Remember when

[jennylou]

I went to the gas station today and gas had jumped 20 cents overnight. Ugh.

But, it did send me back to when I first started driving, in high school, at 16. And then a whole trip down memory lane.

Remember when $5 got you more than a half tank of gas? You could joyride the whole weekend on it? :)

Remember when computers weren't an every day part of our lives? Or more importantly, email and the internet weren't? ;)

So, what do you remember when????

[Yvangeline]

I remember having to use actual books and journals to do research when I was an undergraduate ;) I also remember having to haul myself across campus to the Computer Center to print out my papers.

[Dally]

The summer after my freshman year of college, I worked at a lumber mill in Oregon. Gas was 87 cents a gallon. I still can't get over that.

I remember using white out while typing--and having to measure to make sure I'd leave enough space for footnotes.

I also remember seeing Amazon.com for the first time in late 1995 or early 1996. There were no graphics, just a list of books.

[jennylou]

Man, white out - that's something I'd forgotten about. And typewriters, lol, part of our typing class was spent on typewriters.

Remember using macs when they first came out? Remember DOS?

[mkredhead]

I remember a conversation with my mother during my senior year of high school.

Mom: Do you think you would use a computer in college?

Me: I don't know. I hate to spend the money without knowing if I will use it.

Mom: Dad and I were thinking an electronic word processor might be a good bet.

Me: That would be awesome, especially if it had a disk drive so I could save my work.

That was actually a pretty good bet. The Smith Corona with a 3" disk drive and four-line computer screen served my needs for three years - and I was an English major who did a LOT of writing. When I was a junior, I took my first class that described the internet and its uses.

Keep in mind that I was in college from 1993 - 1997.....not that long ago. Oh, how things have changed!!

I also remember sitting in the computer lab of my dorm freshman year (with four computers for probably 200 girls - you had to sign up for time). My friend Kathy, an engineering major, was showing me this new technology called email. She could literally talk to her boyfriend in Michigan in almost real time.

I told her I thought that seemed like a hassle. Why wouldn't you just call him?

We both get a kick out of that today.

[BusyBee21]

I took typing in high school (87-91); we used typewriters only. I remember when my brother was in law school in the late 80's, and he had a Mac. I spent hours on that thing, playing with "MacPaint", I think it was called. I used a word processor in college, too. Had to go to the library or computer room to use "real" computers. And email was just starting to catch on then.

And yes, $5 bought a LOT of gas when I was in high school--that almost filled the tank of my Chevy Sprint! Ahhh, the good ol' days.....

[gardenmommy]

When I was a senior in high school gas was 89-99 cents a gallon :D

I remember when using an ATM was a really big deal (my parents still don't use them!)

I used to get mixed tapes from my boyfriends as gifts...what do 15 year olds give their sweeties now? Do they buy them downloads for their ipods? I seriously don't know!

It blows my mind to think that people used to not recycle, especially thins like cans and paper.

[Photobug]

I remember when the first person in the neighborhood got a VCR... You mean you can watch MOVIES? Anytime you want? At HOME????

Also, when we got our first microwave. (Though we were on the tail end of that revolution. My grandparents had one before we did. It took some talking for my grandmother to convince my mom that it was useful and not just some gimmick. - But don't stand in front of it while it's running!)

[KristyK]

Wow, I know I'm much older than most of you and your memories are much different than mine, but the first microwave and first VCR brought back some memories.

My first DH and I were stationed in Hawaii when we got our first microwave, in 1982. It cost us $1200!! Our first VCR, in about late 1983 cost us $440! Yeah, we thought we were cool man! LOL

I won't even go into the 50cent gas, and the 50-75cent cigarettes. We'd buy 2 cartons each on payday, and that would last until the next payday, oh yeah, the cartons were $4.00.

We were actually laughing the other day at work when someone brought "warm" copies from the copier, and we were talking about when they used to have to make copies on this roller machine in grade school and when they'd bring them into the room to pass out to the kids we'd all smell them. Not sure what they smelled like, but I think it was kind of a sweet smell. :D

Ahhh, the good old days!

[jennylou]

photobug - Ha - I remember RENTING a VCR at Blockbuster so that we could watch movies!

[maplekitty]

I remember when everyone in my class got portable casette players for christmas and mom couldnt get one for me because they were so expensive and being a single parent she couldnt afford it, heh.

