In an ideal world, every relationship has open, clear communication and there are no surprises when it comes to the state of the relationship. It's simply about laying the groundwork and creating a partnership.
But we don't live in an ideal world and some people do not have the skills to communicate like this. Instead they completely blindside their partners and put them in impossible positions.
So when Redditor u/JJBoB159 asked:
"What is the coldest way you found out your relationship was over?"
Here were some of the icy answers.
And The Fish Died Too
"I was heading home from college for three days, and I had asked my girlfriend to take care of my fish, I had an aquarium in my dorm room."
"I knew that we were having some miscommunication, so I wrote a letter to share what I was feeling."
"It was a very nice letter, and I was explaining that she meant a lot to me and that I was willing to do what it takes to keep the relationship working. And thank you for taking care of the fish."
"When I got back to college, when she saw me she said, 'We have to talk.'"
"I thought it was about the letter. She told me her friend asked about her relationship, and at first, she said it was fine, but her friend pressed her and said, 'is it really though?'"
"Then she began to realize it wasn't fine. So she decided to break up with me. I said, 'Did you read the letter?'"
"'What letter?' she said. 'The one I taped to the front of the fish tank.'"
"'Oh, after I decided to break up with you, I didn't think about feeding your fish.'"-Pongfarang
Incredibly Selfish
"Back in 1988, my mom's long term boyfriend went to go buy the Sunday paper and never came home. My mom thought he had been murdered, cops were involved, etc."
"If he was found at the time, my mom never heard of it. She spiraled into depression and ended up in the psych ward at the hospital. She learned later that he had abandoned us and moved to Nebraska to be with his ex wife."
"I found his address once the internet exploded and asked my mom if she wanted to contact him, but she declined. F**k you Jeff."-decanderus
Straight Up Cold
"One girl I was dating gave me a big basket of snacks and puzzle books for a week-long road trip I was taking."
"I tried calling her all week and never got ahold of her, when I got home at 3 am I found that she had left me a break up note the day after I had left, and had started sleeping with a co-worker the day I left."-JustAnoutherGeek
People sometimes just don't have the gall to actually break up with their partners.
Just The Worst Kind Of Person
"I visited my parents one weekend. While I was gone, he changed his relationship status to single and f**ked some other girl in our bed."
"His reasoning? We weren't Facebook official at the time, so it was ok. I came home to her picture on the nightstand instead of mine, so the he had planned the whole thing in advance."-0w1
Revolving Door
"My girlfriend was cheating on me with 2 other guys. She tried asking out a third guy, and me and him happened to be close friends and he knew I was dating her, so he told me about it."
"I texted her saying that you have some explaining to do, and she played dumb, so I finally told her about it and her first response was 'WHO TOLD YOU THAT?!'"
"Yeah. Apparently getting revenged mattered more to the little sh*t than my feelings."
"I told her that it doesn't matter but she said she wouldn't explain if I didn't tell her, so (with my friends consent) I told her that he told me and she instantly started going on this long tirade about how he had ruined everything or some sh*t."
"I blocked her afterwards."-DiggityDog6
People Break Down The Creepiest Research Holes They've Ever Fallen Down | George Takei’s Oh Myyy
Such A Sad Moment
"This is a 3rd party story. I was a car insurance agent and when people split up and moved addresses they would call us and we'd split the policy."
"Car A with person A at address A and the rest at address B etc. When one person calls in, once the policy is split we call the other party to confirm the address, coverages etc."
"Well one day a woman calls in saying she and her husband are splitting up and she's moved. I separate the policy then call her husband."
"He was puzzled why I was calling and I explained (which is never comfortable) and he started sobbing. He just kept saying 'what do you mean she wants a divorce?! I thought we loved each other?' Etc."
"I felt awful for this guy. According to him this came out of left field and he had no idea she was going to divorce him. So I was used to tell this guy that she wanted a divorce."-CaraAsha
Crazy Historical Events That Sound Fake But Are 100% True | George Takei’s Oh Myyy
The Worst Kind Of Human
"First high school boyfriend, everything had been fine, we'd talked on the phone over the weekend. Go to school and strangely don't see him all day until I get to my fifth hour."
