Only logged in members can reply and interact with the post.
Join SimilarWorlds for FREE »

I Remember Life Before the Internet

Here are some examples:

Looking up books at the library in a card catalogue.

Rand McNally Road Atlas as bible for car trips. Asking for directions at a gas station.

Telex machines to communicate overseas. This was prior to faxes. Provided a written record and was less expensive than the telephone.

Kids walking down the street to knock on a friend's door to see if they could play.

Telephone chains to spread information about school events, closings, athletic activities, etc...

Sitting down to watch the evening news. It was an important part of nearly everyone's day.

Traveling to visit multiple retail outlets to find exactly what you needed.

Huge yellow page books. Used to find phone numbers and addresses, and as booster seats for the kids.

You could fix up a car without hooking it up to a computer first

We got our recipes from the box of recipes passed down from mom, or by buying the recipe booklet put together by the church/school as a fundraiser.

Calendars hanging on kitchen wall with all important dates posted on it.
Telephone party lines where another household shared your phone connection.

Televisions that you had to get up out of the chair to change the channel.

Television antennas to pick up 3 networks...and PBS if lucky.

Waiting for Dad to finish reading the paper so that you could read the comics.

Meticulously placing the needle/tone arm into the groove of a vinyl LP album.

Cartoons on Saturday mornings.

Playing "kick the can."

Writing in cursive script.
SW-User
I’m a little bit old school in that I still subscribe to the newspaper and still listen to records. @FigNewton
SW-User
@FigNewton You got that right
SW-User
Remember cruising on Friday and/or Saturday nights? My old hometown eventually passed an ordinance to prevent cars from driving up and down the main drag more than 3 times an hour to end cruising. I bet those businesses (the few that remain) would [i]love[/i] to see that much traffic around their businesses now. I went back there a few months ago, and it was like a ghost town on Friday night. Downtown used to be a hive of activity on Friday nights.
SW-User
@SW-User We had that same ordinance in a city I used to live in. Haven't been back there in many years. It brings back memories, that is for sure
SW-User
The loop would run between Burger Chef and McDonald’s. The cops would stake out both parking lots and issue tickets if they saw you a 4th time. That pretty much killed it in a very short matter of time. @SW-User
SW-User
Simple days long gone by
SW-User
@SW-User Exactly
WindTherapy · 56-60, M
And not to change it to a political theme, but the evening news was so much different than what much of the "news" is today. They actually researched a topic before talking about it. Not just passing along something they heard/read somewhere.
SW-User
@WindTherapy Very true
Yeah, I asked directions at a gas station and they got mad at me for not having a GPS.

 
Post Comment