[kalogrias]

In MA, there was one summer when I was in college -- the summer of '99, I think, when gas was 99 cents/gallon. I could fill up my tank for $10. It rocked.

I also remember watching movies at home on a reel projector -- my Dad had to thread it up, my mom would pop popcorn (on the stove; we didn't have a microwave until 1994!), and we would sit and watch a movie on our wall. Ah, that was fun!

[attorneymom]

mkredhead, I think I had the same word processor. I remember trying to use someone's PC in college (87-91), and it actually had a MOUSE! It was impossible to use, though. You'd move the slightest bit and your cursor would go flying off the page, never to be seen again.

KristyK, I remember the roller machine. I think it was called a mimeograph, and it used purple ink. That's all my elementary school had until I was in, I don't know, 7th grade?

I remember 85 cent gas! That was so great! I had to commute from Tacoma to Olympia for an internship in college, and the cost of commuting didn't even phase me. Of course, I drove a Ford Escort that got amazing gas mileage.

How about concert tickets? I saw Bruce Springsteen, Garth Brooks (floor, 22nd row) and George Michael (different shows, and yes, my musical tastes are eclectic) for about $20-25 per concert. That was for ANY seat!

[sublime311]

Yeah, I'm old. Born in '68.

I remember when our air force base had air raid drills on Saturday afternoons. We were always swimming and could hear them where we lived.

I remember BUYING 8-Tracks.

I remember driving without having to wear a seat belt (legally or otherwise).

I remember having to get up if I wanted to change to one of the other 4 channels on the television.

I remember watching the first day MTV aired.

I remember watching Luke and Laura and Diana and Charles get married over the same summer ('81).

I remember my mom filling up her '68 Chevy Malibu with "regular" gas.

I remember going to the corner store to buy cigarettes for my mom.

[Ribbit]

We were actually laughing the other day at work when someone brought "warm" copies from the copier, and we were talking about when they used to have to make copies on this roller machine in grade school and when they'd bring them into the room to pass out to the kids we'd all smell them. Not sure what they smelled like, but I think it was kind of a sweet smell. :D

Ahhh, the good old days!

OMG! The ditto machine! It made everything kind of purple-y and a little off centered. I totally remember doing homework on those.

I also remember when you would call someone from home, and they would have to be home to answer, or *maybe* you could leave a message on the answering machine, if they had one. Now I can't imagine life without my cell phone and texting.

I actually bought my parents our first microwave with saved up allowance and baby-sitting money when I was 12. It was $300 and I made sure to get one big enough to fit a turkey in. I thought that made it especially cool. :D

[Tracie]

I remember once pulling up to the full service gas station and asked for a fill, but "not more than $12" since that was all I had in my wallet. I was pretty confident a fill would be less than $12, and I was right.

One of my classes my freshman year of college required us all to activate our college e-mail accounts (in 1994). I SO did not want to do it. Jump to two months later and I was addicted.

I remember the purple copies from grade school, too! You had to write the original on this special paper that was almost like carbon paper, I think?

[KiKi'sMommy]

Does anyone remember MIRC?

[Kanga]

I remember when I had to play solitaire on the computer to entertain myself while my internet loaded from a dial up connection. Or watching time spent on the internet to make sure I didn't go over my hours. And how irritating it was to try to call a friend all day but getting nothing except dial up fuzz because they forgot to disconnect their connection.

[cactus]

Wow, I remember lots of things, but one of the first ones that comes to mind is when the old spool printers used the paper that you had to rip the edges off. Ah, memories.

[Adaya]

I remember the first day HBO came on.

[KristyK]

Does anyone remember MIRC?


Of course! It's actually still around, and I occasionally still go there to chat.

In fact, I met my DH on mIRC!

[salysaturn]

I remember when my mom would give me $20 to get gas. I could get gas, a snack and a soda.

I remember rotary phones, and times where you actually had to remember phone numbers cause they weren't all stored in various phones! Come to think of it, my Aunt still has a rotary phone. I remember trying to win a radio contest at her house, needless to say I gave up.

[attorneymom]

I remember when my mom would give me $20 to get gas. I could get gas, a snack and a soda.

I remember rotary phones, and times where you actually had to remember phone numbers cause they weren't all stored in various phones! Come to think of it, my Aunt still has a rotary phone. I remember trying to win a radio contest at her house, needless to say I gave up.

