Things as a child you thought would be more of a thing
Discussion
Child of the 70's here, currently early / mid 50's.
When I was young, I thought many things would be much more significant in adult life than they actually turned out to be.
These include:
Space travel, especially in a Space 1999 context (I still think the Eagle spacecraft have never been bettered)
Volcanos
Tidal waves (as we used to call them back then)
Sharks
Lava
Lasers
Piranha fish
Asteroids
Killer bees
Skyscrapers
Quicksand
Really really fast trains
Monorails
Submarines
Time travel
That the thunderbirds would become a reality.
Does anyone else care to share theirs? I've put up some headliner type stuff, mainly as a result of the plethora of 70's disaster, James Bond films and films / TV in general, but will try and think of more mundane things.
The only thing I can think of that has wildly exceeded expectations are consumer electronics; phones, computers, gadgets. As, say, an eight year old, if I had a glimpse of the future, it would almost be unbelievable.
When I was young, I thought many things would be much more significant in adult life than they actually turned out to be.
These include:
Space travel, especially in a Space 1999 context (I still think the Eagle spacecraft have never been bettered)
Volcanos
Tidal waves (as we used to call them back then)
Sharks
Lava
Lasers
Piranha fish
Asteroids
Killer bees
Skyscrapers
Quicksand
Really really fast trains
Monorails
Submarines
Time travel
That the thunderbirds would become a reality.
Does anyone else care to share theirs? I've put up some headliner type stuff, mainly as a result of the plethora of 70's disaster, James Bond films and films / TV in general, but will try and think of more mundane things.
The only thing I can think of that has wildly exceeded expectations are consumer electronics; phones, computers, gadgets. As, say, an eight year old, if I had a glimpse of the future, it would almost be unbelievable.
Back then we were being asked to worry about the Cold War turning into a nuclear conflict, followed by nuclear winter.
Overpopulation.
Pollution.
Oil running out by 2000.
Etc, etc
Great that we aren’t fed a load of crap like that to worry about these days eh?
Oh, and I expected that I’d be taking Pan Am flights to space stations like Heywood Floyd in 2001.
Overpopulation.
Pollution.
Oil running out by 2000.
Etc, etc
Great that we aren’t fed a load of crap like that to worry about these days eh?
Oh, and I expected that I’d be taking Pan Am flights to space stations like Heywood Floyd in 2001.
swisstoni said:
Back then we were being asked to worry about the Cold War turning into a nuclear conflict, followed by nuclear winter.
I was convinced this was going to happen, not helped by watching Threads, The Day After, reading when the wind blows and borrowing all the Protect and Survive books from the library.To this day, the music from the protect and survive videos is pretty much the most terrifying sound I have ever heard.
Joey Deacon said:
swisstoni said:
Back then we were being asked to worry about the Cold War turning into a nuclear conflict, followed by nuclear winter.
I was convinced this was going to happen, not helped by watching Threads, The Day After, reading when the wind blows and borrowing all the Protect and Survive books from the library.To this day, the music from the protect and survive videos is pretty much the most terrifying sound I have ever heard.
I thought that the Common Market (EU) would be more successful.
I thought that we'd have landed on Mars years ago, given the spin off benefits of the moon landing/space race.
I stupidly thought politicians may maintain a modicum of integrity. Police too (a tiny minority spoiling it for all the good ones).
I never thought nurses would strike.
I never thought I'd suffer from stress (I've been well for many years now, thanks).
I never thought I'd own a properly fast car.
I never thought I'd see Crystal Palace spend ten years in the top division.
I never imagined that my kids wouldn't want to know me
Thankfully one still does
Apologies for more negatives than positives, but I never realised why old people are so cynical until I became one....
I thought that we'd have landed on Mars years ago, given the spin off benefits of the moon landing/space race.
I stupidly thought politicians may maintain a modicum of integrity. Police too (a tiny minority spoiling it for all the good ones).
I never thought nurses would strike.
I never thought I'd suffer from stress (I've been well for many years now, thanks).
I never thought I'd own a properly fast car.
I never thought I'd see Crystal Palace spend ten years in the top division.
I never imagined that my kids wouldn't want to know me
Thankfully one still does Apologies for more negatives than positives, but I never realised why old people are so cynical until I became one....
We actually had a conversation yesterday about quicksand, and how as 70s kids we bizarrely lived in fear of it. I asked my 19 year old daughter if she had ever worried about being trapped in quicksand, and she said it was a thing when she was 10 or 11 but not hugely. I am still not convinced post millennials have a fear of quicksand though.
robsa said:
We actually had a conversation yesterday about quicksand, and how as 70s kids we bizarrely lived in fear of it. I asked my 19 year old daughter if she had ever worried about being trapped in quicksand, and she said it was a thing when she was 10 or 11 but not hugely. I am still not convinced post millennials have a fear of quicksand though.
Depending when you define millennials it was definitely a thing when I was a kid (40 today).Jurassic Park, convinced that would be a reality by now. 10 when that came out.
ChocolateFrog said:
robsa said:
We actually had a conversation yesterday about quicksand, and how as 70s kids we bizarrely lived in fear of it. I asked my 19 year old daughter if she had ever worried about being trapped in quicksand, and she said it was a thing when she was 10 or 11 but not hugely. I am still not convinced post millennials have a fear of quicksand though.
Depending when you define millennials it was definitely a thing when I was a kid (40 today).Jurassic Park, convinced that would be a reality by now. 10 when that came out.
Definitely it was a huge thing on TV in the 70s though! I did get stuck in a bog once as a kid, but only just above my ankles in my welly boots, hardly the horrors of quicksand that the Hound of the Baskervilles had suggested may happen
I guess I thought (naively) that things would just keep on getting better.
Life expectancy, easily over 100 by now.
Jobs and pensions, while some things have got better not being a minority most of them don't apply and let's face it pensions are almost universally worse.
Housing, no chance could I afford the house I grew up in.
Retirement. Mum should have retired at 60 but was shafted being born in 57, dad retired at 55, again no chance.
The NHS, yes they treat a few more ailments these days but you'll have to wait 18 months. Dad was a GP and did thousands of home visits, doubt one qualified in the last decade will ever do a house visit.
Best try and thing of something positive, cars are generally better in every way unless you care about how they look and sound.
Life expectancy, easily over 100 by now.
Jobs and pensions, while some things have got better not being a minority most of them don't apply and let's face it pensions are almost universally worse.
Housing, no chance could I afford the house I grew up in.
Retirement. Mum should have retired at 60 but was shafted being born in 57, dad retired at 55, again no chance.
The NHS, yes they treat a few more ailments these days but you'll have to wait 18 months. Dad was a GP and did thousands of home visits, doubt one qualified in the last decade will ever do a house visit.
Best try and thing of something positive, cars are generally better in every way unless you care about how they look and sound.
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