Something obscure that makes you feel old?

[Anonymous]

I turned 50 this year and despite the enormous amount of time that's passed, I still feel 'young'. I'm watching this Netflix documentary about this crime ring and they're spending a fair amount of discussing air-cards. I remember when they came out and how game-changing it was for work and now they are no longer. I think that hit me more than CDs and landlines because the lifecycle was so short in reality. Just a random observation.

[Anonymous]

air whats?

[Anonymous]

I'm 52, and have no idea what "air cards" are, either.

At any rate, what makes me feel old is putting numbers of years in context with respect to pop culture. For example, music popular in the year 2000 was popular 23 years ago, right? I graduated high school in 1989, and the music from 23 years before that would have been from the 60s -- which I would have considered ancient. Yet 2000 feels like yesterday. I have the same thoughts about fashion, often -- how totally "out" something from 1979 would have been in '89, yet I'm probably wearing things from way more than 10 years ago and looking ridiculous and just not aware of it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm 52, and have no idea what "air cards" are, either.

At any rate, what makes me feel old is putting numbers of years in context with respect to pop culture. For example, music popular in the year 2000 was popular 23 years ago, right? I graduated high school in 1989, and the music from 23 years before that would have been from the 60s -- which I would have considered ancient. Yet 2000 feels like yesterday. I have the same thoughts about fashion, often -- how totally "out" something from 1979 would have been in '89, yet I'm probably wearing things from way more than 10 years ago and looking ridiculous and just not aware of it.

Omg, this is so true it hurts.

[Anonymous]

I rewatched the sopranos and found Carmela’s mom of teen angst very relatable (despite not being anything like a nj mob wife.) the first time I watched it I was just a few years older than meadow.

[Anonymous]

People who are dying who are younger than I am.

[Anonymous]

I assume "air cards" are the calling cards we used to save money on long distance or cell service. I'm in my 50s too, and we never called them "air cards," must be more of a local thing.

What makes me feel old is hearing 80s music on the "classic rock" or oldies station. And probably actually listening to a radio station in my car makes me old as well.

[Anonymous]

I just saw Cynthia Nixon in an episode of Ratched looking very much like an old lady. That seemed bizarre to me -- she isn't old, she's young and lives in NYC and is friends with Carrie Bradshaw, lol. I didn't even like SATC, but seeing Cynthia Nixon look downright elderly freaked me out.

[Anonymous]

I see people walking down the street and I think it's someone I know and then I realize that's what they looked like 20+ years ago and not how they look today. It's amazing how many younger doppelgängers are out there.

[Anonymous]

The thread on here about how Mid-Century Modern furniture is "timeless."

I'm 58 and MCM is still cheesy retro 60's crap to me. I remember a shop in Adams Morgan selling MCM stuff in the 90s and we all laughed (except the gay guys, who somehow just knew).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The thread on here about how Mid-Century Modern furniture is "timeless."

I'm 58 and MCM is still cheesy retro 60's crap to me. I remember a shop in Adams Morgan selling MCM stuff in the 90s and we all laughed (except the gay guys, who somehow just knew).

I love mid-century modern furniture, but yeah, it is the opposite of "timeless," lol.

[Anonymous]

All the young newscasters. CNN, ABC, etc. I grew up with old man Cronkite. So reassuring!

[Anonymous]

I know what ditto / mimeograph machine ink smells like.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I see people walking down the street and I think it's someone I know and then I realize that's what they looked like 20+ years ago and not how they look today. It's amazing how many younger doppelgängers are out there.

I'm 51 and I'm honestly surprised at how many women I know that look almost exactly the same as we did years ago.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I know what ditto / mimeograph machine ink smells like.

Oh man. This.

Have you seen those videos where they give a kid something like a cassette walkman or a rotary phone and ask them to figure out how to use it. Funny, but painful.