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Old photos are a real pleasure to look at: it’s awesome to see how fashion and style trends changed. But one thing that caught our eye is that a lot of young people in old-timey photos seem to look far older than people of the same age nowadays. Did people use to age faster in the past? It’s worth considering.

Scroll down to check out the photos we’ve collected showing how humans from the past looked way older than they ‘should.’ One of the places we drew inspiration from is the Old School Cool subreddit that’s dedicated to photos of “history’s coolest kids,” so give them a visit and have a peek at the awesome pics they post.

When you’re done enjoying this list, check our other posts about people sharing old photos that ‘prove’ humans aged faster in the past here and here.

#1

My Grandmother On Her Confirmation Day In 1941. She Is 14 Years Old In This Picture And She Made Her Own Dress.

My Grandmother On Her Confirmation Day In 1941. She Is 14 Years Old In This Picture And She Made Her Own Dress.

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#2

1940 My Grandad (17 Years Old In Photo) At The Dublin Races With His Mother, My Great Grandmother. Apologies About The Image Defect, It's The Best Photograph We Have Of Him.

1940 My Grandad (17 Years Old In Photo) At The Dublin Races With His Mother, My Great Grandmother. Apologies About The Image Defect, It's The Best Photograph We Have Of Him.

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kjorn avatar
Kjorn
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

cloths makes a big difference. today we are all in shirt and jeans

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Bored Silly
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It is the black and white photos and the hair and clothes syle that make them looked older.

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Mireia Dos
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I'm pretty sure this photo has been misdated. At what age did the mother have him, at 50??

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Ciaran Reilly
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Wow, thank you Justine for the retouch! This is my grandad and my great grandmother in the photo. This was before he moved to England. My grandmother(his wife) is convinced he was 17/18 in this photo but we aren't sure but he couldn't be much older than 25/26 as he moved to England at around that age. My grandad always had a big chest, my mum used to say he was a gorilla because he would walk around on his knuckles on the floor when playing with the kids. I think that plus the bulky clothing make him a lot more broad than he might of been.

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Tina B
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It would help to know...is he the youngest of 8 kids? That would explain how mom looks. Her face isn't overly lined, but I assume her hair is white. If you imagine him on a surfboard with shaggy hair, he looks a lot closer to 17.

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Evgeny Kolev
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

And what age is she!? If they had ~30 years difference, she should be less than 50, but definitely looks like 60+

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AJu
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

And his mother: if she had him in her 20-s, she should be 46 max...she looks like she's 70!!

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Tina B
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

She could have had him past 40, especially if she had a large family.

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Brenda Cooney
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3 years ago

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John Spitz
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It's all just a matter of the way he's dressed. Cover up everything but his face and it will make sense.

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Marcena Cashman
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

So if he's 17, his mum would be between 20-30 years older than him making her 37-47. She looks like my mum's age and I'm 46!

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Rachael K
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

stunning man def doesnt look 17 .. if he hit on a woman in her 20s or 30s she prob think hes like mid-late 20s lol hopefully he disclosed his age :) ... honestly I would have been flattered to be hit on him till I found out he was only a kid haha

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#3

My Grandfather’s Ww2 Photograph, He Was 18 Years Old. Still Alive And Sharp As A Tack At 96.

My Grandfather’s Ww2 Photograph, He Was 18 Years Old. Still Alive And Sharp As A Tack At 96.

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The Old School Cool Reddit community says that it celebrates everyone from the past who’s looking hip: “Everything from beatniks to bikers, mods to rude boys, hippies to ravers. And everything in between.”

The subreddit has a whopping 14.5 million members and it asks its members that they don’t post any pictures of people from 1995 onward. Does that mean that every photo older than 25 is considered ‘old school’ now? We sure hope that this term doesn’t apply to people born before 1995, too!

#4

My Grandma At 16. She Is Turning 80 This Year. She Makes Me Laugh Every Day. I Love This Woman!

My Grandma At 16. She Is Turning 80 This Year. She Makes Me Laugh Every Day. I Love This Woman!

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#6

The Rock At 16 Years Old. (1987)

The Rock At 16 Years Old. (1987)

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JessG
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Imagine what he sounded like while his voice was cracking:-D

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It’s not too much of a stretch to say that people in the past aged faster than we do now. Why? One of the biggest factors related to visible aging is sun exposure: the more time you spend in the sun, the more it damages your skin, the older you’ll look.

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Since more people used to work and spend time outdoors in the past (and sunscreen wasn’t as big of a thing as it is now), they visibly aged faster. Compare that to how more and more people in 2020 are spending way more time indoors and will apply sunscreen when they go outside and there you have it—mystery solved! Of course, this doesn’t apply to everyone in the 21st century, but there’s a definite trend.

#7

My Ukranian Grandmother In 1927 At 16 Years Old. Her Brother My Uncle Nick Opened The First Photography Studio In Drumheller,alberta. She Was His One Of His Best Friends And She Used To Hand Tint The Photographs For Him. I Miss Her Dearly.

