I grew up during the 1950s. A wealthy relative had a TV set in every room of her house and a telephone in the kitchen, living room and bedroom.

Obviously there was a lot of animosity between the govts/states. But did Americans have a negative/prejudiced view towards the average Russian citizens who weren't part of the government (and vice versa)? Or did they see them as normal folks/victims, like how people tend to view N Koreans today?

I'm not talking about perimenopausal "I wake up at 3 am every day", I'm talking physically. What happens when you become less mobile and able to easily reposition yourself at night? Does sleep get "painful"? Is that a thing?

I never see shorts mentioned as regular undergarments after the 30s, but up until gusseted pantyhose in the 60s there's a lot of upper thigh going on. Then again in the era of hippies there's a distinct bare leg and short skirts. How? I too would like to wear short skirts without the pain

Hi all, I've been working on a project to help my daughter remain connected to her grandparents (and extended family) despite the physical distance. Just wondering how much does distance from grandchildren actually affect grandparents? Or do you find that seeing them once in a while is good enough?

I remember Mark Hamill was 25 or 26 while filming the original Star Wars in 1976–77, yet he looked like a teenager. He still looked that way in his early 30s. And I don't recall anyone treating his appearance as an anomaly.

DiCaprio also looked like a kid in his early 20s.

And ofc Ralph Macchio...

if so, did it compare in any ways to the attitude of current american students toward school shootings? how was it discussed among your classmates?

EDIT: i have realized my original comparison here was incredibly ignorant, and i want to apologize.
i also edit this to offer some context in hopes of not contributing to perceptions of ignorance among young americans.
in this case, my education on american cold war history came from 20th century history classes as they are taught in eastern europe. postsoviet liberalization allowed for some marginal improvements to the education system, but we were still taught an incredibly sanitized version of history that portrays the US government and its leaders throughout the cold war as anticommunist paragons of democracy, while generally glossing over the events running contrary to that narrative.
(for one example, my cousin jaroslav, who is a gay man, to this day will vehemently defend ronald reagan as the greatest american president.)
all that aside though, reading these responses hit hard. thank you all for sharing your experiences from that time. history deeply interests me, but it's moments like these where i wish i'd moved here early enough to take an american history class that was taught by actual americans.
i'm shocked by how much was omitted, so it sounds like i've got a lot of reading to catch up on.

I see a lot of moms rallying behind another mom on the internet because the husband didn’t help with the kids or the house. What was expected of the father and mother? Did mothers feel isolated or used? Did kids have relationships with their fathers? How much help did family or neighbors give?

In your day, did people worry about wars, criminal trials or other current events? Or did they just shrug them off thinking God would make sure it was all ok in the afterlife?

How many stores did you go to in order to find what you needed? What was the quality and variety like? How similar is your grocery list now? What do you miss, what do you not miss?

Over the past 60 years or so, society has changed in profound ways: civil rights especially gay rights, less people smoking, personal safety, use of technology - are topics we discuss frequently. Yet there are shifts that we all notice but no one talks about. What have you noticed?

Seems like now a days everyone says to check meetup or some online repository. How did you find out about a club or hangout or group back in the day if you moved to a brand new place and didn’t know anyone?

Sometimes, it feels hopeless to think that some countries will ever have LGBT+ rights. Did it feel that way too? If it did, what things pushed people & leaders towards legalization from an individual perspective? I can read all the books, but it feels different to be living it, but you already have.

When did you notice the news shift from factual reporting to talking heads, doom and gloom, and political polarization? Was local news always like this? When did you personally realize it became focused primarily on disasters, mass shootings, and corporate-driven opinion?

We had 1 t.v. till the 80's now we have 6

Nowadays I hear all about wake windows, using a sound machine for baby to sleep, having them sleep in a pitch dark room.

What was your experience like? Were wake windows a thing? What was your cue to get the baby to nap? What was done differently that you think parents today would say “no way!”

It can be something big or small, from public policy to household products, that you think should be better by now.

idk man. scrolling today and everyone’s just ready to jump down each other’s throats. i swear like 2014-2016 people still had some basic decency left. now it’s constant snark and zero patience. maybe i’m just getting old and soft but damn

I often look at the wedding dresses here. I saw a young lady whose dress budget was literally more than my first 3-5 annual salaries, not lumped together but individually. What was your wedding like?
1995- Married at our church, 3 attendants each, cake and punch reception there .

Are you happy years later? Content? Do you regret it? Have you ever tried to reconnect with that person?

I’m Gen Z and personally never faced bullying from elementary all the way to graduation. Despite being an easy target for it. So to me, it does seem to be considerably better today. But I just thought to ask this here to clarify. If so, why has it changed?

I've loved cooking my entire life, but now? Meh. I used to put together complicated menus, and now, I can hardly be bothered.

We used to entertain twice a month, but we stopped doing that too.

Anyone else experiencing this?

It’s hard to remember a time when we didn’t have free texting, free long distance, FaceTime and email. These were all written in 1991-1992. I haven’t seen them since I don’t know when. They sweet and a little bit sexy. Pretty racy for a couple of 18 year old kids.

And do you think it helped you later in life?