"He's standing outside the classroom door with a girl on each arm, calls me a b*tch as I get there, and leaves with the girls. I go in the room in shock to have a classmate say to me they heard P and I broke up. Well yeah I guess so."-Intelligent_One445
And while it's cold, it certainly says a whole lot more about the person being cold than the recipient.
Jetting
"Not me but a friend. He came home from work to find his apartment empty except for his clothes in a pile in the bedroom and a pile of unpaid bills on the kitchen counter."
"Turns out she had been planning it for a few months stopped paying all the bills (including rent) saved the money and then just took off. Not even a f**k you letter. Just gone!"-TheTrollys
Always A Sidepiece, Never A Bride
"Heard from her sister and a friend of hers that she had slept with her 'ex' the previous weekend. We were all due to meet up for drinks on this particular night as I was struck down with an illness the weekend before."
"My heart sank when I heard the news and honestly it was quite embarrassing."
"She texted me a few days later explaining that she wasn't back with him and in had a lot going on etc. Eventually it came out that she never really broke up with him at all and I was just her bit on the side at the weekends."-Isfeidirlinn90
We Love Being Gaslit And Blindsided
"I had been going through a really tough time, my mom was fighting breast cancer, my boss was incredibly toxic and I started to feel like I was just going through motions but wasn't really there."
"My therapist finally convinced me to take a stress leave and get back on track, so I discussed it with my boyfriend and he said he would support me in my decision."
"Well, on the last Friday of work right as my stress leave was starting I got home and was actually excited to get back on track I got in the door and my bf said 'don't smoke weed!'" and I thought, 'nice a surprise date night!'... I was super wrong."
"He sat me down and broke up with me. We dated for 3.5 years and lived together and his main concern was who was going to keep the cat, he came armed with the fact that it was his house so it was better if he kept her."
"I bought the cat and loved her so much, but in that moment I felt defeated as hell so I agreed. I had been telling my mom just a week before that our relationship was going really well and I felt like he was going to propose so I was completely blindsided."
"I essentially lost my job, my house, my relationship and my cat in the same day. And went into an even more insane depression and he kept throwing more gas on that fire months after."
"I am very good now, my mom kicked cancer, I have a new job, a new boyfriend, and a new cat (though I still think about my old cat a lot, I know she is well.. but I still miss her). That sh*t was bleak AF though."-blondeboomie
In the Navy
"Navy here. She told me the morning I was leaving for a 10 week deployment that she had been cheating on me since the day we met (3.5 years). Literally as I got to the door, running late, and couldn't stay, talk, respond, deal with it, etc. That was... a rough trip..." - factanonverba_n
"too busy"
"He just stopped calling and all of a sudden became "too busy" to answer texts. He denied vehemently that anything was the matter or that he wanted to stop dating when I'd finally get ahold of him. I finally just had to accept that no answer was an answer. We had been friends for nearly 15 years at that point and had been dating for 6 months. We don't talk at all anymore." - palekaleidoscope
How Long Ago?
"I asked her why she was ignoring my texts and acting cold when we got together and she told me that we broke up 6 months earlier but she never told me. Like, I get it. Breakups don't have to be mutual but you should at least tell the other person."
"EDIT: For extra context, We hung out (as friends, apparently) about maybe a dozen times during that six months so she wasn't avoiding or was afraid of me. I don't fault her for breaking up with me as I was pretty toxic at that point in my life. My issue was how she just preferred to just keep quiet and hope I figured it out on my own." -BW_Bird
In the Gut
"Had a gut feeling something was going on. He was texting less and less. I'd been asking him why he seems to be hanging out with me/talking to me less and less. He said it was all in my head. Finally, made an account and found his pic on Bumble. Texted him a screenshot and he said "we had fun didn't we?" Well." - the_originalbookworm
"be happy"
"My ex was taking a while to respond for a few days. I asked if he was cheating, he said he'd never do that to me and was so upset I would even ask. 2 days later he FaceTimed me while I was at work to tell me he cheated on me and was leaving me to "be happy" with this other person." - demetersmuse
For the Puppy
"Dated a girl for a few months, we had dated in high school some too. Was really into her and we got to talking about things like thoughts on marriage and kids (light-hearted, nothing heavy or awkward). She led the convo on those topics. One day she ghosted me out of the blue."
