# Old stuff that wouldn’t pass muster today...



## Fyrefox (Aug 24, 2021)

When you were in school, most likely you drank from a water fountain something like this, or worse.  The water was often warm, and tasted funny.  Often there was a piece or two of chewing gum floating in the drain.  In elementary schools, you could even see the occasional kid _put his mouth directly on the fountain!  _And just think of the elevated levels of lead and copper such fountains brought into your body...

What other things common in your childhood would horrify parents today?


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## Sliverfox (Aug 24, 2021)

Probably the fact I rode horseback without  a saddle & rope in horse's mouth.
And  no helmet to protect  my head when horse tried to  brush me off by running under low hanging branches.


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## Chris P Bacon (Aug 24, 2021)

This might make a few heads spin. Especially since there wasn't any soft cushioning to fall into beneath it.


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## Aunt Bea (Aug 24, 2021)

Showers after PE class.


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## hollydolly (Aug 24, 2021)

Aunt Bea said:


> Showers after PE class.
> 
> View attachment 180217


yes I hated those... we had to get undressed altogether  in the  cloakroom as a class before heading for the showers..so embarrassing when you've just hit puberty as a girl... fortunately I was in an all girls class. but most people weren't in our school.....


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## hollydolly (Aug 24, 2021)

There was a 'swing park' as we called it back in the 60's opposite my granny's house.. and when we went to visit my siblings and I would  run straight to the park to play on the witches hat.. ( as we called this one.)





Thought nothing of drinking from the water fountains....






 The r/a...







The see-saw





The giant 'shutes' .. as we called slides...

..where on a blistering hot day we didn't have the sense not to slide down and burn the back of our legs.. no-one tried to sue the council...


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## fatboy (Aug 24, 2021)

smoking inside public buildings


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## win231 (Aug 24, 2021)

Lawn Darts were banned in the U.S. and Canada after hundreds of injuries & at least one death.
In April 1987, seven-year-old *Michelle Snow* was killed by a lawn dart thrown by one of her brothers' playmates in the backyard of their home in Riverside, California, when the dart had penetrated her skull and caused massive brain trauma.


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## Butterfly (Aug 24, 2021)

Chris P Bacon said:


> This might make a few heads spin. Especially since there wasn't any soft cushioning to fall into beneath it.


Had very similar ones to this at my elementary school.  We all survived, despite doing many not-very-bright things on those bars.  Great fun!


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## Butterfly (Aug 24, 2021)

hollydolly said:


> There was a 'swing park' as we called it back in the 60's opposite my granny's house.. and when we went to visit my siblings and I would  run straight to the park to play on the witches hat.. ( as we called this one.)
> 
> 
> 
> ...



One of life's early lessons -- do not slide down the slide in August in shorts!


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## Don M. (Aug 24, 2021)

Given today's "standards", it's a wonder that those of our age managed to survive childhood.


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## cdestroyer (Aug 24, 2021)

In portland oregon the so called "benson bubblers" are on nearly every street corner


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## fmdog44 (Aug 24, 2021)

Public phones!


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## CinnamonSugar (Aug 24, 2021)

Trick-or-treating by myself after dark.  Unthinkable now


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## RadishRose (Aug 24, 2021)

Safety Concerns of Outdoor Darts​For safety reasons, outdoor dart games have been surrounded by controversy. After many reports of accidents, injuries, and deaths related to the use of such darts, The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission eventually banned the product in December 1988.


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## Aunt Bea (Aug 24, 2021)

The old metal framed seats with aluminum back panels on the school bus.


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## hollydolly (Aug 24, 2021)

CinnamonSugar said:


> Trick-or-treating by myself after dark.  Unthinkable now


yes , oddly I did this alone too.. ( as well as sometimes with my siblings)....I say oddly, because my parents allowed it even tho' I'd been abducted as a 2 year old...(not while trick-or -treating..obviously)..


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## hollydolly (Aug 24, 2021)

Butterfly said:


> One of life's early lessons -- do not slide down the slide in August in shorts!


Nope I don't remember any of learning that one... not until we'd slid down at least once every heatwave..


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## Alligatorob (Aug 24, 2021)

Fyrefox said:


> Old stuff that wouldn’t pass muster today...​



And a good thing!  Signs like these were all to common when I was growing up.


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## hollydolly (Aug 24, 2021)

Alligatorob said:


> View attachment 180230
> And a good thing!  Signs like these were all to common when I was growing up.


never in my life have I ever seen those signs in this country.  Thank God.. or I would be enraged!

Throughout modern history I learned that before I was born, in the 40's and 50's.. boarding houses would have signs up at the windows saying No Black, No Irish... but in my lifetime it's never been a thing.


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## hollydolly (Aug 24, 2021)




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## Furryanimal (Aug 24, 2021)

Disappearing for hours on end and no one having a clue where you were!


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## hollydolly (Aug 24, 2021)

Furryanimal said:


> Disappearing for hours on end and no one having a clue where you were!


...as long as you got home for tea..!


