What from your childhood would be UNTHINKABLE today?

[Brazen]

Oh yeah - my mom smoked all the time, including when pregnant, and there were ashtrays in the hall in my junior school for convenience of teachers. 

Oh, smoking was allowed in smoking carriages on the underground, the top floor of the bus and on the left hand side of cinemas.

There'd be a break mid-way through films.

[Richard Hakluyt]

Oh yes, as Brazen says, I used to carry a knife at least half of the time.

The UK press was in furore recently when a survey showed that 20% of children admitted to having carried a knife. As opposed to the 99% in my day 

[Malthus]

Oh yes, as Brazen says, I used to carry a knife at least half of the time.

The UK press was in furore recently when a survey showed that 20% of children admitted to having carried a knife. As opposed to the 99% in my day 

When I was in grade 6, my dad and I built a cross-bow from plans he had from an old popular science magazine. I took it in to school to show it off, no-one batted an eye.

[Malthus]

Oh yeah - my mom smoked all the time, including when pregnant, and there were ashtrays in the hall in my junior school for convenience of teachers. 

Oh, smoking was allowed in smoking carriages on the underground, the top floor of the bus and on the left hand side of cinemas.

There'd be a break mid-way through films.

Anyone remember the ubiquitous ash-trays that used to exist outside of elevators? I saw some the other day, a relic of a bye-gone era.

[Zanza]

I would perhaps get Ritalin if I was a kid these days. I showed some symptoms of AD/HD. Thankfully that stuff didn't exist when I was a kid.

[Neil]

Oh yeah - my mom smoked all the time, including when pregnant, and there were ashtrays in the hall in my junior school for convenience of teachers. 

Oh, smoking was allowed in smoking carriages on the underground, the top floor of the bus and on the left hand side of cinemas.

There'd be a break mid-way through films.

Anyone remember the ubiquitous ash-trays that used to exist outside of elevators? I saw some the other day, a relic of a bye-gone era.

Yeah, with that light tan sand in it.

You know, the old days were far, far better than these days.

[Neil]

Oh yes, as Brazen says, I used to carry a knife at least half of the time.

The UK press was in furore recently when a survey showed that 20% of children admitted to having carried a knife. As opposed to the 99% in my day 

When I was in grade 6, my dad and I built a cross-bow from plans he had from an old popular science magazine. I took it in to school to show it off, no-one batted an eye.

I built a crossbow at school out of rulers and such.  I'd probably get expelled in this day and age.

[Richard Hakluyt]

Just remembered another one.

When I was 12/13 I got into making my own rockets. I therefore ordered potassium nitrate, sulphur and charcoal from a chemical supplies company so I could mix up my own gunpowder. The rockets were rather crap btw, got a few trivial burns for my trouble and there was a small fire once; mostly the "rockets" just fizzled around at ground level trying to burn things rather than taking off 

[Malthus]

Yeah, with that light tan sand in it.

You know, the old days were far, far better than these days.

Now that stuff is as lost in the past as bar spitoons.

[Slargos]

When I was an innocent kid in elementary school, we used to call the negro girl "the monkey" and she would laugh with us.

That shit wouldn't fly these days. Probably get you robbed by her coooouzins. Or knifed.

The only talking with negro women I get to partake of these days is, "No, I'm not interested in fucking you, no matter how cheap it is. Will you please release my arm?"

Granted, I still feel a bit embarrassed about the way we treated that poor girl. 

Not the hooker. My classmate.

[Malthus]

Just remembered another one.

When I was 12/13 I got into making my own rockets. I therefore ordered potassium nitrate, sulphur and charcoal from a chemical supplies company so I could mix up my own gunpowder. The rockets were rather crap btw, got a few trivial burns for my trouble and there was a small fire once; mostly the "rockets" just fizzled around at ground level trying to burn things rather than taking off 

Heh in grade 8 a bunch of us geeky kids were into making explosives - we tried to get our teacher to order powdered metals for us, but on reading the labels he decided not to. 

My brother was injured making fireworks in science class - for a class project.

[Malthus]

When I was an innocent kid in elementary school, we used to call the negro girl "the monkey" and she would laugh with us.

Right. 

The only talking with negro women I get to partake of these days is, "No, I'm not interested in fucking you, no matter how cheap it is. Will you please release my arm?"

This reads like you are accosting her. 

[Richard Hakluyt]

Just remembered another one.

When I was 12/13 I got into making my own rockets. I therefore ordered potassium nitrate, sulphur and charcoal from a chemical supplies company so I could mix up my own gunpowder. The rockets were rather crap btw, got a few trivial burns for my trouble and there was a small fire once; mostly the "rockets" just fizzled around at ground level trying to burn things rather than taking off 

Heh in grade 8 a bunch of us geeky kids were into making explosives - we tried to get our teacher to order powdered metals for us, but on reading the labels he decided not to. 

My brother was injured making fireworks in science class - for a class project.

Yes, indeed. This was the sort of stuff nerdy well-behaved kids got up to back in the day. It's a good job that youngsters have got computers now, otherwise the restrictions placed on them would be intolerable.

[Grey Fox]

Everything

[Slargos]

Just remembered another one.

When I was 12/13 I got into making my own rockets. I therefore ordered potassium nitrate, sulphur and charcoal from a chemical supplies company so I could mix up my own gunpowder. The rockets were rather crap btw, got a few trivial burns for my trouble and there was a small fire once; mostly the "rockets" just fizzled around at ground level trying to burn things rather than taking off 

Heh in grade 8 a bunch of us geeky kids were into making explosives - we tried to get our teacher to order powdered metals for us, but on reading the labels he decided not to. 

My brother was injured making fireworks in science class - for a class project.

We had a brief flareup of acetone peroxide production in the late 90s (when the marvels of the Interweb revealed "The Anarchist's Cookbook") until the local paint store got a notice from the police that they should stop selling to minors and to this day I still can't really understand how that summer could pass by without even one fatality.