"She Was 26 And Had No Idea What I Meant": 21 Older Adults Are Sharing The Unique Everday Experiences From The Past That Have Ceased To Exist Over Time

Recently, members of the BuzzFeed Community shared the unique "back in the day" experiences that were common in the past but are practically obsolete now, and as an older Gen Z'er, I'm completely fascinated. Here are some experiences that will either have you feeling completely nostalgic or genuinely perplexed:

1. "Diaper service. I had twins in the '70s, and diaper service was fabulous. Disposable diapers were just coming on the market and were pricey. But, the diaper service would pick up your dirty bag of diapers and leave a bag of clean ones three times a week. They should bring that back."

2. "I grew up in the '50s and '60s, and there was no plastic! Milk was delivered in glass bottles with waxed paper or foil lids, and empty bottles were washed and returned to the milkman. Our sandwiches for lunch were wrapped in waxed paper, and loaves of bread came in waxed paper packages (which we'd reuse to polish our metal slide in the backyard). Storage containers were glass and lasted for many years."

— oldsundae21

3. "In the early '80s, boys were required to take riflery in high school. We had an indoor range, and a bunch of us were in a room with loaded .22s. Some of the kids were in gangs, too, and we all thought nothing of it."

4. "Up through the 1970s, you were asked to put your full social security number on EVERYTHING: sign-ups for free events, volunteer activities, pre-orders, and more. In public schools, your social security was used as your student ID number and printed out routinely for the world to see."

—Anonymous

5. "I recently went to the doctor and was trying to explain how my allergies get in the spring. I explained my sinus pressure by saying, 'Sometimes when I stand up, I get snow in my vision for a moment, like from a TV.' My doctor asked what that was. I was confused and said, 'Like black and white static. TV snow?' Still nothing. I then realized she was 26 and had probably never seen static on an old TV and had no idea what I meant. She referred to the snow as 'snowflakes' the rest of the visit."

6. "In the '60s, we used to ring a cowbell to call my brothers in for dinner. If you were too far to hear the cowbell, you'd get in trouble."

— quizzyporcupine81

7. "The last term paper I turned in before graduating college was typed on a typewriter. It took three times longer and used a lot of Wite-out. (Do younger generations know what Wite-out is?)"

8. "I'm 55 and remember smoking on airplanes! Smoking seats were in the back, and non-smoking seats were in the front. But since the plane was a tube, it was smoky everywhere. I'm so glad that changed."

— lizaboutthebhouse

9. "I went to a rural school in the '70s. The school housed seventh through twelfth grades, as there was no such thing as middle school. Those who misbehaved and went to the principal's office were either paddled or locked in a small, dark, windowless closet in the guidance counselor's office for an hour or more. The closet was so small you couldn't even sit on the floor."

10. "Back in the '50s, if you wanted to skateboard, you'd make your own since there weren't any boards for sale then. Manufacturers hadn't caught on yet to making and selling them, so my dad made one for my sister and me out of a two-by-four board. He took apart a rollerskate, nailed it to the board, then spray-painted it with fluorescent paint (used on construction sites). We had a choice between orange and yellow paint. All of us kids would skateboard down the sidewalks all over town. We thought it was so exciting to stay outside until dark and ride our homemade skateboards. Now, skateboards are all fancy and big in size and have very precise wheels on them. It's sad that today's kids will never know what it's like to make their own boards with their parents."

— chillrocket41

11. "I remember having bomb drills in grade school. The bell would ring to mark the beginning of the drill, and we'd have to immediately get on the floor, go under our desks, and cover our heads with our hands to protect ourselves from 'radiation fallout.' It was a wild but normal thing we had to do."

12. "In the late '70s, my parents' car (that we'd take summer road trips in) had back windows that only rolled down halfway. We kids who sat in the back wouldn't get wind in our faces AT ALL. Also, the car had ashtrays in the armrests/handles with metal lids that got SUPER hot. But the lids were fun to fidget with, snap open, and close. We kept our gum wrappers in them."

— etconner

13. "I'm a nurse, and when I started my first job after training, patients could smoke cigarettes in their rooms (which were all private). Part of our unit was pulmonary, where everyone used oxygen! The doctors would smoke at the nurse's station, where we had ashtrays on each desk. The nurses and other workers were allowed to smoke at the front nurse's desk after 10 p.m. The patients in the pulmonary section were encouraged to stop smoking, which was made even more difficult considering they were constantly exposed to the cigarette smell. Can you imagine that today?!"

14. "It was so much fun when the iceman came by. Not all people had refrigerators in the '40s, so an iceman would drive around the neighborhood and deliver a block of ice to those who still used iceboxes to keep their perishables in. The kids would run after him, and he would throw chunks of ice at us. It was a huge treat."

—Anonymous

15. "When we wanted to learn some obscure fact or satisfy ourselves with a trivia question , we had to go to the public library! We'd search through huge banks of drawers filled with alphabetized paper cards (you could search by author, title, or subject). Alternatively, depending on the information you sought, you could go directly to the reference section and try your luck in the 20-volume set of encyclopedias."

16. "School was so much different, and I'm not that old. I'm 40, and I remember my elementary school still doing corporal punishment. If you received three pink slips (infractions), you were sent to the principal's office for a spanking. He'd literally use a wooden paddle and hit you numerous times. When he was done, you had to sign the paddle. This was part of the default discipline, and parents had to opt out in writing if they didn't want their children hit by a grown man. Our homeroom teacher would also throw books at us when angered. It was just 'normal' public school stuff at that time."

— vibrantorc46

17. "My 70-year-old boss told me he used to swim naked at the Y when he was little. He never thought twice about it until a few years ago. He said they all had to swim naked because swimsuits were made of wool, and the wool fibers would get in the filter. The Y had a designated time for them to swim, but adult males would swim at the same time — also naked."

18. "We lived in the city, and every house had a 'burning barrel,' where you'd burn all your garbage, paper, plastic, metal, and everything else in. When it became full of ash, a company would pick it up and give you a new barrel. I'm 60 years old; imagine thousands of people doing that in the same city!"

— nastyprincess875

19. "Long before convenience stores were common, we had corner markets and mom-and-pop stores. Gas stations were solely for buying fuel and oil or getting a repair. Neighborhood paper and hobby shops were fairly common, too. Also, neighborhood doctor and dentist offices were only a short walk from home."

20. "I used to deliver the local newspaper in the afternoon after school. The bus would drop me off, and a stack of papers would be waiting for me at the end of the driveway. I'd pick up the stack, carry it to the house, and then fold the papers into the large basket of my banana bike. I'd deliver the papers by either riding up to the yard and placing them in a designated spot or just riding down the street and throwing them in the driveways. On a good day, when the paper was just the right size and weight, I could throw it from the street under the carport (if there was one). No matter the weather, I'd ride my bike. Sometimes, if it were raining hard enough, one of my parents would drive me around. Those were the days."

—Kelly, 63, North Carolina

21. "We would ride in the back of a pickup truck with no seats, helmets, or seatbelts and had the time of our lives. The more kids you could pile in the back, the better and more fun it was. We'd go to the drive-in movie theater with a car full of kids and sit on the car roof and anywhere else just to see the movie. We'd play outside in the neighborhood until the street lights came on: hopscotch, jump rope, rollerskating, and biking up and down the sidewalks. On hot summer nights, our parents sat on the porch and watched us. It was simpler back then."

I honestly would lose my mind if I had to type everything using a typewriter and couldn't backspace whenever I messed up. If you're an older adult, what are some unique but common experiences you had growing up that younger generations will never get to experience? Let me know down in the comments, or you can anonymously use this form!