368Kviews
21 Weird Things That Were Widely Acceptable 20 Years Ago, As Shared By People Online
Years go by, and things constantly change. Something that was acceptable decades ago is no longer considered normal, which means that the things we are doing now will probably be uncanny to our kids and grandchildren. Who knows what the future will be like – maybe we'll go back to the no technology times, or maybe those flying cars will finally show up and bless our ordinary lives. In this article, we'll be looking at Reddit users who were asked to share their opinions on weird things that were normal and widely acceptable 20 years ago.
The thread received almost 40K upvotes and 17.7K comments, alongside an engaging discussion where people occasionally reminded each other that 20 years ago is 2001 and not somewhere in the '80s.
Let us know in the comment section if there's something on your mind that you would like to add regarding the theme's question. And besides, what things that we're doing nowadays do you think will be viewed as strange by the future folks?
More info: Reddit
This post may include affiliate links.
Being at home at your TV at a certain time to catch a show, and expecting everyone to leave you alone so you could watch it with no interruptions.
You could be out with friends and you'd look and say "oh it's 7:30 I got to get home to catch my show!" And nobody looked at you like a strange social outcast.
Leaving your young kids unsupervised most of the time.
I remember at 5 years old sitting in the parking lot of the bowling alley in my dads car for 3 hours while he was inside bowling. Also, most of the time, my parents had zero clue as to where I was. I would leave the house in the morning on my bicycle and be home for dinner. Suited them just fine.
I kinda feel bad for kids nowadays. My sister and I use to go into the woods with our neighborhood friends and just run around and play, ride our bikes around the neighborhood or to the corner store. Our pitbull would accompany us unleashed and everyone would just stop and pet him as they passed by.
Going on road trips without a phone.
Yup, had to use paper maps, too, no GPS....I remember stopping at gas stations so many times to get help with directions. And hoping they weren't sending me on a wild goose chase.
Dial Up internet.
Being able to take a look in the cockpit of a plane.
The stewardesses would activly ask some kids on the flight if they wanted to take a look in the cockpit. I remember when I stepped in the cockpit of a Boeing 747 I decided I wanted to become a pilot someday.
When I was a kid, I used to have a little book that the pilot would sign on each flight and would usually get invited up to the cockpit to get it signed. You could only stand back behind the pilots seats, and not touch anything, but if you were lucky the pilot would show you some of the controls and instruments. Used to love it. Real shame that kids these days will never expeience that.
When I was around 10 years old, which is approximately 50 years ago, my dad was in charge of getting medical supplies shipped to Guam during the refugee crisis. They landed a C-5 at the airport, a regional hub. This plane was beyond huge. Since my dad was in charge of the airlift, I got to go into the aircraft to see the cockpit. I still have a picture of that massive control setup (lots of dials) in the plane. But what I remember the most was on the navigator console the flight engineer had a Mickey Mouse pocket watch. I asked about it, and he smiled and said that he kept that on his console and it was set to local time where he lives so we always knew what time it was at home with his kids
I decided I wanted to become a pilot, so I took a crash course. Turns out that wasn't what they were looking for.
They still do this before takeoff during boarding. I see kids doing it all the time. I also fly a lot, so there's that, too.
Yeah. I was going to say we did this just a couple of years ago. (Before Covid messed up going abroad).
Load More Replies...
20 years ago was December of 2001. I doubt if anyone was looking in any cockpits. Most of the things on this list would be more likely 30 years ago.
I just said pretty much the same thing. Somebody needs to check their math.
Load More Replies...
I scored this a few years ago as an adult because I gave the flight attendants candy (I was going through some s**t when I went on my first flights so I’m paying it forward to the flight attendants I have now). They made me wait until after we landed obvs, but apart from that I got to take a quick look in there and listen to the pilot telling a bad ground crew to get their s**t together.
Load More Replies...
I am only in my early teens and I have seen the inside of a cockpit on a commercial flight? Maybe it's just America that has banned this because of 911
As kid, I always poked my head in the cockpit to say "hi" to the pilots.
They would even hook you up with the pilot wings and mad you feel like the coolest kid on the plane.
At our town park when I was a kid there was a WWII fighter jet that we could go into and pretend we were flying it. There were sharp edges all over it, and I'm sure it wasn't the safest place to be, but that was part of the fun.
1997, aged 7, we were flying new york to london. i slept most of the way because when i was young i'd sleep in anything that moved (cars, trains, planes, etc). the brief amount of time i remember being awake, on that flight, a stewardess came by and didn't even ask if i WANTED to see the cockpit, she just said "hi honey! let's go say hi to the pilots! ok, mom?" i went, said hi, that's cool, and promptly fell back asleep when i got back to my seat. still have my "wings" 24 years later though. i don't remember which airline but it was technically the middle of the night on our flight over so i think the lady was just bored as most people were sleeping.
