
Malls are a nostalgic part of almost anybody who was alive before the 20th century. When we were in middle school, malls were absolutely unstoppable: you could do anything, at any time, with anybody when you went to a mall. Friday nights were spent browsing Hot Topic for the best new stuff to wear to the movies.
But nowadays the American malls stand silent, a sad tribute to what teenage culture in the country once was, knowing that there is not likely to be a way for malls to ever return to their former glory again.
But some of these people had ideas.
"What will it take to make malls in America cool again?"
Here were some of those answers.
Diversifying
"I live in Los Angeles and see all those shops (except pretzel stands) as stand-alones. Our malls are getting more creative, like the Westfield near me has a Din-Tai-Fung restaurant, a fancy steakhouse, a Mexican restaurant, and a Dave and Busters in the same mall."
"They also have shops that sell anime related stuff and a shop that sells Asian snacks. They also have all the standard mall businesses as well, so they're always busy"-Upnorth4
Now We Can Just Shop Online
"Make them gathering places for activities and events that can't be done online. Small concerts, community theater, escape room, bowling, video game hall, indoor climbing, social clubs, classrooms for independent teachers, etc"
"I would also love it if there was a place at the mall that would do personalized sizings. Like, I would pay $10 for a guy to tell me the exact dimensions I should look for when I purchase clothes online."-nowhereman136
Honestly Already The Point Of Malls
"The focus would have to shift away from selling products and make that a byproduct of the experience. What I mean is malls originally became popular because people love to shop and really love to window shop, so having all these choices of places to shop in one location turned them into a social event."
"So aside from shopping, people would hang out there. But the original reason they went there was to stop, window or otherwise."
"They would need to come up with other reasons for people to want to go there besides shopping. Make them social gatherings."
"I would personally put focus on the court yards with various attractions. I would start with two long mini-golf courses that run the length of the mall."
"Instead of compacting them in locations like we have now, just put them in a row so you start at one end of the mall and work your way to the other end."
"Depending on the size of the mall, you could put three of them side by side. Instead of having one large food court, have a few smaller ones."
"That would encourage people to move around through the mall. Things like that would force people to look at the stores throughout the mall. Hopefully attracting them back once the entertainment is done."
"Someone sees a store they think looks interesting and they want to go check it out when the game is over. Sprinkle in other attraction locations like we have now, just enhance them."
"I would also remove anchor stores and replace them with other entertainment locations. Make one augmented reality, one a bowling alley, one a trampoline park, and one an ice or roller rink."
"You would basically turn the mall into an entertainment complex with stores. People would go there for the experience and the entertainment and that high foot traffic would, in theory, drive people into the stores to spend money."-sebrebc
What we remember about the mall isn't necessarily the actual shopping itself, but all the hanging around with friends that we did in the meanwhile.
Christmas Capitalism
"I'm gonna sound insane but I enjoy going in department stores around Christmas time. Yeah people being in your way can suck but I like the Christmas displays and hearing the garbage pop covers of classic Christmas songs."
"And this is coming from someone who worked retail in college."
"I think it just reminds me of going to places like JC Penney and Sears with my parents when I was kid and getting excited about Christmas."-Thx4TheBoobs
More -Experiences-
"That's a great question! I love malls, grew up with 'em in the '80s, and I want to see them flourish again. My own ideas include:"
"Transfer ownership from the capital investment companies that own most malls to community non-profits that take a more local approach."
"Reposition malls as social gathering places for eating, concerts, festivals, and so forth."
"Add variety to the stores within malls. If it's all clothing shops, and you don't care about fashion, then you'll not be likely to go to a mall. But if there are lots of different kinds of stores, then more of the public has a reason to visit."
"Figure out what today's teens think is cool and pander to them a little bit, while also throwing a nod to their Millennial parents and their interests."
"A lot of the burden rests not on malls but on businesses themselves, who, in the age of e-commerce, need to reinvent themselves."
"I can imagine businesses finding some success by, for example, hosting Twitch viewing parties and selling merch from people's favorite streamers."
"But I don't know if that would be a viable business model, or just a short-term gimmick. I do think society needs more gathering places for people to come together...and malls are well-positioned to provide the space for it!"-Emu_on_the_Loose
Suburbia Is Out Of Style
"You'd have to redo the concept entirely. I picture it as creating a sort of mix-use space and mini-downtown in suburbia sort of atmosphere that a lot of outdoor malls have been doing."
