You are too old if you remember.......

[roadman65]

10 cents stamps.

8 track tapes.
Beta camcorder tapes.

Taking pride in buying your own car stereos and installing them yourself

[JayhawkCO]

Taking pride in buying your own car stereos and installing them yourself

That I did as recently as 10 years ago. And I'm thinking about doing it again soon.

[GCrites]

I was watching a gaming live stream where the streamer is only 20 years old, and the streamer didn't know what Minesweeper is (the computer game)

Why? Did some "oldster" (over 30) accidentally call Minecraft "Minesweeper?"

[Rothman]

I was watching a gaming live stream where the streamer is only 20 years old, and the streamer didn't know what Minesweeper is (the computer game)

Why? Did some "oldster" (over 30) accidentally call Minecraft "Minesweeper?"

"You are correct, sir!" -- Ed McMahon.

[thenetwork]

Candy bars -- .15 - .20/each
Baseball card packs (7 cards + 1 stick bubblegum) -- .10/pack.

[kphoger]

The Parkmobile system used as an option in Washington, DC, allows—or, at least, used to allow—people who don't have smartphones to pay over the phone by calling a number to make payment. I don't know whether that option still exists because I've never used it—I have the Parkmobile app, but I haven't parked on a meter in DC in quite a few years, probably not since they eliminated the 12-hour meters back where Audi Field is now. I used to park back there to go to Nats games.

That's a good option.  I was imagining a tourist in from out of state driving to a museum downtown and having to download a smartphone app from a city he doesn't even live in.

[Sctvhound]

Going back to the 1990s...

- TV rental stores. You used to be able to rent a VCR or a television for a week or two weeks for sporting events or whatever you wanted to.
- It was a huge deal when Walmart added food to their stores.
- Even small-market newspapers were hundreds of pages on Sundays because of all the circulars and added features
- People only wore sweatpants inside the house
- Most people paid cash or check at the grocery store or at a fast-food place
- Almost everyone dressed up to go to church and attendance (at least in my part of SC) was extremely high
- Coffee shops weren't really a thing in the Southern part of the US

Going from one part of a state to another seemed like a different culture more even in a smaller state like South Carolina. Like how Columbia had Rich's department stores, and Bell Atlantic telephone service while Charleston did not. It definitely was when you anything outside of 20 miles you had to pay to call in the pre-cell phone era.

[dlsterner]

Here's some I can think of from my childhood.

Television:
• Having a 25" console TV that was like a piece of furniture - and it was Black and White, not Color.
• Being able to receive only three stations - NBC, CBS, ABC.
• Some people had motorized antennas that could be rotated to get optimal reception.  Others just had "rabbit ears" to adjust.
• Being able to watch exactly one baseball game a week - the Saturday afternoon Game Of The Week on NBC.  If you were lucky, they were showing a team you wanted to watch.

Telephone:
• Party lines.  Didn't really understand the concept at that age, but only specific ring patterns were to be answered.
• Phone numbers with an exchange - our number was "Kimball 8-xxxx" as opposed to "548-xxxx".  And area codes rarely specified since everybody within 100 miles had the same one.
• Having to interact with the Operator when making a long distance phone call.

Vacation Travel:
• The Interstate Highway system was still incomplete, so occasionally we had to get off the Interstate onto the parallel US Highway until the Interstate resumed again.
• Full Serve service stations, including engine oil check and windshield washing.  And having to get a key from the office to use the (usually nasty) rest room around the side.
• The humongous vintage Holiday Inn signs that you could see from miles away.  That was the only place we ever stayed, after some bad experiences with "mom & pop" motels.
• When on the road, only ate at Stuckey's - nothing else tended to be visible from the Interstate.

[Rothman]

- People only wore sweatpants inside the house

Took me two seconds to understand what you meant by this.  It's not like everyone changed into sweatpants when they came home...

[1995hoo]

I do remember some people (not many) wearing sweatpants to high school in the late 1980s. I tried it one time. Didn't do it again for several reasons.

