r/AskOldPeople • • 1d ago

When did your friends start dying off?

344 Upvotes

I expected as I get older more people I know will start duing but I didn't expect it till my 60s or 70's. But it feels like more people are dying younger and as a cancer survivor this shit is scary. When did you notice people in your age group dying?


r/AskOldPeople • • 2d ago

what was it like when people actually had to call each other to make plans

192 Upvotes

like did you just show up places and hope your friends were there, or was there some system i'm not getting? seems chaotic but also kind of nice somehow


r/AskOldPeople • • 2d ago

How and when did you start using Reddit?

53 Upvotes

Exactly the title: How did you hear about Reddit? Who taught you how to use it? Where did you first log on? What year? What intrigued you to join? What was your first subreddit? How do you use it now and what for?


r/AskOldPeople • • 3d ago

How were so many people in society able to quit smoking just like that?

286 Upvotes

I don’t understand how generations had been smoking all their life and then just suddenly stopped once it became unpopular to smoke. Why does it seem like there is not a huge epidemic of diseases all over the world proportional to the massive amounts of people who smoked for all these decades?


r/AskOldPeople • • 4d ago

Those of you who had parents or close relatives who were adults during the Second World War, what were their lives like during the war?

98 Upvotes

r/AskOldPeople • • 4d ago

55 years old, still miss my mom and dad

331 Upvotes

Hi Oldies! I'm a happy 55 year old "spinster", an introvert,with a nice job, good friends etc

But sooo often , I just miss my mom and dad, who've passed. Anyone similar?


r/AskOldPeople • • 4d ago

For those of you who lived through the '80s, how much did the AIDS epidemic affect everyday life?

307 Upvotes

For those of you who were around at the time, how bad was the AIDS epidemic, and what was it like living through those years? My mother has told me stories about it, including how she lost a lot of gay friends during the crisis because she was, and still is, a supporter of gay people.


r/AskOldPeople • • 5d ago

Did large stores ever have a specifically labeled "complaints" window?

55 Upvotes

It's a mainstay of cartoons, but I've never seen one in real life. Did they get renamed "customer service" for PR purposes, or were they once a separate single-purpose department?


r/AskOldPeople • • 5d ago

A question for parents

15 Upvotes

When your adult children approach you about things that you did during your childhood or young adult life do you really not remember it or are you too prideful to not say anything?

EDIT:
The context is that a lot of things happened in my childhood ie: unfair punishments, being called butchy, stories where I was hurt
Parent remembers none of it. Swears they didn’t happen or no recollection.


r/AskOldPeople • • 6d ago

What age do you feel most nostalgic for?

55 Upvotes

r/AskOldPeople • • 6d ago

How do only children feel as older adults?

296 Upvotes

My husband and I both have siblings. He has one, I have three. How is life as an adult with no siblings? If your parents have passed, how did you feel dealing with their funerals/end of life care all on your own? Do you wish you had siblings as an adult?


r/AskOldPeople • • 7d ago

What's something ₹100 could get you as a kid that feels impossible today?

1 Upvotes

I remember ₹100 feeling like an unlimited budget. Samosas, cold drinks, chips, and still some money left. What's your ₹100 childhood memory?


r/AskOldPeople • • 7d ago

My FILs favorite yarn was the little turd that got away, what's yours?

17 Upvotes

It's all fun and games kids until your joints give way and then seemingly easy tasks become very very difficult


r/AskOldPeople • • 8d ago

Baby Boomers: How do you feel about Sick Days?

232 Upvotes

I’m from the Millennial generation (1980s to 1990s), and my parents are Baby Boomers (1950s to 1960s).

Whenever I want to take a sick day at work they are so weird! Is this common or just my parents?


r/AskOldPeople • • 9d ago

Do you have a family time/day to spend with your kids and grandkids? What do you do?

26 Upvotes

r/AskOldPeople • • 10d ago

Sundown towns

114 Upvotes

Did you or someone you know grow up in a sundown town? Was it as awful as I can imagine it was?


r/AskOldPeople • • 10d ago

Based on your life experience, what percentage of people do you think are genuinely capable of being good friends?

220 Upvotes

My dad is 70, very kind and helpful. He’s spent his life helping others, but many of those he helped don’t even bother to call him anymore. It’s left him bitter and disappointed in people. Based on your life experience, what percentage of people genuinely have what it takes to be a good friend?


r/AskOldPeople • • 11d ago

At what age did nostril hairs become a grooming issue for you?

126 Upvotes

r/AskOldPeople • • 12d ago

Were people really sent to the kitchen to wash dishes if they couldn’t pay their check in a restaurant?

411 Upvotes

This happened so frequently in old TV shows. The character eats a meal in a restaurant, then realizes they don’t have their wallet, or don’t have enough money to cover it. But, problem solved - send them to the kitchen to work off their bill. Was this something that really used to happen?


r/AskOldPeople • • 14d ago

What's the scariest film you ever saw back in the day?

113 Upvotes

r/AskOldPeople • • 15d ago

When you were young, what was 'that car', the new model on the market that everyone seemed to want?

124 Upvotes

I remember being a young teen in the early to mid '70s and my peer group being impressed by anyone who bought a Monte Carlo or Cutlass Supreme. They were similar in design and the style was fresh.


r/AskOldPeople • • 15d ago

What everyday errand used to include a tiny conversation with another person that has quietly disappeared, and do you actually miss it?

194 Upvotes

I'm thinking less about big lost institutions and more about ordinary interactions: bank tellers, ticket clerks, gas station attendants, calling a store to ask if something was in stock. Which small human exchange vanished from your routine before you really noticed?


r/AskOldPeople • • 15d ago

Do you have fond memories of childhood chores?

57 Upvotes

Our home in Southern Oregon was heated by wood. As a teenager, I had to chop wood each night. My mother and father would use to start a fire in the morning and keep it burning through the day. I was just thinking about how much I miss that chore.

What chores do you miss?


r/AskOldPeople • • 15d ago

What do you think/feel about the younger generation's lack of children?

92 Upvotes

r/AskOldPeople • • 16d ago

Christmas decorations encroaching on Halloween decorations earlier every year.

1 Upvotes

I don't recall decorations being rushed like this before, have they?

As a kid I remember most stores would start putting out Halloween decorations in late September at the earliest. October had only Halloween. Then come closer to US Thanksgiving, Christmas decorations were out on shelves.