Pre- internet/ GPS

jenna8984

My friend and I were just laughing about this. Do you have funny stories from back then that would never happen to you or your kids nowadays?

In middle school, my dad was taking me to Kelly's house. We lived 5 miles on the outskirts of town, so once he got into town he said "OK- where does she live?" I froze and was like "I have no idea! Mom always brings me and I don't pay attention to the roads" (there were no cell phones so I don't know what the hell I was watching the whole ride?) He had to drive back home so we could use the house phone to call her house phone and ask for directions.

Still can't believe I drove across the country with my best friend and a paper map in 2007. That probably sounds so ridiclous to @ohannabelle who probably drove the country 18 times with paper maps hahah. Not calling you old- I swear!

Oh and remember doing homework and reports with encyclopedias?!

JCbride2015

When I was in college, I had a cell phone but smart phones weren't a thing yet.  A few times I would be out driving and have to call my mom to ask her to look up directions for me.

Also during college, Fi and I took our first "real vacation" together, to Williamsburg, VA.  We actually called AAA and had a TripTik mailed to us in hard copy.  It was pretty fantastic, actually.  I bet those don't even exist anymore.

novella1186

I remember typing my reports for school on a typewriter, and when we got our first computer I had a floppy disk of Encyclopedia Britanica to look up info for school reports, but STILL typed them on the typewriter because what the hell is a printer? 

I remember getting a second phone line for our dial-up internet, which was a really big deal. And if I wanted to talk to my friends I called their house, usually spoke with their mom, and asked for them. Cuz yeah, no cell phones. 

Honestly I prefer to use a paper map/atlas these days. We drove across the country (from Indiana to Idaho in a giant loop) last summer, and our GPS wasn't always dependable, or it would just end up being inconvenient to use. An actual paper map is never wrong. Doesn't need batteries. Doesn't need to be plugged in. And I like seeing the "'bigger picture" with all possible routes and then choosing my own route. 

A few months ago my GPS took my down some random dirt road that pretty much ran parallel to a major road. WTF? And that wasn't the first time that sort of thing has happened, but of course I didn't realize where it was leading me till it was too late so I just went with it and hoped for the best. I swear it's possessed by the spirit of a practical joker. 

amelisha

Travelling with real tickets like @JCbride2015 mentioned - those multilayered paper ones the travel agent had to print off with the special printer and that you actually needed in order to check in at the airport (not just a confirmation number or ticket number.) You had to guard the stupid things with your life because getting them reissued was a big deal.

When I went to travel school they taught us how to issue the paper airline tickets and read all the fare lines and stuff, but thankfully I only had to do it a few times for smaller airlines in less-developed countries who weren't on e-ticketing yet.

I've travelled with paper maps more than once, too, although I now can't believe I drove without being able to check when the next gas station is on my phone...

huskypuppy14

novella1186 said:

I remember typing my reports for school on a typewriter, and when we got our first computer I had a floppy disk of Encyclopedia Britanica to look up info for school reports, but STILL typed them on the typewriter because what the hell is a printer? 

I remember getting a second phone line for our dial-up internet, which was a really big deal. And if I wanted to talk to my friends I called their house, usually spoke with their mom, and asked for them. Cuz yeah, no cell phones. 

Honestly I prefer to use a paper map/atlas these days. We drove across the country (from Indiana to Idaho in a giant loop) last summer, and our GPS wasn't always dependable, or it would just end up being inconvenient to use. An actual paper map is never wrong. Doesn't need batteries. Doesn't need to be plugged in. And I like seeing the "'bigger picture" with all possible routes and then choosing my own route. 

A few months ago my GPS took my down some random dirt road that pretty much ran parallel to a major road. WTF? And that wasn't the first time that sort of thing has happened, but of course I didn't realize where it was leading me till it was too late so I just went with it and hoped for the best. I swear it's possessed by the spirit of a practical joker. 

My GPS does that too. Sometimes I second guess myself, but always stay on the main road. It will re route eventually.

mikenberger

jenna8984 said:

My friend and I were just laughing about this. Do you have funny stories from back then that would never happen to you or your kids nowadays?

