“Heck, I’m Old”: 50 Posts From People Grasping The Reality That They’re Old Now (New Pics)
InterviewIf you’re anything like us, there will be moments throughout your life when you get lost in your memories and genuinely forget how old you are. Sometimes, all it can take for you to get lost in thoughts about the Good Old Days is a glance at some retro decor, tech, or toys. When you snap out of your nostalgic daydreams, it can be a bit jarring to find yourself much further into the future than you thought you were. It’s hard to embrace the fact that you’re getting older… though we prefer calling it ‘leveling up.’
The “[Heck], I’m Old” group is a popular place online for people to post images from their past whenever they start feeling old and out of touch with the modern world. We’re featuring some of their most nostalgic and amusing posts for a brief trip down memory lane. Scroll down to check them out, and don’t forget to upvote the pics that resonate with you the most.
Bored Panda got in touch with the friendly team running “[Heck], I’m Old," and one of the moderators shed some light on our questions about nostalgia. You'll find their insights below.
This post may include affiliate links.
Sports Drink
Had to be careful on a hot summer's day. Let it run for a few before taking that first sip.
My parents told me not to drink it cuz of spider webs and all the bull c**p
And it didn't taste bad, either. It was a different substance than it is today.
I remember the rubbery taste. We were probably being poisoned but didn't realize it.
Load More Replies...Cold and refreshing, it was found in every yard during every adventure as a free-roaming kid in the summertime. For all the advances in technology, I regret that the world has changed so much that children will never experience the freedom and safety we enjoyed when "Be home before the street lights come on" was a thing parents said to their kids.
A spider came out of the hose once just when I was about to put the hose to my mouth. I learned to look first let the hose run a second before I drank. To be honest, my mom kept a water jug that everyone in the family drank from but we were to lazy/tired to go all the way inside.
If it had been laying in the sun you better wait more than a second or you'd burn your face off.
Load More Replies...and for some reason it tastes better than any other water from anywhere else
I never had kids. Do they still drink from hoses? Do they even leave the house?
Now, nostalgia can be incredibly powerful, no matter what generation you're from. We were curious why it has such a massive impact on so many people.
According to one of the moderators from “[Heck], I’m Old," everything revolves around the "memories of simpler, happy times."
They told Bored Panda that "with all that is going on in the world today, people really like to revisit old memories as a distraction."
Children Today Will Never Develop The Patience Of Sitting And Listening To The Radio With Their Fingers On The Buttons, Waiting For That One Song To Come On
Especially, if you could get the song without the DJ talking over the first few seconds of the intro.
@portentia9: even worse was when they talked over the LAST 15-20 seconds of the song, cuz that was usually the BEST part of the song! Grrrrrrrr!!!!!!
Load More Replies...I used that exact model to 'save' my game with a Sinclair Spectrum 80/81 ish.
i do this all the time with Spotify because my mother wont let me get Spotify premium. I have to press the shuffle button on my liked playlist to put on a random song, wait until the song thats playing is about to end, and start the screen recording about 5 seconds before it ends, hoping that the next song is the one I want to screen record. then once I get the song I want, I crop the song that was playing before it out so its just the one I want. then I go over to Google photos, find the song that I just screen recorded, and put it into the archive with my other songs so they don't get mixed up in all my other photos and videos. this is all done so I can have music during pe
Or plugging one of these to your computer, pop in a game tape and having a snack while listening to the program loading... ^^
That was my first radio and tape player Mom bought me when I was a kid.
It Took 4 People To Carry One Of These In The House
Had one of those monsters. It kept going clear into the 90s.
I currently own a tv that i bought in 2004. Had to buy a chromecast because it is not a smart tv.
Load More Replies...our house was broken into in the early '70s. when we got home, there was some stuff missing, but our TV/stereo/radio combo (which was even bigger than this one) was sitting by the door. they managed to get it that far before realizing, "yeahhh, this ain't gon work out." LMAO
I have a funny story, happened to my uncle, he had one of these big wooden case TVs and one night a thief broke into his appartment through the balcony window (he lived on the 1st floor) and nicked the TV while his son slept virtually with his head on it. The thief tried to go out through the door, but because it was dark as he exited the appartment he stumbled and fell down the stairs, TV and all. They found the thief in the morning with a broken leg next to the TV, which was c*****d open like a watermelon. Thief got nicked by police, TV was put together with duct tape and it still worked for another 5 years or so
Whenever the picture went wonky, we'd bang on the top of it, and mom would yell, "Stop hitting the TV! It won't fix it!" But it actually did.
I have one in my living room. My kids love watching old vhs tapes on it.
Just got rid of my CRT 68cm tv a month ago. Still works, but the new one is great....no background buuuzzzzz
The moderator added: "I see it as an emotional comfort kind of thing."
It's quite easy to get so wrapped up in daydreaming about the past that you start ignoring your present, at the cost of the future.
The moderator from the “[Heck], I’m Old” team had some helpful advice for anyone trying to navigate their relationship with nostalgia in a healthy way.
"Just don't get stuck in the nostalgia bubble. It can be a comfort in these trying times," they said.
My Grandmother Had One Of These Cork Coaster Caddies. I Don’t Recall Why, But I Was Fascinated With It When I Was Young
We had 2 of those in our living room, because there were so many of us one wasn't enough. God help you, if Mom caught you setting down a drink without one. That was one of the few hard and fast rules in our house.
Still see the coasters. All the knobs have vanished and the caddies have decayed into dust. Occasionally, the coasters still show signs of cork.
Because I Know What This Is For
One time, their imprint machine was broken, so they put the card on the desk, put the receipt form on top of it, and rubbed a pencil back and forth across it to make the carbon transfer of the embossed card number.
