People Imagine What It'll Be Like To Explain 2017 To Their Grandkids One Day
We can all agree on that. But it's really interesting to consider: what is it like to live through a dark part of history? For example, how did people who lived their day to day lives during World War II feel?
Redditor smol-egg-pls was also curious, and asked:
The year is 2090, how will you describe 2017 to your grandkids?
Here were some of the answers, ya whippersnappers.
Old Man Yells At Cloud
I'd be 115 years old so if I were still alive and coherent enough to speak; I'm pretty sure my description of 2017 would closely resemble a speech made by Grandpa Simpson.
Twas.
"It was lit, my dear beloved fam."
Incoherent
If I lived that long it would probably be:
"baa...hgaaa...aargh...oooh...etc"
The Growing Price
You could buy real chocolate from the corner store... with pocket change. You could enjoy real coffee without taking out a loan.
Revenge of Skynet
ooohhh children, how young you are. I feel bad this is what the world has become, when I was a kid, we could go wherever we wanted, we weren't locked up by robots. robots served us instead... then Mecha-Hitler and Zombie Mao just, they just... I can't talk about that... 2019 was the last good year, and I hope you can live days as free as those one day
Canadia
No body ever saw it coming... I remember when the USA was the Global Superpower of the day, freedom and democracy reigned supreme in the world... After the 2nd Great Depression then the collapse and subsequent balkanization of the United States into smaller states, it happened... Canada attacked. I always knew they had been too good for too long. They invaded and flooded into the former United States with speed akin to that of the German blitzkrieg. No one was strong enough to stop them. Upon acquiring so much land, population and resources they started world war 3. Now we all live under the Canadian Empire, the past was so much better kids.
True 90s Kids
"only 90s kids will remember this"
then I die.
Bleak
See, there used to be this thing called the United States...
Are You A God?
2017 set the stage for God-Emperor Kushner to take control of the Union in 2036 and end the madness. We are eternally thankful.
The Truth
And no one expected Donald Trump to become president, but yeah. That happened.
Always A War
the entire year held the collective vibe of a history textbook paragraph titled 'before the war'
Calming
"Well, kids, 2017 was....give me a minute, grandpa's gonna need a couple of percocet for this one."
Still Alive
"Back then people still died from aging. Thank goodness that will never happen to you"
Molecule Movement
Back in my day, we had to use legs to move from point a to point b. You lucky bastards can just teleport in a blink of an eye.
Anarchy
"You could get into almost any building without even having to show the police your ID or finger print or retina scan. You could pay for stuff with cash and have no record of you ever buying it. Personal relationship laws weren't even in place yet. Such barbarism."
Memetastic
I'll be 93 years old. And I won't shut up about the memes from the 2010s.
Research
"Back in my day, we didn't have these fancy 'cybernetic implants!' If we wanted to know something, we had to find a computer and typeit in to Google dot com, and we liked it!"
Capitalism
They were rough times. We went to these places where we did stuff in exchange for something called money for 8 hours a day. This money was then used to go to other people and get the food and clothing we needed to live. We didn't have robots and AI to do everything for us. It was lit.
Promoting
Back in my day a lot of people tried to get rich by doing Youtube some did it well, some got lucky and some failed because no-one found their channel.
Love In The Time Of Tinder
Relationships were hard work. We had to swipe right and sometimes we used to super like by accident
Planning Ahead
I've been saving YouTube videos for 2 years, some public, some private. I plan to show my kids and have them do the same to show their kids me and them. Continue that until YouTube closes down, then just save all the videos and continue forever.
We're in a social media world, my grandkids will get the benefits of that.
A Different Earth
"Back in the day, we could still go out without being afraid of burning to death. There were seasons, and frozen water falling from the sky. We were allowed to travel wherever we wanted, without gps-chips that only allow us to stay in a certain area. If we disagreed, it would be resolved by the court, not by playing chess against the great king. There was no great wall, borders could ne crossed. Injuries hurt, and the individual HP level did not exist. Death was brought upon ppl by accident or age, respawns were not possible. The classes were decided by money, not levels. Oh what a carefree time it was. Level up, children. " /goes into permanent sleep mode
True Millennial Problems
Ill show them my soundcloud likes to describe the music that was poppin of the time. Tell them about the social media apps our lives revolved around. Then explain how i was 18, fresh into college, and that all i remember is the stress from that english 1A final research paper
This Seems Familiar
It is a period of civil war. Rebel spaceships, striking from a hidden base, have won their first victory against the evil Galactic Empire. During the battle, Rebel spies managed to steal secret plans to the Empire's ultimate weapon, the DEATH STAR, an armored space station with enough power to destroy an entire planet. Pursued by the Empire's sinister agents, Princess Leia races home aboard her starship, custodian of the stolen plans that can save her people and restore freedom to the galaxy....
A Trial
The Dark Ages of the 21st century.