"I think you would do that with low-cost condos that use on-site attractions as amenities. You'd have space to create a pool/gym area that would be part of a larger sports complex."
"Indoor fields aren't common in my area, and I think adding more could entice a lot of people. Even better if you have a 24/7 gym and fitness center with a pool. I'd also split up malls and create some green spaces with breezeways for when it rains."
"With your built in clientele you could attract a couple corner stores, some retail shops, restaurants and bars. I'd ditch the old food court and make room for smaller restaurants, focused on trying to get fast casual dining that's found in downtown areas more."
"You could almost certainly attract the right people with a remodel and new concept of what a mall is."-AltUniverse_1
Once Again Doing New Things
"I was going to say the opposite. The mall around me are becoming like, fun things to do at the mall, mall. One mall near me just took over an old two story Sears and made it half bowing alley and half arcade with a decent restaurant."
"Another mall near me is mostly those types of shops. The roller skating rink, the indoor go karts, the axe throwing place, also a bowling alley with a bar, and the movies with a mini arcade."
"The malls around me are becoming for entertainment purposes instead of shopping purposes."--AIRDRUMMER-
In a world where we can already get most of our shopping done online, malls are having to rethink.
Why Didnt We Evolve In 20 Years
"A complaint I have hears from business owners closing down their shops that were is malls is the rent is too high compared to the foot traffic and sales."
"As I understand malls often charge rent of a flat fee plus a percentage of sales. Which at first doesn't sound so bad. Sales are down but you pay less rent. BUT, there is also a minimum rent amount regardless sales. So your rent is high during good and bad sales months."
"The mall is supposed to get a guaranteed minimum income out of this, which I understand. The owner of the mall probably took out debt to build it or buy it, so they have payments to make."
"Back when malls actually got large amounts of foot traffic these rents were justified. But now malls aren't seeing that foot traffic, and stores are pulling out. And the malls really haven't reevaluated their sales model in the last 20+ years."
"So malls really need to reevaluate how they make money and how their leases are structured."
"Someone else suggested using the space for more community events or as convention centers. I think those are great ideas."
"With new leasing models and converting big open stores, like defunct Sears or Herbergers into convention spaces malls could be revitalized. Vendors shit towards things people would want to buy during a convention and everyone makes money."-TorturedChaos
Redesign
"I don't think malls in their current state are salvageable. Some idea for something mall like:"
- "Mixed use - live eat shop type areas. They're already popping up all over the place. Just adjust one of them to have a central area for the 'mall section.'"
- "Focus on local - make the rent low enough where local businesses can set up shop. Then you have a selling point beyond hey look the same 10 dying chains like every mall currently has."
- "Make it an event hub - concerts in the park area, have some bars and restaurants around them, host in person events like board game nights, or trivia or what have you."
- "Stop trying to compete with online or Amazon. Focus on the experience and offer a sense of community instead."-randomacct7679
Really To Get More People On Board
"Turn them into an independently separated amusement park."
"Instead did just retail stores like some monument to capitalism malls could be arcades, mini putt, air soft course, laser gun course, axe throwing, restaurants, bars, clubs, pubs, coffee shops, marijuana shops, various workshops, Internet cafe, theater, library, etc. So not just places where you go to buy things but places you go to do things for entertainment."-IrrelevantPuppy
It's true that the malls of the 80s and 90s are probably dead for today's generation. And that's okay! The idea of the mall might be dead, but it fulfilled a very specific need we all have as humans.
Those people will be able to fulfill that need as well.
It's highly believed that it is important to learn history as a means to improve our future.
What is often overlooked is that what is taught in history class is going to be very different depending on where you went to school.
And this isn't just internationally, even different regions of the United states will likely have very different lessons on American history.
This frequently results in our learning fascinating, heartbreaking and horrifying historical facts which our middle or high school history teachers neglected to teach us.
Redditor Acherontia_atropos91 was curious to learn things people either wished they had learned, or believe they should have learned, in their school history class, leading them to ask:
What isn’t taught in history class but should be?
The Irish Troubles
"The troubles."
"Too many people in America do not understand why a wall straight through Ireland would be a BAD idea."
"I’m referring to the Brexit referendum and possible outcomes."