Been there, done that. Because we didn't have a machine.
Load More Replies...It is a device to slow down credit card fraud, so it happens at human speed instead of computer speed!
I think some have updated now, but the sign in ASL for credit card was/is making a fist & running it over your other open hand like you were running the card.
my favorite signs in ASL are like that. like soda (mimicking opening tab) and pancake (pan hand, wavering hand over for flipping the pancake) thank you for sharing, i love it
Load More Replies...You don't even get embossed numbers on cards anymore, so these things (we called them Streamline) wouldn't work with modern cards.
They Say You Can't Hear A Picture. I Would Have To Disagree
I used to handle claims for a budwiser distributor. When they put you on hold, you'd hear the frogs having some hilarious dialog. It was great.
Right about the time the banned using animated characters to advertise beer.
I did a search and came up with this: "Vintage UK Beer & Booze Adverts (Vol.14)" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qlxvI5r6iEk
"But when getting stuck in the past negatively impacts the present, it also affects your future. Occasionally checking your rearview mirror while driving is good, but only looking back can quickly lead you to your peril," the moderator warned.
"Looking back at memories from your past can be good. It reminds us of who we are and where we came from. Recognize all the good things that contributed to who you are. Apply that experience in ways to better your now, and your future."
The “[Heck], I’m Old” subreddit is, somewhat ironically, also getting noticeably older. It was first created in late September 2013. Though that’s less than 12 years ago when you think about just how much the world has changed and everything that’s happened during that period leading up to 2025, it almost feels more like 120 years.
The world seemed so simple back then (even though it was anything but). At the time of writing, the community boasted 320k nostalgia-loving members from around the globe.
Ever Read These In The Doctor's/Dentist's Office?
Heck yeah! I used to get SO VERY ANGRY at Goofus for being a jerk.
Load More Replies...I used to get these sent to my house! good memories...
My GPs had copies of Punch magazine for everyone's entertainment. Well, they did have cartoons in them... https://magazine.punch.co.uk/gallery/PUNCH-1970s-Front-Cover-Cartoons/G0000NkZCCU4GYnc/C000066oZEvrNB5E
I used to love Punch, didn't understand most of it at the time though. One dentist we went to had National Geographic, how posh was that?
Load More Replies...Saturday Morning Cartoons, Some Of The Best Memories Ever
And the Disney Afternoon. Gen-X and Millennials grew up with the best cartoons for ever.
I must disagree. 1960's kids had the best Saturday mornings ever. Banana Splits, HR Pufnstuf, Lidsville.....
Load More Replies...How can I trust a collection of Saturday morning cartoons without Bugs Bunny or the Flintstones? And where's Fat Albert? The Groovie Goolies? Pink Panther? Hong Kong Phooey? Dastardly and Muttley? Mr. Magoo? The Banana Splits? Okay, they weren't cartoon characters, but still. Other than Scooby and the gang and maybe Underdog, this is not my crowd, so I guess I'm even older than I thought.
Flintstones was a prime time cartoon, not Saturday morning. All the rest of those are 1970s and earlier shows. Clearly the image above has a 1980s bias.
Load More Replies...The 'toons here are WAY too modern, but at least they have Danger Mouse.
Bro, Danger Mouse was from the 80s. Scooby Doo and Under Dog are from the 60s. Danger Mouse is way closer in time to TMNT and isn't as old as you think.
Load More Replies...Sure do. And Diver Dan, Captain Kangaroo, Soupy Sales, the Go Go Gophers. I am ancient! Lol
Load More Replies...I'm a Brit but we had The Banana Splits over here in my youth: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLBmglrblsu5rx5akev8TrEseGw0Tv-YiB
and here's the theme song la la la. la LA la la. la la
Load More Replies...I Miss These You Could Hang Up On People Satisfactorily
Heh. I'll go you one better. We had that same phone - and ours was on a Party Line.
Hang up Margaret, I'm on here now and I know you are listening
Load More Replies...You used to avoid calling people who had nines in their number because it took so much longer to dial.
In the UK, if you survived long enough to dial the whole emergency number - 999 - they might send help.
Load More Replies...Hitting 'end call' just doesn't resonate the way slamming down the receiver did.
I still remember the frustration of being near the end of dialing a number and my finger slipping out so I have to hang up and start over.
facts! tapping that lil red button is not NEARLY as satisfying as slamming this bad boy down as hard as you could when you were angry with someone. lol
Sure, slamming this sucker down was awesome. But we don't talk about the absolute terror of trying to be caller number 7 to win tickets to Supertramp! Oh, the agony of being caller number 6.
In the 1960s I lived in a town where you only had to dial the last five digits to make a local call. The first two digits were the same for every number.
also to those who remember the Pulse instead of tone, you could dial out on these even if parents locked the dial. could click the hang up in quick succession for each number as long as they didnt have a zero in it :)
Aging is a very natural and inevitable part of life. So, like it or not, you’ll have to get used to the idea that not only are you going to change, but so is the world. Technology is gonna get weirder and more powerful (probably!).
Tastes and trends in music, movies, video games, and entertainment are gonna shift time and time again. Pop culture will probably become even more bizarre than now.
I Loved Playing With This In The Dark
They still make this. You can get the original version with the pegs, or one with push buttons that light up.
Anyone Else Use Plastic Cocktail Swords For Creating Sword Fights Between Your Action Figures?
I used them to peel and eat grapes when I was a kid. Sometimes, they were good for Barbie duals.
Who Else Played Like This?