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## win231 (Aug 24, 2021)

Alligatorob said:


> View attachment 180230
> And a good thing!  Signs like these were all to common when I was growing up.


Hard to believe humans were ever that stupid.


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## Fyrefox (Aug 24, 2021)

Yes, those _Jungle Gyms _complete with _Monkey Bars!  _The ones at my elementary school were installed right out of the macadam, so if you fell either the steel bars or the unyielding ground surface would get you...and we _liked _it!


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## Alligatorob (Aug 24, 2021)

win231 said:


> Hard to believe humans were ever that stupid.


I agree!

However it just seemed to be the way things were back then.  Wish I could say I was outraged at the time, but that wouldn't be honest, guess I was neutral, going along for the ride.  

The Civil Right things started to kick in before I became an adult.  Integrating our schools began when I was in the 7th grade, a very slow and halting process.  At first we got just a few of the highest class, best educated black kids and no teachers.  Then when we got more they tried segregating us by classroom, the campus was integrated but not the individual classes.   Brown v Board of Education came along before my memory, but it took a long time to get enforced in a lot of the South...  Glad that era is over!


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## debodun (Aug 24, 2021)

I always wondered why a game like 'jacks' was ever marketed. Those metal spiky thing could inflct real damage if swallowed or thrown in a face or eye.


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## hollydolly (Aug 24, 2021)

debodun said:


> I always wondered why a game like 'jacks' was ever marketed. Those metal spiky thing could inflct real damage if swallowed or thrown in a face or eye.
> 
> View attachment 180244


I don't recall anyone ever throwing those in anyones' eyes.. or even swallowing them thank goodness....you can still buy them...plus if we didn't have proper jacks we would just use stones.. if someone threw a stone at another kids, we accepted it as part of our childhood. We grew up to be able to care for ourselves..I fear for the young of today who are so cosseted.. taken on play dates , not playing in the park in many places ... got parents who think every slight or hurt needs monetary compensation.. *sigh*


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## Pinky (Aug 24, 2021)

debodun said:


> I always wondered why a game like 'jacks' was ever marketed. Those metal spiky thing could inflct real damage if swallowed or thrown in a face or eye.
> 
> View attachment 180244


Never considered that .. I was a pro at jacks.


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## jujube (Aug 24, 2021)

debodun said:


> I always wondered why a game like 'jacks' was ever marketed. Those metal spiky thing could inflct real damage if swallowed or thrown in a face or eye.
> 
> View attachment 180244


....or stepped on in the middle of the night by your dad, which is why jacks were henceforth banned from our house.


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## fmdog44 (Aug 24, 2021)

Merthiolate was similar to Mercurochrome in that it was a mercury-based antiseptic treatment that gained popularity in US households during and after World War II. It also stung (some sources say even worse than Mercurochrome) and tended to leave red marks on the skin. STUNG LIKE HELL
Also:
Litter everywhere and horribly polluted rivers and streams, Stinky smelly air. Flat tires every one hundred miles. Cars over heating.
No $%^&*@! AC!


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## MarciKS (Aug 24, 2021)

LMAO! And it came with an article!! We should be dead. ROFLMAO!

https://www.thoughtco.com/is-it-safe-to-drink-hose-water-609429


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## Fyrefox (Aug 25, 2021)

Hey, remember _dart guns?  _They were just the thing to shoot at another kid, maybe hitting them in the eye.  It was great practice for when we’d later get BB guns...


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## oldiebutgoody (Aug 25, 2021)

you don't see racoon hats nowadays:











very popular back in the 50s


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## oldiebutgoody (Aug 25, 2021)

you don't often see women shopping or walking the streets with curlers on anymore:


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## Paco Dennis (Aug 25, 2021)




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## hollydolly (Aug 25, 2021)

oldiebutgoody said:


> you don't often see women shopping or walking the streets with curlers on anymore:


Unfortunately that became a 'thing' in some of the cities here, a few years ago among the young women ..just about the same time as grown women were going shopping in their pyjamas










It may _still_ be a thing in some parts of the country..I rarely go to those areas  of the cities and towns where these people tend to be


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## JustBonee (Aug 25, 2021)

MarciKS said:


> View attachment 180305
> LMAO! And it came with an article!! We should be dead. ROFLMAO!
> 
> https://www.thoughtco.com/is-it-safe-to-drink-hose-water-609429



Since they didn't  have "water bottles"  back in the 50's,   this was the only way to get a drink of water while playing outside..
Never thought to go inside the house and get a glass of water ..lol


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## CinnamonSugar (Aug 25, 2021)

Yuck and double yuck!  @ hollydolly How can anyone think that’s attractive (rollers)?!


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## fmdog44 (Aug 25, 2021)

All the sick racist and pornographic writings on the toilet stalls at the work place. Note they were never removed by the company. It was scary to see some of the things put on those walls.


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## MarciKS (Aug 25, 2021)

Bonnie said:


> Since they didn't  have "water bottles"  back in the 50's,   this was the only way to get a drink of water while playing outside..
> Never thought to go inside the house and get a glass of water ..lol


it certainly didn't kill us.


