use the computer that didn't have a green monitor.
...it was exciting to use a computer at all.
...novelty answering machine messages were relevant (though never cool) enough to have books written with lists of them.
So, I'll whisper in the dark, hoping you'll hear me.
...K-Mart was actually "where the old K-Mart used to be."
So, I'll whisper in the dark, hoping you'll hear me.
Just about any town of any size had a newsstand.
I was able to roam the streets and be 5 years old.
...a "play date" was any day that ended in Y.
So, I'll whisper in the dark, hoping you'll hear me.
And you just ran down the street to play, while your mother yelled, "be home for dinner!"
And, all the neighborhood kids knew which house to stay away from, because we had at least a vague idea who most of our neighbors were.And you just ran down the street to play, while your mother yelled, "be home for dinner!"
So, I'll whisper in the dark, hoping you'll hear me.
Gas was 75 cents a gallon.
Last edited by Orual; 25 Feb 2011 at 01:24 PM.
Gas was sold in gallons (meaningful if you're Canadian).
...Berkeley hadn't completely whored out Telegraph Ave.
Paedophiles were known as child molesters.
Having a mental illness wasn't so much "nifty" as "alienating".
Girls sometimes had to go away for awhile because they were "fast."
People hardly ever used profanity in public (just today a woman walked by me, talking on her cellphone, saying very forcefully, "Tell her I don't have to take that shit!").
Even still you don't hear profanities as often in public in the US than here.
Interesting. "Here" being Dublin, or Ireland generally?
finer department stores would deliver your purchases to you, for free.
Really? That might have been a city thing. I don't recall that in the burbs and Sears and Korvetts were about it for when I lived in the Bronx, not fine at all.
Well, OK, Marshall Fields used to do it. Back then, they were the only finer department store in Chicago, so that is the very limited sample I'm basing this on!
We had a Macy's and a Bamberger's here in the Burbs. Lord and Taylor's probably counts too. I don't think any of them did this.
Back up in the city, I only recall going to the big Macy's once when we still lived up there.
Disney would re-release its older movies into the theaters. I got to see Peter Pan, Cinderella, and Sleeping Beauty on the big screen.
No cuss words on TV.
I really miss that. Speaking of which, I think as a kid, I saw Song of the South on TV. Now it is locked away apparently forever.
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