Horrifying Things Our Grandparents Thought Were Normal

Comments · 935

• AT

  @AtheismFTW-o5j · 9 months ago

  Fetal Alcohol Syndrome has characteristic facial features, and once you know about them, you see them shockingly frequently.

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• JI

  @jimc.goodfellas · 9 months ago

  They also used to think smoking could be good for you

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• CM

  @cmtippens9209 · 9 months ago

  Driving while drinking, no seatbelts, kids loose in the backseat, the adults actively smoking (kids got it second-hand, so no one's left out). We were having a party in the car! 😂

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• JU

  @justinmorgan7851 · 9 months ago (edited)

  Many years ago, when corporal punishment was still common in schools, I was in junior high shop class when Fred, our class's resident troublemaker, started roughhousing with his usual crew of knuckle draggers around the bandsaw while it was running. Our shop teacher, who had stepped out for a bathroom break, came back into the room at that moment. When our teacher realized what was happening, he grabbed a footlong 2x4 near the door and threw it hard at Fred, knocking him back and away from the machine. Then our teacher ran over, shut down the machine, and started yelling at all of them for being stupid. I found out later that that was the last straw for the school, and Fred was expelled. Nowadays, that teacher would probably be fired for physically striking a student, but I wanted to give him an award because Fred was a dangerous asshole.

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• DO

  @dougsimonite9531 · 8 months ago

  I worked at a uranium mine for 28 years and retired 2 years ago. I used to teach a radiation protection course and had pictures of some of the stuff here including the kids set. Let's just say, we treat it a lot more seriously now!

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• SH

  @shanedoe3462 · 9 months ago

  My great Aunt had her breast pulled through a wringer washer. She leaned over the machine to get something and it 'grabbed hold' of her. She screamed for my uncle to come and help her, and he had to take the wringers apart to get her out. No permanent damage. Just a lot of bruising for a while.

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• RJ

  @RJ420NL · 9 months ago

  I wonder which modern practices will make this list next century. Future people will look back at us and laugh at the stupidity.

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• RA

  @raebsen · 9 months ago

  We had a paddling board when i was little. Was about 4 inches wide and 2 feet long with a handle. Engraved into the board was "the board of education meets the seat of understanding".

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• BR

  @bradleyboyer9979 · 9 months ago

  Two things to consider:<br><br>1. There are likely just as many things we are doing today that will be looked back on as archaic in 50 years.<br><br>2. There were also things back in the &quot;good ole days&quot; that actually were healthier. &nbsp;For example, people are far less processed food and ate healthy fats like eggs, lard, and real meat.<br><br>It is easy to look back and laugh, but the real lesson is that you shouldn&apos;t ever just trust what &quot;authorities&quot; say about anything.<br><br>Seek out information from all perspectives, and make your own decision.

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• XA

  @Xanthelei · 9 months ago

  I at least understand the logic behind the last one. Any chance is better than no chance, after all.

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• MI

  @Mirokuofnite · 8 months ago

  Yeah I got the belt as a kid in the early 90s. But looking back on it, I deserved it for the two occasions<br>1. While leaving the store I started yelling &quot;I&apos;m being kidnapped&quot; for some stupid reason.<br>2. I found a grease gun in the garage and sprayed grease all over the neighborhood.

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• LU

  @lucindawelenc2191 · 9 months ago

  Re: one for the road. That may have been the origin of the phrase, but people drank it down at the bar. There were no cup holders in cars in the 1960s. The first cup holders that I can remember were little plastic things you bought at gas stations. They clipped into the window groove, and the inventor made a substantial fortune. I bought my first minivan in 1985, and it did not have cup holders, so car manufacturers didn&apos;t start designing them until sometime after that. I have no personal memories of the magnetic martini glass, but considering the style of such glasses, the contents would slosh right out as soon as you accelerated or made your first turn. If they actually existed, it would have only been for a very short time.

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