Rubber cement smeared on the desk, then rolling it into a very bouncy ball
Or making fake boogers and then flicking them at someone
Load More Replies...kids used to do it when i was in elementary school, but i never did because i hated the feeling of glue on my hands
I don't remember having glue sticks when I was little but maybe my mom didn't buy them. Just the jar of paste, that tasted good.
Load More Replies...Kids still do this, in between using the phones lol. I literally saw a kid doing it today.
Meanwhile, from your personal point of view, as you get older, you’ll start noticing how the (un)healthy habits you’ve lived with up till now are affecting your physical, mental, and social well-being.
You’ll probably need to spend more and more time and effort maintaining your health, moving away from bad habits, and embracing new ones. The good news is that you can decide to improve your life, health, relationships, and career, no matter what age you are.
My Grandmother Had A Large Number Of National Geographic Magazines. I Recall Looking At The Pictures While I Drank My Chocolate Milk. Good Times
There was an old joke: "What's the difference between a naked white lady and a naked black lady?" "One appears in Playboy and the other in National Geographic."
Load More Replies...I got my Dad's collection that extended from the mid 1930s to 1990s. I had a subscription that took me up to about 2008. We had a fire that destroyed most of them. I sometimes miss them, but they took up *sooo* much room!
We All Grew Up With One Of These
The pinnacle of laziness when one wastes electricity to open a can that can easily be done by hand in fifteen seconds. Unless of course one has bad arthritis pain in the hands.
60 Yrs On, The PB&J Is *still* A Good Sandwich
I've had bouts of nostalgia with sandwiches. PB&J will always be a staple for me, however, from time to time, I want that old-fashioned thick bologna, cheese, lettuce and mayo sammich.
So trust me on this... take that, butter the OUTSIDES and put it in a sandwhich machine. It'll burn your tongue but it'll taste great.
I've never tried it, but I don't like chocolate with peanut butter, so I don't think I'll like it. Vegemite and cheese is a more nostalgic sandwich for me, even more so if it's toasted.
Veggie sarnies rule! I'm in Canada now, so I have a relative in Australia that sends me a squeezy tube thingy (their current incarnation) every few months to feed my childhood habit (born in Oz, teethed on Vegemite on rusk biscuits).
Load More Replies...I asked our local triathlete what food she eats for extended energy, thinking she ate some exotic high nutritional foods and gobbled expensive supplements. She said she lives on PB & J sandwiches.
Cheese & pickle please. Cheddar and Branston. Pure time travel.
i love that you have this distinction. mine is for a BLT, has to be very lightly toasted
Load More Replies...Now, in moderation, nostalgia can be incredibly beneficial to you. Thinking about the great times you’ve had in the past can help you weather a lot of the stress, uncertainty, and anxiety that’s battering you in the present.
However, if all you ever do is daydream about the past and think how the Good Old Days were so much better than what you have now, you’ll miss out on a ton of great opportunities for relationships, friendships, travel, jobs, hobbies, etc
A good rule of thumb is to see how much nostalgia and daydreaming impact your routine. If you feel that your daily life, health, job, and relationships are being affected, it's time to dial back.
You See This, But The Memory Of The Smell Dominates Even Faster
Title is not a lie. Not touched play-doh in a long time and I still remember the smell.
Well, since you'll own it, I'll join you. Albeit not quite as enthuastically.
Load More Replies...anyone elses parents make it for you? the homemade smelled (and *ahem* tasted) the same but the food coloring would stain hands eventually
i once ate some when i was 2, and i still remember the taste..
I was secretly glad we were too poor to buy it, the homemade one didn't have the smell (and eating it wasn't so bad)
Already In The Museum
I had the accessory that you could hook up the CD player to your cassette player.
Anyone Have This Rocking Horse?
Absolutely! I have a pic of me from the 70's where I'm riding this horse while wearing fabulous plaid pants. :)
"tell Grandma your horse wants a cookie. Don't let her give you no apple, he wants a cookie!"
I used to put on my cowboy hat, ride my horse (Buster) and play my toy saxophone. my mom has a picture.
According to WebMD, there are lots of pros and cons to aging that you can look forward to. One thing that you can look forward to is so-called crystalized intelligence, where you’re good at applying what you’ve learned.
Science Direct notes that this is the knowledge you’ve acquired through your culture, verbal ability, and social knowledge. Typically, crystalized intelligence peaks in middle age and then declines when you’re in your mid-seventies.
All My Albums Played On This…
Yup, it was basically a wood resonance chamber. Real wood. Very very very heavy wood.
Load More Replies...Ours went from floor to ceiling. Amazing speakers (as all our neighbors could attest).
this is remarkably similar to the combo the burglars were unable to steal in my comment in #1. lol the doors were different, tho, and slid into the cabinet so you could watch tv.
These Were A Blast. Who Had This Or The Cheaper Glider?
Hey, the rubber band powered wete for the rich kids.
Load More Replies...Who Amazed Their Friends With This Trick?
You couldn't be referring to the number 8,008 could you?
Load More Replies...WebMD states that as you age, you may become more agreeable, happy, and less inclined to get angry. You’re also more likely to be in tune with other people’s emotions while you’re in your forties. On the flip side, aging and illness can affect your taste and smell, which in turn can impact your diet and health.
Aging can also affect your sleep patterns. For some people, this means that they wake up earlier. Some might have trouble sleeping through the night and wake up more often while it’s still dark outside. Generally, older people are more scared of breaking something during falls. Meanwhile, you may get slightly shorter as the spaces between your vertebrae get closer together.