"Went from good-night texts every night, hanging out almost daily, to nothing. 2 weeks later I see her wedding pics on FB and her husband bought her a puppy. I was the side piece for their entire engagement and I had no idea LMFAO. It only hurt a little." - Madman_Jordo
Teddy
"This was forty years ago -"
"She was home on leave from Air Force "A" school for Christmas, and one of her gifts was a "Teddy" silk slip from me. She held it up against her and said - "Too bad you'll never see me in it." - Adams1973
How... Wicked!
"I was making dinner for the both of us when he came over and broke up with me. I had no idea that it was coming, as we'd made plans to celebrate Valentine's Day that Friday. I'd also just bought us tickets to go see 'Wicked' the following month. He didn't really have a reason, just that he didn't feel that spark. Whatever. I ended up seeing 'Wicked' with my mom and we had a great time." - morgwinsome
Refunds
"Fiancé texted me it was over and told me she was going to sell the diamond ring I got her to "defray the cost of wedding deposits." Two weeks later, asked if I could drop off a cookie sheet left at my place." - Impressive_Giraffe48
"She was legally required to return the engagement ring to you if she broke it off (in most countries, at least). It's a conditional gift. Of course, in the moment, I can imagine not realising/caring about that." - bfcdf3e
"My ex reached out to a columnist, not the news kind but the "people," stories telling kind. He was doing a series of pieces on sad stories. She told him about how she misses her ex, the guy that was the man of her life, etc. Reading that when it came out was a real punch to the gut. We broke up pretty much the next day." - HeelyTheGreat
It seems like sometimes people really just lack the courage to express how they're really feeling as it moves from moment to moment.
They end up blindsiding the people that thought they cared for them the most, leaving them by the wayside. Is it better to just express your feelings from the get-go? Or would you rather just let it all out at once?
People Explain Whether They'd Stay In Touch With Their In-Laws If Their Spouse Died
Reddit user TLMoore93 asked: 'If your spouse passed away, would you maintain a relationship with your in-laws? Why/why not?'
Family relationships are already complex, but the involvement of in-laws and an adult relationship take the dynamics of family to a whole other level.
But if someone's spouse were to tragically pass away, they'd have to decide what the future of their family would look like, and whether or not they'd want their in-laws, who'd technically then be disconnected, to stay in the picture.
Redditor TLMoore93 asked:
"If your spouse passed away, would you maintain a relationship with your in-laws? Why or why not?"
Putting Grandchildren First
"Yes, so they could continue to have a relationship with their grandchild."
- CharsOwnRX-78-2
"Absolutely this. In addition, I trust my in-laws alone with my child more than I trust my father, to the extent I have listed custody arrangements in my will. In-laws definitely go before my dad in the custody line."
"I have every expectation that in the event of the worst, they would absolutely still be there for me and my child."
- nutbrownrose
Avoiding Family Drama
"Two of my in-laws don't get along (his sibling and one of his parents). My husband has already told them basically, 'Don't be a**holes if I'm dying.'"
"He does have a disease that can but isn't guaranteed to end his life earlier than average ... anything can happen. We are in our 30s, he was told he wouldn't live past his teens. He's good right now, all things considered."
"That being said, I can fully see my Mother-in-Law either being an angel or a thorn in my side if he passes before she does. Hope it's the former."
"Either way, I know what he wants, and that's no drama or disrespect... but if someone's being an a**hole, he doesn't want to be involved. So I'd be following that."
- Satansrainbowkitty
The Best Relationships
"Yes, they're nicer than my parents."
- Lowflyin
"My mother-in-law is nicer than my mom, anyway. No way I wouldn't be there for her, she's worked so hard to provide for my Fiancé, no way I could not keep her in my life."
- Thrilling1031
The Support System
"I know I've become a better person as an adult so I'm probably easier to get along with now, but the immediate acceptance and love I received from my fiance's family just endeared them to me a million times more than anything I've felt for my own family."
"He has also encouraged me to be closer to my own, which is great."
- Danceswithunicornz
Under Their Wing
"The second I started dating their son, my in-laws took me in and treated me like one of their own. I didn't know what a kind, loving family or parents were really like before, experiencing it was a huge revelation."
"I would absolutely maintain a relationship with them, and I know they would want the same."