In middle school, my dad was taking me to Kelly's house. We lived 5 miles on the outskirts of town, so once he got into town he said "OK- where does she live?" I froze and was like "I have no idea! Mom always brings me and I don't pay attention to the roads" (there were no cell phones so I don't know what the hell I was watching the whole ride?) He had to drive back home so we could use the house phone to call her house phone and ask for directions.

Still can't believe I drove across the country with my best friend and a paper map in 2007. That probably sounds so ridiclous to @ohannabelle who probably drove the country 18 times with paper maps hahah. Not calling you old- I swear!

Oh and remember doing homework and reports with encyclopedias?!

TOTALLY. I remember I had children encyclopedias and then the big adult/leather bound ones. I remember the guy coming around and selling them as well. 

I recall, in middle school, writing a paper on a word processor. And it was a word processor that you had to actually hit "print" and it would print out your typing onto paper. Otherwise, you could only see your typing one line at a time. So it was recommended to actually write out your paper by hand, then type it in, print it, make any changes, then print again. But to be very judicious with your printing/correction ink as both were pricey.

Man, I remember when those were amazing. 

novella1186

huskypuppy14 said:

I remember typing my reports for school on a typewriter, and when we got our first computer I had a floppy disk of Encyclopedia Britanica to look up info for school reports, but STILL typed them on the typewriter because what the hell is a printer? 

I remember getting a second phone line for our dial-up internet, which was a really big deal. And if I wanted to talk to my friends I called their house, usually spoke with their mom, and asked for them. Cuz yeah, no cell phones. 

Honestly I prefer to use a paper map/atlas these days. We drove across the country (from Indiana to Idaho in a giant loop) last summer, and our GPS wasn't always dependable, or it would just end up being inconvenient to use. An actual paper map is never wrong. Doesn't need batteries. Doesn't need to be plugged in. And I like seeing the "'bigger picture" with all possible routes and then choosing my own route. 

A few months ago my GPS took my down some random dirt road that pretty much ran parallel to a major road. WTF? And that wasn't the first time that sort of thing has happened, but of course I didn't realize where it was leading me till it was too late so I just went with it and hoped for the best. I swear it's possessed by the spirit of a practical joker. 

My GPS does that too. Sometimes I second guess myself, but always stay on the main road. It will re route eventually.

Lol I finally caught on to that! We had to drive to a city we've never been to before this past weekend to meet with our officiant. The GPS told us to turn on this road that was clearly just a subdivision and FI was driving, so I yelled "Don't listen to her! She's lying!" lol and we went straight, which definitely ended up being the right choice. 

jenna8984

amelisha said:

Travelling with real tickets like @JCbride2015 mentioned - those multilayered paper ones the travel agent had to print off with the special printer and that you actually needed in order to check in at the airport (not just a confirmation number or ticket number.) You had to guard the stupid things with your life because getting them reissued was a big deal.

When I went to travel school they taught us how to issue the paper airline tickets and read all the fare lines and stuff, but thankfully I only had to do it a few times for smaller airlines in less-developed countries who weren't on e-ticketing yet.

I've travelled with paper maps more than once, too, although I now can't believe I drove without being able to check when the next gas station is on my phone...

@amelisha YES. When I was 8 years old, we were in Puerto Rico just finished a cruise, and my father lost the airline tickets home. He had to purchase like $2,000 in the new tickets for the next day!

thisismynickname2

Hilarious! If I'm driving myself I just print a map and directions in advance. Visualizing a map in your head and relating it to your surroundings is a skill not everyone has, but I'm glad I do!  If I'm the passenger and DH is driving, I'll use the map on my smartphone and if the place is really unfamiliar, then use the phone's GPS function.

I remember in college saying, "Why do I need a cell phone? If I'm not around, I'm busy!"

And when I was younger, payphones payphones payphones....

Definitely did a lot of research papers with encyclopaedias...

wandajune6

My 7th grade typing class used electric typewriters. My accuracy was much better back then because I hated pulling out White-out.

My mom had a bag phone when I was very little. By the time I was driving, my parents both had cell phones that were pretty much only used for emergencies. When we went out at night, we had to wait until a parent was home so we could take one of their phones with us. I didn't get my first cell phone until I was 22, a few days after 9/11. My mom hated that she couldn't get in touch with my sister and I that day.

