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
Make us preferred on Google

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

Pete Hegseth
Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

Pete Hegseth's Staff Broke A Priceless Eisenhower Artifact After He Demanded To Have It In His Office—And Yep, That Tracks

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and his staff members are facing heavy criticism after they tried to move former President Dwight D. Eisenhower's nearly 100-year-old globe into Hegseth's office instead of waiting for professionals, and ended up breaking it.

The globe needed to be handled with care because it is a remarkably delicate artifact that dates back to the 1930s and was used by Eisenhower during World War II.

Keep ReadingShow less
Kate Hudson
Kate Hudson/TikTok

Kate Hudson Gives Her Social Media Team A Hilarious Reminder Of What She Does For A Living In Viral TikTok

For a lot of us, creating a video for social media can be a bit of a project as we try to get it just right. But for A-list Hollywood stars? This whole social media thing is junior varsity at best! Delivering lines to a phone? Please!

Actor Kate Hudson recently gave her team a hilarious reminder in this regard while filming content for her social media.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshots of Nathan Jun and one of the pamphlets in question
@nathancjun/TikTok

Texas Conservatives Are Up In Arms After Receiving Pamphlets For Trans Teens—Except Republicans Are Behind It All

Texas Republicans have lashed out after receiving pamphlets for transgender teenagers about gender-affirming care even though the pamphlets' origins show that the call is very much coming from inside the house.

Although the pamphlets distributed at the start of Texas’s early voting period claim to come from the Transgender Education Network of Texas (TENT), a legitimate organization, the materials are fraudulent, the group has confirmed.

Keep ReadingShow less
George Santos
Phillip Faraone/Getty Images

George Santos Just Threw His Hat In The Ring For White House Press Secretary—And The Reactions Are Priceless

Disgraced former New York Republican Representative George Santos was widely mocked after he threw his name in the mix to replace former White House Press Secretary Katie Zacharia, who was fired after just five days on the job.

Santos, whose political career was derailed by allegations of fabricating his background, misusing campaign funds for luxury items and Botox, and leaving a trail of victims behind him as a known fraud and identity thief, has been soapboxing significantly since President Donald Trump commuted his prison sentence in October 2025.

Keep ReadingShow less