Some things that kids will never understand....

[KFC911]

or probably never even see....

Dimming the car lights with yer left foot.

Pushing buttons on the dash to put an automatic auto in gear.

Three-on-the-tree for manuals.

Matchbooks .... and what they are used for....

8-tracks.

And one more .... double album covers

[GH85Carrera]

How about a rrotary phone dial! One of my old girlfriends had a phone number that had a lot of 8s and 9s and 0s in it and it was a pain in the finger to dial her a lot.

[KFC911]

^^^ Yep... took forever to dial my parents' number long distance.... 4 9s, 2 8s and a couple more over 5 .... and it was a "party line" shared with 4 neighbors..... one a nosey ol' biddy who liked to listen in .

[flatbutt]

A public phone booth that everyone used without hand sanitizer.
A phone book.
Rabbit ears TV antenna.

[masraum]

I've had 2 cars with the foot dimmer. I've only ever seen the pushbutton transmission. I think one of the leaders when I was in the boyscouts had an old Dodge/Chrysler that had a pushbutton tranny.

I've seen 3 on the tree, but never driven anything but 4+ speeds.

I've seen and remember my parents having 8-tracks, but never had anything more archaic than a cassette deck myself. And I think we bought a car in 1982 that came with an 8-track that my dad promptly upgraded to cassette.

My parents had lots of LPs and even had a reel to reel when I was really little. When I was young, I had a little integrated stereo that was radio, cassette, and turntable all in one. When I was a little older I got some of my dad's old hand me down stereo gear (which was good stuff). Then when I was 15 and we were living in Japan, I bought a Sansui component system with a double auto-reverse cassette deck, turntable, CD player, tuner/amp, and passive equalizer with Kenwood speakers.

[wildthing]

Back in my day you had to call the operator to make a long distance call.

[Rusty Heap]

Assembling Soldering your own stereo from Healthkit or Radioshack.

Steering turning a roof top TV Antennae while your dad yells at you from the living room when to stop. My dad upgraded to a motorized unit. high tech

[URY914]

My daughter took a just at the student union while she was in college. One day she told me, "Dad, you gotta dial 9 before the number to call outside."

[LEAKYSEALS951]

[LEAKYSEALS951]

[GH85Carrera]

Originally Posted by Dantilla

My first truck: 1948 Chevy.
-Three-on-the-tree
-Floor dimmer switch
-Floor starter switch. Yup. Step on another little pedal on the floor to engage the starter.
-Vacuum windshield wipers. Step on the gas, wipers slow down.

My dad had a 49 Plymouth when we lived in Hawaii in the early 60s. He used to have my brother and I sit in the back seat with no seat belts of course, and he would hold his hands in the air and say Abracadabra, start! and of course the car started on command!

To the day my mom stopped driving if she hit the brakes hard, her right arm swung out as a reflex from the years of my brother or I standing up in the passenger seat so we could see out. It was a hazard as an adult as one never knew when you about be get smacked in the chest whit her arm if she had to hit the brakes hard.

[Shifter]

2022 Lincoln corsair

[herr_oberst]

Waiting for a song you wanted to hear on the radio, then recording it off the radio onto a cassette with a microphone so you could listen when you wanted.

Or, for that matter, listening to the same song on the radio that thousands of other people were listening to at the same time.

[doug_porsche]

Originally Posted by KC911

or probably never even see....

Dimming the car lights with yer left foot.

....

And one more .... double album covers

You younger people.

That button you step on is how you start the car.

As for album covers, I miss the liner notes. I liked getting some insight into what the artist was thinking.

[LWJ]

Vacuum tubes.
An engine with points and distributor.
Mercury switches.
Black and white TV.
Most of the tools in my garage.
A carburetor!

[GH85Carrera]

Originally Posted by herr_oberst

Waiting for a song you wanted to hear on the radio, then recording it off the radio onto a cassette with a microphone so you could listen when you wanted.

Or, for that matter, listening to the same song on the radio that thousands of other people were listening to at the same time.

One of my fond memories was THE last day of high school as a senior in high school. The one rock and roll station in town was the only one to listen to, and as we were all in the parking lot going home in our cars, the station was playing Alice Cooper's Schools out for Summer, and every kid had it blasting so just walking across the parking lot it was just everywhere from all the cars. I got in my 1960 VW and had it cranked up as well as I left school for the last time.

[Zeke]

Vacuum tube testers at the drug store.

[rfuerst911sc]

S&H green stamps
8 track player
110 camera
In car record player
Montgomery Wards
Grants department store

And for some common sense 😋

[herr_oberst]

Leaving the house at daybreak, coming back for lunch, leaving, back for dinner, then leaving again until dark or you heard dad calling you - as a ten year old, and no one gave it a second thought.

[Danimal16]