Also, I was never into video games but remember fighting over my sister for time on our black/white Mac Classic -- occasionally for homework but mainly to play Oregon Trail.

mrsk616

my fi had the first droid phone and that thing sent us down the wrong street into a field. it a bad snow storm too. 

my uncle is a detective and still types his reports on a type writer. we still give him type write white out and correction tape and little things for the type writer and he gets so pissed off. 

princessleia22

novella1186 said:

I remember typing my reports for school on a typewriter, and when we got our first computer I had a floppy disk of Encyclopedia Britanica to look up info for school reports, but STILL typed them on the typewriter because what the hell is a printer? 

I remember getting a second phone line for our dial-up internet, which was a really big deal. And if I wanted to talk to my friends I called their house, usually spoke with their mom, and asked for them. Cuz yeah, no cell phones. 

Honestly I prefer to use a paper map/atlas these days. We drove across the country (from Indiana to Idaho in a giant loop) last summer, and our GPS wasn't always dependable, or it would just end up being inconvenient to use. An actual paper map is never wrong. Doesn't need batteries. Doesn't need to be plugged in. And I like seeing the "'bigger picture" with all possible routes and then choosing my own route. 

A few months ago my GPS took my down some random dirt road that pretty much ran parallel to a major road. WTF? And that wasn't the first time that sort of thing has happened, but of course I didn't realize where it was leading me till it was too late so I just went with it and hoped for the best. I swear it's possessed by the spirit of a practical joker. 

Just last week some guy drove his car off a 37 foot drop on a demolished bridge outside Chicago because he was following his GPS. Sadly, his wife was killed. The GPS was out of date and didn't know the bridge went out of use years ago.  And he was paying too close attention to his GPS and didn't even notice the barricades and signs saying the bridge was out.

http://wgntv.com/2015/03/29/gps-navigation-involved-when-car-plunges-off-demolished-indiana-bridge/ 

 

I use my GPS, but I often will disagree with it and don't follow it religiously. 

charlottesmom0626

A few weeks ago I was driving home (familiar route) and decided to stop at a store a little out of the way (on a non-familiar route). After the store I took a wrong turn somehow and thought, "no big deal I'll just use GoogleMaps on my phone" and then my phone battery died and I FREAKED OUT. Full-on panic mode. 

Then I thought "Stop. Think. What would you do if you didn't have a GPS or phone, like it used to be?" so I turned around, went back to where I started and retraced my turns correctly. It seems so stupid now, but in the moment I was really acting BSC 

WinstonsGirl

DH asked me yesterday on the plane as we landed if he should call his Mom and tell her that we and landed.  I said I didn't know, and he asked what I usually do.  I reminded him that I don't have a phone, so I usually meet people in the airport.  

I get asked a lot what I do to meet people with not having a cell phone.  I just make plans before hand and follow them, like we all did back in the stone ages.  

My Mom used to type out University papers for people as a side job.  I remember the dot-matrix printer running for hours at night printing so slowly.  It had those strips you had to rip off the paper that fed into the printer to keep it straight.  

We also had a VCR (yes, we were hot shit in the 80's) and it had a remote control!!!  Attached by a cord of course.  We could play/pause, fast forward or rewind.  That was it.  

kvruns

back in probably 2008 or 2009 I had to go to the Chicago suburbs for work so I hit up IKEA first and then planned to go to my hotel after.  I had printed yahoo maps directions (didn't have a gps or smartphone) and got super lost, like somehow in a weird area off the beaten path.  Had to call my parents and try to tell them where I thought I was so they could look it up online and try to help me out.  That was not fun.  I think I had that happen twice that year but I know for sure after that Chicago trip I went home and bought a Garmin GPS thing for the car

theartistformerlyknownas

I'm still traumatized by the noise of a fax machine screaming into my ear...

mrsk616

princessleia22 said:

novella1186 said:

I remember typing my reports for school on a typewriter, and when we got our first computer I had a floppy disk of Encyclopedia Britanica to look up info for school reports, but STILL typed them on the typewriter because what the hell is a printer? 

I remember getting a second phone line for our dial-up internet, which was a really big deal. And if I wanted to talk to my friends I called their house, usually spoke with their mom, and asked for them. Cuz yeah, no cell phones. 

