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Dad opening the back of the TV when it stopped working, taking out the vacuum tubes, then going down to Thrifty Drug Store and plugging them in the little tester they had.
Then buying replacement tubes for the bad ones, coming home and making it work. |
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"pop start" a car.
Sending in UPC labels with a SASE. Candy cigarettes. |
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Memograph machine an how high you could get on the blue ink.
Movies on vinyl LP records an laser disks the size old records. Pong Guns in the sears an roebuck catalog Leaded gas Beer in steel cans All shoes an jeans made in America Buying a 73 mustang fastback 302 for 1500.00 |
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I haven’t seen anyone do this in 30 years. We did it all the time growing up. Couldn’t wait for school to get called off. We called it “hopping cars”. https://www.AR15.Com/media/mediaFiles/169573/89E9CFD9-9049-4F82-ABE7-273E6FF0C5C4-546087.JPG View Quote |
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Being fucked if you had a school paper due and you didn't make it to the library before they closed to use the encyclopedias.
Having to send off for a catalog if you wanted to see what a company sold. Calling the National Weather Service to see whether or not it was going to snow that night. Every badass in books, movies, comics, or TV shows being a Vietnam veteran. Every male teacher over 45 being a Korea vet, a WWII vet, or both. Getting smacked by your parents in public for being a peckerhead. Two guys fighting at school, settling that shit, then not having a real problem with each other again. Guns in racks in pickups at every high school parking lot. Having to kill a member of your family in hand to hand combat to qualify for high school graduation. Having a VCR with a remote that had a fucking cord attached to the VCR. Video stores having a room in back with a curtain where all the porn was kept. Video rentals were one fucking day. Manual chokes on carbureted engines. BB gun wars with a five pump limit that everyone fucking ignored. Sneaking a look at the old man's Playboys. Teacher's smoking on recess duty. School janitors smoking while mopping the floor. Adults telling you something and you fucking do it. Trying to sneak a glimpse of tits or fucking on a scrambled adult channel through the static. |
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I brought my old 1980s emerson boom box over to my friend's house so he could dub some old audio tapes we had made as kids. Most of them were recordings of us goofing around, playing C64 video games, and talking shit.
His 8 year old neice was like what the hell is that thing? So we gave her motley crue theatre of pain and LOL'd as she tried to figure out how to play it. "What does AM do?" she said. I had the coolest boom box in the neighborhood because mine would do dubbing at FF/RW speed. All the kids came to me to "back up" their tapes. In the 70s and early 80s it was pretty common for homes to not have a microwave oven. So you couldn't just nuke up a hotpocket or some leftovers. Another story... Same friend and I were watching Bullitt. McQueen was calling to report his location and using the pay phone or asking to use the desk phone. My friend's nephew asks why is he doing that. We tell him, and then he said, "Why doesn't he just call in using his cell phone?" |
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to castrate the cat, you stick it head first in a good tall boot.
Easy peasy! |
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Cigarette lighters on riding mowers.
Riding mowers that are now over 50 years old and still working around the home. I have a '67 Cub Cadet 102. Getting all your clothes, guns, hunting/fishing license, toys/games, household goods and paint at a Western Auto Store. When Ole Man Sam Walton(owner of Walmart) used disguises and enter Walmarts to see how his business was being handled and courtesy/help to customers. Going Christmas shopping at Montgomery Wards and Sears. Getting Montgomery Wards and Sears yearly catalogs in the mail and using the pages to wipe your ass with in the outhouse. Taking a bath as a kid in large metal laundry tubs. Heating your home with a belly stove and light by a wicker chimney oil lamp. Lightening your cigarettes by a wicker chimney oil lamp. Cooking on wood fired stoves --- you were rich if you had a stove with bread/pie warmer areas. Ice or milk being delivered by a milk or ice man and milk products put on your porch and ice goes into an underground cold cellar. Cars with no seatbelts from the factory. Planting a garden and raising fresh vegetables. Men/teenage boys of family slaughtering your own grass fed/farm raised steer for the family to eat. Hunting for your food. Hunting for that perfect Ribeye/T-bone steak at the store doesn't count, as cattle aren't grown in stores like some people think. |
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I travel a lot into remote, rural areas and I still haven't seen it in probably 10 years.
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Quoted:
I travel a lot into remote, rural areas and I still haven't seen it in probably 10 years. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes |
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Calling to place your Midway order.
Or worse yet, filling out the order form and mailing it in. |
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Motor oil came in cans. You had to use a church key or a oil pour spout that pierced the can.
Our 1963 Pontiac Catalina had no seat belts from the factory...dad got some from sears and installed them. Loving the Christmas toy catalogs from sears and Montgomery wards. Leaded premium 35.9 cents a gallon. Guns at show and tell in elementary school...in New York!!!! Shooting exhibitions on stage at the High school. Six guns and lever rifles with wax bullets trick shooting. Every guy in High School had a giant pocket knife...preferably a Buck folder. Some wore Kaybars in a sheath. You know, America. |
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"Send a check or money order"
And "roller racer" Roller Racer 1987 |
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Quoted:
I travel a lot into remote, rural areas and I still haven't seen it in probably 10 years. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes |
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Those little smoking/vent windows in cars and trucks.
