Top 30 Things Kids Today Don't Recognize

If you grew up with these items, congrats, your childhood was awesome and/or frustrating. Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re looking at objects, places, or concepts that aren’t commonplace today and which many kids probably wouldn't recognize immediately. Our countdown of things kids today don't recognize includes Slide Projector, Manual Car Windows, Wired Video Game Controllers, TV Guides, Fax Machines/Telecopiers, and more! Do you still come across any of these kid-confusing items these days? Let us know in the comments.

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#History
#Products
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#70s
#80s
#90s
#Tech

[WatchMojo]

Do you still come across any of these kid-confusing items these days? Let us know in the comments.

[lastnamefirstname]

what hurts me more isn't that kids might not know most all things on this list, but just the amount of time that has passed since when these things were more commonly used and today.

[devingiles]

Honorable mention:
Going to an Arcade.

But seriously, kids today don't even know what the arcade is like in the 1980's and the 1990's. There are some classic games such as Galaga, Space Invaders, Pac-Man, Dig Dug, Mortal Kombat, Street Fighter II, multiple Neo Geo games, racing titles such as the Cruis'n series, rail shooters such as The House of the Dead, etc. Sure some arcades still exists in some parts of the U.S. today with the likes of Galloping Ghost Arcade in Brookfield, Illinois (near Chicago) and Funspot in Laconia, New Hampshire.

[thecunninlynguist]

i wonder what'll be unrecognizable 30 years from now for those kids' kids

[bethdibartolomeo]

It's all a matter of perspective. When I was born in the late 70s, I was in the dying days of slide projectors, mimeograph machines, the original vinyl records, 8 tracks, CB radios, rolodexes, film reel projectors, and more. I wouldn't have recognized 1920s radios, operator dialing (like PEnnsylvania 6-5000), Brylcreem, phonograph cylinders, clackers (those metal balls with string), bicycle registration, skates you lock onto your shoes, things like that.

[Stratelier]

Rotary phones are the reason we have the verb "dial" (as in "to call someone") and the term "dial tone", because in that era it was quite literal.

[AlexysB]

I'm proud to say that I lived through ALL of these! This is where all us Gen X-ers are truly blessed. This is my new favourite Watch Mojo now!!!

[trinaq]

I remember starting to watch "Friends" in the 2010's, and being confused at half of the dated 90's references, namely Pagers. It still holds up, regardless.

[abbyparker]

Not being able to pause TV and hoping you make it back before the adverts finish or getting home in time to watch a specific show 😆 also I have to say as a Brit, TV Guides are still very popular 😀

[seantlewis]

This was a journey with nostalgia. I'm glad I clicked -- and that I could!

[nuwildcat]

It would be even more interesting to give a physical map to a child unfolded, and then ask them to fold it. I doubt they would be able to fold it correctly since they may not follow the preexisting creases on it.

[bigdaddigaming]

As a 57 yo it blows my mind that we’ve moved on so far in the past 30 years or so, although they where almost obsolete when I was growing up I still remember 8 track players and cartridges, when I was a teenager I actually seeked one out for old times sake, nowadays I’m listening to all my music on my phone, I love technology from all eras

[timangie]

My grandkids are going to love this one.

[munkustrap]

You forgot clock radios. I used to love sitting there watching as #:59 turned to #:00. There was something so satisfying in seeing each number flip over at the same time.

My 2011 Hyundai Accent has hand cranks 😂. I have a huge fear of getting trapped under water in my car so it's something I love!

You're right, there's nothing as satisfying as slamming the phone down in anger on someone. Pushing a button just doesn't cut it 😂.

And btw...I'm officially old...I remember everything on this list...even the belt...though I didn't use it, my adult female members did.

[magiclantern]

The larger holes in the 7" singles was to accommodate the mechanism of a jukebox.
Many 45s came with a small hole in the middle and a perforated circle around it, which you could punch out to put it on a jukebox.

[lisagibson]

Gen X-er here and I remember getting on a plane in less than 20 minutes. That's parking, getting inside, tickets, baggage checked, security check and being seated on the mofo plane . Also you could bring nail clippers, soda, regular size shampoos, and even let your 8 year old fly solo.

[kellywall]

I woke up this morning feeling pretty good and then I watched this video. Now I feel so old. Thanks mojo for ruining my mojo 😂

[quaxo]

You know, there are still physical phones in the world. While not common in most households, most businesses and schools still have wired phones.

And Netflix does not still mail DVDs. They closed down that part of the company in September 2023.

[BlenderStudy]

Thank you for the update, WatchMojo..!! Pagers. Rich kids back in the early 90s owned a pager with alphabet characters showing. I used to have a pager that only had the numbers showing instead. I remembered codes like 0000 for 'call home', 0001 for 'call someplace', etc.. Then I used payphones to call such places as soon as possible. Speaking of payphones, the malls don't have them anymore. I learned that about 10 years ago, when I had to call home without carrying a cellphone. The mall's help desk confirmed they don't have payphones anymore, so they let me use their help desk phone instead.

[JamesDavy]

Fun fact: the number placement on rotary pulse dial phones were the reason why emergency service numbers are assigned: several countries used the farthest number from the stop three times. The UK used 999, NZ used 111 and Australia used 000. The US' FCC chose 911 in 1967 because it was unique and easy to dial and it was not in use by any telephone company at the time.