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## oldiebutgoody (Aug 25, 2021)

hollydolly said:


> Unfortunately that became a 'thing' in some of the cities here, a few years ago among the young women ..just about the same time as grown women were going shopping in their pyjamas
> 
> 
> 
> ...




I must be way out of touch - don't remember seeing that at all.


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## MrPants (Aug 25, 2021)

No seatbelts here!


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## oldpanightowl (Aug 25, 2021)

I got one of these for Xmas.  A big seller in the old days. All plastic of course. I suppose it would cause havoc if it showed up
on a store shelf today.


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## oldiebutgoody (Aug 25, 2021)

spats:


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## oldiebutgoody (Aug 25, 2021)

old Navy recruitment poster:


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## oldpanightowl (Aug 25, 2021)

Bonnie said:


> Since they didn't  have "water bottles"  back in the 50's,   this was the only way to get a drink of water while playing outside..
> Never thought to go inside the house and get a glass of water ..lol


I remember the first time I saw bottled water for sale. I asked my buddy who in their right mind would by that?


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## oldiebutgoody (Aug 25, 2021)

anti - draft/war poster:


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## oldiebutgoody (Aug 25, 2021)

the good old fashion  five cent cigar:


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## Butterfly (Aug 25, 2021)

debodun said:


> I always wondered why a game like 'jacks' was ever marketed. Those metal spiky thing could inflct real damage if swallowed or thrown in a face or eye.
> 
> View attachment 180244



Or stepped on in the dark!


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## hollydolly (Aug 26, 2021)




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## hollydolly (Aug 26, 2021)




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## hollydolly (Aug 26, 2021)

this was an actual advert


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## hollydolly (Aug 26, 2021)




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## hollydolly (Aug 26, 2021)




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## Mr. Ed (Aug 26, 2021)

The 1970s were a special time in America. We celebrated our 200th year of independence, we had disco, and we protested the Vietnam War. But with 200 years of independence, one would think that a person living in America was free to live their life the way they see fit.
Not so.
There were things we did in the ‘70s that we could never do today. Now, I’m not talking about murder or tax evasion or even a Brady Bunch reboot... nothing that drastic. I’m talking about things done privately... inside the family.

There are five things that you could do in the ‘70s that you could never, _ever_ get away with today because they are so despicable, at least to “p.c.” police, they would have you arrested and Child Protective Services would take your children away... probably.
*1. Drinking from the garden hose.* There is a study going around the Internet by the Ecology Center which says basically that drinking from the water hose is bad for your health. The study says that water from the hose contains “lead” and “levels of BPA at 20 times higher than those of safe drinking water levels.” I think we always suspected that it wasn’t a healthy option from the start.
When we drank from the water hose, we didn’t worry about BPAs and lead, this was the last thing we thought about as kids when we were out playing. We just wanted a quick drink. It wasn’t as if we were drinking gallons of water from the hose. Besides, kids didn’t look at statistics and findings when they were outside playing and thirsty. They lived on the edge.

They played hard and lived hard.
Children today? Not so edgy. Not so hard.
*2. Playing outside unattended.* There is a mother in Florida who faces up to five years in jail for letting her 7-year old son go to the park to play unattended, you can read about it here. The offense? Child neglect.
The same for a Maryland couple who let their kids play unattended in their _own_ neighborhood. You can read about it here also. The CPS actually picked up the kids and took them away.
What is this world coming to?
When I was growing up we played outside unattended on the weekends and just about every day during the summer. The only rules were we had to have our homework finished and we had to stay within “shouting distance” When the street lights came on, we had to be in.
Parents, and society in general are so enamored with child-proofing the world that they can’t see how they are actually ruining childhood.
*3. Sitting on your father’s lap while he is driving.* One of my greatest memories growing up was sitting on my father’s lap pretending to drive while he was driving. If you were caught driving with your child sitting on your lap today, you would be taken to jail and have the book thrown at you. CPS would take your children, and your driver’s license would be revoked for life.

Now, I’m not saying this is the safest way to drive with children, but I don’t recall growing up hearing about any children being injured. I am also pretty sure that no father took their children out on the express way driving at high speeds with them sitting on their laps... it was a neighborhood thing.
*4. Children buying cigarettes for their parents.* Children buying cigarettes for their parents was more of a way to save time. The parent would drop the child off at the door of a convenience store and circle the parking lot. By the time the parent made it around, the child was outside waiting to be picked up. It was a lot quicker than driving around trying to find a spot (if you were lucky), park, walk into the store, buy the cigarettes, and then leave.
The clerk usually recognized the child who came in to buy the cigarettes. He knew the parent was waiting outside.
We did this and it never led me to smoking... peer pressure and television did that.
*5. Spanking.* Most people today equate spanking with child abuse or beatings. It couldn’t be further from the truth.
Now, there are many examples of parents who abuse their children in the name of discipline. Those who are against spankings usually point to these as examples of spankings gone wrong. I was spanked when I was growing up, along with my brothers and we grew up to be law-abiding, tax-paying citizens.
Our spankings didn’t lead us to abusing or neglecting our children. Spankings weren’t done every day. If a spanking was carried out correctly, then only the threat of a spanking would be enough to make the child think twice. There was a hierarchy when it came to spankings; the mother threatened to tell the father and the father carried out the task. The only upside was you got to choose between a belt or a switch... OK, so not much of an upside.
The difference between the ‘70s and today is vast. There are many, many things that you cannot do today that you could get away with in the ‘70s.