"If people were wondering why we were talking about walls through Ireland in the first place."- CLCVS.
Forgotten elements of World War II
"What the Japanese did to the Chinese during WW2."
"Unit 731."- CaptainMcBoogerJew.
"Japan gets off easy for their war crimes in WW2."
"They killed an estimated 16mil Chinese civilians and another 8mil soldiers"
"Also, Pol Pot."
"Didn't know who he was until I was like 25."
"Worst dictator all time (in terms of percentage of population he decimated)".
The truth about the American Revolution
"That the American Revolution was part of a wider cold war type of conflict with France."
"The American Revolution was basically the UK's equivalent of the US version of Vietnam."- vinsant7.
The Dark side of Swedish history.
"As a Swede, I'd like to know more of all the horrible sh*t my country has done throughout history."
"It's a damn shame we're trying to hide our history."
"For example, Swedes killed a metric sh*t ton of all Polish people when we were at our strongest."
"That's the kinda sh*t we don't get to learn."- mogwandayy.
Colonization
"Basically what Belgium did to the Congo."
"A lot of people are telling me that they are taught about this actually."
"I'm glad to hear it because I wasn't taught about this in the USA during my public school days (1995-2008)."- EconArch.
The truth about "heroes".
"While teaching about historical Heroes they should also tell students about the unspeakable things some of them did."
"Many famous figures throughout history who are pillars of morality actually did many terrible things." - User Deleted
Intolerance for Mental Illness
"The dark history of mental illness treatments."
"I think it's worth learning about."- 7dayexcerpt.
Slavic Mythology
"Slavic mythology in Slavic countries."
"Don't get me wrong, I love both Greek & Roman mythology and as a person from the Balkans both of those cultures are part of my country's history and had great influence over not only my region but the entirety of the continent & the western world but I wouldn't mind knowing more about Slavic mythology as well."- ShorsShezzarine.
The truth about the CIA
"How the CIA was made and all the shady things they did over the years."- ALargeChip.
There is a lot about the history of our world, not to mention our own country which shouldn't be ignored.
And it's from learning from our mistakes that we really improve our future.
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So apparently we are in the endemic phase of this nonsense.
We have light at the end of the tunnel.
So what now?
Where do we go from here?
Normal seems like an outdated word.
How do we get back to normal though?
Is it even possible?
What are reaching back to?
Life pre-Covid.
Those were the days.
If only we could bring them back.
Redditor hetravelingsong wanted to discuss our new normal in this hopeful "endemic" phase. So they asked:
"What’s something random you miss about pre-COVID times?"
I miss people being sane. Though that maybe election cycle issues not COVID. We'll never know.
I thought I was Alone...
"Being able to grocery shop after 11 pm."
Reading_Rainboner
"Hell yes. I miss the days where the Walmart across the street was open 24 hours."
Small_Tax_9432
let's just go...
"I miss spontaneity... everything now seems to have a barrier of difficulty."
iidosee
"I live very close to Disneyland so I have an annual pass. My friends and I would just go there after work and hang out and grab a bite to eat."
"Now, we have to reserve a day to go. And most of the time, the days are at 'full' capacity so we couldn't even reserve. I don't want to schedule to hang out at Disneyland for a couple hours for July. So yeah, I definitely miss the 'lets go eat at Disneyland tonight?' texts."
mymymissmai
Not til 24-25
"Functioning global supply chains. Ah, the product you want has got microchips in it? 9 month wait."
richard-king
"Minimum, I'd been saying for a while now that I wouldn't expect a true return to normalcy in terms of electronics prices till 2024-2025. Although Crypto crashing through the floor really took some of the pressure off graphics cards which I really appreciate."
statiiic
WTF?!?!
"How affordable everything was!"
Disastrous_Hour_6776
"Yep. Today I was bagging up my things at the grocery store and I heard the cashier say to the lady behind me 'thats $78.12.' She had -- 2 boxes of Kellogg's corn flakes, a carton of 12 eggs, milk, strawberries, raspberries, blue berries, a small cheese cake, English muffins, coffee, and a small whole frozen chicken that could maybe feed 3 people if the meat portioning was small."
SnowyInuk
Sushi
"My favorite sushi place. It was good quality, close by, kid-friendly, and not too expensive."
InannasPocket
All of this... it was a simpler time.
NASTY
"As a retail worker, just how f**king NASTY some people have gotten."