Honestly I prefer to use a paper map/atlas these days. We drove across the country (from Indiana to Idaho in a giant loop) last summer, and our GPS wasn't always dependable, or it would just end up being inconvenient to use. An actual paper map is never wrong. Doesn't need batteries. Doesn't need to be plugged in. And I like seeing the "'bigger picture" with all possible routes and then choosing my own route. 

A few months ago my GPS took my down some random dirt road that pretty much ran parallel to a major road. WTF? And that wasn't the first time that sort of thing has happened, but of course I didn't realize where it was leading me till it was too late so I just went with it and hoped for the best. I swear it's possessed by the spirit of a practical joker. 

Just last week some guy drove his car off a 37 foot drop on a demolished bridge outside Chicago because he was following his GPS. Sadly, his wife was killed. The GPS was out of date and didn't know the bridge went out of use years ago.  And he was paying too close attention to his GPS and didn't even notice the barricades and signs saying the bridge was out.

http://wgntv.com/2015/03/29/gps-navigation-involved-when-car-plunges-off-demolished-indiana-bridge/ 

 

I use my GPS, but I often will disagree with it and don't follow it religiously. 

we had a dealer trade driver actually end up on the bridge to Canada going to Michigan for a trade. in Detroit you have to pay attention to your GPS because it will jump around to much, 

novella1186

WinstonsGirl said:

DH asked me yesterday on the plane as we landed if he should call his Mom and tell her that we and landed.  I said I didn't know, and he asked what I usually do.  I reminded him that I don't have a phone, so I usually meet people in the airport.  

I get asked a lot what I do to meet people with not having a cell phone.  I just make plans before hand and follow them, like we all did back in the stone ages.  

My Mom used to type out University papers for people as a side job.  I remember the dot-matrix printer running for hours at night printing so slowly.  It had those strips you had to rip off the paper that fed into the printer to keep it straight.  

We also had a VCR (yes, we were hot shit in the 80's) and it had a remote control!!!  Attached by a cord of course.  We could play/pause, fast forward or rewind.  That was it.  

First bolded, I remember meeting up with my cousin in Chicago all the time. We always managed to find each other in the same place at the same time without the use of cell phones. Weird, huh?  

Second bolded, I remember that paper! My dad's office had a bunch of printers that used that paper, and I would sit there and rip off all the edges of the stuff that had already printed and seriously that it was a fun thing to do. I was a weird kid. 

Also, I remember the VCR we had when I was a kid. No remote, but the entire tape deck popped up out of the top, which to this day I think is cool. I actually still own a VCR (but a more modern one) because I refuse to get rid of some of my old VHS tapes. The Goonies ain't goin anywhere, and neither is its giant plastic case. 

ohannabelle

jenna8984 said:

My friend and I were just laughing about this. Do you have funny stories from back then that would never happen to you or your kids nowadays?

In middle school, my dad was taking me to Kelly's house. We lived 5 miles on the outskirts of town, so once he got into town he said "OK- where does she live?" I froze and was like "I have no idea! Mom always brings me and I don't pay attention to the roads" (there were no cell phones so I don't know what the hell I was watching the whole ride?) He had to drive back home so we could use the house phone to call her house phone and ask for directions.

Still can't believe I drove across the country with my best friend and a paper map in 2007. That probably sounds so ridiclous to @ohannabelle who probably drove the country 18 times with paper maps hahah. Not calling you old- I swear!

Oh and remember doing homework and reports with encyclopedias?!

I heard that! 

But it's true, and yep, I find a lot of the technology dependence hilarious.  I survived the earth pre-internet, pre-cell phone,  pre-bank card. Pre-handheld hair dryer. 

(I wrote my first novel entirely by hand, because I didn't want to invest money in a word processor until I had a marketable finished manuscript.)

There was an ad on craigslist not long ago for a "zombie apocalypse survival kit," and of course I had to look. It was a set of encyclopedias. Because "how are you going to find shit out when google's gone?" Cracked me up. 

I love technology. I do wonder, sometimes, how it's going to impair our common sense thinking skills. I can already see it damaging social interaction skills. It just makes it too easy not to interact with other people. 

WinstonsGirl

ohannabelle said:

My friend and I were just laughing about this. Do you have funny stories from back then that would never happen to you or your kids nowadays?