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## MarciKS (Aug 26, 2021)

oldiebutgoody said:


> anti - draft/war poster:


Something like this today would cause quite a freak out among the politically correct & the feminists I imagine.


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## fuzzybuddy (Aug 28, 2021)

oldiebutgoody said:


> you don't see racoon hats nowadays:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I wanted one of those so bad.


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## oldpanightowl (Aug 28, 2021)

Retro car seat.


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## dobielvr (Aug 28, 2021)

hollydolly said:


> ...as long as you got home for tea..!


We had to be home when the street lights came on.

After playing 'hide and go seek' or 'kick the can' or riding our bikes all over the neighborhood.


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## oldiebutgoody (Aug 29, 2021)

MarciKS said:


> Something like this today would cause quite a freak out among the politically correct & the feminists I imagine.




actually, it was an anti right wing pic back in the day


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## hollydolly (Aug 29, 2021)

beautiful  thing... but this 1920's Toaster wouldn't really past muster in today's world...


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## RubyK (Aug 29, 2021)

Drive-in Theaters


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## RubyK (Aug 29, 2021)

Camping 1950's


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## hollydolly (Aug 29, 2021)

RubyK said:


> Drive-in Theaters


we never had drive-in theatres in this country during the 50's and 60's like you folks in the USA...but since the pandemic started, and all our theatres and cinemas were closed, we now have drive in Movies sprouting up in many places. I haven't been to one yet, but there's always a first time


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## hollydolly (Aug 29, 2021)

dobielvr said:


> We had to be home when the street lights came on.
> 
> After playing 'hide and go seek' or 'kick the can' or riding our bikes all over the neighborhood.


we would end up miles from home tbh, climbing trees, travelling on buses and trains at under 12   and dodging the conductor ... ... god alone knows why my  parents didn't mind where we were as long as we were out of their way...


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## Llynn (Aug 29, 2021)

the Atomic Energy Lab kit produced by the American Basic Science Club came with real samples of uranium (which is radioactive) and radium (which is a million times more radioactive than uranium). Since the mere presence of radioactive material in a children's product clearly wasn't insane enough, some of the experiments detailed in the manual also required kids to _handle blocks of dry ice_. Dry ice, by the way, has a temperature of minus 109.3 degrees Fahrenheit, and it's recommended that it only be handled while wearing gloves (none were included).


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## oldiebutgoody (Aug 29, 2021)

Am quite sure this wouldn't work today:


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## hollydolly (Aug 29, 2021)




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## hollydolly (Aug 29, 2021)

WoW....Can you imagine the uproar if this  advert was ever to be  used today  ..? OMG.. !!


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## Chris21E (Aug 29, 2021)

hollydolly said:


>


 .  The


hollydolly said:


>


Still around Portable YUK...
https://images.app.goo.gl/XBeaWbNiWhmUwRnK8


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## hollydolly (Aug 29, 2021)

Chris21E said:


> .  The
> 
> Still around Portable YUK...
> https://images.app.goo.gl/XBeaWbNiWhmUwRnK8


yes we need portable ones for festivals etc... but those wooden outhouses were the only toilet many people had at their homes... try going out there in the middle of the night in winter...when you've got the trots...


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## Chris21E (Aug 29, 2021)

hollydolly said:


> yes we need portable ones for festivals etc... but those wooden outhouses were the only toilet many people had at their homes... try going out there in the middle of the night in winter...when you've got the trots...


I know.... terrible


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## Leonie (Aug 29, 2021)

hollydolly said:


> beautiful  thing... but this 1920's Toaster wouldn't really past muster in today's world...


Looks as though it toasts the bread more evenly than the one I've got now.


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## Llynn (Aug 29, 2021)

hollydolly said:


> yes we need portable ones for festivals etc... but those wooden outhouses were the only toilet many people had at their homes... try going out there in the middle of the night in winter...when you've got the trots...


All we had was a privy when I was young. The logging camp did provide flush toilets in the shower buildings the crews used, but at the little shack my Mother and I shared, we lacked modern conveniences. It was 1951 before we had indoor plumbing and that was after we moved from the camp in the mountains to the main camp near civilization. 

My grandparents continued to use a privy at their farm until around 1956.


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## hollydolly (Aug 29, 2021)

Leonie said:


> Looks as though it toasts the bread more evenly than the one I've got now.


it probably did.I remember when we were kids we had this to toast the bread over the fire....
	

	
	
		
		

		
			





 and although it took longer than my £50 electric toaster today, it did a much better job...


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## senior chef (Aug 29, 2021)

Then again, there are cars of today that wouldn't pass muster back in the day.
When cars were really serious machines.