Of course, I lived in the tules, but we had a party line phone when I was growing up. Our neighbor's renter would leave for work, her dog would knock her phone off the hook, and we'd be out of luck for the rest of the day.

We also had a rotary phone until I was in college. In fact, my parents had one in their barn until 2000.

[permanentvacay]

i remember our first vcr with remote - but it was not wireless remote - i could only as far as the sofa

i remember being too young to go out, so i'd stay home on friday nights and watch "dallas" and "falcon crest" with my mom

i remember roller skates with the "stopper"

i remember elementary school lunches - mmmmm cheese pizza and the fronzen orange juice in the little cups

i remember "dove" shorts - one half one color, the other another color

i remember learning the "dewey decimal system"

i remember my parents having a brown and green kitchen

i remember watching princess diana and prince charles on their wedding day

[larslobster]

I remember asking for an 8-track player when my parents bought me my first stereo and my father telling me I should reconsider and get a cassette player since those were the new hot thing.

I remember typing college papers on my Smith Corona and my roommate who had the original Mac attempting to get me to use it so she didn't have to hear the constant sound of me fixing my typing mistakes.

[tenofcups]

I remember all the above ;)

I also remember before cable when our tv got three regular channels and 3 UHF channels. We had rabbit ears on the tv so that we could get channels from NY too so we got a few more but only on the downstairs tv.

I remember in high school (late '70s, early '80s) that I had an answering machine on my private line and I was the only one of my friends to have one. I only got it because my father always had gadgets and he'd already gotten a new one for his work line and gave his to me. Most households didn't even have one yet so to have one on my own phone was super special.

When I first started driving, there were gas station attendants in PA, which is virtually unheard-of here now. I never ever used self-serve.

I remember that it never occurred to any of us that someone would bring a gun or a knife to a suburban school.

[KristyK]

I remember that it never occurred to any of us that someone would bring a gun or a knife to a suburban school.


Wow, isn't this just an understatement, and how sad of a memory that we have, that many of our children will never have. :(

[karlatta]

I remember having a knob on our TV to change from UHF to VHF (or vice-versa) so that we could get the higher channels.

I remember when we got our first TV that could go up to channel 100.

I remember when toasters used to only be wide enough to toast a piece of bread, and you were hot stuff if you had one that was wide enough to toast bagels.

I remember when we got our first cordless phone and I said to my friend next door, "I don't know what's going on with my parents, but it's like we're rich all of a sudden!"

I remember when any time you went into a neighborhood, there were tons of kids playing outside. Now I drive around and it's rare to see anyone outdoors at all.

[jenjen0713]

I remember in middle school and high school writing notes to my friends and then folding them into these bizarre shapes. We would then slip them to each other as we passed each other in the halls or leave them in each other's lockers. I guess kids text message now.

I remember my first college roommate had a phone for her car. It was in this huge bag and required one of those antennas on the back of her car.

[LDS Angel 19]

I remember in elemetery school there was one computer for each grade that got wheeled from room to room, Then in 5th grade, the school built a computer lab and each class got to use it for an hour a week.
I remember getting the internet at home in 9th grade. My mom was smart and got a second phone line just for the computer. Good thing, because I remember spending 12 hours straight talking to people in AOL chatrooms, with no thought whatsoever that they might not be who they said they were.
I remember being on of the first in my class to get a cell phone in 10th grade. Then by senoir year most people had one.

[Kanga]

I completely forgot about rotary phones! I want one now!

[kdotp]

I remember

only having to dial the last number of the prefix to call anyone in our hometown

dad testing out a cd player from the local electronics store, and then buying one for like $800.

checking out laser discs from the library.

[jennylou]

Remember when Tiffany and NKOTB were it? :) I remember my older sister having a Joey pillow case.

And, I remember knowing all the words to Tiffany's song "I think We're Alone Now".

[Paula R]

I remember when tv stations did not broadcast 24 hours a day. They ususally signed off about midnight.

[dionysia]

Back when I smoked in college, I remember buying 2 packs of Marlboro Lights for $5. :eek:

[nic]

I remember when they came out with "pager's" and people other than doctor's had them.

Also, the first mobile phones that people used to carry around in a big case.

Being a teenager and sitting around the liquor store (Packie is MA) parking lot asking random guys to buy us a two liter of Purple Passion (we paid for it, of course) .

[Yvangeline]

I remember when they came out with "pager's" and people other than doctor's had them.