Pizza And Chocolate Milk School Lunch Set Us Up For Our Healthy Later Years
There was something phenomenal about school pizza. I crave it to this day and have found nothing that comes close to it. It's the same with the foot-long chili-cheese dogs at school. They were great!!!
and the mandarin orange cups were like a bomb of juice in your face, so you always had to call over a teacher to help you open em. good times. still eat em to this day(ate one this morning, and splattered my glasses with the juice)
in Wisconsin our milk was only a nickel, even when i graduated 23 yrs ago. drank soooo much of it
Loved This Pink Box
i was so allergic to this, i had to go to dr for inflamed lady bits at like age 5. still used ot, just much less and much less often!
If You Know What's Wrong With This Picture You Are Older Than The Internet And Still Smarter
It is illogical that you still are a deputy despite being so incompetent.
There was (is?) a prog rock band called Spock's Beard.
Load More Replies...I've got better Spock scene: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yaKpbaWR2pI
Okay - I get Spock, but who's the other guy and what's it all about? Can anyone explain?
That's um, the deputy from the Andy Griffith show. Name escapes me. I think the show was a product of the 50s, maybe the 40s? It's been in reruns forever and that's how this 40 something knows it.
Load More Replies...WebMD points out that early retirement might not be the best choice, as people who work jobs they enjoy while also having positive relationships with their friends and partners live longer. Older people can also be less stressed while at the same time losing some of their earlier self-confidence after turning sixty due to potential health issues and the potential for retirement.
Toys Of The Past
My brother jumped off the porch with a Tinker Toy in his mouth. He punctured the roof of his mouth and has to go to the hospital.
Yessssssss, I'm so old had a tinkertoy, lincoln logs, and an erector set
Dear Vermonta, I shan't dispute the erector set part of your comment.
Load More Replies...Who Remembers These Guys?
Fun Fact: Roger Ebert wrote screenplays, including for Russ Meyers' "Beneath the Valley of the Ultra-Vixens" (credited as 'R. Hyde').
Yes, but now it's toes up instead of thumbs up.
Load More Replies...Oh No Mr. ____? If You Know His Name, Guess What... You're Old
Mr. Bill. And you're right. I was an adult before he first appeared. Mr. Sluggo says 'Hi!'
Mr. Bill. My aunt's cat was named Sluggo this was such a huge part of my family.
I found a fabulous plastic Mr. Bill pin and took the pin off and glued Mr. Bill to my doorbell. Some a*****e stole it after 2 weeks.
Back in the early 80's I found a perfectly molded clay Mr. Bill in the biology building at Indiana University. He went everywhere with me for months before meeting his demise. He was squished when a passenger in the rear of my car folded the seatback forward. That was his last 'Oh, no!'
Part of SNL, Saturday Night Live, so yup. Funny thing is, even here in Canada, I well recall enjoying British TV when I was young. Monty Python was incredible for a teen in the '70s. Expand your horizons, Harry! Not everything stamped Made in America is trash.
Load More Replies...Which of the pics that we’ve featured here today do you feel the most nostalgic about, dear Pandas? Were there any images that made you stop scrolling while you daydreamed about your youth?
Generally speaking, what do you miss the most about the past? On the other hand, what are some awesome things that you love about the present that you wouldn’t change for the world? Let us know!
Yes I Am!
I distinctly remember hanging with my then best friend discussing the ability to talk face-to-face from any location on a screen of sorts. This was in the early 80s and that was considered imaginative.
There should be a World atlas, an encyclopedia and a pile of phone books in the background, for accuracy.
I still remember wanting to be left alone whenever I had a CD player on because I just wanted to enjoy the music I was playing!
Idk If You Did, But I Always Did!
My Favorite But Too Bad The Taste Didn't Last Long!
Yeh, the flavour didn't last and neither did the pack. It consumed piece by piece as the flavour wore off from the last one. I loved Fruit Stripes.
For Just 25 Cents You Could Be A Cowboy Or Cowgirl For Two Minutes
There was a little mom & pop grocery store a block from where I grew up. Not only did they have an awesome gum dispenser (1 cent, 5 cent, 10 cent and 25 cent), they had that bad boy. Had to beg my mom for a quarter so I could ride. She didn't cave often.
Sandy Pony is alive and well, and still costs only a penny at my local Meijer store!
Atari - My Oldest Console Experience
I got tendonitis in my thumb when I was 10 years old from trying to beat Pitfall. :)
We were the first ones on our block to get Pong, woohoo! Fascinating to ponder how many hours I spent chasing that silly white ball. Pinball was an early fave, too. Battling a little silver ball. Then Pac-Man came along, and I was invested in that little yellow ball, lol!
Sitting In The Back Seat Of A Country Squire. If The Window Was Down, You Smelled Exhaust. If The Window Was Up, You Smelled Nicotine. What Did You Smell?
Cattle Feed. If I was in the back end, I would be sitting on sacks of feed as we were coming home from the Farm Bureau.
Everyone in my neighborhood back in the 80's had that same wood paneled wagon with the rear facing seats. We always fought over who got to sit there.
i think thats the same one we had in late 80s. i would gladly drive one!
My Dad's cheap cigars! I practically lived in the back of our station wagon as we travelled across the country (North America) when I was a kid. My parents were half of a band with a drummer and guitarist that travelled on their own. Inhaling that cigar smoke and listening to country music on the radio are pretty heavy sensory memories for me.
Neither of my parents smoked. CAFE standards killed the very popular station wagon.
Making You Queasy Since 1926
At The Game I Begged My Dad To Buy Me A Plastic Batting Helmet - "No, You'll Just Break It Like The Other Three." - "I Promise To Take Care Of This One." After 52 Years, Did I Do Ok?
When I played softball the team had one batting helmet that we all shared and only wore it up to batt. Then it would fall off as you ran to 1st base.
The Elderly Among Us Will Know Who This Is!
Clap for the wolf man. The guess who. I know who he was because of that song
I remember seeing him in American Graffiti, and looking up who that was, then trying to find him on the radio.
