Stuff we used to do back then that you couldn't do now

[brigeton]

One thing my wife mentioned. With all the overprotective parents today that are worried their kid might get a scratch, they still don't have seat belts on school buses.
I got into an argument with a guy on another forum cause I said I ignored the law and rode my quad 5-10 mph on the ice, ice fishing without a helmet. He thought I was going to get thrown off and get a severe concussion.

 

[Comrad]

This is my 1st grade picture taken at school. Do you think this could happen today. Not on your life.

I'm pretty sure we were all cowboy gun slingers at that age and that's how we all ended up here today. Still got that cap gun? It's probably worth as much as a real Colt these days.

 

[Huskerguy]

Wrapped tin foil around a pencil, made a hollow rocket with a pointed end. Filled it with match book heads, held a match under it until it went off and flew wherever it felt like flying.

Made my own gun powder when I was in like the 4th grade, bought items at local drug store.

I was taught to use my head - spearing - in football.

Eat lots of salt when you worked out - it is good for you! No water.

Every school had one of those hand generators you lined people up to shock the person at the end. Someone would call the police now days.

Took by barreled 223 to the college I taught at around 1990 or so and showed it to the welding instructor who had a student who was working at the Bell & Carlson plant - got a nice synthetic stock and we had it at school for several days.

Made a billy club in shop class when I was senior - nice walnut one complete with leather strap. Used it once and later the authorities wanted it more than me.

I never did this but it was popular to make acetylene bombs in a balloon and set them on fire. A guy I worked with broke his arm clean in two with one of these.

Dove off of cliffs and jumped off ropes without knowing what was down there.

 

[SC_Mike]

Take your pocket knife to school.

Drink out of the garden hose.

Grab a machete, bb gun or 20 Ga and walk down the street to the good part of the woods, not realizing we were trespassing with loaded firearms at times.

Build a fish basket, (trap). By the way, what's a "limit"?

Having a bonfire just because.

Going in a buying a pack of cigarettes for one of your parents over the counter.

Seeing a cigarette machine.

Thumbing thru the barrel of used rifles in the aisle at the local hardware store and looking at boxes of ammo on the shelf next to them.

Using a whisk broom or an ice pick.

Filling ice trays and spilling half on the way to the freezer.

Watching my grandfather plow his fields with a mule. His feet were so tough he could put hand rolled cigarette out on his heel. Not sure about the mule, I don't think he smoked.

 

[mauser9]

Never forget Mad Magazine with Alfred E. Neumann on the cover. Remember swiping a Playboy magazine from the corner store when they cost .50 cents an issue? And yes I agree that Fanner Fifty the kid is holding could be worth some cash today. I had a few myself like the Mare' Leg, Bat Masterson cane you could put caps in one end and bang on ground and limitless cheap pocket knives for .79 cents. Not much money in our youthful pockets back then but a quarter went a long way.

 

[sheepdawg]

I can relate to every response made, as a big cup of coffee has awakened some brain cells I just thought of something else. In the fifth grade, this would be 1965, there was a kid that had a perfect attendance record at school. The principal and the fifth grade teachers got together and bought him a pretty darn nice hunting knife, I remember every boy in the class envied him, nice knife, scabbard and all, wow. The teachers made a fuss about it too, it was given to him in front of the whole class, in the auditorium. The next day he showed up wearing it, cool!!!

Today the kid's award would be what????? Priority one today is that the award not offend anyone at the school. What could they give him???

I've just taken five minutes to ponder on what they would give him and realized, there would be no award, it might offend the people that called in sick a bunch.

 

[Hamster65]

Hmm...........let me think.
BB gun wars.
Bottle Rocket wars.
Roman Candle wars.
Riding in the back of a pickup.
Riding a motorcycle with no helmet.
IIRC bicycle helmets didn't even exist back then.
Jumping off the roof.
Making pipe bombs out of empty CO2 cartridges and blowing up all sorts of things.
Making HUGE scratch built model rockets........they had "F" size engines back then and you had to use a "fuse" to ignite them.
Blowing up said model rockets by inserting a small container of gasoline in the top and gluing the nose cone on.
Tennis ball cannons!
I could go on all day folks but, this at least gives you a taste of my childhood.

Oooh.......almost forgot. Does anybody remember REAL M-80 firecrackers? Blew up a few things with those too!

 

[Hamster65]

I'm pretty sure we were all cowboy gun slingers at that age and that's how we all ended up here today. Still got that cap gun? It's probably worth as much as a real Colt these days.

I think I had that same outfit at some point but, mom wouldn't let me wear it to school.