some call them quarter glass. I don't know what year they dissapeared, I know as a kid our old junker 70's Nova and I think dad's 1980 diesle caddy had them. His '88 Town Car didn't one of the things I'm on a mission for is a 1950's partially restored in solid condition pickup with them |
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Quoted:
Another story... Same friend and I were watching Bullitt. McQueen was calling to report his location and using the pay phone or asking to use the desk phone. My friend's nephew asks why is he doing that. We tell him, and then he said, "Why doesn't he just call in using his cell phone?" View Quote I realized that MANY of the episodes involved creative ways to outwit the bad guy, and/or call for help, or get somewhere in time to stop the bad guys, simply because there were no cellphones. |
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Lately, I'd be surprised if anyone borne after 1995 or so would believe me if I said that while I was in high school the gas station I worked at sold gas for 80¢ a gallon for regular. When the first gulf war rolled around that soared to the ungodly sum of $1.019 a gallon. It's funny to me to think now about how people used to fucking come unglued and chew my ass out over the price. Shit, I had no control over it. I wasn't even allowed to change the numbers on the sign, let alone determine pricing.
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Quoted:
At around midnight Tv stopped, they played the national anthem, you stood up listened all the way through then went to bed, got up at 5 am with ice on the windows, went outside for a shit because there was no inside toilet, and used newspaper you had cut into squares, brought coal in and lit the fire. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NCX--Mo7NDM View Quote At school, we had a free small bottles of milk to drink. 10p, got a bag of Walkers crisps from the tuck shop and we had to say the "Lords prayer" in assembly everyday. Got in trouble and the teacher hit you with a ruler or the headmaster gave you the cane. I also remember when everyone rode two stroke (street)motorbikes, There was only BBC1, BBC2 and ITV. |
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Paying big money for long distance calls - talking more than 3 minutes was expensive
Long distance calling cards Cell phones limiting minutes and that plans were usually limited to 30 minutes; after that you needed to sell a kidney to pay for excess. Cell phones only made and received phone calls. You had to listen to the whole album side - bad songs and good ones. 8 tracks - clunk in the middle of a song- bleed over on half the tracks The blue haze of cigarette smoke at family get togethers and basketball games No end zone celebrations after a touchdown, no spiking the ball in the pros, just tossing it to the ref. Having to raise your arm if you committed a foul in basketball. Really short basketball shorts The principal coming out to look at FF everyone's rifles in the parking lot on the first day of hunting season. Lay-Away A smoking court where students could go smoke during breaks and lunch at HS. |
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The rubber air hoses that laid across the drives, up to the gas pumps, that would ring the bell inside the hoist area, to let the mechanic know there was a customer. And of course then he would go out and pump the gas, check oil, wash windsheild and some, check tire pressure. We had a buddy that worked at a shell station and always got to use the hoist after hours. One night we did burn outs in the drive and got the rubber hoses wrapped around the rear axle tubes!! Dave and I still laugh about that one.
Playing cards and balloons attached to bicycles, so they hit against the spokes when you rode them.......varoooom! Way before armour all was invented, to make your blackwall cheater slicks look shiny, you dumped a couple cups of sugar in some warm water and wiped it onto your tires |
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Calling the Time and Temp number, especially when you move to a new town to hear how different it sounds.
The awesome smell of cap guns. Riding in the back of a station wagon. Handing your dad beers from the back seat cooler. Button top beer cans. Going to McDonalds was called going out for dinner. Even little kids walked to school rain or shine, a LONG ways, for little legs anyway. |
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I meant I’ve never seen a pay before pump. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes |
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Cruising up and down the same stretch of road in town along with all the other teenagers. Showing off their cars, blasting music, burnouts, racing from light to light. Going to parties where there was a lot of drinking and people always making out. Also damn near everyone smoked. If cops showed up it was because the music was too loud and would tell us to keep it down.
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Quoted:
A couple of years back, I bought the MacGyver DVD collection and rewatched it. I realized that MANY of the episodes involved creative ways to outwit the bad guy, and/or call for help, or get somewhere in time to stop the bad guys, simply because there were no cellphones. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
Quoted:
Another story... Same friend and I were watching Bullitt. McQueen was calling to report his location and using the pay phone or asking to use the desk phone. My friend's nephew asks why is he doing that. We tell him, and then he said, "Why doesn't he just call in using his cell phone?" I realized that MANY of the episodes involved creative ways to outwit the bad guy, and/or call for help, or get somewhere in time to stop the bad guys, simply because there were no cellphones. |
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Tuning the TV.
VHF and UHF were channels. Betamax was better than VHS. Laserdisk. Rewinding porn to the exact spot your old man left it so he wouldnt figure out you found his stash. Rotary dial phones. Having to go through the phone line to connect to the internet. That hot car plastic smell from the early 80s vehicles. Burning the back of your fucking legs on hot car seats. No TSA. "I'll paint any car for $99.95". |
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Ive seen manual hubs on newer ford trucks View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes |
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Phone books.
Having to memorize important phone numbers. Keeping a highway atlas in the car (I still do). Boom boxes. "Snow" on the TV. Wal-Mart (still hyphenated) wasn't a grocery store. And they closed at night. The origins of the term "rewind" (my wife actually had to explain this one to a kid a few years ago). When I was growing up, accidentally leaving the dome light on in your car in the evening meant having a dead battery in the morning. Not a problem in my current vehicles. |
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Using your toe to dim headlights for oncoming traffic Cartoons were only on TV on Saturday morning Video games only worked on channel 3 If the President was addressing the nation you couldn't watch anything else on TV until he was done. View Quote Try playing outside and yelling at clouds. |
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