Load More Replies...He did a lot of work in Mexico, and his show was syndicated there and in Canada.
Load More Replies...Going Into The 100th Year
I am a girl. DUHHH!!! I was 6 when I asked for these one Christmas I am 61 now. I still have them and will give them to my first grandchild if/when it ever arrives!!
I never had enough to build exactly what I wanted, but it was always a struggle getting them back in the container.
Whose Parents Had One Of These?
I loved going there for the black light posters for my bedroom.
Load More Replies...Us Older People Will Know The Error
Unless he has a really agitated bottle of Champagne in his frunk. No radiator to boil over - front OR back.
There are actually two errors. Engine is in the back, and air cooled. Some motorcycles had larger engines. :-)
Er, air-cooled Beetle engines ranged from 1131cc (1938) to 1584cc (flat four). Honda's CB750 managed 125mph in 1968 from 736cc - you really don't actually *need* a bigger engine than that on a motorcycle (never mind what I've got in the garage... 😁). Perhaps, SM, you're confusing VW Beetles with Citroen 2CVs? - which began with engines of 375cc and ended up with 602cc (flat twin).
Load More Replies...For the confused: that's a VW Beetle (Type 1 aka Bug) with its air-cooled engine at the back, pictured as if it were an overheated front-engined water-cooled car blowing off steam. The steam *appears* to be coming from approximately the location of the spare wheel (Beetles keep the battery under the rear seat - they are not the same as other cars...). The only liquid in that front luggage compartment was windscreen washer fluid, but the tank for that was further back.
Found One In The Wild
I remember ones all of wood, a wooden bench to sit on, the phone mounted just over a shelf, with another shelf underneath for the phone book, which was often chained in place.
In the 1960s, at the "D(estroyer) & S(ubmarine) Piers Fleet Call Center onboard US Naval Operating Base Norfolk Va, I waited patiently until directed to the specific telephone booth where the operator had connected my call home. Yeah, it was a relic of the WWII avalanche of sailors calling their homes all over America. Sometimes those calls needed an operator to research, locate, and connect to a sailor's family from rural and distant parts, bringing folks lacking telephone service to folks who did (sometimes the local general store or town mayor). So far as I know, the call center is long gone and those sweet, patient, caring telephone operators--all women--have passed, unsung, across the bar. G-D Bless them, every one.
Did You Have These?
We used them for these laminated phonics worksheets; you wrote your answers and took it up for the teacher to check, then cleaned it with a paper towel and some sort of spray. The worksheets were color-coded by level and lived in a big box; when it was time to do them, you'd line up at the box and pick out one from the color you were on. once you'd done each one well enough to get a checkmark, (I don't remember if it had to be perfect, or 9 out of 10, or what) you got to go on to the next color. It was a low-tech way for everybody to work at their own pace, and use one set of materials for the whole class. It worked pretty well, unless you were down to 1 or 2 worksheets left to complete in a color, and some other kid picked that one to do. Then you'd have to re-do one you'd already checked off.
We used these in the Air Force to track airplanes. No I am not kidding.
I used them at my job as a restaurant hostess to mark our table charts.
A Local Dairy Queen Still Has Their "Little Miss Dairy Queen" Mascot Up From The 1960s
Found another one! This beauty was around in 2019 in Saco, Maine: https://www.instagram.com/p/BsosIEplqLE/ Little-Mis...27205.jpeg
If You Know This Man’s Name And The Name Of His Most Well Known TV Character, You Are Or Will Soon Be Eligible For A Senior’s Discount
Well, GOLL-EE! Let's see if I can cipher it out, Sergeant Carter!
yeah, he killed that song, which is one of my favorites. the lyrics are extremely moving.
Load More Replies...Since no one mentioned his real name, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Nabors
If You Recognize This Family... Mmmm, You Is Old
We were convinced that Roger was the guy doing the shake move in Ferris Buller's Day Off. It was during the city dancing scene.
Early 70’s Picture Time At Family Gatherings - Gotta Have These
Later replaced by the flash bar - a strip with as many bulbs as exposures on a roll of film. Contacts on top and bottom, you had to flip it over midway through the roll, but at least you had enough bulbs.
Same as the Flip Flash? We knew each other well back when: https://www.evilmadscientist.com/2014/flip-flash/ Flip-Flash...85e81.jpeg
"Flash Cubes" they snapped onto the top of your camera and replaced the big flash bulb reflectors.
Load More Replies...Guys - Did You Have One, Or Just Want One?
Here in the UK, we had the Raleigh Chopper: https://www.retrowow.co.uk/retro_collectibles/70s/raleigh_chopper.html (inspired by the US Schwinn Stingray)
Recently saw a Chopper on Repair Shop, grown men tearing up all round...
Load More Replies...Mine didn't have the shifter on it. But yes.....,.,my favorite bike.
Did You Play This Game
Wham-0 Toy From The Past
And you'd always try to trick someone else into going first so they could find the rocks you missed.
It was all fun and games until you hit that one hard root thing sticking up out of the ground.
All the way into my teens in the early 90's we would make the homemade "Redneck" version. A really thick plastic tarp and you would either use baby oil or vegetable oil, water hose pick the slightest incline and automatic Slip 'N Slide. We were all broke, so we made do with what we had laying around.
BTW: Don't ever try to use ANY type of dish liquid detergent. We tried that once during the Summer, when we had ALL been drinking and roasting in the Southern heat. IYKYK. We used WAY too many bottles of the cheapest things that we could buy. #1: Bubbles are great, in small quantities. NOT when it looks like Mr. Bubble exploded. #2: Dish liquid on bathing suits, shorts, t-shirts, flip flops and sandals, is impossible to wash off with a water hose. Good luck trying to sit on ANYTHING without your a*s sliding around, even the grass. #3: If you're wearing a 2 piece bathing suit or halter top, make sure that shīt is secure. More than one girl lost their tops and in one case, her bottom came off.....Have a fun summer and drink responsibly!