 

[mauser9]

I can relate to every response made, as a big cup of coffee has awakened some brain cells I just thought of something else. In the fifth grade, this would be 1965, there was a kid that had a perfect attendance record at school. The principal and the fifth grade teachers got together and bought him a pretty darn nice hunting knife, I remember every boy in the class envied him, nice knife, scabbard and all, wow. The teachers made a fuss abought it too, it was given to him in front of the whole class, in the auditorium. The next day he showed up wearing it, cool!!!

Today the kid's award would be what????? Priority one today is that the award not offend anyone at the school. What could they give him???

I've just taken five minutes to ponder on what they would give him and realized, there would be no award, it might offend the people that called in sick a bunch.

Ha! A sheath knife as a reward! Yeah that would go over like a you know what in church today. Yep days like that are definitely gone. Hope that knife was a Puma and the kid still has it.

 

[nodpete]

Did anybody else have a pair of boots that had a knife holder on them? Every boy in our class wore 'em.

 

[Step N. Mud]

Christmas 1959, west Texas. 1st grade, every boy in class wore his new six guns to school and compared guns and holsters.

 

[Krell1]

Indian reservations still do sell fireworks. One between SW Utah and Las Vegas on I-15 sells them year round.

 

[O2Guy]

I never did this but it was popular to make acetylene bombs in a balloon and set them on fire. A guy I worked with broke his arm clean in two with one of these.

A condom filled with acetylene with an added fuse, lit and sent floating down the river will bring the authorities from all over the county to see what happened.

 

[the ringo kid]

buying beer with a fake id

I never needed any I.D. to buy beer with. I looked old enough. Also I didn't and still don't drink, and now am told I look 20 years younger than I am.

 

[the ringo kid]

When I was about 6 or 7 years old I'd ride my Schwinn Stingray to the store about 4-5 miles away to get my mom some Winstons...she ran an account so I didn't have to carry money (helmet, what helmet).

When I was around 8 or so? My parents would send me to the nearest ''convience'' store, to buy them two packs of Marlborough's each and myself a treat. Cost: $2.25. Mind you, the nearest store was 7 blocks away and through enemy territory. The enemy in those days, were the Yow brothers.

 

[the ringo kid]

Did anybody else have a pair of boots that had a knife holder on them? Every boy in our class wore 'em.

I did. I modified mine to also hold a bayonet. Nobody gave a rats patootie either. Everyone knew what I had in my right boot.

 

[arjay]

I remember riding my bike to the little store (no convenience stores then,we had ma and pa stores) and getting ma a pack of viceroys for $.25.

 

[the ringo kid]

Musta been about the same time frame when I was sent to get smokes.

 

[mtgianni]

Me and my buddies used to play tackle football...sounds silly enough...with all the neighborhood kids.

Well, and in keeping in line with the OP, in 8th grade I benched nearly 400 lbs...and my friends were either faster or tougher.

We used to play full contact football with no padding. If you got hurt, you were a wimp! Ya, different times.

I sometimes wonder what would of happened to us if we all would have stuck it out. Our highschool football team lineman averaged about 330 lbs. #, all of us were tough.

Then we got into girls and sports cars, classic cars, and just kinda drifted our own ways.

I am the only one in the group that played sports on a professional level. My family, several NFL team members there...but they all got personal trainers outside of highschool and didnt have to make a living. Went to college, Division 1, and played football or other sports.

I am old enough to remember what a big deal it was when everyone on the 69 Vikings defensive line, and the entire 70 Rams front line weighed in at over 200 lbs Not just one line man but all of them were over 200 lbs. It was a different era and a different game 50 years ago.

 

[Donn]

I was in the 3/5 Cav, C troop BlackKnights Vietnam, 1969. Many of us had personal weapons in Vietnam. I had a model 10 S&W 38. Got my ammo from the helicopter pilots. They were issued 38s. A buddy of mine had his dads germen luger he had brought home from WWII. I also had a Thompson sub machine gun fully auto I bought on the black market for $20.00. We were a combat unit out in the boonies and no one cared.

I had non issue weapons too. A Thompson, two M2 carbines, two AK's. But I got them over there. The old sarge was pretty insistent about taking personal weapons across the pond. Couldn't just say "I'm taking this one." Besides that, in our outfit, you could pack anything you wanted, but you had to take your M-16 and basic load, (144 rounds), along with a belt or two for the M-60, a bandolier for the M-79, and all your own kit. In that heat, I begrudged every ounce I had to carry, never took anything extra, but that was me.