Real life contains the scariest horrors you could ask for. So aren't we all living in a horror movie, in a way? At least, these people sure freakin' were.
MisterSnowman69 asked: What was a moment in your life that felt like a horror movie scene?
In the words of the legendary Mary Vivian Pierce in the film Pink Flamingos, “Murder merely relieves tension”. I’m sure the following Redditors felt differently.
Nothing scarier than the woods at night.
Went into a real deep woods hike for only the second time in my life.
My gps broke and had to rely on my compass. Got turned around a few times because I couldn't remember the direction I came from, and it was getting dark. Lost the trail way.
But the woods are weirdly silent in the dark and alone.
It was around 2am by the time I found the trailhead.
Darn foxes.
the simpsons react GIFGiphyMy friend and I got lost late on one foggy night in the Italian countryside. There were rats all over and every once in a while we heard someone scream.
I've never been more sure I was about to get murdered than I was that night.
It was probably a red fox that was screaming.
Could've also been a lynx, but they are much rarer in Italy.
At least she wasn’t speaking in tongues.
My mom is quite the sleep talker, but it's usually pretty short and incoherent when it happens. One night as a teenager, I woke up to her scream-yelling the Hail Mary prayer (my bedroom was across the house and upstairs).
Difficult to get back to sleep after that one.
Sometimes scary sh*t ends up just being funny coincidences. Super funny. Right?
Don’t give them any ideas.
I was exploring an abandoned mental asylum and then got the scare of my life when a scary looking person inside one of the rooms was just staring at me without moving. Turns out some joker had left a cardboard cutout there.
And now I have plans this weekend... Just need to find a couple of cardboard cutouts and to break into the local abandoned asylum.
Don’t you hate when that happens?
Evil Dead Horror GIF by Coolidge Corner TheatreGiphyI was driving home on backcountry roads at midnight in heavy fog. Like can't see 10 feet in front of you thick. Suddenly I see an all-white silhouette running in front of the car. Every hair on my body stood up. I immediately think "oh god, oh f*ck, it's a f*cking woman in white, I'm gonna f*cking die"
Nope just a drunk who dove into the ditch.
Gotta love paranoia.
When I was about 12, my parents went out for dinner leaving me home alone. We lived out in the country, on a private road with only three other houses, surrounded by cow fields and wooded areas.
I went into the the kitchen and glanced out the window towards the trees and there in the fading light I could see a person walking slowly through the woods. They were wearing all black, moving slowly and appeared to pause behind trees. My heart started pounding so hard in my ears I couldn't hear anything else and I was weak and shaky from fear. I froze and just watched them. Would they come to the house? Where were they going?
This was before cell phones but I suddenly remembered my mom had left the number of the restaurant by the living room phone. Slowly, I made my way towards the living room, trying to watch this stranger in the woods.
Just as I entered the living room, all the lights in the entire house went out. By this time it was nearly dark outside. I started openly sobbing and in the dark I heard a weird boom like noise. That was it, I ran to my parents room, hid under their bed and sobbed. That's where my mom found me hours later (it felt like).
Well, turns out the stranger in the woods was a stupid cow that had busted through a fence, the lights going out was from an accident a few miles away (hit the power line) and the boom was the pilot light in the gas stove. Man, I have never been that scared in my life though!
I have a lot of questions.
A naked man who was covered in blood chased me across a park at 2 in the morning. I was totally alone. He just wanted money for a bus (????) and luckily nothing bad happened but I thought I was going to die.
But of course, the genuine horrors do exist. And they aren’t scary in a fun horror movie way, they’re actually terrifying because they can happen to anyone.
A scary few seconds.
car chase GIF by Mayans M.C.GiphyI am a "baby" in a car seat in between cousins in backseat. Dad is driving. This is in the 80s and it is my aunt's insistence that I am in this seat even though I am like 5.
A sleeping semi driver is coming over into our lane and there is a cliff on other side. Basically my dad did some amazing driving but semi blew us up. I am uninjured sitting in the seat swinging my legs while everyone is unconscious. They all wake groaning. Dad doesnt wake up.
Long story short just minor scrapes and dad has broken leg. But the crunch of metal and those few seconds/minute of being the only "alive" person was quite fear inducing.
Glad they’re all ok now.
Two days after my now boyfriend told me he liked me he fell from a zip line and broke his back. Almost died. 6 months later he got into a car wreck from a drunk driver - almost died. 6 months after that, he passed out and had to have emergency brain surgery, again, almost died. I now have severe anxiety/separation anxiety/and ptsd. That whole year was a f*cking nightmare
Edit: we're both okay now, the brain injury was almost a year ago. But TBIs take a while to heal so he still has side effects. Thankfully our relationship is still strong; he's physically getting better and I'm healing emotionally too. Lucky for him, the trauma of the injuries has caused him to forget the majority of the pain and memories of those incidents.
ALWAYS wear a helmet.
Driving home from work at 23, listening to my favorite song.
