Garett
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Aug 26, 2023 4:43 AM
Garett
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Blarrge
microfiche was cool
jursamaj
Back then, we had things called "encyclopedias". They were full of actual information. Whereas the internet is mostly full of bullshit (and porn).
AdamGenesis
I know spaghetti comes from spaghetti trees.
RenaissanceFaireMan
Lachwen
I was one of those weirdos who would have a question and research it at the library. Using the Dewey Decimal System. I'M 37 I'M NOT OLD.
lurkerthatoccationallywantstocomment
The realization that adults didn't know everything
ArkoneAxon
This. I remember when a bigoted uncle told me, in a very serious this-is-undeniable-truth voice, "less than one tenth of one percent of the population is homosexual." He repeated it, with emphasis, because it was a FACT. Except... then I found out, years later, he was referencing a study where they went door to door asking people their sexual orientation. Small wonder that only 0.1% of the population was willing to say, "yes, I'm gay" to what could very well have been nutjobs looking to fight.
supervillin
Yeah now we can just ask Google and get the right answer, and then immediately forget it for the rest of our lives.
memedrift2410
To be fair, we had television news that reported actual facts, even if they didn't like it. So we (as a whole) had a more accurate view of the world generosity speaking, but yes, anything not important enough for you to take a trip to the library, you just never found out.
unknownmale
or you'd go to the library or look in your books
Ifekinlovesauerkraut
Yep. Probably didn't work for people who were related to Aunt Linda, because some things just run in the family.
EddyTwoLegs
When I was 10 my aunt told me Hitler was Ann Franks uncle. She said Hitler was self conscious of his big ears and would have them taped back.
neuronicle
I started reading books when I was 6 years old (late 70s), watched educational science docs on TV everyday (they were really entertaining), got a really valid school education, went to a really good university and know a lot of things, really a lot. All without the internet. And I always wonder how 90% of all the "young" people I meet on a professional and private level are so unbelievably ill-informed despite all the possibilities they have to access knowledge via the internet...
paulwall117350
Yeah honestly this might make me sound like a fucking stupid privileged millennial but yes in fact it does seem like anyone who didn't grow up with the ability to actually look things up and read about them just doesn't know jack shit about anything and doesn't care to know and can't be told, which is why conservatives win elections.
neuronicle
Gosh, you sound dumb. Sorry.
burningcouchwv
Reading the encyclopedia for fun and mental stability. I was “info boy” for a long time. Thanks google!
Rynath
jursamaj
Nah, factual info doesn't get deleted. It just gets drowned out by the bullshit.
Colopty
But that title is on the internet...
SubsyServy
Knowledge was everything in our family and books were a major part of that, especially after we joined our Medieval Society where authenticity was boasting. My mother went so far as to start University of Ithra within the society to have people who had researched stuff teach it to others. Just short little courses about everything from how to make soda bread to medieval encampments. I myself taught classes on the history of swearing, medieval games, and medieval warfare. Gadzooks!
OmenJones
I really don't remember trusting adults all that much back then, but my dad was a wiseass and I realized it early. So I spent a lot of time at the library.
wadenelson
My father told exactly two jokes. Ever. I even remember where and when he told them. As he lay dying, I made him laugh.
TheDentDad
Typical Linda..
MrHappySmiles
Stop trying to Karenize Lindas. We have Karen’s for this.
DraconianMarshmallowPoink
I don't know, I worked for a Linda once...did you know that Satan was a florist with frosted hair?
mikeatike
Yeah, Linda destroyed ISIS. She is cool.
WellThatsOriginal
I was taught that when a bear hibernated, it slept the entire winter. Anyone else?
wadenelson
Yes, I typically sleep the winter away.
Feralkyn
I mean, they do? "The entire winter" just depends on how long the particularly cold temps last in their region but they legit drop into deep sleep for months at a stretch (except some sows that give birth then)
TexMexHex
Tbf, with the internet people have gotten so much dumber.
procrastinatingagain
Or open a World Book Encyclopedia.
dangerspouse
I read that sucker from cover to cover multiple times.
jursamaj
We had 2 sets of Brittanica at home. Plus the yearly books.
Totallycasual
We had a full encyclopedia setup in our lounge, they tended to only be consulted when trying to prove someone wrong lol
jursamaj
To this day, my sister claims I read the encyclopedia. Probably because it was a common sight for me to have 4 or 5 open on the floor, as I cross-referenced things. Now, I just have 50 browser tabs open for months at a time…
Totallycasual
Better make sure you download some more RAM!
jursamaj
Nah, I eep my RAM in the Cloud.
TheYodajen
We actually talked to other people and had what are called conversations...with other people....in the same room
eggmuffin
And when the conversation touched on a topic unfamiliar to either one of us, we'd just be wrong together.
jursamaj
Eww. People.
Feralkyn
Right but there was tons of shit nobody knew. You couldn't just whip out a phone and look up the name of this plant you saw, or check current temperature in California, or look up the Spanish word for "ceiling," on a whim.
TheYodajen
Ok
AcidZebra
We had these things called books. They were constructed of dead trees, flattened into thin leaves. On the leaves we would make inscriptions. It was a whole thing.
