Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

People Explain Which Things Are Normal Today That Weren't 50 Years Ago

People Explain Which Things Are Normal Today That Weren't 50 Years Ago
person typing on silver MacBook
Photo by Burst on Unsplash

The world is an ever changing place.

In addition to continuing advancements in technology, human behavior also continues to evolve.

As a result, what might have seemed "normal" 50 years ago might seem far-fetched today, while things which we today consider "normal" might never have even crossed the mind of anyone back then.

Making everything we consider "normal" among the many things in this world that continues to evolve at a rapid pace.

Redditor Primary_Berry_3560 was curious to hear what "normal" everyday things were anything but normal fifty years ago, leading them to ask:

"What is normal now but wasn’t normal 50 years ago (1972)?"


We could just leave whenever we wanted to!

"Knowing where your kids are 100% of the time."- bradland

We're all wired up today!

"No one had a computer in their house in 1972."- tcharp01

Buckle up!

"Car seats for children."

"And most of the time we sat in the back seat with no seat belts available."- Rosemoorstreet

"Wearing seatbelts."

"There were no sensors- seatbelt were just shoved out of the way."

"Carding for cigarettes."

"Machines were everywhere for anyone to use."- factchecker8515

buckle up crash test dummies GIF by ADWEEKGiphy

In the old days, we had one chance!

"Watching an entire TV series at a time that's convenient for you."

"VCR's weren't even a thing 50 years ago, so if your favorite show was on Wednesday at 8PM, you were either at home to watch it or you missed out on it forever."- DeathSpiral321

Music on demand!

"Listening to the song you want to where you want to, rather than whatever is playing wherever you are."- jfincher42

Giphy

Being beholden to a landline!

"I am amazed to think about how disconnected we were."

"I could wake up on a Saturday morning and start calling friends."

"It was possible that not a single one picked up the phone and that was that."

"I would be on my own unless I waited a few hours and tried again."

"Also, in my area, the adults in the house almost always answered the phone so you had to get through them to your friends."

“'Hello, is Johnny home?'”

"'Hi this is his mother, what do you want?'”

“'I was wooooondering if he could come out to play'.”

“'Well he’s doing homework right now but I’ll tell him you called'.”

"As a kid, our times were divided between when we were 100% under adult control, which was when we were physically in their presence, and when we were free which was all other time."- Mrmidhoratio

"Asking 'Where are you?' when someone answers their phone."- brontosproximo

Shocked Phone Call GIFGiphy

No wonder they were all so tan...

"Regularly wearing sunscreen."- dixius99

It's amazing to see how much the world has changed in such a relatively short amount of time.

Leaving us to wonder what things will be "normal" 50 years from now, which today the very thought of would make us burst out laughing.

More from Trending/best-of-reddit

Screenshot of Stephen Colbert
CBS

Stephen Colbert Makes Somber Plea To Americans In Wake Of Charlie Kirk's Death

Late-night host Stephen Colbert had a somber message for Americans as he addressed the assassination of far-right activist Charlie Kirk, stressing that "political violence only leads to more political violence."

Kirk died after an unidentified gunman shot him in the neck as he—ironically enough—mocked victims of gun violence at an event in Utah Valley State University. Kirk's murder has galvanized the far-right, with President Donald Trump and his surrogates claiming without evidence that rhetoric from Democrats is responsible for Kirk's death.

Keep ReadingShow less
a woman sunbathing on rocks.
a person sitting on a towel on a beach
Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash

People Share The Weirdest Flexes They Heard Someone Say With A Straight Face

It is never attractive to gloat.

Even so, some people can't help but brag, or "flex" as it is sometimes known, about certain accomplishments or attributes.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshots from @thedowntheredoc's TikTok video
@thedowntheredoc/TikTok

TikToker Hilariously Calls Out Target After Champion Pants Feature Awkwardly-Placed Front Pleat

Sometimes you can just tell when something was designed *for* women, but was not actually designed *by* women.

Take, for instance, the new pleated pants available at Target from the Champion clothing line. While there's nothing wrong with pleated pants and they certainly have a suitable spot in the workplace, the latest rendition of Champion pleated pants are, shall we say, NSFW.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshots from @kaicutch's Instagram video
@kaicutch/Instagram

Woman Flips Her Car After Belting Out Ironic Britney Spears Lyric In Wild Viral Video

Whether we want to admit it or not, we've all had our fair share of carpool karaoke and maybe even imagined our car as our own personal recording studio.

But TikToker and Instagrammer Kaitlynn McCutcheon may have gotten too into her performance of Britney Spears' classic, "Hit Me Baby, One More Time," when the road and her car both said, "Bet."

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshots from ​@lynnshazeen's TikTok video
@lynnshazeen/TikTok

Woman Goes Viral After Revealing How Her Obsession With Matcha Landed Her In The Hospital

Let's be honest: Too much of anything isn't good for us. It's all about the balance!

But the media and social media trends have taught us that certain things are really good for us, encouraging us to be like the "very mindful and very demure" girls and take care of ourselves. One such example is drinking more matcha, especially if you really like coffee or think you have a caffeine addiction.

Keep ReadingShow less