DmitriPetrov*itch
"They applauded you for being an essential worker but won’t vote for policies that’ll raise minimum wage while insisting a wage cap for heavily paid employees."
sketchysketchist
CHANGES your DNA...
"Some of the people closest to me became very bitter and petty over the last 2 years. So many people have the 'crazy eyes' now."
__--__7
"So true and holidays with the family is like who has the biggest tinfoil hat building contest. How many jumps does your brain have to go through to think that the Covid vaccine CHANGES your DNA into the patented DNA so that the government now controls your body."
"So like vaccinated people now have a singular DNA set. I feel like I still have a chunk of my brain just broken off due to that comment alone. I was also told by same family member that I could never donate blood again due to the vaccine. I guess it is so my patented DNA doesn't affect people?? FYI my vaccinated butt just donated today fine and multiple other times after the vaccine."
tyreka13
Homeward Bound
"House prices."
adrianinked
"I'm resigned to never thinking I have a chance on owning property where I live. I'm 30 and just can't imagine it anymore. And I don't want to live anywhere else so, whatever."
Osdab2daf
"That didn’t happen because of the pandemic. That was already happening regardless."
CH11DW
Oh Mickey
"All Day Breakfast at McDonalds."
hutch2522
"It was honestly hell to do, and not very popular. ITs margins aren't anywhere dinner and lunch specials. ON top of that, the temperatures are such that They require its own grill, meaning that if you have 2 grills in shop, you are down 50% of lunch capacity."
Freyas_Follower
Way back when...
"Hanging out with friends. And I mean waaaaaay before Covid. Like 2006 back when I had some friends."
LoocsinatasYT
I miss the old days. Maybe we'll get back there.
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What do you believe?
Is there a GOD in the sky?
Is he guiding us and helping us?
Life is really hard. Why is that is a big entity is up there loving us?
Atheists have taken a lot of heat for what feels like shunning GOD.
What if they've been right all along?
Maybe let's take a listen and see what they really think.
Redditor __Jacob______ wanted to hear from the people who don't really believe all that "God" stuff. They asked:
"Atheists, what do you believe in?"
I'm waffling between G-O-D and nothing. So please give me some education.
911
"We need to look out for each other because help isn't coming."
cknipe
Peace Out
"More than 2 decades ago, a priest was giving a sermon in my church and he said 'our faith requires you to believe without question. Why call it faith if you have to ask questions?' I haven't returned to church. Not until my wedding day but you know what I mean."
asiangontear
Delusion
"When I was young I used to think that after death you would have access to a PC that you could see absolutely anything about your life. Stats, any question you had no matter how obscure, replays of moments, perspectives of others in relation to you. No matter what you wanted to know, if it was relatable to you, you could see it. I know it's silly, but as time goes on I just want it to be real, and I don't think I'd have any issue allowing myself to fall into that delusion."
eggwardpenisglands
I think nothing happens...
"Realistically, I think nothing happens. We literally experience nothing after death. Same thing that we experience before birth. We don't exist, so it's nothing. I think the tenant that we should follow while living is to try to be happy and healthy while minimizing the damage we do to each other."
"What I would LIKE to happen after death is whatever you believe in, exists. I think Christians should get to go to heaven if they truly believe in it, Hindus and Buddhists get reincarnated, and everyone else also gets to experience what they believe they will experience."
"'I would still experience Nothing. Maybe it's one of those things where at the moment of death their brain makes them experience what feels like an infinitely long moment in time where they experience their afterlife. I just think it would be neat for everybody."
Better_Meat_
Shrug
"Best advice I received from a dear senior on their way out. 'You win some, you lose some' shrug. Nothing divine, life is that simple and wonderful, accept it and move on."
Tune_Kindly
It all sounds pretty simple. Why are people so up in arms about Atheists?
Whatever
"I believe in a universe that doesn't care, and people that do."
imCIK
Cool with Empty
"Nothing. [Serious]."
rumblingtummy29
"I feel this way about death. When I was 5, my grandfather died and my cousin simple said, he is dead, that means you are gone forever. Everything ends up dying, even plants and animals. I'm now in my 40's and still have this simplistic view of life and death. People think I'm ambivalent to life and death but it's just what it is."
thepigfish82
puppet-masters...
