me too. i felt like an international spy at the library whenever i had to use it as a child. in my imagination a hollow tooth wasn’t totally out of the realm of possibility and i would be the perfect agent, no one would suspect a kid.
I’m so old that the sole use of a skateboard was to ride down hills. You had to use a key to affix roller skates to your shoes.
Remember how dirty that string would get, hanging around your neck with the key?
All the cool kids made lanyards from gimp.
Speaking of keys, I went from knowing that the front door was always unlocked during the day to using a key that was hidden under a flowerpot to having my own key on a string around my neck. Now, that string really was filthy!
I remember when people used to keep a spare car key in the wheel well in one of those little magnetic sliding boxes.
You are Marshall Teller and I claim my $5.
You used to know me?
I’m old enough to remember when basic cable (at least in my town) included HBO, Cinemax, and The Movie Channel.
I remember pumps marked “leaded” and “unleaded” and you had to be careful not to use the wrong one (now, it’s diesel you need to be careful with).
I remember when you could start a car with a screwdriver. Air conditioning was when you opened the windows and drove fast.
“Affordable housing” existed and not just for the 1%. No, not everyone could afford it, but a lot more than can, now.
I remember when a tear-down manual and tools were all you needed to fix a car, and there were no “secret manufacturer’s codes” that only they can diagnose.
I still pump mine up with a bicycle pump.
(Sorry - haven’t got the hang of combining quotes thus all the little posts - I’ll do better next time).
Just remembered one.
I am so old that I once had a savings account that earned 12% a year in interest. That’s right, double digits on savings. And not a locked-in term deposit or anything. Just a savings account, where it actually made sense to save.
Jesus, that would have been competitive with an index fund.
I’m sure you mean Skinemax.
I remember it because it matched with the number of months in a year, so to my child brain, it made sense.
But yes, there was a time when the conservative rhetoric of “put money in a savings account” made sense, because even a few dollars squirreled away here and there could accomplish something. Now, with the fees on some accounts, you’re better off sticking it in a coffee can so you don’t lose money.
I guess inflation is lower now, and interest rates are lower, etc.
Turns out, not a good trade.
Today I Learned: Melanie has a last name.
I’m so old I remember when brands like McDonald’s, KFC, and Pizza Hut actually tasted good.
And a quarter dollar got you 4 songs on the jukebox.
Hows this for early imprinting mixed with latent OCD tendencies: All the books in my personal library have a label on the spine with the Dewey Decimal Number, and they are shelved in that order. Makes my wife bonkers!
I have a diesel car. That’s not the biggest problem.
E85 is the big one. Older cars aren’t made for it, but a lot of people just fill up with whatever is cheapest. I chatted with the attendant at my local Biodiesel gas station, and based on what she said, people do about $20k of damage a week to their cars filling up on the wrong pump. (Averages 40-50 people a week who do, and then regret it)
But, hey, in the spirit of this thread, “I’m so old, I remember when there was Diesel cars and not just Diesel Trucks”
CA / AZ, so I was astonished to to come across 85 in Utah.