- McMew
"My partner’s parents did the same with me. To feel unconditional parental love for the first time was surreal."
"My partner passed away five years ago and I am still close with his mom especially, she brings me so much comfort and I am so happy we have continued our relationship. We desperately needed each other in the early days of our grief and now I don’t think either of us could imagine it any other way."
- arrwine
A Close Bond
"We aren't married (yet) but I refer to my boyfriend's parents as my in-laws. And in turn, they introduce me to others as their daughter-in-law. My boyfriend's mom is my best friend. I absolutely love her to bits. We hit a rough patch a couple of years ago and she took me for coffee to talk about it and assured me that even if the worst happened, she would always be there for me and in my life whether he liked it or not, because she loves me."
"I didn't know what a real family was supposed to be like until I met them either. For my 18th birthday, the first birthday I spent with him, my boyfriend asked me what I wanted to do, and I had never really celebrated my birthday since I was a child because we either couldn't afford it or my mom and I were fighting over one thing or another."
"He knew this because I told him. So, on my birthday my boyfriend picked me up, took me to McDonald's to get a McFlurry, then took me to Dominos to pick up the pizza he ordered for us."
"When we got to his house, his mom had most of the lights off and she was standing in the kitchen with a cake, candles lit, and a gift bag on the counter. They started singing happy birthday when I walked in. To say I cried is an understatement. They have done this every single year since then."
"Christmas is regularly celebrated in my family because we save up for it. But man, that first Christmas I spent with my boyfriend, I cried again because when I got to his mom's house there was a stocking with my name on it and it was full. His whole family got me gifts."
"I wasn't prepared that year, but the next year I went ALL out on gifts for him and his family. His mom includes me in absolutely everything. And when I can't make it to something, I know d**n well she'll be phoning me on her drive home to tell me all about it and give me all the gossip.
- Burnt_Your_Toast
Together Through Grief
"My wife died, in my arms, on May 13th of cancer complications. Her dad called me last night to check in on me and her mom called the day before for the same reason. I call them Mom and Dad, and they will be that for the rest of my life."
- Cubbycupcake-Uther
"I'm so very sorry for your loss. We found out on May 25th that my wife has brain cancer. No cure... just have to treat it and deal with it as long as possible. I have been an absolute mess inside, but trying to hold it together for my two boys. She is the eternal optimist of the family and is ready for whatever comes next. We find out the biopsy results tomorrow."
"Her family is my family, and I know that we will have each other."
"I hope that you are ok and that you can find some peace. This is the worst. If there's anything I can take from this, it is that I will never waste a day... or the opportunity to help someone that needs it. My circle has been amazing, but I know not everyone has that."
- daddyboi83
Chosen Family is Forever
"My oldest sister passed away in 1989 before I was born in 1994. My whole life I've had this guy named Vince in my family. He's the nicest, sweetest, and funniest dude and has always been like a really fun uncle to me."
"He basically lived with my parents for years after my sister died. My Dad took him in as his pseudo son and even after he started dating this wonderful woman years later he would still come on family vacations with us."
"He asked my dad permission to marry his new girlfriend back in the 90s as a sign of respect. Of course, he said yes."
"Unfortunately two years ago or so she was diagnosed with Alzheimer's and today her condition is getting worse and worse to the point he can't leave the house anymore."
"He has experienced unimaginable pain for a man to now go through what is essentially two deaths of wives in his life. Again, he's the nicest guy ever, and the positivity he's always carried about himself."
"But yes, if you have a good relationship with in-laws, keep it. Chosen family is forever."
- nightmarenarrative
On the Flip Side
"Absolutely not. I would never talk to them again. They are horrific people."
- Disastrous-Phase-797
"Although mine aren't horrific, they are definitely not my favorite people in the world. I have little to no interaction with them now so having no interaction at all sounds wonderful."
- tjcline09
Inhospitable Environment
"I would totally cut them out of my life. They are horrible people who think only of themselves."
"They've ruined every holiday, birthday, and special occasion where I've included them."
"This is my second marriage and I'm closer to my first in-laws than these posers. I only tolerate them occasionally for my husband but basically, I avoid them now."
- Ihavethebestdogs
Family Heritage
"I would. I like my wife's parents and extended family, and they'd certainly want to know how our son is doing."
