Cripes, grandma ain't that old after all!

[Beemer]

HOW OLD IS GRANDMA???

Stay with this -- the answer is at the end -- it will blow you away.

One evening a Grandson was talking to his Grandmother, about current events. The Grandson asked his Grandmother, what she thought about the shootings at schools, the computer age, and just things in general???

"The Grandma replied, Well, let me think a minute, I was born before,"

television,

penicillin,

polio shots,

frozen foods,

Xerox,

contact lenses,

Frisbees and

the pill.

There was no:

radar,

credit cards,

laser beams or

ball-point pens.

Man had not invented:

pantyhose,

air conditioners,

dishwashers,

clothes dryers, and

man hadn't yet walked on the moon.


Your Grandfather and I got married first-and then lived together.

Every family had a Father and a Mother.

Until I was 25, I called every man older than I, 'Sir.'

And after I turned 25, I still called policemen and every man

with a title, "Sir.'

We were before,

gay-rights,

computer-dating,

dual careers,

daycare centres and,

group therapy.

Our lives were governed by the Ten Commandments,

good judgment, and common sense.

We were taught to know the difference between right and wrong,

and to stand up and take responsibility for our actions.

Serving your country was a privilege;

Living in this country was a bigger privilege.

We thought fast food was what people ate during Lent.

Having a meaningful relationship meant, getting along with your cousins.

Draft dodgers were people who closed their front doors, when the evening breeze started.

Time-sharing meant, time the family spent together in the evenings and weekends, not purchasing condominiums.

We had never heard of ,

FM radios,

tape decks,

CDs,

electric typewriters,

yogurt or,

guys wearing earrings.

We listened to the Big Bands, Jack Benny, and the President's speeches on our radios.

And I don't ever remember any kid blowing his brains out, listening to Tommy Dorsey.

If you saw anything with 'Made in Japan ' on it, it was junk.

The term 'making out,' referred to how you did on your school exam.

Pizza Hut, McDonald's and, Instant Coffee were unheard of.

We had 5 & 10-cent stores, where you could actually buy things
for 5 and 10 cents.

Ice-cream cones, phone calls, rides on a streetcar, a cup of

coffee and, a Coke, were all a Nickel.

And if you didn't want to splurge, you could spend your nickel,

on enough stamps to mail 1 letter and 2 postcards.

You could buy a new Chevy Coupe for $600,

But who could afford one???

Too bad, because gas was 11 cents a gallon.

In my day:

"grass" was mowed,

"coke" was a cold drink,

"pot" was something your mother cooked in and

"rock music" was your grandmother's lullaby.

"Aids" were helpers in the Principal's office,

" chip" meant a piece of wood,

"hardware" was found in a hardware store and

"software" wasn't even a word.

And we were the last generation, to actually believe that a lady needed a husband to have a baby.

No wonder people call us "Old and Confused,"

And say there is a Generation Gap...

And How Old Do You Think I Am???

I bet you have this old lady in mind...You are in for a shock!!!

Read on to see --

Pretty scary if you think about it and pretty sad at the same time.



This woman would be only 58 years old!

[Indiana_Jones]

I'm pretty sure penicillin was around before she would of been born (if she was 58 in 2006)

But yea, shit the little things aye

-Indy

[Jantar]

I think she would have to be a bit older than 58.

Television transmitted by wire was invented by John Baird in 1923, and in 1930, Charles Jenkins broadcasts the first TV commercial. The BBC begins regular TV transmissions.

Robert Watson-Watt invented the radar between 1935 and 1938, and went into miltary production in 1939.

Sir Alexander Fleming invented penicillin in 1928 and it went into medical use in 1940.


I would therefore suspect that the Grandma would be at least 66 years old, and more likely 76 years old.

[Beemer]

I was thinking radar was around during the war too, was going to do a search but forgot! Maybe it means these things weren't widely available to the general public or something. It does make you think though, I've got a few years to go before I'm 58 but there are heaps of things around today that I didn't have when I was growing up - look at how many people have mobile phones, digital cameras and computers nowadays - when I was at school we had electric typewriters and adding machines and we thought we were cool!

Edit - just did a search and found the following:

The first practical radar system was invented in 1935 by the Scotish physicist Sir Robert Alexander Watson-Watt.

Penicillin was discovered by Alexander Fleming in 1928. Andrew Moyer patented the first method of industrial production of penicillin in 1948.

Edit again - Jantar beat me to it! Looks like the Yanks who came up with this either weren't very good with dates or only counted things as being in use once EVERYONE could have one!

[Motu]

Yep,that's me...'cept for the 58 part....

When we had our first daughter my mother was agahst at us having a homebirth and breastfeeding our baby - but my grandmother backed us up - ''I had your father born at home,and all your aunts and uncles too,and they were all breastfed too''.How much had changed in just one generation - it was a whole new world after the 2nd WW for new families starting out,they had so much more than their parents and took to technology like ducks to water.I think that generation changed the world much more than their offspring,us baby boomers.

[Macktheknife]

I would therefore suspect that the Grandma would be at least 66 years old, and more likely 76 years old.

That sounds a bit more accurate, still a lot has changed in a relatively short time. My grandmother told me about how she was so impressed when ball-point pens were introduced!
She also mentioned how silk stockings were much more comfortable than 'nylons', and how people said television would never really take off. damn.

[Motu]

It covers a wide range of years,and after all we had early years ranging from when we were born to mid teens.It's obviously from an American perspective - everything on the internet is.We never got TV here until the early '60's,you didn't get Chev Coupes after 1948,split that and I reckon we are talking mid '50's here,say she was 8 to remember this stuff - 58 is a pretty reasonable figure.

[MattRSK]

Ah the good old days.

[Sketchy_Racer]

Ah the good old days.

Ok grandad

[MattRSK]

Its kids like you.......zzzzzzzzzzz....what was I saying?

[paturoa]

As a kid I remember talking to my Grandfather (Pop) and he told me about seeing his first car and his first plane. There were no phones, no power, dirt roads and only horses for transport.

He was born in 1898 and got shot at Passchendale in WW1.

I don't remember him saying when he saw his first bike.

One I do remember, around transport was as a kid he used to deliver the bread from the local bakery. The horse drawn cart he shared was with the dunny cart man!

[Edbear]

Yup! When I was a youngster we had battery powered crank handled telephones and "party lines". A modern car was a late fifties and few could afford one! BSA and AJS and Matchless 500's were the best you could get and when the 650 Bonnie arrived, well anyone who could afford one of those could write their own ticket!
We learnt to write in ink using dip-pens and inkwells and when the Ball point pen was invented it was banned from the classroom as it wasn't a "proper writing instrument"!
If you were rich enough to have a radio in your car you would turn it on and wait for it to warm up as it was a valve radio. Transistor radio's were the bees knees when they came out.
We made our own ice-cream in the churn as well as butter and cream. We fed out the hay with a sled and pitchfork behind the 1/2 draught horse! Dad milked by hand and was a farrier and a butcher. Mum killed the chickens by chopping their heads off on the block then expected us to chase and catch them!
I had my tonsils out in the local Dr's rooms under Ether anaesthetic administered through that horrid mask! Was sick for a week afterwards!
Oh I could ramble on! Oh, sorry, I have... Ah, those were the days...

[smokeyging]

I remember reading this 20 odd years ago, it has however been updated a little for it mentions 'CDs'.