Also, the first mobile phones that people used to carry around in a big case.

Being a teenager and sitting around the liquor store (Packie is MA) parking lot asking random guys to buy us a two liter of Purple Passion (we paid for it, of course) .

Cityside Liquors in Somerville? ;)

[jennylou]

Remember when shoes at Payless were cheap? I went there the other day while at the mall and they're not cheap any more! I'd much rather wait for a sale on a good brand then to spend that same amount on those shoes.

[phoenics]

I remember reading Beverly Cleary's 'Fifteen' and wanting a white pique dress like Jane had in the book.

I remember running after the ice cream truck when it came to our neighborhood, after frantically running home and begging my mom for some change.

I remember riding around the block in our neighborhood on my bike (it had only 3 speeds) and beating EVERYONE - even the boys with their 10 speeds! Well, until one boy got jealous and rammed his bike into mine, sending me into a ditch.

I remember when Jordache Jeans were the shiznit.

I remember tying my shoelaces into coils rather than 'tying' them into knots.

I remember being so jealous of Vanity when The Last Dragon came out, and then she ended up marrying a guy from my home town. So weird. They're divorced now though. And she's a minister.

I remember reading Teen Magazine and feeling so grownup when I got to be 17, because then my mom said I could read Seventeen Magazine.

I remember loving August because that's when all the back to school and fall fashion stuff came out in the mags.

I remember practicing my cheerleading jumps on my porch because the screen door to my house was perfect to reflect my form and I could perfect my jumps. It's so funny, my neighbor across the street still talks about that, lol.

I remember using 'gopher' to search for information before the WWW became the WWW.

I remember having to go to the check cashing place because the bank in our area would wait like 5 days before a check cleared in our accounts (we were in college in SW Atlanta). Boo Wachovia.

I remember getting my first ATM card at 17.

I remember designing my prom dress for senior prom and everyone waiting with baited breath to see what I came up with. (a weird number that made a peace sign shape on my back)

I think I remember seeing Princess Diana marry Charles... I think?

I remember having to go to the library to research papers.

I remember having to be in the Computer Lab to write programs for class.

I remember when user interfaces were all text and command based.

[KiKi'sMommy]

I had the most rockin bluish clearish pager. I remember if you typed in certain numbers and turned it upside down it would say hello. I also remember sending my boyfriend (and him sending me) messages by using numbers and then trying to figure them out by the letters on the phone keypad. My first cell phone had 60 minutes of talk time and I paid 15 dollars a month for it. Before that, our whole family shared a HUGE flip phone that we could only use in emergencies because my parents had to pay by the minute. I swear that thing weighed 10 pounds.

[BusyBee21]

Jenny, Tiffany was my first concert! I went with my cousin and her best friend...I can still remember dancing in the aisles and singing along to EVERY song. I also wanted to be Debbie Gibson--she was my hero back when.

NKOTB is coming out with a new CD--although I may not make it to one of their concerts, I cannot WAIT to buy their CD! :D

[jimmysgirl424]

I remember my sister and I walking up to the corner mom and pop store and buying root beer twin pops for a quarter. It was safe to walk by ourselves then...:(

I remember my first grade teacher passing the big candy jar full of Mary Janes and peppermints after recess if my class had been "good" all morning.

I remember being afraid of misbehaving in elementary school for fear of being sent to the principals office for a spanking.

I remember my sister and I riding in the backseat of my parents bottle green Pacer with no seatbelts or carseats.

I remember sitting with a tape recorder in front of the television so I could record my favorite commercial jingles and tv series intro songs. :o

I remember waitressing tables at Bobs Big Boy when I was 16 so I could earn enough money to pay for my class ring.

I remember buying a pack of cigarettes at 16 and paying 90 cents for them.

I remember playing Pong, Space Invaders and Pac Man on Atari.

I remember when counting calories was all that mattered. Transfat? Carbs? Who cares as long as its low in calories!

I remember when McDonalds started selling salads. And when they sold the McDLT (remember..hot side hot, cold side cold?)

I remember going to see Madonna in concert on her Like A Virgin tour. She had an opening act consisting of three guys coming out and rapping along with a boom box radio. Nobody had ever heard of them, some group that called themselves The Beastie Boys. ;)

[yby1]

I remember when we went to the beach and my older cousins would slather themselves with baby oil before they would lay out to tan.

and sun block was just a suggestion.