Hal1918
& libel laws & editors removing maliciously false or innocently bad content
riplikash
Relying on books at the library for basic info is not something I miss, honestly. You go through the file cards, find 2 or 3 books, have know is if they're good or up to date, they're checked out so you go on the waiting list, then far a call in a week or two (if the book ever even gets returned). It doesn't have what you need so you order one from the library exchange, which is ALSO on a waiting list. It was, indeed, "a whole thing". That being said...
riplikash
...there was something magical about the format. As easy as it is to go deep in Wikipedia you could get lost going WIDE in a library. You're flipping through an encyclopedia and a picture catches your eye. A you were looking for a book on one topic you would flip past dozens of others that would catch your attention. I certainly have some nastalgia for when libraries were temples of knowledge. These days they're just one option among many.
Vortex153
As a 40-ish year old, the hardest for me to reconcile in my head is something as simple as “Are Tasmanian Devils real?” 25 years ago you’d need to go out of your way for a picture of a Tasmanian Devil. Now you can probably find a picture of a Taz having intercourse with a Smurf in about 15 seconds
dobroweigh
But who would ask you about tasmanian devil at that ancient times? I mean Internet puts more questions than it answers. A lot more.
Vortex153
Anyone who watched Looney Tunes
Mithi
Slow typer?
wadenelson
Ahh, the infamous Tasmanian Conjecture. Was the Smurf "asking for it?" Provocatively dressed? Ask Google!
Trankia12
Now we have people on the internet giving the wrong awnser, and spreading misinformation.
wadenelson
The amount of incorrect auto repair advice, AI generated much of it, is amazing.
wadenelson
You have to read (up to) a dozen replies and find consensus, discern which is correct.
hellsgunslinger
Linda got a bigger platform
SpamYarBlockers
Linda has been replaced by ChatGPT, giving wrong answers with equal confidence and passive aggressive attitude
TimbitsAreDonutHoles
Yep. *philomena cunk voice* Like the shen comic, the internet increased the size of the whole world's brain, enabling us to be wronger, faster and more efficiently than ever.
unknownmale
sadly not just on the internet... I've taken a lot of public battles
Trankia12
You can't teach people who refuse to believe the truth.
unknownmale
correct, but the people who hear them should be given the ability to make a decision based on the best argument rather than the only argument
Trankia12
The problem is they hear the argument and reject it intentionally. They are too stubborn to hear anything you have to say about the subject they've already made up their minds about.
Trankia12
To be clear, I'm not saying we shouldn't try, just going off about how frustrating it is.
Hurro
Marilyn Manson had his ribs removed so he could suck his own dick.
HUGHgReaction
Bubble Yum gum had spider eggs in it that would attach to the inside of your mouth (circa 1975)
theThousandHells
Only after he was done being Paul from the Wonder Years tho
RibbleTPibits
Freakayou
Richard Gere had to have a gerbil removed from his lower intestines.
pjm82
2 gerbils
SpoonOfDoom
There was also this other one where he had one of his gf's eyes taken out so he could fuck her eyesocket. But I feel like that was maybe a bit more regional
GreaseMonkeyOfLove
Must’ve been regional, I didn’t hear that one.
afambelafonte
What region?
SpoonOfDoom
Heard that as a teen here in Germany (NRW to be slightly more precise), must have been late 90s or early 00s. It was THE "fact" that everyone in our school knew about Manson. Whoever started that one must've been proud.
BobRossIsMyBigDaddy
I remember that as well
Feralkyn
It's still amazing to me that this spread over an entire country *without* the use of the internet
INeverCheckTheUserNames
Around the world buddy. This was big news in the 90's in Finland.
NikkiHuskyMum87
Not just a country, that one crossed an ocean
Santac99
The world. I heard it in Denmark in The early 1990’s.
Feralkyn
Damn!!
tantallous
Kinda like the S that we all drew in school
Alexap30
How about a hemisphere eastwards.
Redyls
my dad told me to stop asking him questions when i was 5. said if i wanted to know anything i should go read a book. then got all annoyed that i became an indoorsie nerd and didnt like to go hunting and fishing all the time like he did
[deleted]
[deleted]
TlalocTemporal
What's Dad?
Burke616
"No, no, you weren't supposed to go fulfill your own curiosity, you were supposed to abandon it and only know or like or do what I tell you."
buzzardman2
I also love reading, funny enough you can fish and read at the same time! A lot of fishing is sitting in silence in nature, just enjoying the wilderness. My problem is I don't like fish, so unless I know someone to give the fish, I just don't go fishing anymore. I refuse to do catch and release. If I'm going to traumatized and injure the fish, I'm going to make sure it's used.
Calicious
My parents had a policy of outright refusing all knowledge questions. They would just point to our encyclopedias. Absolutely stupid policy.
Neurisko
You guys had encyclopedias? I had a pocket dictionary, Garfield, and Stephen King.
knifiespoonie
Your dad sounds like a cunt
reichstein
My dad spent more time correcting my pronunciation than actually listening to what I was trying to say. Haven't spoken to him in over a decade.