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## hollydolly (Aug 29, 2021)




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## Leonie (Aug 29, 2021)

hollydolly said:


>


Dangerous things, my mother almost lost her hand after it got caught in one of these.


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## hollydolly (Aug 29, 2021)

Child labour...


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## hollydolly (Aug 29, 2021)

Leonie said:


> Dangerous things, my mother almost lost her hand after it got caught in one of these.


yes we had one when I was growing up.I would have to fold the towels or sheets, and feed them through the wringer while my mother turned the handle.. I was always terrified my fingers were going to get caught in there, they got nipped a few times and that was painful enough, can't imagine how painful it was for your mum with her hand in the rollers...


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## oldiebutgoody (Aug 30, 2021)

old fashion dapper Dan:


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## oldiebutgoody (Aug 30, 2021)

Gibson Girl:


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## RubyK (Aug 30, 2021)

We hung clothes outside when I was young. My job was to hang up socks for a family of 7. Each sock had it's own clothespin. It took forever. 

There was a railroad track at the end of our street. In those days (1940s) the locomotive spewed black smoke. So when the clothes were still wet and the train was coming, we had to rush out and take down the clothes or they would get dirty and have to be rewashed! Most housewives stayed home in those days  and would help each other remove the clothes. That was neighborly.


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## hollydolly (Aug 30, 2021)

2 of my elderly neighbours still hang their washing out on the line @RubyK


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## RubyK (Aug 30, 2021)

oldiebutgoody said:


> Gibson Girl:


Look at her tiny waist! Women who wore those corsets fainted often because they could neither breathe properly or eat much while wearing them. Must have been awful.


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## hollydolly (Aug 31, 2021)




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## hollydolly (Aug 31, 2021)




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## Llynn (Aug 31, 2021)

hollydolly said:


>


Wow! Perique, Turkish, Havana and VA. That would be a seriously strong mixture. I'd love to give that one a go in one of my vintage briars. I really enjoy looking at old baccy tins.


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## Llynn (Aug 31, 2021)

*Lead Foil Icicles for the Christmas tree*​


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## Irwin (Aug 31, 2021)

senior chef said:


> Then again, there are cars of today that wouldn't pass muster back in the day.
> When cars were really serious machines.



Conversely, while many of the cars of the '60s and '70s were works of art, you were lucky to get 100k miles out of them. They usually started burning and leaking oil at around 70k. Spark plugs would foul out; you'd have a big puddle of oil under your engine; you'd have to change out the points and condenser twice a year. And the seats were horrendously uncomfortable unless you had a big boat with a bench seat that felt like you were driving around in your living room. Those were pretty great, actually.

Today's cars are far more reliable and better engineered. It's not unusual to get over 200k miles on a car built in the past 25 or so years and have it still run well.

So, while they might have been "serious machines," they wouldn't pass the muster today.


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## senior chef (Sep 2, 2021)

Irwin said:


> Conversely, while many of the cars of the '60s and '70s were works of art, you were lucky to get 100k miles out of them. They usually started burning and leaking oil at around 70k. Spark plugs would foul out; you'd have a big puddle of oil under your engine; you'd have to change out the points and condenser twice a year. And the seats were horrendously uncomfortable unless you had a big boat with a bench seat that felt like you were driving around in your living room. Those were pretty great, actually.
> 
> Today's cars are far more reliable and better engineered. It's not unusual to get over 200k miles on a car built in the past 25 or so years and have it still run well.
> 
> So, while they might have been "serious machines," they wouldn't pass the muster today.


Yes, you are correct. Cars of yesteryear had some failings BUT I still rather drive one of the old time muscle cars than any car of today.


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## Sylkkiss (Sep 2, 2021)

oldiebutgoody said:


> Gibson Girl:


Whats this? My Daddy's family are Gibsons.  I.. don't understand.


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## hollydolly (Sep 2, 2021)

Sylkkiss said:


> Whats this? My Daddy's family are Gibsons.  I.. don't understand.


An acclaimed master of pen-and-ink drawing, Charles Dana Gibson (1867–1944) came of age when the expansion of women's roles and increasing social mobility were changing America. After training at the Art Students League in New York City and in Europe, Gibson began to create satirical illustrations based on his observations of upper-middle-class life for such mainstream magazines as _Life_, _Collier's Weekly_, _Harper's Weekly_, _Scribner's_, and _Century_.

In the 1890s he created the “Gibson Girl,” a vibrant, *new feminine ideal* who was the visual embodiment of what writers of the period described as the “New Woman.” The Gibson Girl pursued higher education, romance, marriage, physical well-being, and individuality with unprecedented independence.


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## oldiebutgoody (Sep 2, 2021)

Maude Adams as Gibson girl ~ my all time fave ideal beauty:











Novelist Richard Matheson (originally from Brooklyn, like me) fell so in love with her pictures that he was inspired to write the book that became the movie *Somewhere In Time  -  *the only romance movie in history that has as many if not more male fans than female fans.