[jennylou]

Remember aquanet and big bangs? Sadly, for me, no amount of teasing and aquanet kept those suckers up.

[yby1]

I remember the aqua-net phase, but I was going through this "John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band/Hippy" phase during the late 80's, so I wanted this natural "flower child" look to my hair. I think my parents preferred that the the aqua-net "tower," but not by much. ;)

[Shermy]

I remember in elemetery school there was one computer for each grade that got wheeled from room to room, Then in 5th grade, the school built a computer lab and each class got to use it for an hour a week.
I remember getting the internet at home in 9th grade. My mom was smart and got a second phone line just for the computer. Good thing, because I remember spending 12 hours straight talking to people in AOL chatrooms, with no thought whatsoever that they might not be who they said they were.
I remember being on of the first in my class to get a cell phone in 10th grade. Then by senoir year most people had one.

Hey memory twin!

[Kimberland30]

Ah, the good ol days....

- Wearing flip flops to school every day - I lived in Hawaii and I don't even think I owned a pair of regular shoes.

- Riding public transportation from our house to the mall, the beach, or wherever my friends and I wanted to go - all while we were in 3rd, 4th and 5th grade. Unheard of these days.

- Eating candy from Halloween night without having to check it first.

- When we first got cable and it had a box with a dial...and getting into trouble for turning the dial too quickly - it made this horrendous clicking sound. Remember when remote controls actually 'clicked' when you pushed a button? That's why the were called "Clickers" for so long.

- When my mom would sew on her machine, the TV would get fuzzy.

- Camping out in a tent in the side yard of my friends house.

- When a friend turned 13 and she had a sleep over, we took out the Owija board, watched MTV and sang "Oh Mickey" at the top of our lungs. She had one of those "hamburger cakes" that we all thought was pretty awesome. The sticky spiders - that you wet and threw on a wall to watch it climb down - was all the rage. We must have had a hundred of them.

- For my 13th party, we turned off all the lights and listed to Michael Jackson's Thriller song and got all scared.

- Aqua Net (in the purple can) and teasing the bangs. Oh...mah...gawd.

- Gas was under a buck, cigarettes were only $1.10. I'd take my lunch money and help my ride pay for gas and still have enough for smokes (not that I smoked much then).

- My parents getting their first computer in the late 80's. It was a Tandy.

- When AOL first came out and they billed you $4.95 per hour. I think you got 10 free hours a month.

- Collecting .wav files from AOL people that I 'met' online. It was so cool to have over 250 sound clips.

- Beepers were all the rage. We'd type in 143 for I love You. We each had a 'secret number code' so you knew who was calling. Mine was 6969 (how original). Pager service through Smart Beep was only $1.99 per month, and my pager was the size of a Zippo.

- When Universal Remotes came out an actually WORKED!

[nic]

Cityside Liquors in Somerville?


Nope, a packie on VFW Parkway in West Roxbury, right near IHOP. I can't believe we had the nerve to go up to strange guys and ask them to buy for us! They must have thought we looked cute with our big hair and pegged pants!

[DallasLady]

I remember when TV went off. Star Spangled Banner, and then nothing.

I remember when there was a difference between UHF and VHF channels.

I remember playing computer games on my Commodore 64.

I remember how pissed everyone was when it turned out that Bobby wasn't dead and it was all just a dream.

I remember my 9th birthday party. My Dad rented a VCR from Blockbuster so we could watch Michael Jackson's Moonwalker. Kids from all other the neighborhood came.

On that note, I remember when Michael Jackson was cool, and not just a weirdo.

[phoenics]

Ah! I remember playing Ms. Pac-man at the arcade and trying to leave obscene messages on the high scorer's screen.

I remember walking down the street to go to the grocery store.

[ManteoChik]

I remember being able to ride my bike all over town with our friends....in elementary school.

I remember seeing Billy Ray Cyrus (my first concert) and thinking he was sooooo cool!

I remember back when your parents actually disciplined their kids.

I remember getting spanked in school......once.....because thats all it took to teach me not to misbehave in class.

I remember riding the in the front seat of the car with the shoulder strap *behind* my back, and nothing was thought of it.

[twainny]

trapper keepers

plastic charm bracelets

(i would say pound puppies, strawberry shortcake and my little ponies, but those are all "cool" again!)