"On top of that, my wife's side of the family is African-American, and I feel like my son should have some sort of connection to that heritage."
- Nihiliste
Positive Connections
"Not passed away, but I got divorced almost 20 years ago and still see my former MIL and SIL when they're in town. And I stay with them when I'm in their town. Love them!"
- alert_armidiglet
The Conflicted Answers
"I don't know. I really like my in-laws and consider them family, but aside from the fact that I married their daughter, we have no common ground. I think hanging out with them would ultimately just be painful."
- Anakin_Skywand
"That's what I am thinking. I would totally keep in contact with them, especially because my nephews from her side would be even more confused if I wouldn't visit anymore, and I love them, but I cannot picture how you can continue life if you stay too close to them."
"Honestly, I wouldn't know what to do when my wife passed all of a sudden. Besides losing my grandparents when I was 18, I have never faced a tragic loss and have no idea how I would react."
- ZedsDeadZD
Unconditional Love
"Today is actually my 5-year angeliversary."
"I do keep in contact with her family, and they have been my family for 19 years before she passed away."
"They are still my brothers and sisters. They are still my children's aunts and uncles, and grandmother."
"I still love them like I always have."
- ericstott
The Grandparent Connection
"I'm not widowed but divorced. I made sure my son, who decided on no contact with his dad, kept in touch with his paternal grandmother. We went to visit her at Christmas and her birthday, which is more than my ex did."
"No reason why she should miss out on a grandson entirely, just because we were not together anymore."
- yonthickie
While it's difficult to imagine what life would be like without our favorite loved one in our lives, it might be even more complicated to think of how the surrounding relationships would change.
There were some who saw those relationships dissolving immediately, but others felt they'd lean into these relationships more, accepting the support any of us would desperately need during such a time.
We're living in an age where single people more time scrolling through dating apps and chatting with strangers than engaging with them in person.
And while they think they know enough about a prospective date based on their chat history, finally meeting up with them on a first date can still come with a variety of surprises.
One of two things can happen.
Either love seekers strike immediate chemistry or they find that the person with whom they shared a love connection online turns out to be a major misconnection.
Curious to explore what doesn't work on a first date for strangers online, Redditor hometattoo asked:
"What is your first date dealbreaker?"
Some people don't understand the art of conversation.
So One-Sided
"Bad conversation when you feel like getting more than a 2 word answer out of them is like pulling teeth."
– Thealmightyfug
Conversation Hog
"When they try to dominate the conversation and make everything about themselves while cutting you off."
– Alteredego619
Worst Top 5
"I went out with a girl who asked me if I had done something like, for example, surfed in Hawaii. I said 'no,' then she went on to tell me about what she did for about 20 minutes. Then another question, followed by another 20-minute story. Went on like this for a while till I lied and said 'yeah.' I started to make up a story when she cut me off and started another story. Top 5 of my worst first dates."
– babe_ruthless3
When phones are more interesting than you, it's time to move on.
Games
"Playing on their phone."
– bumliveronions
*clash royale intro plays*
– tykkebellis
Taking The Call
"Many years ago before the advent of smartphones I had a date with this lady who 5 minutes into dinner got a phone call and then proceeded to spend the next 1.5 hours talking on her phone and ignoring me. So I ate my food tossed 20 on the table and left."
– SomeRandomUser00
Because Priorities
"Playing with phone, cutting me off mid-sentence, saying one word responses like 'ok', 'cool', 'nice.'"
– globroc
These Redditors prefer dating someone who doesn't have kids.
Unexpected Company
"she brings her 3 kids that she failed to tell me about."
– TrailerParkPrepper
"Or bringing 23 relatives to test their generosity."
– color178924
No Single Moms Please
"Yep, it happened more than once. I am a childfree man, and they knew before the date. For the first date, I always prefer a short coffee meet."
"If it is one on one, I cover the bill. When they brought the kids, I always told the waitor to split the bill."
"They always got pissy, were offended, and of course, when I told them that I am not interested, since they knew that I did not date single mothers, they showed their true colours. Vile, toxic, and very vengeful, too."
"It explained why they were single mothers and why those kids were f'ked."
"I tried dating single mothers. 5 times to be exact. It never ended well, and it was never because of the kids."