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## MrPants (Sep 2, 2021)




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## hollydolly (Sep 5, 2021)




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## hollydolly (Sep 5, 2021)




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## Pink Biz (Sep 5, 2021)

*^^^ What in the heck is that?*


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## StarSong (Sep 6, 2021)

Just asked my daughter about school drinking fountains.  She's a teacher in one school system, her husband teaches in another and their children attend yet another.  

She said most schools still have drinking fountains, however some are being replaced with contactless water bottle filling stations like this:


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## HoneyNut (Sep 6, 2021)

I very much enjoyed being a free range child, but I'm selfishly glad not to have children free-ranging all over, if they still did that I'd be the grumpy old people whose yard had to be avoided.


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## fuzzybuddy (Sep 6, 2021)

When was the last time, you went to McDonald's and they served you with a formal set of silverware?


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## Marie5656 (Sep 6, 2021)




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## StarSong (Sep 7, 2021)

oldiebutgoody said:


> Maude Adams as Gibson girl ~ my all time fave ideal beauty:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Thank you for this.  I just ordered the book from my library (will probably watch the movie afterward).  While reading, I'll picture the lovely Maude Adams in the female role.


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## Mrs. Robinson (Sep 7, 2021)

fmdog44 said:


> Merthiolate was similar to Mercurochrome in that it was a mercury-based antiseptic treatment that gained popularity in US households during and after World War II. It also stung (some sources say even worse than Mercurochrome) and tended to leave red marks on the skin. STUNG LIKE HELL


Better known as "Satan`s Spit".....


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## Sassycakes (Sep 7, 2021)




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## StarSong (Sep 7, 2021)

Mrs. Robinson said:


> Better known as "Satan`s Spit".....


I preferred Mercurochrome and Merthiolate to iodine, which was my mother's preferred treatment.  learned early to hide wounds and so envied friends whose moms poured a litte hydrogen peroxide on their cuts, left it to bubble for a minute, then wiped it clean and slapped on a Band-aid.


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## WheatenLover (Sep 12, 2021)

debodun said:


> I always wondered why a game like 'jacks' was ever marketed. Those metal spiky thing could inflct real damage if swallowed or thrown in a face or eye.
> 
> View attachment 180244


When I was a kid, those were girls toys. It never dawned on us to swallow one or throw them near someone's face.

My brother would put his Dinky cars in the road and let tanks and trucks roll over them for fun. We lived on Air Force bases.


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## WheatenLover (Sep 12, 2021)

Alligatorob said:


> I agree!
> 
> However it just seemed to be the way things were back then.  Wish I could say I was outraged at the time, but that wouldn't be honest, guess I was neutral, going along for the ride.
> 
> The Civil Right things started to kick in before I became an adult.  Integrating our schools began when I was in the 7th grade, a very slow and halting process.  At first we got just a few of the highest class, best educated black kids and no teachers.  Then when we got more they tried segregating us by classroom, the campus was integrated but not the individual classes.   Brown v Board of Education came along before my memory, but it took a long time to get enforced in a lot of the South...  Glad that era is over!


Our schools in Alabama were integrated when I was in 7th or 8th grade. The DOE didn't have schools on bases beyond 6th grade.

So my best friend and I were locked in the classroom during the 20-minute morning break because the teacher was afraid the black boys would get us. Or stab us. The USAF was integrated, and I had no idea how bad things were in the civilian world until then. To me, kids were kids, no matter what their race.

The students segregated themselves in the classrooms.  There were 2-3 empty rows. I remember not knowing where to sit, at first. Then I sat in at a desk in the empty rows. I hated that school with a passion, because of the situation. It was so awful to witness. And that teacher should have been drawn and quartered. No matter what I said, he wouldn't budge from his position.


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## WheatenLover (Sep 12, 2021)

hollydolly said:


> Unfortunately that became a 'thing' in some of the cities here, a few years ago among the young women ..just about the same time as grown women were going shopping in their pyjamas
> 
> 
> 
> ...


All the way through my young adulthood, people smoked and/or wore curlers at the grocery store. Many had drinks with them, too. And a lot of the women, who didn't wear curlers, wore tennis whites.


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## hollydolly (Sep 12, 2021)

WheatenLover said:


> All the way through my young adulthood, people smoked and/or wore curlers at the grocery store. Many had drinks with them, too. And a lot of the women, who didn't wear curlers, wore tennis whites.


really ?... wow !!!!  where was this ?


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## WheatenLover (Sep 12, 2021)

Mr. Ed said:


> The 1970s were a special time in America. We celebrated our 200th year of independence, we had disco, and we protested the Vietnam War. But with 200 years of independence, one would think that a person living in America was free to live their life the way they see fit.
> Not so.
> There were things we did in the ‘70s that we could never do today. Now, I’m not talking about murder or tax evasion or even a Brady Bunch reboot... nothing that drastic. I’m talking about things done privately... inside the family.
> 
> ...


We never got spanked, bought cigarettes, or sat on our anyone's lap while they were driving. My parents had seatbelts installed in their cars when they were not standard.