[tmoore952]

I do remember some people (not many) wearing sweatpants to high school in the late 1980s. I tried it one time. Didn't do it again for several reasons.

Never tried it when I was in school (1970s-80s). Thought it would not be looked upon kindly by the older teachers. And I wouldn't have felt like I was properly dressed.

[GCrites]

Every once in a while you saw people in the '80s wearing sweatpants and flip flops but that was a sign they were in deep poverty.

[GCrites]

Going from one part of a state to another seemed like a different culture more even in a smaller state like South Carolina. Like how Columbia had Rich's department stores, and Bell Atlantic telephone service while Charleston did not. It definitely was when you anything outside of 20 miles you had to pay to call in the pre-cell phone era.

Road trips were more interesting when you saw all the different types of businesses as you traveled further. It wasn't just McDonald's, Wendy's, Burger King, Comfort Inn and Walmart everywhere.

[Rothman]

I do remember some people (not many) wearing sweatpants to high school in the late 1980s. I tried it one time. Didn't do it again for several reasons.

Oopsie.

Yeah, I remember people wearing sweats in school being looked down upon.

[Road Hog]

I rang up exactly 50 cents on long distance charges on my aunt's phone once and she lost her schizz.

[Big John]

Wing windows on cars for ventilation before air conditioning was standard.

[Stephane Dumas]

Wing windows on cars for ventilation before air conditioning was standard.

I remember them, Ford still offered them as an option in the 1980s with the Escort, Fairmont, LTD like this 1985 Escort wagon. https://barnfinds.com/woodgrain-survivor-1985-ford-escort-squire/

Btw, is someone remember the 4-door hardtop sedan?
1975 Chevrolet Impala 4 door hardtop by Richard Spiegelman, on Flickr

[Road Hog]

Those land yachts were still around well into the 1990s. I never got to own one but I would test drive them at my dad's dealership time and again. They would squeal tires all day long but you were lucky to get MPGs tickling double digits. I regret not buying and mothballing one to today.

[Sctvhound]

Even on long distance, at least in the Southeast, you only had a 3 or 4 state long-distance calling plan and you had to pay extra for a nationwide plan. I remember it was South Carolina, Georgia, North Carolina, and part of Virginia with SunCom. This was in the mid 2000s. They got bought out by T-Mobile.

And if you went anywhere in a rural area, you lost your signal.

Talking about different cultures, radio and television markets used to play a huge part. Even going 50 or 75 miles from a major city it felt like things were much slower 20-25 years ago. Some markets felt 10-20 years behind of others because of music and other trends.

If you were in a rural area with a terrible cable system or nothing at all, you were stuck listening to popular radio to get your music and had to watch one of the big 3/4 networks or one of the 5-10 major cable networks everyone had to see what was going on.

Now you could be in Antarctica and still be able to listen to your favorite niche music or podcast/whatever.

[GCrites]

They say that's why Columbia House's 12 CDs for 1 cent promotion cleaned up in rural areas.

[Rothman]

They say that's why Columbia House's 12 CDs for 1 cent promotion cleaned up in rural areas.

Eesh.  They were terrible given the selection available.

[1995hoo]

They say that's why Columbia House's 12 CDs for 1 cent promotion cleaned up in rural areas.

Heh. Consistent with the thread's title, one could consider whether one remembers Columbia House offering record, tapes, and 8-tracks! (They even offered reel-to-reel tape, but I don't ever remember seeing that advertised.)

[GaryV]

Mickey Mouse at halftime.

[1995hoo]

The Columbia House mentions prompted me to remember the ever-popular commercial from the late 1980s. TURN IT UP, MAN!!!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P3CnvphQs04

[Takumi]

They say that's why Columbia House's 12 CDs for 1 cent promotion cleaned up in rural areas.

Eesh.  They were terrible given the selection available.

I remember a 90s sitcom, I think Home Improvment, mentioning it, to which one of the kids replied "that's great, but who's Pat Boone?"