Garbage Pail Kids cards

playing four square and making the rules up as we went

[TerpsFan]

I remember when tv stations did not broadcast 24 hours a day. They ususally signed off about midnight.

There's a TV station where my parents live that actually still signs off at some point on Sunday night. I was up with my infant while visiting them and saw the "rainbow bars" on the screen and I thought I had travelled through time 20 years. :D

[TMat13]

Gosh....where has the time gone?

I remember "jellies" shoes...your feet would be so dirty and sweaty that you would slip around in them.

I remember being able to go outside and play with my friends all day and my parents didn't have to worry

I remember when cool ranch doritos came out and my mom packed them in my lunch box and I thought my thermos spilled on them cause they tasted so weird

I remember going to the skating rink every Friday night and then when I became "really cool", I had my own skates to take with me :D

Garbage pail kid cards, especially half-nelson

Punky Brewster and tying bandanas around my knees

jelly bracelets layered up both arms

swatch and coca cola watches with all the different color bands

[kwsu44]

Nope, a packie on VFW Parkway in West Roxbury, right near IHOP. I can't believe we had the nerve to go up to strange guys and ask them to buy for us!!

I used to do this in high school ...but in WISTAH!

(Worcester for those not used to our wicked awesome accents)

[Photobug]

I remember when TV went off. Star Spangled Banner, and then nothing.

I remember when I was little it was a BIG DEAL to be able to stay up late enough to get to the "end of TV".

I remember how pissed everyone was when it turned out that Bobby wasn't dead and it was all just a dream.

Yeah, my family didn't even watch Dallas, but we tuned in for that episode and were ticked off. Oh, but it was totally cool when the Newhart show did the dream thing at the end of the series when Bob woke up and he was in bed with Emily from the 1st Newhart Show.

[Chimichanga]

I remember my dad coming home with a compact disc player. Hooo - that was a big day at our house. Of course CDs cost like $20-30 each so we only had a few and it was all of my dad's music.

[Katie1]

The biggest buzz to hit our elementary school when VCRs first came out:

a kid at school's dad rented a second VCR and then rented "Ghostbusters" and copied it. It was the coolest thing happening but also was supposed to be super hush-hush because we all imagined that the dad would be going to jail if anyone found out.

[myshel]

I remember when Mountain Dew still came in glass bottles. When they stopped selling it in the stores, there was still a mom-n-pop snack shop in my town that had the bottles in the vending machine. Apparently the owner hoarded a ton of pop in glass bottles and kept restocking the machine long after they stopped selling it in actualy stores. When the last bottle was purchased out of the machine (by my best friend, August 1996 while we were out late one night during the summer after our freshman year of college), the machine disappeared.

I also remember my brother as a small child (2 years old) not sitting in a carseat. In fact, all of us-- Dad, my sister, my brother, and me-- sat on the front bench seat in the Delta 88. Now, that just seems weird to me. There's no way I'd let my kids ride in the car without carseats.

[Kanga]

Just thought of another one -

We had to do a project for a computer class in school, the purpose being proving we know how to use the formulas on excel. I chose to do mine on a basic budget and remembering entering in a budget for gas. I can't remember what the total was, but I based it off "the absurd price" of $1.40/gallon. Who knew it was going to more than double already.

[kdotp]

I remember when Mountain Dew still came in glass bottles.
Oh man, the best thing was to come inside on a hot summer day, go down to the fridge in the basement and grab an ice-cold glass bottle of Mountain Dew or Dr. Pepper. The Co-op in our town had an old glass bottle vending machine where you could buy a pop for a quarter and I would always beg dad to buy one when I went into town with him. I swear orange soda tasted better from there than anywhere else.

[Ribbit]

The biggest buzz to hit our elementary school when VCRs first came out:

a kid at school's dad rented a second VCR and then rented "Ghostbusters" and copied it. It was the coolest thing happening but also was supposed to be super hush-hush because we all imagined that the dad would be going to jail if anyone found out.

I had a friend in elementary school whose dad copied hundreds of VHS tapes and had a library of movies printed out on that dot-matrix paper (with the removable edges). I thought it was the coolest thing ever...didn't have a clue about copyright law at the time.

[Chimichanga]

I remember returning those glass pop bottles at the store for the deposit cash. We would always buy the 6 pack of glass bottles: Coke, 7 Up, Dr. Pepper... Yum!