OTOH, my parents didn't have to spank us. My mom was German and German mothers are obeyed instantly. When I had kids, I thought they would obey instantly because that's how kids are. Boy was I surprised. My kids never got spanked either, although once in awhile they got a light pat on the bum. Then I discovered a book called 1-2-3 Magic. To this day (if most of them weren't in CA and were all in my house), all I have to do is say "1" and everyone shows up. Some kind of consequence was the "punishment", can't recall much about the book. Of course I only did that "1" thing to have a little fun watching the stampede downstairs, once they became older. They were always surprised about how engrained it was in them.


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## WheatenLover (Sep 12, 2021)

Chris21E said:


> .  The
> 
> Still around Portable YUK...
> https://images.app.goo.gl/XBeaWbNiWhmUwRnK8


Outhouses. Just no.


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## WheatenLover (Sep 12, 2021)

oldpanightowl said:


> I got one of these for Xmas.  A big seller in the old days. All plastic of course. I suppose it would cause havoc if it showed up
> on a store shelf today.
> View attachment 180455


Our grandmother always bought all the boy cousins toy guns for Christmas. Since my mother was against that, my brother got underwear.

Then I had boys, and they made guns out of toast ... and I couldn't figure out where they had seen them to know the rough shape. They got cap guns and squirt guns from me, because I liked playing with them too.

Despite my mother's strong anti-gun stance, my brother became an avid hunter when he grew up.


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## WheatenLover (Sep 12, 2021)

MrPants said:


> View attachment 181749


My mom would have a true conniption fit if anyone had hit me with anything in school. I remember when the assistant principal decided to suspend me for skipping in high school. My class had gone on a field trip, but I couldn't go because I had a debate scheduled for my next class. So I sat on the school steps and read a library book while I waiting and had nothing else to do.

Mr. D told me I had a choice between a paddle with holes in it being applied to my bum, or he would call my mom and suspend she. Mom came roaring down to the school, heard the story, and called Mr D an f'ing pig (using the actual F-word). I didn't get any punishment in the end, probably because that f'ing pig was afraid my mom might kill him. I still don't think I did anything wrong. I had permission, but the teacher was on the field trip.


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## WheatenLover (Sep 12, 2021)

Llynn said:


> View attachment 181399
> *Lead Foil Icicles for the Christmas tree*​


And, according to Wikipedia, they were phased out after the 1960s. None of us got lead poisoning, thank heavens. Our trees were loaded with tinsel and spray snow and ornaments.


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## WheatenLover (Sep 12, 2021)

hollydolly said:


> really ?... wow !!!!  where was this ?


Atlanta, GA, and other places in the States.


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## StarSong (Sep 12, 2021)

WheatenLover said:


> All the way through my young adulthood, people smoked and/or wore curlers at the grocery store. Many had drinks with them, too. And a lot of the women, who didn't wear curlers, wore tennis whites.


When I was quite young people could smoke in grocery store but that's been illegal in California since the mid-70s, perhaps sooner.  Yes, some women wore curlers in public (usually with a scarf to cover), but it was considered a tacky move.  Think that went out in the late 1960s.  

Can't say I saw a lot of people grocery shopping in tennis outfits either.

These might have been a Southern customs.  
I grew up in the northeast, then moved to Los Angeles... 

I never saw anyone drinking in a grocery store - presuming you mean alcohol. Nowadays it's quite common for people to shop with a water bottle, Starbucks cup, or other beverage though.


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## DaveA (Sep 12, 2021)

senior chef said:


> Then again, there are cars of today that wouldn't pass muster back in the day.
> When cars were really serious machines.
> View attachment 181096View attachment 181097View attachment 181099


Loved that split window Corvette.  Bought one from a friend when he was shipped off to Vietnam. Only made (with the split window) in 1963, I bought it in "65 and drove it daily 'til selling it in 1977.


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## senior chef (Sep 12, 2021)

DaveA said:


> Loved that split window Corvette.  Bought one from a friend when he was shipped off to Vietnam. Only made (with the split window) in 1963, I bought it in "65 and drove it daily 'til selling it in 1977.


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## Fyrefox (Sep 18, 2021)

And of course, it wouldn’t fly today to refer to women as _Dames, Skirts, _or _Broads.  _Elvis would sometimes refer to his woman as _Buttercup_, but of course he was…_The King!  

_


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## jujube (Sep 18, 2021)

RubyK said:


> We hung clothes outside when I was young. My job was to hang up socks for a family of 7. Each sock had it's own clothespin. It took forever.
> 
> There was a railroad track at the end of our street. In those days (1940s) the locomotive spewed black smoke. So when the clothes were still wet and the train was coming, we had to rush out and take down the clothes or they would get dirty and have to be rewashed! Most housewives stayed home in those days  and would help each other remove the clothes. That was neighborly.


Boy, do I remember that!  We lived next to the tracks and when we heard a coal-burner coming, it was ALL HANDS ON DECK to get the clothes off the line, dry or still wet. My mom would be frantic until everything was back in the house.