I remember this on a plane ride when I was about 6. I took a domestic flight on my own with my mom seeing me off at the gates and my dad meeting me at the gates at the other airport. Got to say hi to the pilots. I was a bit of a brat on the way back LOL. An old man said the flight stewards would throw me out of the plane if I didn't stop and I'm all like "Yeah right." Weren't we all lil' shits at one point?
My dad has a picture somewhere of me at age 5 (so, around 12 years ago) and my half-sister in a plane's cockpit, before the plane took off. I'm a little surprised they let us do that.
They'll still do this during boarding. At least, they have multiple times with my minions. Daddy traveled a ton for work, though, so the minions are super respectful of flight staff. Not sure if that has anything to do with it.
20 years ago was 9/11. Seriously somebody needs to do the math. Almost all of these entries applied THIRTY years ago.
Completely unimaginable today, but back in the mid-1970s my older brother (then a teenager) brought a 12 gauge shotgun on a commercial airliner. Immediately upon entering the plane, he gave the gun to the pilot to stow in the cockpit for the flight. It was no big deal. Airplane hijacking wasn't a thing back then.
Ummmm... the seventies were in fact the very height of hijacking popularity! But back then the public were not as timid as today. Make that "terrified". TV again.
Load More Replies...
Not too long ago an Aeroflot Airbus made a very hard landing because they let the Captain's kids sit in the cockpit. Somehow, one of the kids disengaged the autopilot, the G-forces eventually prevented everybody from reaching the controls and finally they got a hold of it, but run out of altitude. Very tragic and very stupid.
That would be 27 years ago! Flight 593. The real cause was not the poor kid but the poorly trained crew. Airbus engineering gets some blame too.
Load More Replies...
You mean the lead photo? 'Cause that craft clearly has FOUR engines. Looks like a 707 or 720. Maybe a DC-8.
Load More Replies...
I'm sorry son, but you must have me confused with someone else. My name is Roger Murdock. I'm the co-pilot.
Actually, my kids got to see the cockpit of the plane 2 years ago, but only after it had landed.
only 3 years ago my brother(7 at the time)got to see the cockpit of the plane taking of from the cincinnati airport to some airport in Los Angeles. Only got to see it because he was young and way in front of the rest of the family! He got see the controls and ACTUALLY sat in the pilots chair. THis was when we were getting off the plane to head to another plane taking us to Sheing Hi, China!! Cool experience for my brother...
About 3 years ago I was in a flight from Dubai. An airbus, and I was sitting 4 or 5 rows from the front. They left the cockpit door open the entire 10 hour flight. I remember thinking that never happens anymore, for obvious reasons.
weird, a trip i took to usa they didn't allow it then, and that was... 2005 or thereabouts.
Load More Replies...
When my son was about 3 years old in 2008 he asked to see the cockpit because he was obsessed with airplanes, they let him up front with no issues. We were on our way to California after living in Hawaii for 3 years. They were super cool about it! My son (now 16) still has the wings they gave him and wants to be a pilot to this day. 😊
On my first flight , I've been allowed to stay on the cockpit for the entire flight ( except take off/ landing) The plane was an Air Inter Caravelle ( French guy here)
20 years ago was 2001, so this definitely wasn’t happening then.
after 9/11 they stopped access to the cockpit. So, yes, it was happening until after 9/11.
Load More Replies...
I'm glad this stopped! There was actually an incident don't remember the details though with a pilot's kid! He entered the cockpit deactivated the automatic pilot and created a series of events that lend to crash! Even without terrorism this was a dangerous practice
It was the pilot's son and daughter. Unrelated to the post then. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aeroflot_Flight_593
Load More Replies...
Paying $1.29, so 9 seconds of a song played when your phone rang.
People would go to carnivals and shove their face in the same water barrel to grab an apple with their mouth. Completely bonkers in 2021.
That every computer on the planet was going to go nuts on New Year’s Day.
My highschool had an area where we were allowed to smoke. A designated smoking area for kids under 18.
You could smoke EVERYWHERE back in the day - malls, planes, hospitals, offices. What was weird then was being told you COULDN'T smoke somewhere.
Not having airport security.
Also : smoking both on the airport and the plane! It was 1997, a flight to Dakar
People riding in cars without seatbelts plus four or five kids seated in the back.
People spending thousands of dollars on Beanie Babies.
Boots with the fur.
Shutting down Napster.
Was discussing this with my husband today: trampolines with NO safety net, no buried in a pit so it’s ground level, no spring guards - nothing. Just an incredibly bouncy platform high off the ground that 12 kids between the ages of 1 and 27 would all go on at once.
The neighbor kid and I would jump off his roof onto the trampoline. That's how I lost 3 of my baby teeth.
Load More Replies...
Getting the wrong number and then ending up having a delightful conversation with someone, or politely letting them go with a laugh.