"3 times they returned to the ex, and twice I was a placeholder holder for the guy they wanted to date, and they waited until he was available."
"I am done getting attached to the kids just to get f'ked over."
"Massive deal breaker now are the kids."
"They also always wanted to get back together with me. After, surprise, surprise, did not work out with the guys they chose. The typical, without fail, manipulation tactic was using their kids, how they miss me, ask about me, and the walk down the memory lane, about nice times we had."
"I always told them they should have thought about it when they decided to break up with me and to never contact me again. I was called a heartless -shole who would die alone because I didn't allow them to manipulate me, and their bullsh*t left me cold."
– The_Story_Builder
Not Part Of The Deal
"Kids are my deal breaker too. I am not about to be a stepmother and I am not interested in dating someone who has kids ... I just don't want it. People should disclose before a first date that they have children.. I just think it's common sense imo. Not everyone wants to be a step-parent."
– kathyanne38
My first date dealbreaker was embarrassingly shallow, but here goes.
Years ago before the advent of Grindr, I met up with a guy I've been chatting with on match.com.
He was a tennis player. Really good-looking, tall dude. We met up for coffee and had a great conversation. Because we were hitting it off, we decided to continue our first date by taking a walk through Washington Square Park since it was a beautiful day and we were right there.
On the way there, I noticed he kept leaning into me as we were walking. I asked him sarcastically if he was trying to nudge me in the direction of his apartment.
That wasn't it. He nervously laughed and told me his left leg was slightly shorter than the other leg, which caused him to walk diagonally sometimes as his weight wasn't equally distributed in his gait.
There was no second date. I know. I loathe myself for having been that vapid at the time.
Even though the United States of America is largely viewed as the best country in the world to live in, many Americans dream of living abroad.
Particularly in Europe.
From their eyes, there are several things about one's way of life that simply seem unquestionably better in Europe, including health insurance, education, and food.
Of course, many of these things are just in their minds and aren't actually true, and they have to have the news broken to them rather gently.
Sometimes, however, the things they've grown to accept about Europe aren't worse than they imagined, but infinitely better.
"Europeans, what is something us Americans aren’t ready to hear?"
In Case You Didn't Know Just How Big "Big Pharma" Actually Was...
"EpiPens cost $69 in the UK compared to the US $600."
"And yes the Pharm companies are making a profit."- DevDudeZX81
Phonetics Ain't Gonna Help You With This One...
"Worcestershire."- TantrumZentrum
"Wash your sister sauce."- dbl1nk22
'I was making dinner at one point and asked my wife to get me the sibling cleaning sauce - once it clicked, she was hysterical laughing."- belsonc
And No, That Doesn't Stand For "Part Time Only"...
"27 days of PTO is absolutely normal."- Whole-Bank9820
Out Of Office Vacation GIF by StickerGiantGiphyAnyone From The UK Can Make That Clear...
"Europe and the European Union are not the same thing."- BradyvonAshe
Yes, They're Actually Efficient...
"Y’all need some trains."- CabbageMasher
Ironically, Church And State Are ACTUALLY Separated...
"Whats the deal with mega churches?"
"Why do you send them that much money?"- Jandolino
On My Way Church GIF by EMPIREGiphyBipartisanship? The Very Thought!
"Middle grounds exist."
"It doesn’t always have to be pro this anti that."- MySocksAreLost
"It's okay not to have an opinion about everything."- AlwaysCurious93
All Jobs Have Value
"Tipping is stupid."
"Just pay your staff a proper living wage!"- Coin-op77
"Tipping culture is placing the working class against the working class."
"And you lot are falling for it instead of striking."- Comander1SUV
"You should work to live not the opposite."- Realistic_Abrocoma61·
GiphyAt The Very Least, Not In Such Large Quantities
"Sugar does not belong in everything, esp."
"Not bread."- WrestlingWoman
Merely 2 out of 44
"Europe is more than England and Paris."- SloRules
Health And Education Are A Right, Not A Privilege
"It's neither normal nor okay to have to go bankrupt just to go to school or going to the hospital."- Roselily808
student loans burn GIF by Ethan BarnowskyGiphy...Um, Does Anyone Actually Need This?...