In middle school, my dad was taking me to Kelly's house. We lived 5 miles on the outskirts of town, so once he got into town he said "OK- where does she live?" I froze and was like "I have no idea! Mom always brings me and I don't pay attention to the roads" (there were no cell phones so I don't know what the hell I was watching the whole ride?) He had to drive back home so we could use the house phone to call her house phone and ask for directions.

Still can't believe I drove across the country with my best friend and a paper map in 2007. That probably sounds so ridiclous to @ohannabelle who probably drove the country 18 times with paper maps hahah. Not calling you old- I swear!

Oh and remember doing homework and reports with encyclopedias?!

I heard that! 

But it's true, and yep, I find a lot of the technology dependence hilarious.  I survived the earth pre-internet, pre-cell phone,  pre-bank card. Pre-handheld hair dryer. 

(I wrote my first novel entirely by hand, because I didn't want to invest money in a word processor until I had a marketable finished manuscript.)

There was an ad on craigslist not long ago for a "zombie apocalypse survival kit," and of course I had to look. It was a set of encyclopedias. Because "how are you going to find shit out when google's gone?" Cracked me up. 

I love technology. I do wonder, sometimes, how it's going to impair our common sense thinking skills. I can already see it damaging social interaction skills. It just makes it too easy not to interact with other people. 

This.  I see so many people now (many my students, but others too) who don't know how to find out information if Google isn't there.  For some, even if Google is there.  But some of that could be laziness too.  Maybe someone else will do the work for me kind of thinking

novella1186

ohannabelle said:

My friend and I were just laughing about this. Do you have funny stories from back then that would never happen to you or your kids nowadays?

In middle school, my dad was taking me to Kelly's house. We lived 5 miles on the outskirts of town, so once he got into town he said "OK- where does she live?" I froze and was like "I have no idea! Mom always brings me and I don't pay attention to the roads" (there were no cell phones so I don't know what the hell I was watching the whole ride?) He had to drive back home so we could use the house phone to call her house phone and ask for directions.

Still can't believe I drove across the country with my best friend and a paper map in 2007. That probably sounds so ridiclous to @ohannabelle who probably drove the country 18 times with paper maps hahah. Not calling you old- I swear!

Oh and remember doing homework and reports with encyclopedias?!

I heard that! 

But it's true, and yep, I find a lot of the technology dependence hilarious.  I survived the earth pre-internet, pre-cell phone,  pre-bank card. Pre-handheld hair dryer. 

(I wrote my first novel entirely by hand, because I didn't want to invest money in a word processor until I had a marketable finished manuscript.)

There was an ad on craigslist not long ago for a "zombie apocalypse survival kit," and of course I had to look. It was a set of encyclopedias. Because "how are you going to find shit out when google's gone?" Cracked me up. 

I love technology. I do wonder, sometimes, how it's going to impair our common sense thinking skills. I can already see it damaging social interaction skills. It just makes it too easy not to interact with other people. 

----ETF stupid boxes. "Back in my day, TK didn't have boxes!"-------------

I wrote my first one by hand too! But this was in 2005-2006 when we definitely had a good, usable computer and a nice printer. I was just so used to writing by hand and making edits on paper that I really preferred it and didn't want to deal with a computer. I would actually get bruises on my fingers from the pen. I definitely don't write stuff by hand anymore lol. 

To the second bolded, there was a really interesting study done a few years ago where they took brain scans and compared them. People who always rely on GPS show physically different brain structure, because the area of their brain responsible for spatial reasoning (figuring out directions) actually shrank over time. Not to a huge extent, but the authors of the study believed that over time, this area of the brain will continue to shrink and potentially disappear in future generations. 

And etf words. Brain scans, not brains cans 

theartistformerlyknownas

novella1186 said:

First bolded, I remember meeting up with my cousin in Chicago all the time. We always managed to find each other in the same place at the same time without the use of cell phones. Weird, huh?  

Second bolded, I remember that paper! My dad's office had a bunch of printers that used that paper, and I would sit there and rip off all the edges of the stuff that had already printed and seriously that it was a fun thing to do. I was a weird kid. 

Also, I remember the VCR we had when I was a kid. No remote, but the entire tape deck popped up out of the top, which to this day I think is cool. I actually still own a VCR (but a more modern one) because I refuse to get rid of some of my old VHS tapes. The Goonies ain't goin anywhere, and neither is its giant plastic case. 