Back in the day, they sold sim cards on newspaper stands. No one asked for an ID. You would go to the provider outlet only if you wanted a paid subscription. All went downhill when phone scams sckyrocketed and old people were getting scammed out of their savings. *EDIT* Also cigarettes and alcohol were sold to anyone, at any age. My dad would send me off to buy him cigarettes and beer at the age of 5. I couldn't even count yet. Also no receipts were given after a purchase. Anywhere. You would eat, and a breakdown hand written on a paper tab would be given to you. People would just compare if the prices matched the ones in the menu. Also no one flew. Only businessmen. A regular airplane ticket cost well over your average monthly wage, sometimes two. At least the above was true in the early 90s back in Bulgaria.
My Mom gave us a note to take to to gas station to pick up cigs 🙄
Load More Replies...
Having a cell phone you could smash with a brick and it still worked.
Having a designated meeting spot and HAVING to be there on time because if you were too late the other person would just leave.
Remembered another one: there used to be a number you could dial on your (stationary, rotary ) phone, and you could listen to fairy tales. Used to crank up the phone bill a lot for my folks, but I loved listening to Little Red Riding Hood, the 7 little goats etc.
Where can't you wear a scarf to school? That's a staple of winter wear in Canada.
Load More Replies...
Thought of another one. In Canada growing up, as example: our house phone numbers were 7 digits on full. Like 519-1382. BUT we only had to dial "9-1382" to connect. 12 digit phone numbers (plus 1 at the front) were only for long distance. Which tbh was anywhere 15 minutes outside our city.
No one is mentioning taking PEANUT BUTTER(and Jam) to school. Or anywhere really. My mom couldn't have been able to pay for both us kids to take meat to school. Oh wait.. I guess many are vegans now lol
Plus, a lot fewer people even choose to take sandwiches (in Australia anyway) for lunch anymore. You see many more taking sushi, salad, soup/other things in thermos, fried rice etc. I think it began with more immigrants who had these things traditionally in their country, plus people wanting to be more healthy, and now more people caught up with the trend.
Load More Replies...
Making fun of Asians for wearing masks when they were sick. I had so much to learn.
These are great memories, but go waaay further back than 2001, sorry.
In general almost none of these applied 20 years ago. 20 years ago was post-911. 25 years ago maybe.
Was discussing this with my husband today: trampolines with NO safety net, no buried in a pit so it’s ground level, no spring guards - nothing. Just an incredibly bouncy platform high off the ground that 12 kids between the ages of 1 and 27 would all go on at once.
The neighbor kid and I would jump off his roof onto the trampoline. That's how I lost 3 of my baby teeth.
Load More Replies... Getting the wrong number and then ending up having a delightful conversation with someone, or politely letting them go with a laugh.
Back in the day, they sold sim cards on newspaper stands. No one asked for an ID. You would go to the provider outlet only if you wanted a paid subscription. All went downhill when phone scams sckyrocketed and old people were getting scammed out of their savings. *EDIT* Also cigarettes and alcohol were sold to anyone, at any age. My dad would send me off to buy him cigarettes and beer at the age of 5. I couldn't even count yet. Also no receipts were given after a purchase. Anywhere. You would eat, and a breakdown hand written on a paper tab would be given to you. People would just compare if the prices matched the ones in the menu. Also no one flew. Only businessmen. A regular airplane ticket cost well over your average monthly wage, sometimes two. At least the above was true in the early 90s back in Bulgaria.
My Mom gave us a note to take to to gas station to pick up cigs 🙄
Load More Replies... Having a cell phone you could smash with a brick and it still worked.
Having a designated meeting spot and HAVING to be there on time because if you were too late the other person would just leave.
Remembered another one: there used to be a number you could dial on your (stationary, rotary ) phone, and you could listen to fairy tales. Used to crank up the phone bill a lot for my folks, but I loved listening to Little Red Riding Hood, the 7 little goats etc.
Where can't you wear a scarf to school? That's a staple of winter wear in Canada.
Load More Replies... Thought of another one. In Canada growing up, as example: our house phone numbers were 7 digits on full. Like 519-1382. BUT we only had to dial "9-1382" to connect. 12 digit phone numbers (plus 1 at the front) were only for long distance. Which tbh was anywhere 15 minutes outside our city.
No one is mentioning taking PEANUT BUTTER(and Jam) to school. Or anywhere really. My mom couldn't have been able to pay for both us kids to take meat to school. Oh wait.. I guess many are vegans now lol
Plus, a lot fewer people even choose to take sandwiches (in Australia anyway) for lunch anymore. You see many more taking sushi, salad, soup/other things in thermos, fried rice etc. I think it began with more immigrants who had these things traditionally in their country, plus people wanting to be more healthy, and now more people caught up with the trend.
Load More Replies... Making fun of Asians for wearing masks when they were sick. I had so much to learn.
These are great memories, but go waaay further back than 2001, sorry.
In general almost none of these applied 20 years ago. 20 years ago was post-911. 25 years ago maybe.