"You do not need a 5000-pound truck to haul your laptop and cellphone to the office."- It_is_Fries_No_Patat
Frustratingly, many Americans who will be told these facts by Europeans will look for anything and everything to argue about them.
As the most significant thing most Europeans aren't ready to hear, or at least don't want to hear, about Americans?
Most will look for literally anything to fight about, rather than actually taking a little time to enjoy the view...
Ahh... life before the 90's.
The talents and skills lost.
There were ticket takers at the cinema.
When buying concert tickets, there was a human you stood in line to meet at 10AM on a Saturday morning.
You had to purchase tokens, not Metrocards in NYC to ride transit.
So much change.
Who can keep up?
Who will remember?
Redditor wanted to hear about life in the recent past, so they asked:
"People born before 1990, what trivial skill do you possess that no one uses anymore?"
I had no skills in the '80s.
I was too young.
So tell me about history.
R We There Yet?
"I can re-fold a map correctly."
JungleZac
"I came here to say Reading a Map but yes, also how to refold it! I routinely amazed coworkers by remembering how to get to lunch spots without GPS after just one visit."
raulduke1971
"Yes. Yes. YES!! And how hard could it be?... if anyone bothered to notice or think or remember how it opened in the first place."
Far-Experience5137
I Remember
"Remembering phone numbers."
GreatMillionDog
"I remember the numbers for every house I lived in growing up, the phone numbers of the houses of my best friends from 7th grade and before, my grandma, and my first cell phone number. I've been married nearly five years and have no idea what my wife's phone number is."
AllModsEatSh*t
Tick Tock
"Being on time because you can't call and reschedule."
Sindertone
"I feel like you just always had an idea that plans could fall through, and were a little more excited when they didn't fall through."
"This is why there used to be more bars in restaurants, so you can wait for the rest of your party and have a drink or two, and I guess if they don't show your order there and enjoy a meal anyway or go to plan B. People also used to just meet at someone's and go from there, more so than they seem to now."
thatissomeBS
Classics
Vintage Read GIF by US National ArchivesGiphy"Using the Dewey decimal at the library."
FunStorm6487
"Still a relevant skill. If you search for a book, you're given a call number and you need to track it down."
heck-ward
Dewey who?
I have never fully understood any of it.
That's me though.
Developments
Looking Good Red Room GIF by BounceGiphy"I can develop and process photographic film and enlarge prints in a dark room."
Glade_Runner
"I took a class in high school that did this. Was fun!"
sjk8990
The Master
"Record to tape from the radio. Trying to make sure to not get the DJ/presenter talking sh*t or an ad."
Gankstajam
"I was a 'videotaping from TV' master! My anticipation of the end of commercial breaks was amazing, especially since you had to start the recording just a moment prior to having a cue that the show was coming back.
Of course, I was always screwed by those random late-night News commercials and the random extra-long pauses"
Maliluma
Hold On
"Using your shoulder to hold a telephone up to your ear while doing multiple other things at once. Now, the phones are so damned small I drop them."
Regular_Sample_5197
"Before cordless phones got really cheap, I walked around the house with a super long phone cord. My parents got sick of tripping over it, so they saved up and got me a cordless phone for Christmas."
"That phone lasted for so many years. They got it when I was a freshman in high school and it was still going strong when I graduated from college. I don’t know when or if it stopped working, but my parents switched to a phone with more features."
ZoraksGirlfriend
Glitches
"I outright destroyed Super Mario Brothers in almost no time flat very recently on Nintendo Switch after not having played it for probably 30 years. I did it totally from memory on just the second run-through. I even hit the multiple 1-up glitch on World 3-1. My kids thought I was a god (for just a few minutes)."
all4whatnot
"I grew up playing on the Super Nintendo. My son is old enough to play. The look on his face when I bomb through a level is priceless. Mama’s still got it, kid. He’s smart though. Kicks my a** in Mortal Kombat."
exWiFi69
SCORE!!
Sport Lol GIF by TikTok FranceGiphy"I can keep score in bowling."
sodangshedongerI
"took bowling as phy Ed in college. In the final exam we were given 10 lines of scoring and we had to score each line and add it up. 8 out of 10 was an A."
Qnofputrescence1213
Bowling is an art.
And keeping score is a gift... that I have never unwrapped.