My Ukranian Grandmother In 1927 At 16 Years Old. Her Brother My Uncle Nick Opened The First Photography Studio In Drumheller,alberta. She Was His One Of His Best Friends And She Used To Hand Tint The Photographs For Him. I Miss Her Dearly.

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Ivana Junas
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

She looks her age. The style of hair and clothing is currently perceived as "old fashioned" ad might be what makes her seem to be older. She looks 16.

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#8

This Was My Grandad. He Was Australia’s Youngest Radio Announcer At 16 Back In 1934

This Was My Grandad. He Was Australia’s Youngest Radio Announcer At 16 Back In 1934

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#9

My Grandparents Getting Married In Iceland In 1976 At 19

My Grandparents Getting Married In Iceland In 1976 At 19

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Some other things that make you age faster are stress, constantly changing your diet, not drinking enough water, overindulging in soda, and neglecting your friendships. Keep that in mind if you want to keep looking and feeling young, dear Pandas!

#10

My Grandma. You May Not Believe But She Was 13 In This Photo.

My Grandma. You May Not Believe But She Was 13 In This Photo.

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#11

My 14 Year Old Grandfather Riding His New Bike In 1949 Dayton, Ohio

My 14 Year Old Grandfather Riding His New Bike In 1949 Dayton, Ohio

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Anne
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

OId face, but from the muscle structure you can see he is not out of his teens yet

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#12

She Was About 17 When This Photo Was Taken. She Was Born In May Of 1918. On The Right Is Her Daughter, My Mother, Mary. She Was 19 And It Was The Day She Married My Dad

She Was About 17 When This Photo Was Taken. She Was Born In May Of 1918. On The Right Is Her Daughter, My Mother, Mary. She Was 19 And It Was The Day She Married My Dad

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#13

My Grandma (Mimi) Was An Airline Stewardess When She Was In Her Early 20’s (So, Early To Mid 1960’s), This Is A Newspaper Article From A Flight She Was On Where A Bag Full Of Frogs Escaped That She Had To Catch On The Plane

My Grandma (Mimi) Was An Airline Stewardess When She Was In Her Early 20’s (So, Early To Mid 1960’s), This Is A Newspaper Article From A Flight She Was On Where A Bag Full Of Frogs Escaped That She Had To Catch On The Plane

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Kathy Baylis
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The expression on her face is priceless! She must have a great sense of humor.

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#15

My Paternal Grandfather Aged 16 Colourised

My Paternal Grandfather Aged 16 Colourised

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Terje Nygård
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Ruff his hair up, put on a hoodie and drop the glasses and it might surprise you how much clothes impacts "visual" age :)

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#18

My Grandmother In 1955 (She Was Around 13 Or 14) And Her The Week My Grandfather “Found” Her!

My Grandmother In 1955 (She Was Around 13 Or 14) And Her The Week My Grandfather “Found” Her!

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#19

1945, My 18 Year Old Grandmother Concetta. She Was The Woman Who Taught Me How To Be A Sassy, Classy And Bad-Assy Woman.

1945, My 18 Year Old Grandmother Concetta. She Was The Woman Who Taught Me How To Be A Sassy, Classy And Bad-Assy Woman.

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#20

My Mum And Dads Wedding Here In The UK . Mum Was 20 Dad 21

My Mum And Dads Wedding Here In The UK . Mum Was 20 Dad 21

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#21

My 16 Year Old Grandmother, 1922

My 16 Year Old Grandmother, 1922

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#22

My Mama, Rose In High School

My Mama, Rose In High School

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Tomasz Jackowski
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Did she allow you to drive the Mystery Machine? Don't you go tell me your mom's name is anything other than Velma :D Also, I love that style of glasses.

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#23

My Grandmother At 24 In 1934, Dancing With My Grandfather.

My Grandmother At 24 In 1934, Dancing With My Grandfather.

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Kathy Baylis
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

What’s that Ginger Rogers quote? She did everything he did, only backwards and in heels.

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#24

My Grandfather When He Joined The Navy In 1942. He Was Only 16 Years Old At The Time Of This Picture

My Grandfather When He Joined The Navy In 1942. He Was Only 16 Years Old At The Time Of This Picture

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#25

A Photo Of My Great Grandmother, Lottie, With Her Hunting Buddies. She Had To Have Been In Her 20’s

A Photo Of My Great Grandmother, Lottie, With Her Hunting Buddies. She Had To Have Been In Her 20’s

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#26

My Handsome Grandfather When He Was My Age (32).

My Handsome Grandfather When He Was My Age (32).

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#27

This Is My Grandmother In 1954 With Her Then Beau. Her First Love. She Was 17 Years Old

This Is My Grandmother In 1954 With Her Then Beau. Her First Love. She Was 17 Years Old

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#28

Jamie Foxx, 18 Years Old

Jamie Foxx, 18 Years Old

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