"I think a lot of religious people struggle with the fact that we are all just swirling units of chaos. There is no grand plan or great orchestrator. I think that’s why people who are prone to religion are also susceptible to things like Q anon and the Cabal and all that. They REALLY want to believe that there is some almighty puppet-master who determines all of humanity’s fate."
Lngtmelrker
“we’re living in a society!”
"Just be a kind and empathetic person not because you’re worried about some cosmic justice, but because it’s the right thing to do. If there is some being that created us there’s no way they actually care about believing in it or adhering to some rules from over 2000 years ago."
"Also a big thing for me is that I find the idea that you need religion or the Bible in order to have morals and ethics pretty dumb. It’s pretty f**king clear that most evangelicals have neither. But my main thing is being a good person simply because, as George Costanza once said we’re living in a society!' If you’re only a good person in order to make it to heaven you probably aren’t actually a good and moral person."
conservative_genius
That's All
"You're born. You live. You die. That's it. After you die you cease to exist, the same as before you were born."
serefina
Believe what you want. We're all here together. So let's focus there.
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The list of what irritates me is endless.
I mean... breathing too loud or dust can set me off.
I'm a bit unstable, yes.
But I'm not alone.
So let's discuss.
Redditor Aburntbagel6 wanted to hear about all the times many of us just couldn't control our disdain. They asked:
"What never fails to piss you off?"
I feel like this article can go on forever. Let's get some highlights.
Wasted Time
"Meetings that could and should have been an email."
Sirena609
Lotto People
"Getting stuck behind people playing the lottery at a corner store."
thenuggetlover
"I also used to work in a gas station and you’re SO right. I f**king hated the lottery people. Especially since my store had a small staff and there was usually only one of us working at a time, which meant that I couldn’t get any of my other work done as long as they were there."
"And you’re right, it’s also pretty sad to watch. I had one lady who used to come in every day and spent hundreds and HUNDREDS of dollars on scratch tickets. One day, she won $200 after spending probably around $600 and she was so excited and saying she can 'finally pay her bills.'"
i-am-your-god-now
Aware...
"No situational awareness. Job, home, shopping, driving. Think for one minute and go about. OBSERVE!!"
Dizzy-Foundation8122
"My mom is one of those people who leave the shopping cart in the middle of the damn aisle and proceed to walk twenty feet away. After correcting her a million times to no effect I just walk away now so people don’t know I’m with her."
OutrageousEvent
Shut Up!
"Endless barking in the middle of the night, I love animals but that sh*t I can't stand."
Acceptable-Lemon2924
"Endless barking in general drives me up a wall. One of my friends dogs was barking almost an entire gaming session the other day. I wanted to reach through the computer and smack him for letting it go on."
bangersnmash13
Kindness
"People being mean to service workers, especially if the workers are very young."'
scaryboilednoodles
All of these things. I hate them all.
Admit It
"People who never accept fault when they mess something up. Like, why blame a million people when it was clearly you who did it???"
Quirky-Area-8978
From Above
"My upstairs neighbors."
lutzow89
"I had terrible neighbors at my previous apartment. It was a one person studio for students, but her boyfriend was clearly living with her illegally and he was loud."
"One night we knocked n the door at 3 AM because of the loud music and an unknown girl opened the door. I just thought they were having a little party. But the next door I saw the girl living there come home with a suitcase after having been away for the weekend... Her BF was cheating on her in her own apartment."
Th3_Accountant
Move Away
"People who sit directly next to me at the airport, movie theater, any other place where you can choose a seat when there is PLENTY of other seating."
BacardiPardy33
"I can’t YES this enough and the ones who can’t park for crap so they park so close you can’t open doors on one side of the car or the ones who park directly behind when you pulled through so the door won’t open to load groceries."
BacardiPardy33
It's Over
"People who try to restart old drama. Like I'm done with you, just leave me alone."
Tired_Potatos
"Yep, half the reason I've basically quit playing one of my favorite online video games. People keep bringing old crap up or sh*tting on on someone who used to be our friend. I got tired of it so I just ejected the game out of me."
CaucasianHumus
AHHHHH!!!
"People walking too slow in front of me with no way to get around them. It’s even worse if it’s a couple or group taking up the whole sidewalk. HAVE SOME SPATIAL AWARENESS FOR THE LOVE OF GOD!!"
_-v0x-_
Life in general pisses me off. I'm easy.
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