Older Adults Are Sharing The Unique Experiences From The '60s, '70s, And '80s That Younger People Would Never Understand

Yahoo

21-07-2025

As an older Gen Z'er, it's always interesting to think about how different life was like back then, and how much the world and society have truly evolved. So, when I asked the older adults of the BuzzFeed Community to share the unique but totally common experiences from "back in the day" that would have younger folks shocked...well, yeah, I was shocked! Here some everyday, normal experiences from the past that, depending on your age, will have you feeling either nostalgic or perplexed:
1."We had a milkman who delivered orders to our house in the '70s. He had a key and would let himself in, announcing his presence. Then, he'd put our order in the refrigerator. Looking back, it seems wild that this was a thing."
—jillcurryj
2."You used to be able to call 'INFO' and ask anything: the time, the date, geography questions, etc. I used to even call her (it seemed like it was always a woman) just to talk. It was awesome when your childhood kinda sucked."
—Anonymous
3."Phone lines were shared with neighbors. If you wanted to make a call, you'd have to wait until other people were done talking on the line, but you could definitely listen in on other people's conversations. There were also no zip codes at the time. Eventually, it was the norm to have two-digit codes. We had that for 20 years. In the 1960s, zip codes became five digits."
—Sudi, 71, Florida
4."Our high school actually had a 'smoking yard' where kids could light up!"
—jeanstewart711
5."We used to live in a small town in Utah. Every week, a Bookmobile would come to our town, and I'd go check out some books. It was basically like a mobile library. It was so cool!"
—Jessica, 55, Arizona
6."I grew up in the late '50s and '60s. Our doctor would come to our house to treat my brothers and me. He'd just show up with whatever he needed in his briefcase, and that was that."
—Anonymous
7."We never wore bike helmets, and our cars didn't have seatbelts. If you sat in the passenger seat, you'd just have to hope that the driver would fling their arm across your body if they had to suddenly brake to stop you from flying into the windshield. Good times, am I right?"
—Jean, Florida
8."There was a liquor store a couple of blocks away from our house. In the '70s, my mom would give me a note, and I'd buy cigarettes and liquor. I was 11 or 12 at the time, and it seemed like a perfectly normal thing to do."
—ricemice93
9."Movie theaters often had special matinees for kids on Saturdays. The theater would be full of kids and no adults. Often, the movies were special horror shows with gimmicks like skeletons flying overheard or rubber snakes tossed through the audience. There were some really great flicks, too, like Mysterious Island and Jason and the Argonauts."
—odaydaniel
10."There were no 'easy-care' floors. Our kitchen floor was made of thick, linoleum tiles. Heels would make black scuff marks on the floor, and even regular walking damaged the shine. So, once a month, my mom would 'strip' the floor (remove the shiny wax), apply new wax, and buff the floor to a pretty shine using an electric tool — almost like a vacuum that had soft wool pads."
—Anonymous
11."When I was born in 1967, the hospital had a labor room separate from the delivery room. Women stayed in the labor room until they were ready to push. My mother smoked up until she got wheeled into the delivery room to birth me. My dad held the cigarette to her lips. No wonder I only weighed six pounds."
—blissbednar
12."Much to the chagrin of virtually everyone I knew, I cloth-diapered my now-18 and 12-year-old kids when they were infants. It was easy to manage and cost-effective, even as a working mom. They both became potty-trained by the age of 2, and I have zero regrets knowing that we didn't contribute to the current landfills."
—iteach
13."When I first got my period in 1978, what we now call 'pads' were either 'belted' or 'belt-less.' All the pads my mother had were belted, so I had to wear a belt until she got me regular, belt-less ones. The belt was elastic and about a half-inch or so wide, and it went around your waist and through your butt crack like a thong."
—blissbednar
14."We'd drink from the yard hose if we got thirsty. The '70s was a bit wild."
—Ken, 76, New York
15."I was able to wear pants in sixth grade from 1975–1976. Until then, it was either culottes, dresses, or skirts, which required shorts underneath."
—Anonymous
16."Where I lived, the national anthem at midnight. Then, it'd just be a snowy screen."
—edgycat84
17.Lastly: "In the 1960s, all of the public school buses in my hometown (and surrounding cities in South Carolina) employed high school students to drive them. I was one of those drivers. To apply, you had to be a licensed driver, have a clean driving record, have completed a state training program, and passed all the written and road tests. It was a great job, like getting paid just to drive to and from school. We'd even drive elementary students. We were all safe drivers because our jobs depended on it, and we knew many eyes were on us. The middle school students were annoying, but otherwise, everyone else was well-behaved."
—Barry, 73, Georgia
Well, I'm very glad that schools no longer have "smoke yards." If you're an older adult, what are some common but unique experiences from the past that would have younger people genuinely confused? Let us know in the comments, or you can anonymously submit your story using the form below!
Note: Some submissions have been edited for length and/or clarity.
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