I pull up to a red light, and see this guy on a motorcycle coming up next to me in the other lane. I rolled down my window to compliment his bike when he stops. He doesn't, and runs the red light. He hits a car going at least 55mph. His motorcycle shatters apart, he goes flying, hits the hood of another car, and lands on the ground and rolls into the curb (no helmet). The car he hit with his motorcycle was totaled. I had to step over his body to talk to the police. He was still alive when they got there. I regret not holding his hand. It was just a normal day, and all of a sudden it felt like the rug was pulled from out beneath me. He was only 18.
Edit: The song was Sunny by Boney M., for those curious
What did we learn today, kids? Foxes scream like humans, shadowy figures are usually cows or drunken rednecks, and once again, PLEASE WEAR A HELMET WHEN YOU RIDE ANY KIND OF BIKE.
Scary sh*t surrounds us. But where there is horror, there are heroes. So next time you think you see a scary figure in the woods, know that Bruce Campbell is probably right around the corner
Hypocrisy is everywhere; it's like a disease. And sadly everyone does it. Some of us indulge in smaller doses than others. But some people live their life by it. Like how can you support civil servants, like police, firefighters, etc... yet try to find ways to hide money in order to not pay taxes? Tell me... I'll wait.
Manga...
Hungry Night Court GIF by LaffGiphyItalian moms that say you're too fat then say I'm making grandma cry by not finishing my pasta.
Asian moms too! Not only that if you try to not eat, they make to go containers for you. Oh, sorry I have to leave, RUNS AT LEAST HAVE SOME FRUIT.
Phonies...
Celebrities positioning themselves as champions for social justice while launching a clothing line with no comment on the labor conditions their garments are made in.
Sexy Times...
The Porn Industry
Why is prostitution considered a crime, but it becomes perfectly legal once a camera is put beside them?
I think the first amendment helps with that one. There's been many a supreme-court case about whether porn is protected speech.
Mirror, Mirror on the Wall...
You can get away with WAY more crap, in general, when you're attractive.
But we all kind of aspire to attractiveness and it's not like it's attractive people's fault, exactly. So what is there to be done?
So true. Money and beauty are treated like virtues and they aren't. They're luck of the draw. It probably helps you to be a better person if people assume that you are gentle and clever just by looking at your face or wallet.
KIDS
GIF by MOODMANGiphyPeople screaming at you if you don't want Kids and Kids are the greatest thing in the World and then turn around and whine how expensive they are and how annoying yadda yadda.
Yeah see... humans are a mess. And too often then not, personal conviction and dignity are just a myth, or a punchline. Double standards have always been a way of life. And many of us have begrudgingly learned to navigate.
Fashion
Fashion Model GIF by NYFW: The ShowsGiphyIf a skinny person wears something out of the ordinary, it's a fashion statement and awesome. It can even just be something like a crop top or overalls.
But God forbid a fat person wear the same thing.
Distractions
The hypocrisy hypocrisy. People love to call it out but rarely notice it on themselves and if they notice it then it's something completely different or a distraction.
That's the worst. I hate that I have to hate that. But if I don't hate it, then the hate will just continue. So, really, my hate comes from my love of an end to hate. So anyone who hates my hate hates love. And we must hate anyone who hates love!
My Morality
My own personal hypocrisy; When I was a lot less well off financially, delivering pizzas trying to get through college, I kept a cup of coins in my car. When a homeless person would approach me for spare change, I gave them the cup. Most of the time it was nearly full, so there was probably 20-30 dollars in there.
Now that I have a good salaried job, even if I've got a few bucks in my wallet, I tend to not even make eye contact anymore. I know it's awful, I know it makes me crappy, but the last 4-5 years have made me a jaded craphead towards people in general. I used to be so hopeful and I wanted to help everyone, and tried to live a life that reflected that.
Now, while my general and political morality is pretty much the same, my personal morality has gotten more grey. I'd jaded, I hate people, I assume the worst of people I used to assume the best of. I don't really care about the strangers around me like I used to, but I still expect everyone else to.
Placing Blame
Victim mentality.
It's so freaking frustrating when it becomes entrenched. "You did this, it's your fault" "you should've known to do x, its your fault" Yeah bro your problems aren't my problems and if all you do is make excuses and blame me for them, it's not going to be my fault when you don't develop as a person and accomplish your dreams. I'm sure they'll find someone to blame though.
In D.C.
Donald Trump Reaction GIF by Election 2016GiphyPoliticians work part time, are given free housing, education, and health care, and exempt from the everyday violence we experience, but refuse to lift a finger to help us.
At this points most people running for a position in the government are only in it for the benefits of being a politician and the amount of money they can embezzle. Well in my country at least.
Just speak a truth and live it. Yes, it maybe hard. But what part of life isn't? Hypocrisy is just lying. Plain and simple. And it's a sin to lie.
Want to "know" more? Never miss another big, odd, funny, or heartbreaking moment again. Sign up for the Knowable newsletter here.