I got in a lot of trouble once for ripping the edges off the paper that HADN'T been printed yet. >.< I would fold them all against each other over and over and make one long springy snake.

novella1186

lolo883 said:

First bolded, I remember meeting up with my cousin in Chicago all the time. We always managed to find each other in the same place at the same time without the use of cell phones. Weird, huh?  

Second bolded, I remember that paper! My dad's office had a bunch of printers that used that paper, and I would sit there and rip off all the edges of the stuff that had already printed and seriously that it was a fun thing to do. I was a weird kid. 

Also, I remember the VCR we had when I was a kid. No remote, but the entire tape deck popped up out of the top, which to this day I think is cool. I actually still own a VCR (but a more modern one) because I refuse to get rid of some of my old VHS tapes. The Goonies ain't goin anywhere, and neither is its giant plastic case. 

I got in a lot of trouble once for ripping the edges off the paper that HADN'T been printed yet. >.< I would fold them all against each other over and over and make one long springy snake.

That's what I would do too! My sister and I would compete so see who could make the longest springy snake. If you accidentally tore it, it was devastating. 

sophhabobopha

You guys, I don't remember most of this stuff.

I do remember once my mom taped over a Salior Moon tape and I almost killed her.

jenna8984

@novella1186 My first real job at the accounting firm in 2007, I audited some clients who still printed their general ledger on that frigen paper with the holes on the side!!! It killed me to not tear the sides off.....

I used to love going to my mom's office though and making paper clip chains when I was little!

thisismynickname2

The magic of actually meeting people without cell phones means that people have to---gasp!!!--- BE ON TIME. 

Now that people have cell phones, it gives them a license to be "five minutes late, sorry!"

So annoying. Be punctual! PLAN well. Ugh. 

jenna8984

thisismynickname said:

The magic of actually meeting people without cell phones means that people have to---gasp!!!--- BE ON TIME. 

Now that people have cell phones, it gives them a license to be "five minutes late, sorry!"

So annoying. Be punctual! PLAN well. Ugh. 

Biggest pet peeve ever when people don't even tell you they are going to be late until it's the meeting time. Was supposed to meet my realtor at a house at 5:15pm the other night. It was 5:10 and I had just arrived at the location, and he called me saying "My meeting ran late- be there at 5:45" Like mother-fucker, you could have given me a head's up earlier so I could have waited at home the extra half hour!!

theycallmelinz

The other day I was driving somewhere and wanted to change things up a bit, so I popped in one of my old favorite CDs (yep, still own some) and it starting SKIPPING. I was like Nooooooo this was my favorite!!! And then bitterly told myself that my children will never know what it's like to have their favorite music RUINED.

 

theartistformerlyknownas

theycallmelinz said:

The other day I was driving somewhere and wanted to change things up a bit, so I popped in one of my old favorite CDs (yep, still own some) and it starting SKIPPING. I was like Nooooooo this was my favorite!!! And then bitterly told myself that my children will never know what it's like to have their favorite music RUINED.

 

If you still owned and had the ability to play cassettes, I'd be impressed. Everyone still owns CDs.

Our kids will still have digital files get corrupted.

theycallmelinz

lolo883 said:

theycallmelinz said:

The other day I was driving somewhere and wanted to change things up a bit, so I popped in one of my old favorite CDs (yep, still own some) and it starting SKIPPING. I was like Nooooooo this was my favorite!!! And then bitterly told myself that my children will never know what it's like to have their favorite music RUINED.

 

If you still owned and had the ability to play cassettes, I'd be impressed. Everyone still owns CDs.

Our kids will still have digital files get corrupted.

Ah-ha but I do! I still have a cassette tape single of Spice Girls "Two Become One."

BOOM!

novella1186

lolo883 said:

theycallmelinz said:

The other day I was driving somewhere and wanted to change things up a bit, so I popped in one of my old favorite CDs (yep, still own some) and it starting SKIPPING. I was like Nooooooo this was my favorite!!! And then bitterly told myself that my children will never know what it's like to have their favorite music RUINED.

 

If you still owned and had the ability to play cassettes, I'd be impressed. Everyone still owns CDs.

Our kids will still have digital files get corrupted.

I own an original Beatles album on vinyl. I mean, I wasn't born till 26 years after it was released, but whatever.