SuperfluousMeh
Mine uses the word ideal, when he means idea. I tried correcting him, and he said no it's right. I also haven't spoken to him in over a decade. He was also a know-it-all; whatever he was studying, he was an expert in and suddenly all of your were related to whatever he was studying. He was in a nutrition class, and so of course all of my issues were suddenly related to my diet and vitamins. Grandiosity at its finest!
xcelita
I learned recently that kids ask a million questions because they want to have a conversation and connect with you, but they don't have the skills yet.
MCHammer90
Okay, so now I'm on the can at 2 am blinking back tears and thinking about my 7-year-olds relentless questions in a new light. Thanks for this. ❤️
RoodKontjeAapje
Well he didn't say "do nothing except read books from now on".
Neurisko
Exactly. My family that yelled at me any time I bothered them with questions from the time I was born: "We have no idea why he's so quiet and reads all the time."
Merky600
My parents were “bookish”. Ask a question and it was 20 minutes of classroom time. Saturdays were museum days. Thing is, I was just like them anyway.
VaultGirl69
Similar. My dad said, "Stupid questions get stupid answers" when I'd ask things like "Why is the sky blue?". My parents, though not educated, felt that an education was important. While I didn't get school supplies one year while my sister got new clothes, I did get any books I wanted. My mother is still obsessed with appearances and my sister. :/
HollerinAtTheVoid
Wait, your dad wanted you to go fishing and hunting? I begged mine to go do that stuff with him but he wouldnt let me. And now he's confused as to why i dont like fishing or hunting. Seems like a trend....conservative amd white by any chance?
Neurisko
You guys had dads?
trinxter
I had a long phase of reading all the issues of Scientific American, beginning maybe around 12. That is real nerd material. It was all almost out of my comprehension but I read it anyway.
wadenelson
Captain Jack Sparrow: Ahh, but you HAVE heard of Quantum Chromodynamics!
ChocolateCookieAndFudge
I've got a 5 years old who won't stop asking questions. I always start the day happy to answer but as the day goes on, I get really close to telling her to stop asking questions. Parenting is hard.
Neurisko
They may forget the details, but they will remember how you made them feel. Don't get to the point you snap at them, but explain that, with love, they need to leave you alone for a while.
Apeofdeath
Why would I go fishing, when I can read a book about fishing
MstrES
To get wet
wadenelson
Zreen
Why would I get wet, when I can read a book about getting wet
ThatShiftyMonkey
I never enjoyed fishing. It's like let's pick the least efficient way of catching the fish and just doing it that way for several hours.
Apeofdeath
You could bring a book to read
ThatShiftyMonkey
I used to. I love camping, but fishing was always the most boring part of the trips.
Apeofdeath
One time I was quizzed as to why I brought a book to read on a fishing trip, it was a book by Noam Chomsky which irritated everyone other than me, my step mother (a teacher) reprimanding me for reading, good times
SpartaWolf117
You'd have to watch a documentary or read an encyclopedia
AFelineMassofEyes
Or carry a Guinness Book of World Records.
mydamnkidsdontthinkimfunny
We used to keep a car notebook in case a question came up. Then we could find out once we got home.
spinbutton3
I used to read the Dictionary for fun 😂
anitabieror6
and if it wasn't in the encyclopedia you'd just have to hope it would be included next time they come out with new encyclopedias
ButteryBiscuitBass
Or go to the library.
Twrecks123
Or go dig through the card catalog and then skim half a dozen books to find the answer you were looking for.
TheSpleen
My decimals are all Dewey…
Eomund521
I actually kinda miss that.
freshthrowaway1138
And not an up to date encyclopedia. Nope, it was something that someone bought at some point in time. My parents' purchased a set in 1973, we were still using it into the 90's.
Ghlargh
"Mommy how many people live in Russia?" "I'm sorry kid, the encyclopedia says Russia doesn't exist"
DraconianMarshmallowPoink
If they bought it in 1973 then it was probably accurate in 1970.
krslvsasuka101
In the 80s I was using a 1966 Encyclopedia Brittanica set for my school assignments.
Leonon
And now our internet encyclopedia is like.
abhorance
I had a 1960s set of worldbook in the house, lots of research done from that for 1980s and early 90s. Till I got a PC that came with Encarta
ciaron
My dad got a second hand set from probably the 50s (and that was the 80s).
mikeatike
And the documentary was on the History Channel, so was likely bullshit.
LateNightBunnyParty
Nah, it was actually good in the 90s and early 00s. Some of my favorite docs are from that era. Wasn't til around 2010 (give or take a couple years -- it was a gradual slide) when it REALLY started going downhill.
homoerection
Same with the learning channel. Once they figured out how cheap and easy reality tv is they all started transitioning to that crap.
LateNightBunnyParty
Yup. Discovery as well. History Vault still has the old, good, classic History docs. And there's also Curiosity Stream, PBS Passport, and Nebula that are all excellent for educational documentaries, too.
StudioDerpster
History channel has fallen very very far. It wasnt so shit at the beginning.
Ghlargh
Wasn't the history channel somewhat accurate on some subjects back then?
LateNightBunnyParty
It was great til around the early 2010s or just prior.