I suppose it would be mostly practical skills, cooking, fixing things. Usually had to be done by people themselves.

Maybe also mental things like navigating (with or without paper map) and remembering their daily and weekly agendas.

What other things would be a big difference with the people today?

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[–] 18 points 7 months ago (2 children)

What other things would be a big difference with the people today?

The lack of cigarette smoke everywhere, at least in the US and probably most other developed nations. In 1965, around 43% of American adults smoked. Today, just over 11% do. You no longer have to sit in the "non-smoking" section of a restaurant that still smells strongly of stale cigarettes. They no longer put ash trays or cigarette lighters in vehicles, which were a standard feature up to at least the late 90's.

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  • [–] [S] 8 points 7 months ago (2 children)

    Glad about that. I can't imagine living in that kind of environment for long

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  • [–] 1 point 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

    Glad about that. I can’t imagine living in that kind of environment for long

    It wasn't bad. One of the skills lost since then was how not to be a fussy Felix Unger bloodhound. You didn't notice it. People are much more sensitive to smells today. Between the body spray and the air fresheners, the modern world still stinks, it just stinks pretty. The other nice thing was that there was a clear distinction between places that were uptight and relaxed. Today the smell of a church and the smell of a bar are almost the same.

    Edit:

    Also, one of the skills lost today is handling fire. Back then everybody lit a match or flicked their Bic 20+ times a day. Casually, effortlessly and elegantly handling flame was a skill almost every sophisticated adult had. Today seeing a 26 year old strike a match is like watching a 6 year old strike a match in the 80s. It's very apparent in films that are period pieces when the actor is kind of terrified of the match they just clumsily struck.

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  • [–] 5 points 7 months ago (2 children)

    They no longer put [...] cigarette lighters in vehicles

    I thought they still did? Just isn't referred as "Cigarette lighter" anymore?

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  • [–] 3 points 7 months ago* (1 child)

    I've been in 3 different people's cars that didn't even have the cigarette lighter hole, and I believe they stopped including the actual lighter in cars before they switched to just having USB outlets in cars

    EDIT: The cars were 2015, 2020, and 2021 models. My old 2004 had the cigarette outlet

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