Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

People Explain Which Things From Their Childhood Kids Today Wouldn't Understand

People Explain Which Things From Their Childhood Kids Today Wouldn't Understand
Xavi Cabrera on Unsplash
Make us preferred on Google

The technology of the last 50 years is almost unrecognizable when compared with the technology of today.

To the point that today's children often just have no frame of reference for what things from our childhoods were like.

Whether it's older media formats, methods of communication, or the toys of yesteryear, things have certainly changed.


Redditor LastPoopOnTheLeft asked:

"Without revealing your age, what is something from your childhood that 'Kids These Days' wouldn't understand?"

Landline limitations

"Party lines."

- Consistent-Routine-2

Giphy

"Not only did only 'rich people' have more than one phone or even just one with touchtone, most of us had a party line. It meant you and your neighbors had different phone numbers, but you all shared the same line."

"You could pick up the phone and listen to your neighbor's call. And if they were using the phone, you couldn't."

"If you had an emergency, you'd have to interrupt their call and ask them to hang up."

-LakotaGrl

Old School Music Piracy

"Recording music from the radio."

-AndNoc

cassette tape GIFGiphy

"Calling into the radio station to request your favorite song for your mixtape then waiting with your fingers over the record button to see if they play it."

-HazySnowDays

Who Was Going To Answer The Phone

"Calling a girl and her dad answers the phone. That sh*t was rough, kids."

-clydem

Giphy

"Calling a guy on the phone and his dad answers and they sound alike so you just start talking and then he cuts you off laughing and you realize you may have been a little too familiar and now he can probably guess you're banging his son on the regular."

-lolabythebay

TV Was A Lot Different

"I recently had to explain what 'changing the channel' meant to my small kid because he only knows streaming."

"We’ve already covered CDs, VCRs, and what it means to roll down a car window."

"It was a little rough (for me, not him). Edit: oh and we watched 'Turning Red' and I got to explain what a flip phone is."

-Proper-Emu1558

Giphy

"I was the youngest so I had to sit by the TV and hand turn the channels for my siblings. This was the 1980s."

-harlemhon

"It’s not working, cuz it’s not on Ch3"

-moridin82

Be Kind. Please Rewind

"Rewinding vhs or a cassette before returning."

-est1979

"Cassette tape rewind with a pencil ✏️ 😂"

-Sparkedmoon

Giphy

"And those rewinders that looked like cars and were super fast."

-BussHateYear

"Lol I remember when we got our first DVD and DVD player, and my mom (bless her heart), was like 'how do you rewind it?' And my dad was like 'woman it's like a CD, you don't need to rewind!'"

-bcoftheimplication7

Chains Of Ignorance

"The things on Facebook that say repost this… they were called chain letters back in the day, and you got them in the mail."

-Plenty_Surprise2593

Giphy

"Chain letters! I’d forgotten all about those. 'Make ten copies and mail them within 10 days or evil will befall you…' Ha."

-BrnEydGyrl

No Saving It

"Playing the same level on a game over and over because there’s no Saves"

-drevilishrjf

"Writing down codes after passing a level"

-Duochan_Maxwell

Giphy

"Got a PS1 and MGS1 (secondhand) for Christmas, little did i realise i need to buy a memory card to save my games. For months i got through the game by speedrunning it from the start to whatever level i last played."

"When i beat sniper wolf pt 2 the console tells me to insert disc 2, only had one disk lol. Never played the game again"

-blinky9021Flow

"KEEP ON PUTTING IN QUARTERS!!!"

-Pentacostal-Haircut

Saturday Mornings Were The Best

"The joys of Saturday morning cartoons"

-GallicPontiff

Giphy

"And your *ss better be up to watch them or you're waiting until next Saturday."

-Facelesspirit

"And god forbid the episode this weekend had any relevance on the following weekend."

-LazyTitan39

Art That Glows

"That Lite Brite was peak technology"

-shanecdotes

"Lite Brite IS the peak of technology"

-Lukas7088

Giphy

"I still have the lite brite jingle stuck in my head."

'🎶lite Brite, making things with light!!!🎶'"

-F**kYouImFineThanks

It Wasn't Always On

"TV going off-the-air at night."

-J_David_Settle_1973

Giphy

"Yeah, and they played the national anthem before they did!"

"Then, it was the test image, until 4 p.m. on the next day, except during school holidays, when there was a special holiday program which started at 3 p.m. :-)"

-P44

Technology has evolved explosively over the last few decades, but some things have absolutely stuck in our minds.

Want to "know" more?

Sign up for the Knowable newsletter here.

Never miss another big, odd, funny or heartbreaking moment again.

More from Trending/best-of-reddit

Skyler Gisondo
Tiziana FABI / AFP via Getty Images

A Photo Of 'Superman' Star Skyler Gisondo From 2015 Is Sparking Hilarious Memes—And Even Skyler Is Cracking Up

Actor Skyler Gisondo is rapidly rising to the top of the Hollywood A-list—he's kinda everywhere at the moment.

After already establishing himself in films like Superman and the critically acclaimed 2026 psychological thriller Primetime, Gisondo is now stepping into the spotlight for one of the fall's biggest movies.

Keep ReadingShow less
Susan Collins; Troy Jackson
CBS 13/FOX 23

Susan Collins Gets Boast About Cheaper Road Salt Turned Right Back On Her By Dem Opponent In Epic Debate Moment

Back in September after Maine incumbent GOP Senator Susan Collins bragged about which Canadian tariffs she had gotten MAGA Republican President Donald Trump to roll back, C-SPAN asked her midterm opponent, state Democratic Senator Troy Jackson, to respond.

In his response, Jackson outlined how Trump's trade war with Canada was impacting Maine, including its effects on tourism, sales of woodland industry byproducts, and Canadian shoppers buying from border town stores in Maine.

Keep ReadingShow less
JD Vance carrying his child
Fox News

MAGA Influencer Dragged After Heaping Fawning Praise On JD Vance For Simply Carrying His Baby

MAGA pro-birth activist Anna Lulis drew mockery online after she heaped praise on Republican Vice President JD Vance for the amazing feat of carrying his own child.

Lulis, who preaches...

Keep ReadingShow less
President Donald Trump (left) and Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought (right).
LiveNow from Fox; Al Drago/Getty Images

President Donald Trump teased mysterious “big surprises” involving Project 2025 architect Russ Vought ahead of the midterms, raising concerns about potential election interference.

With just a few weeks remaining until the November 3 midterm elections, President Donald Trump appears to have a few tricks up his sleeve.

And the commander-in-chief isn't content to keep them there. With control of Congress on the line, he's teasing some “big surprises”—and his chosen accomplice has already helped reshape Washington for the worse.

Keep ReadingShow less