Load More Replies...Somebody brought a slip-n-slide to a picnic in grad school and we had the greatest time. Until the next day, when a bunch of bright 20 somethings realized they'd spent the prior evening repeatedly hurling themselves onto the ground, and that sh|t hurt. A lot!
In the 80s, our house was upgraded. Workers left a big roll of kitchen tile and we used it for a slip n slide. It was great as it was super long!!!
I was never able to have one. Not just the cost, but we had no lawn only concrete (my grandad was against having lawn). One time I did go to a friend's birthday party who had one which was cool.
Had one. Had friends who built an extra large one out of plastic drop cloth. That thing was legit scary.
Did Anyone Have One?
We had this version. Used it until we ran out of the flavor liquids.
Does Anyone Recognize Them?
Johnny Carson. AKA the best darn talk show host ever and I shall die on this hill.
Banned Early To Mid 1960s Toy
Clackers. Problem was if you got too energetic with them, the plastic could splinter and send sharp splinters toward faces and eyes.
I had a pair......of clackers in the early 70s. Loved playing with them. But terrified the would break and kaboom! No more face.
Who Remembers These, And When Raspberry Candies Was Still Dark Red, And Not Windshield Wiper Blue?
Remeber the craze if "cinnamon sticks" ? People soaked toothpicks in a cinnamon solition and chewed on them.
Mint ones too, as I recall. Never used them as actual toothpicks. We just sucked on those tasty pieces of wood. What the hey was wrong with our parents, lol!
Load More Replies...Saw This In A Coffee Shop. My 28-Year-Old Daughter Had No Idea Why I Said: "Ohhhh Noooooooooooooo!" In A High Pitched Voice
Does Anyone Else Still Love Them?
I just had a whole conversation with my boss the other day about rainbow sprinkles are the best
Load More Replies...I brought these to a party, everybody groaned about how bad they were, they were gone within 5 minutes, and everybody was happy. People. Go figure.
What Did You Buy With These?
As a kid I used to love going to grandpop's, it was literally right across the street. He save the stamps for me to put in the books. Then I got to pick out what I wanted.
I still have a horse figurine my mom bought for me with green stamps! It's a big ceramic figure in a traditional Greco-Roman style.
We got a ping pong table. Spend hours pressing those stamps onto a wet sponge to glue into the books
Jim Henson's Dinosaurs
Some people lament Firefly, but Dinosaurs was my first. They created a show kids where immediately hooked on then cancelled it with everyone dying at the end of the first season. I remember my mom and her church hating the show because the Satanic Panic! at the time said dinosaurs weren't real and fossils were just a trick from Satan
Cracker Balls- I Used To Terrorize My Younger Sisters With These
Impact-detonated loosely contained black powder. Fun, but a bit blase after real fireworks. If we had any dud firecrackers, we would bend them in half to break one side open in the middle, put them down on a big flat rock with a bit of powder spilled out, light it, and then quickly smash the end of a baseball bat down on it. EASILY three times louder than the firecracker would have been had it worked! (You know... these might have worked the same way had it occurred to me to try it!)
We just had those strips of paper caps that exploded when you hit them with a hammer. They were meant for cap guns, but we never used them that way. :)
I used to squeeze them between my fingers until they popped. No danger or damage.
I loved these guys. My brother and I would use them as artillery in our army man battles.
Before P-Touch, Dymo Had These…
Ours was a much sleeker, gray and dark blue metal version. I likened it to a ST: TNG Phaser. Sorta like this - Dymo-Label...77723f.jpg
I coveted my grandad's one, but by the time he gave it to me, the new Dymo label makers were more my thing.
Wow, This Does It For Me!
They starred in the TV show "He and She" in 1967, and that's what they still are.
Who Here Had One Of These Bad Boys?
The board would vibrate, causing the "players" to move around slowly and randomly.
Later editions had the bases that could be adjusted by turning a wheel so you could somewhat direct the players motion. Helped a little. Not much, but a little
Load More Replies...There Are People Who Think The Word “Ditto” Originated With The Pokémon
The ditto machine is the origin of a single meaning of the word ("a copy of a paper" meaning). Ditto in the common usage of "thing mentioned previously" came into English from Italian, with the same meaning, in the 17th century.
There was also the ditto mark - " - which meant 'same as the word right above this mark.' Often used in all sorts of lists.
I still remember papers from the ditto machine in grade school. The ink always looked purple. And they'd be warm if the teacher had just run them.
Makes me think of the mimeograph machines. They were hand crank, and made blue-ink copies of the master. They came off slightly damp and cool.
Ditto = '' It's called a ditto mark. It's used all the time. I use it when making notes all the time. 4@25#$5/#=$2,500, '' to Johnson and Co. FOB both. People still write things sometimes.
They need to watch "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" just to see the scenes with the teacher nicknamed "Ditto" and everyone sniffing the tests to get a buzz from the ditto fluid.
We had one in my grade school in the 80s. It's how they made work sheets and such for us kids.
actuallhy it comes from the word 'indeed' => 'indeeddio' => 'ditto'. all is flux...
I’m Old
Anyone remember the plastic goop you smeared on your LPs to "clean out the grooves"?
I Think My Fingers Are Still Red From Eating Pistachios
They were dyed red to hide discoloration on the shell from the drying process and make them look more attractive.