[phoenics]

I remember we used to get old Pepsi crates from the Pepsi factory in town and we'd paint them and use them as step boxes for football games (we were varsity cheerleaders at the only high school in town and it was a big deal to get your own pepsi crate with your name on it).

Funny though, all of the snack stands at our games sold coke products.

I wonder if they still do that because I don't think the Pepsi factory is even there anymore. Bummer. :(

[solongtogo]

In 5th grade, when nintendo first came out. It was huge...everyone was playing mario bros,

[yby1]

Remember Blue Chip stamps? My mom used to save them religiously and I think she got a sewing machine with what had to have been a million of those booklets.

[ManteoChik]

Remember when we had a poop forum? :D

[jennylou]

Remember Blue Chip stamps? My mom used to save them religiously and I think she got a sewing machine with what had to have been a million of those booklets.

I don't remember those, but I remember getting plastic yellow cups in dog food. LOL, we had a crap ton of those cups. Some were short, like a coffee mug with handle, some were taller, like a glass.

[Adaya]

Remember when we had a poop forum? :D

Me funny. :)

[gayle]

Here's one that goes way back, I remember NOT having a TV (the late 50's), and we weren't the only family who didn't get one until the 60's.

I remember doing ALL my college papers on a manual typewriter. All research was done at the library, and the only computers I knew of were at the local newspaper and information was spit out on tapes with weird little dot cutouts on them.

I remember 50 cent a gallon gas, $7 a carton cigarettes, 50 cent movie tickets, and for $1 you could go to McDonalds and get a cheesburger AND fries.

I remember minimum wage being $1.75 an hour, and my first brand-new-off-the-lot car costing me $1900. total. My car payments were $40 a month.

Heck, I even remember when Eisenhower was President, LOL

[Ribbit]

Remember when we had a poop forum? :D

I was just thinking about the "Women United Against Hover Peeing (WUAHP)" thread and all the little poems people wrote to post in the stalls...I kept thinking WUAHP was the sound your butt would make as you sat on the seat! Ahh, the memories... :D

[Ali]

Remember Blue Chip stamps? My mom used to save them religiously and I think she got a sewing machine with what had to have been a million of those booklets.

My small town still had those until the late 90's (under a different name, though). I went to college in the early to mid-90s and stocked my dorm room and first apartments with items from there. I recently replaced the knife block set from there, the cutting boards wore out a long time ago, still use the lamp, electric razor, and large cooking pot with colander. I used booklets of stamps to pay for these things and only had to shell out cash for the taxes. The high school (my town only had one) would collect donations of these stamps in order to get things to give away at project graduation, and there was a committee of kids who volunteered to do the "lickin' and stickin'"

[eponymous]

I had a friend in elementary school whose dad copied hundreds of VHS tapes and had a library of movies printed out on that dot-matrix paper (with the removable edges). I thought it was the coolest thing ever...didn't have a clue about copyright law at the time.

I think this is one reason why it didn't occur (at first) to my generation that music swapping was against copyright law: because we were used to the adults in our lives taping movies off TV and copying videos (plus making mix tapes), and it felt like the same thing. I remember how horrified I was when I realized that music swapping was very illegal (and unethical, which is not always the same thing). It had just never occurred to me... needless to say, I stopped doing that. :)

[PGirl26]

I remember Atari's before nintendo's..

Having to get up to change the channel on the tv

Not having a carseat/booster seat when I was younger. I can remember standing up in the backseat of the car at 4 or so as mom was driving.

Concert tickets were only $20! Paying 70 for one ticket is outrageous these days.

When getting a can soda out of the vending machine was only .35 --- a 2 liter was .79

When you shut your computer down, the orange letters popped up "It is now safe to shut down"

My first stereo had a record player and a cassette player all in one!!

Polaroid camera's with the flash bulbs you had to buy separate.

[EJH]

I remember the first computer my folks got, it had one game on it that I never really "got" but it seemed like a fun thing to do.

I remember .25 ice cream cones from Thrifty's ...the scoops were huge rectangles.

[Kimberland30]

Ah! I remember playing Ms. Pac-man at the arcade and trying to leave obscene messages on the high scorer's screen.

I still do this at the arcade attached to a local movie theater. If you see SEXXXXX as the high score, it was me. :o

[sandt8704]

Wow, I remember lots of things, but one of the first ones that comes to mind is when the old spool printers used the paper that you had to rip the edges off. Ah, memories.

