19 "Wild" But Common Everyday Experiences From The Past That No Longer Exist

Recently, the older adults of the BuzzFeed Community shared with us the common but unique experiences from "way back when" that would have younger folks shocked, fascinated — or a mixture of both. Here are some of the responses that, depending on your age, will have you reminiscing over the past or widening your eyes in surprise:

1."I remember being on several flights where I was allowed into the cockpit to observe the pilots. Then 9/11 happened."

2."As a grade-school Girl Scout back in the late 1950s, we would go door-to-door selling Girl Scout cookies, most often alone, but sometimes with a friend. We would often be invited inside while the purchases got the money ready to pay for the cookies. We never even thought it was dangerous. I can't even imagine that happening today!"

—Anonymous

3."Before there were smoking sections in restaurants, the ENTIRE restaurant was a smoking section. People smoked everywhere — elevators, movie. theaters, hospitals, and more. Even the doctors smoked. Your parents probably smoked in the car with the windows rolled up."

4."In junior high school in the early 1960s, boys and girls had separate gym classes. The only time we got together in the gym was for dance lessons: waltz, two-step, and square dancing."

—Anonymous

5."In the '70s, I remember cars having window cranks. I recently visited a relative who had an old car. I asked my 20-year-old to open the window, and he looked at me and said, 'Where's the button?'"

6."I had a 7-year-old complain about not having internet for a week. You should have seen his face when I told him that the internet used to come on CDs in the mail, and if someone was on the phone, you couldn't use it."

—Anonymous

7."I remember going to AAA and having them print maps out for every road trip we went on, plus having extra maps in the car just in case. There was no GPS."

8."I lived in Oahu in the '70s, and my parents would give my sister, who was 10, and me, who was 8, $5 each to go 'play.' We would take the bus and go around the entire island unsupervised, including the shopping mall, downtown Honolulu, Paradise Park, and more. I miss the simpler times and pleasures of life in the '70s."

—vixie18

9."In the late '70s, there was a gasoline shortage, so we could only buy gas on 'odd' or 'even' days, depending on the number of your license plate and the digit it ended in. The lines were always extremely long."

10."I remember when parents weren't very involved with things going on at school. It's kind of contradictory to what people want nowadays. Many parents want blow-by-blow approval of what their kids learn and want to know exactly how teachers are performing. It seems wild to me."

—rlstahr

11."Does anyone else remember the old skis, which were skinny and straight? How did we ski on those?! We did bumps (moguls) and powder in those things...how?! The modern skis essentially do the turns for you. Skiing used to be a difficult sport, but anyone can do it now. In just an hour or two, anyone can ski a green run on the new skis. I think skiing has become much more popular because of this.

12."Food was rationed during the war and for some time afterward. I still have leftover ration coupons. There were also no supermarkets. We shopped at the butcher, baker, and greengrocer."

—Linda, 82, Ohio

13."Growing up in the '40s, we went barefoot all summer. Our parents would then draw the outlines of our feet on paper and order shoes for us from the Sears catalog before school started in August."

14."I graduated in 1973. Girls weren't allowed to wear pants in school."

—Karen, 69, Arkansas

15."When learning how to write cursive in elementary school in the '30s, the teacher would walk the aisles between the rows of student desks, and if she didn't approve of your 'Palmer Method' writing skills, she would give you a whack with her wooden 15-inch ruler across the knuckles off the offending hand."

16."In the '50s, people didn't lock their doors. You could leave money on the table, and it'd still be there when you got home. Also, people would leave their keys in the car, so they didn't have to worry about keeping track of them."

—Anonymous

17."I remember when Legos came in a tube. This would have been in the late '60s and early '70s."

18."Back in 1960, gas was 32 cents a gallon, pizza was 10 cents a slice, and Italian ice was 10 cents a cup. There was a photo of the current president in every classroom and an American flag."

—Anonymous

19.Last: "There used to be a milk truck, bakery truck, and a soda/seltzer truck that would come throughout our neighborhood twice a week."

Wow, I would LOVE for a bakery truck to routinely stroll through my neighborhood. If you're an older adult, what are some fascinating things from "way back when" that would have younger people utterly surprised? Let me know in the comments, or you can anonymously submit your story using this form!

Note: Some submissions have been edited for length and/or clarity.