As someone who has never seen a pistachio dyed red in my life let alone eaten one, what purpose is there behind painting them red?
https://sporked.com/article/why-were-pistachios-dyed-red/#:~:text=Prior%20to%20the%20'70s%2C%20most,producers%20dyed%20the%20nuts%20red.
Load More Replies...We use them at my work and I always ask new co-workers "Do you remember when these were bright red?"
The colored ones were imported from Iran. The natural ones are from California. Guess why you don't see the colored ones anymore.
The red was added to hide the splotches of deterioration in transit. Otherwise no one would be buying them. Always fun to have red fingers for a while after eating them.
Load More Replies...Another Saturday Morning/Afternoon Must Watch
Kansas City Bombers! We saw it at the drive-in & I was 10 & rollerskated everywhere. I told my parents in the car that's what I wanted to be when I grew up. My dad said "no way that's going to happen!" Even at that age, I looked at him like he was crazy thinking I was making serious life plans.
If Your Family Used An Old-Fashioned Oil Lamp Like This Whenever You Lost Your Electricity, Then Yeah You’re Probably Old Like Me
I began collecting them in my early 20s. I should start again. they are so wonderful and ambient.
My mum has a collection, I was never allowed to touch them
Load More Replies...We upgraded to Coleman lanterns with the Thorium Mantles. They put out a lot of light. The hurricane lamps were relegated to the attic or the summer kitchen.
Way better than candles, and they last much longer on a fill. If you have reflectors, they light up even better.
One thing about growing up in the UK in the 1970s is that camping holidays were a thing for a lot of people - we just got out the camping gear for power cuts. Gas cartridges and pressurised paraffin for the lights, a big gas bottle for the twin hob + grill cooker. There was a time when power cuts were deliberate events to save coal: https://www.historyhit.com/when-the-lights-went-out-in-britain-the-story-of-the-three-day-working-week/
Big Laughs Starting In ‘69 … 😂
Impostor! You're not fooling anyone, you with your front water-cooled engine!
They made 50 "Herbie"s for the original film, apparently. https://motor-j****e.com/surprising-facts-about-the-legendary-herbie-volkswagen-bug/66814/. (the censored url component should read j-u-n-k-i-e without the dashes) There's a Herbie from the 2005 remake in a museum "this particular Herbie was equipped with a 200 horsepower engine that can propel it to a remarkable 138 miles per hour" https://www.petersen.org/vehicle-spotlights/1966-volkswageen-beetle-herbie
Who Used These Bad Boys For The 4th Of July?
We had a big 'ol farm, most of a mile from the highway. Our Fourth of July activities always included firecrackers, cherry bombs, ash cans, M-80's, carbide cannons, and, after dark, sparklers, aerial bombs, buzz bombs, roman candles, and the like. Always a huge picnic and cookout at the picnic table across from the house, with a big wood fire in our stone fire pit, cooking hot dogs on sticks, with burgers, baked beans, macaroni salad, iced tea, chips, potato salad, deviled eggs, and toasting marshmallows on sticks over the coals. Funny thing - farm work made us all acutely aware of safety, so we never, EVER had a fireworks accident. In later years, I added Estes Rockets to the festivities. One favorite game was to plant a big 1-1/2" steel pipe in the ground, aimed up like a vertical mortar. Light a cherry bomb, drop it in the pipe, put a big rubber ball on top, withdraw to a safe distance, then run like mad to catch the ball before it landed. Played softball in the afternoon.
Sounds like a lovely time. Would be nice to go back and relive.
Load More Replies...You're gonna stand there, ownin' a fireworks stand, and tell me you don't have no whistlin' bungholes, no spleen splitters, whisker biscuits, honkey lighters, hoosker doos, hoosker don'ts, cherry bombs, nipsy daisers, with or without the scooter stick, or one single whistlin' kitty chaser???
As a kid in NYC, these things were the stuff of legend. I may have seen an M-80 once in my life, but I'm not sure.
If You Used One Of These You’re Likely Old Af
Had one for my Master System, although it had an RF connector rather than the screw type shown here.
There Was That Special Odor And Hum Of The Transformer When You Plugged It In
Here in the UK, we had Hornby model trains: https://hornbyguide.com/default.asp
My Lionel train set was a gift from my grandfather about 65 years ago. After he passed, my grandmother gave it away, thinking I no longer cared about it. About 40 years ago, my husband found the same set and gave it to me as a Christmas present. I set it up every December on a track that surrounds the tree. Sadly, it no longer runs.
How Much Money Did You Feed The Beast Back In The Day?
They were 45 cents a pack when I started smoking in the 70s. Worst habit I ever had to break.
Luckily, I was too young to smoke. The pinball machines took all my change!
My dad’s family did. I took one look at one of those in a local restaurant near where my grandparents lived and wondered why people would buy cigarettes like that. I also wondered why they would buy them at all.
Feb 22nd: Who Else Watched The Miracle On Ice Game 45 Years Ago?
Basically, true amateurs winning against a professional team (that of course, claimed to be amateurs). Not like today where it is all professionals. I don't think I saw this live (hard to remember, I was 23 at the time), but I certainly remember hearing about it and seeing it replayed many times.
I was too young to witness it, but I definitely heard a lot about it growing up!
I think it's fair to say that most of us in the UK didn't care. We're not big ice hockey fans.
yup!!!! i screamed soooooo loud when we won! i couldn't believe it!
yeah, I was 13, on a trip to Boston with my family when that game happened, so we saw it live instead of on tape delay (because we lived in California--for non USians, pretty much everything on TV revolved around the Eastern time zone three hours different so in California you always saw everything last) in our hotel room. That whole vacation was awesome.