Heh, we still use these at my work! Of course, they are also the ones, that NEVER break:)

[GlamaGal]

Seeing my teachers cranking the machine to copy worksheets. If they were just done, they'd hand it to you and it was warm and smelled.

ETA: Crap! Someone already posted that, now that I actually read through the thread.

Remember going into gas stations or wherever and buying lemon heads, or candy cigarettes, fire balls, or those nuts covered with red bumpy candy for only $0.10 each? And the little brown paper bags they'd give you to put it all in? Those were the days. I can't imagine letting my child do half the stuff I got to do as a kid, because the world is not as safe. :(

[Yvangeline]

Dukes of Hazzard. Silver Spoons.

I remember watching Fantasy Island while babysitting and getting completely freaked out by it.

[Ribbit]

Remember going into gas stations or wherever and buying lemon heads, or candy cigarettes, fire balls, or those nuts covered with red bumpy candy for only $0.10 each? And the little brown paper bags they'd give you to put it all in? Those were the days. I can't imagine letting my child do half the stuff I got to do as a kid, because the world is not as safe. :(

Wow! You just brought back such a sweet childhood memory of riding bikes to Plaid Pantry for $1 worth of those little candies, a star scroll, and the Weekly World news, and then going up to the playground to read and laugh and pig out on Laffy Taffy and lemon heads! :D

[jimmysgirl424]

Remember when we all thought gas costing $2.00 a gallon was ridiculous? :(

[Yvangeline]

Lemon Heads and Alexander the Grapes!

[ahavnes]

--I remember 25 cent postage stamps. The kind you had to lick.

--I also remember crank calling. I was the master at that! :)

--Remember when 3-way calling came out? I think I was in Junior High. We used to call boys and ask who they liked while one of our friends would listen in silently. Those were the days. ;)

[rachrich]

this is fun!

-I remember British Knights (BK's) shoes, and L.A. Gears---those were HOT when I was in junior high school.
-I remember gas prices in high school, like many of you have mentioned.
-I remember having to change the channel manually--no remote for our big old TV set.
-I remember the flash bulb things on your camera that you had to replace from time to time.
-I remember the huge camcorders that rested on your shoulder.
-I remember in high school when our school just got internet and email-all text, no pictures and a blue screen with white letters.

[Katyanne]

I remember

- When Gas was 99 cents or less.. My sister and I were in HS and she used to boycott gas stations when it was more than 99 cents.. LOL We even ran out of gas a few times.. :rolleyes:

- When the payphone at school went from .10 to 25 cents a call.. I used a payphone the other day (I was cell phoneless the other day) and I couldn't believe it was .50 for a call..

- When my brother had red and black parachute pants.. he was so cool!!!

-The first time Dad let us on the internet to chat.. LOL we were allowed 10 minutes.. I was harmony and she was Sassy.. I don't even remember what chat room it was.. I remember we didn't like it at all.. how times have changed ;)

- I remember in elementary school getting to take the erasers down to the janitor and he'd put them in a special machine to clean them..

Katie

[GlamaGal]

Oh, I remember being allowed to take the erasers somewhere to clean them! School memories are the *best*.

Let's talk about skating parties! These were the highlight of my year in elementary school. First you'd fall on your butt a gazillion times, and before you knew it you were a pro by the time they'd call "all girl" or "couples" skate! And you could use the roller thing to buff your skates.

[Standrea]

Yes! Skating parties! I loved them. My mom always bought me a new outfit for them too.

Of course gas prices. When DH and I first started dating, it was like .90 a gallon. It was less then $10 to fill the tank! Now, we are paying close to $50!

Comadore 64 computers! I loved them in Elementary school. We played games like "Oregon Trail" and "Donald Ducks Shoot Out".

How about Skid pants? DH doesn't remember htem at all, but I loved them!

Or, how about remember when we could play outside and our parents did have to worry to much about us? That's definately a thing of hte past now :( .

[jimmysgirl424]

I remember when in high school, the cool kids went to Skateland (local roller rink) on Friday nights. It was the place to be.

[GlamaGal]

Oregon Trail! On the floppy disk!! That was fun though I really don't remember much except was it multiple choice and then that's how you would proceed? We had a computer teacher who would spend time with each of us individually. The lady had quite the bouffant but she was pretty. It was big, blond, and sprayed to the hilt with hairspray. Some of the teachers' hair back then! ick!!