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## jujube (Sep 18, 2021)

RubyK said:


> Look at her tiny waist! Women who wore those corsets fainted often because they could neither breathe properly or eat much while wearing them. Must have been awful.


Those corsets were responsible for a lot of deaths, too.

Women would not be caught dead out in public without their corsets.  Catch a cold but still need to go out?  Into the corset she went and then couldn't take a deep enough breath to couch properly and clear out the phlegm.  Pneumonia set in and that was the end.

Same with pregnancy. "Proper" ladies "retired" from society when they started showing, so they'd lace themselves as tightly as possible in their corsets as long as possible.  Result: mothers with problems and birth defects in babies.

Let it all hang out! is my motto.....


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## caroln (Sep 18, 2021)

Scavenger hunts!  We used to run all over town looking for weird things on the list with no parental supervision of course!


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## hollydolly (Sep 18, 2021)

caroln said:


> Scavenger hunts!  We used to run all over town looking for weird things on the list with no parental supervision of course!


We called those Fox Hunts..( not real foxes) but as you say weird things on a list...


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## hollydolly (Sep 18, 2021)




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## hollydolly (Sep 18, 2021)




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## hollydolly (Sep 18, 2021)




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## hollydolly (Sep 18, 2021)

This one had me  Laughing out loud....never seen this one before, but apparently it was a genuine advert


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## squatting dog (Oct 15, 2021)

senior chef said:


> Yes, you are correct. Cars of yesteryear had some failings BUT I still rather drive one of the old time muscle cars than any car of today.


10-4.


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## squatting dog (Oct 15, 2021)

Sucked in a lot of exhaust back in the day.


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## horseless carriage (Oct 15, 2021)

oldiebutgoody said:


> spats:


Ahem, I wear spats, although only for re-enactment events. I must admit they do get some colourful comments. (profanities actually.) As in wtf!


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## squatting dog (Oct 15, 2021)




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## squatting dog (Oct 15, 2021)




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## Pepper (Oct 15, 2021)

If those kids were the farmer's kids @squatting dog, and only did this work after School or on weekends, it would still be legal?  I think so.


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## horseless carriage (Oct 15, 2021)

This kind of children's slide was common place in the recreational corner of public parks when I was a child. A group of us would polish the slide to make it superfast. What we did was to use the waxed paper that back then, was the wrapper of a sliced loaf. One kid went down the slide sitting on the waxed paper, the next kid slid down and polished the waxed surface, then we alternated each sliding with waxed paper followed by polishing. After about five minutes the slide could launch a rocket.

On one particular day, a mother arrived with her little boy, he was no more than four years old. Step by step he climbed the stairs, at the tower he waved down to his mother, then sitting on the highly polished slide, he launched himself. That kid all but broke the sound barrier, at the bottom he went straight off the end, his speed so fast that he didn't touch the floor, instead he covered a good fifteen feet and went straight into the shrubbery. 

Mother rushed to help her son, then after picking him up, she turned around to remonstrate with the culprits only to find the recreational area, completely devoid of any kid. We were all hiding behind the public toilets trying hard not to be heard by laughing out loud.


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## squatting dog (Oct 15, 2021)

Pepper said:


> If those kids were the farmer's kids @squatting dog, and only did this work after School or on weekends, it would still be legal?  I think so.


Then, if these kid's folks owned the plant, and they only worked after school, then it too would be alright?


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## Lawrence (Oct 15, 2021)

Playing Cowboys and Indians in costumes chasing each other around and trying to kill each other.


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## Pepper (Oct 15, 2021)

Good question @squatting dog.  I think not, as the farm is an actual part of their HOMEstead.  Just guessing.


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## squatting dog (Oct 15, 2021)

Lawrence said:


> Playing Cowboys and Indians in costumes chasing each other around and trying to kill each other.


And yet.......................


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## carouselsilver (Oct 16, 2021)

RubyK said:


> We hung clothes outside when I was young. My job was to hang up socks for a family of 7. Each sock had it's own clothespin. It took forever.
> 
> There was a railroad track at the end of our street. In those days (1940s) the locomotive spewed black smoke. So when the clothes were still wet and the train was coming, we had to rush out and take down the clothes or they would get dirty and have to be rewashed! Most housewives stayed home in those days  and would help each other remove the clothes. That was neighborly.


I remember how good a wind dried sheet would smell when my mother took it off the line and put it on my bed.


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## Fyrefox (Oct 19, 2021)

_Frank Fontaine _regularly appeared as the character _Crazy Guggenheim _in the _Joe the Bartender _sketches on the _Jacky Gleason Show _in the early 1960’s. The character was portrayed as chronically drunk, and “funny” drunks were stock characters on TV at the time. Fontaine would finish his appearances by singing in a beautiful  baritone voice.  His _Crazy Guggenheim _character was the voice model for _Barney, _the barfly on the _Simpsons _show.  You won’t see alcoholics portrayed as comic characters on TV much these days…


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## oldiebutgoody (Oct 19, 2021)

old fashion medicine:


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## oldiebutgoody (Oct 19, 2021)

dudes hanging out smoking a pipe and cigars:


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