Are You "Take A Picture With Your Phone So You Can Read It" Old?
I firmly believe that the progressively small print is deliberate. On ALL products.
Our vision fades with age so we don't see the wrinkles in the mirror or on loved ones faces.
I am "I have to have progressive lenses in my glasses to read this" old.
Yep. I was trying to see the output voltage of a phone charger only yesterday, and the tiny print combined with dark green text on black plastic meant I had to take a photo and zoom.
Not yet but I'm getting there. I'm farsighted so stuff small and close to my face is starting to give me trouble.
I Think This Was Standard In Every Home. It May Have Been The Most Thing Given At Christmas
"Old Spice means quality, said the Captain to the Bosun; Look for the package with the ship that sails the ocean!"
You knew Grandpa was getting ready to head out to who knows where, the house reeked of Old Spice. LOL
If You Ever Saw These Burning Around Road Work, You're Old As Dirt
I'm utterly baffled What is that? Can anyone explain? (I'm guessing perhaps some sort of lamp? Roadworks etc. warning lamps were all battery powered here in the UK come the early 1970s as far as I recall)
They were placed around road construction sites and other hazardous locations for night time - the flame would serve as a warning light.
Load More Replies...Been There Done That Don't Know Which Was Worse Summer Or Winter
Yeah, I'm old, but not *that* old. Even my one set of grandparents with an outside loo had had a proper flush toilet fitted by the time I was born.
Load More Replies...Did you spray until the rim with creosote to deter black widows?
Load More Replies...That's what we had when I was a kid. My parents only got a septic system a few years ago. They're stupidly expensive. I remember going out to the outhouse when it was 45 below zero. You do get used to it and it hurries your business up.
Nighttime! I had to use one in my early days in Australia. No worries about the weather. I just hated that last trip of the night. Bugs, you bet. Possible snakes, sure. My cousin sneaking up behind me and scaring the literal c**p outta me? Oh yeah.
The Older I Get, The More I Make This Face
If You Know Who This Is
'Hawk', a second-season alien character from Gil Gerard's "Buck Rogers in the 25th Century" TV series. Added to try and raise the ratings.
I mean... us boys had Col. Wilma Deering, so it's fair.
Load More Replies...He was my favorite character! I just thought he looked cool and his demeanor was kinda cool too.
We had these amazing ponchos that were from S. America. One was red and black, the other was white and black. They opened up into a V-shape. My eldest brother and I would run around the house pretending to be Hawk man and Hawk woman, jumping off beds and furniture, flapping our pretend wings.
Earl Scheib Paint Job
Earl was born on Feb 28, 1908 (a leap year), and died on Feb 29, 1992: leap year day. If he’d been born a few hours later, he’d only have had 21 birthdays instead of 84
I Hear It's An Excellent Vehicle To Travel To Czechoslovakia
STRIPES!!! OMG I never see that movie referenced anywhere. Bill Murray, Harold Ramis, JOHN CANDY!!! Hilarious.
We see "Lighten up, Francis" all the time. It still applies.
Load More Replies...If You Know This Boy And Where He Lived, You Are F’in Old!
I think "The Boy in the Plastic Bubble," but yeah. Years later, we got the Bubble Boy on Seinfeld.
Load More Replies...A friend of mine's daughter was born with the same disease that the "boy" had in this movie. It's called SCID and is absolutely horrible. They were able to cure her with a bone marrow transplant, but she was very sick for a long time.
That's John Travolta and Glynnis O'Connor from 1976's "The Boy in the Plastic Bubble". Not a big hit, but notable for the real love affair between Travolta and the actress that played his mother, Diana Hyland. Nearly 20 years difference, they clicked and spent what, tragically, turned out to be the last six months of her life together (breast cancer).
I Bet They Never Thought Her Daughter Would Become Famous
Where Did You Buy Your Back To School Clothes?
Digital Derby Anyone?
Another “Blast” From The Past
My First Cassette Is Always Van Halen I!
The single of Sister Christian by Night Ranger. And he fast forwards through the B-side so he can get back to MOTORIN'!
He is definitely listening to The Bangles or The Go-Gos. IROC's were for the preps, muscle cars were for the metal heads.
Did You Have One Of These In Your Basement? I Can't Recall If There Were Rules
Mr. Bubble
Anyone Have This?
Nope, but I bought one for a friend of mine who was studying Comp Sci at Penn State. We had a blast programming it.
American here, and actually I would LOVE to see one of these lists from a European or Asian perspective. Maybe someone can put some of those lists together? I'd love to see what others think is nostalgic from that time...
Bored Panda is a Lithuanian website - Europeans find Americans' nostalgia more lucrative as clickbait.
Load More Replies...Interesting to learn a little about the past of a foreign culture - thank you BP. It probably is nostalgic if you come from the right country - me being a Brit, not so much. 😁
I love this thread. These were some of the items from my youth. If I had known better, I would have spent my youth taking photos of all sorts of things from my hometown. I love nostalgia.
The only thing on this list I didn't experience first hand was some of the cartoons, because they were too new. 😭
American here, and actually I would LOVE to see one of these lists from a European or Asian perspective. Maybe someone can put some of those lists together? I'd love to see what others think is nostalgic from that time...
Bored Panda is a Lithuanian website - Europeans find Americans' nostalgia more lucrative as clickbait.
Load More Replies...Interesting to learn a little about the past of a foreign culture - thank you BP. It probably is nostalgic if you come from the right country - me being a Brit, not so much. 😁
I love this thread. These were some of the items from my youth. If I had known better, I would have spent my youth taking photos of all sorts of things from my hometown. I love nostalgia.
The only thing on this list I didn't experience first hand was some of the cartoons, because they were too new. 😭
