People Are Sharing Old Photos To “Prove” That Humans Aged Faster In The Past | Bored Panda
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People Are Sharing Old Photos To “Prove” That Humans Aged Faster In The Past
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People Are Sharing Old Photos To “Prove” That Humans Aged Faster In The Past

Former professional baseball pitcher Brandon McCarthy had a shower thought: did people age faster in the past? So, he did what you normally do in these situations. Ask Twitter about getting old in the past.

When you think about it, evolution is a very slow process and humans are more or less the same basic issue model that they’ve been for years, so it can’t be the case, right? However, people started replying to McCarthy with old photos of their parents where 20-year-old dads look like they’re about to retire. And that’s irrefutable evidence right there!

Continue scrolling and check out these vintage photos and the hilarious debate.

More info: Twitter

Image credits: BMcCarthy32

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However, if we got serious for a moment, we’d discover that different humans age differently, and that’s the way it has been. A study of nearly one thousand 38-year-olds revealed that while most had biological ages close to the number of birthdays they had notched up, others were in quite worse or better health.

Researchers used 18 physiological markers, including blood pressure, organ function, and metabolism, to evaluate the biological age of the participants. For some, the past dozen years had taken no obvious toll on their body’s biology.

Others, however, hadn’t been so lucky. A good many participants had biological ages in the 50s, and in one “extreme case” a person had a biological age of 61, meaning that for every birthday over the past dozen years, their body had aged 3 years, thus shortening the life span significantly.

“The overwhelming majority are biologically in their mid-40s or younger, but there are a handful of cases who are in pretty bad shape. In the future, we’ll come to learn about the different lives that fast and slow aging people have lived,” said Daniel Belsky at Duke University in North Carolina.

“Our goal was to see if we can measure aging in young people,” said Belsky. “It’s becoming increasingly clear that aging is really the cause of much of the disease and disability burden we face, but our existing science is based on aging in older people who already have a lot of age-related diseases.”

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Others thought this thread was perfect for making jokes:

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Seabeast
Community Member
3 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Smoking was the main thing, I think. When I first started working in the late 70s, it was still normal to smoke all day long at work. If you didn't smoke people thought you were some kind of health nut/weirdo. It's really hard to fathom now, but you could even smoke in hospitals and doctor's offices back then.

RaroaRaroa
Community Member
3 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I think we also think a lot of them look old because their styles look like something an older person would wear. That's because people tend to stick with the style they had at 23 in the 1960s (for example) which we now associate with a person who's 70. Others in these examples just didn't have good dental care or luck with their hairlines. You'll find people today in their 50s, with no teeth, or balding who look way older too.

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Sue Prewitt
Community Member
3 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Some of it is fashion and hair styles

Lynda Momalo
Community Member
3 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Exactly -- the short, curled hair and the drawn on eyebrows were very aging for women -- prom pictures all look like 40 year old housewives dancing with teenage boys.

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Jim Ellington
Community Member
3 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

There is no way the mustache twins are 17, not by a long shot.

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Seabeast
Community Member
3 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Smoking was the main thing, I think. When I first started working in the late 70s, it was still normal to smoke all day long at work. If you didn't smoke people thought you were some kind of health nut/weirdo. It's really hard to fathom now, but you could even smoke in hospitals and doctor's offices back then.

RaroaRaroa
Community Member
3 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I think we also think a lot of them look old because their styles look like something an older person would wear. That's because people tend to stick with the style they had at 23 in the 1960s (for example) which we now associate with a person who's 70. Others in these examples just didn't have good dental care or luck with their hairlines. You'll find people today in their 50s, with no teeth, or balding who look way older too.

Load More Replies...
Sue Prewitt
Community Member
3 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Some of it is fashion and hair styles

Lynda Momalo
Community Member
3 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Exactly -- the short, curled hair and the drawn on eyebrows were very aging for women -- prom pictures all look like 40 year old housewives dancing with teenage boys.

Load More Replies...
Jim Ellington
Community Member
3 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

There is no way the mustache twins are 17, not by a long shot.

Load More Comments
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