Weird things people were concerned about when you were young

[Lance Uppercut]

That people don’t seem to talk about anymore?

I mean,

Elvis. What’s the deal with the “is he still alive?” Conspiracies? When did people officially give up and everyone agreed he was dead?

The Bermuda Triangle. Damn I saw so many A current affair type shows that creeps me out as kid.

I’m amazed by the outrage for Magic the gathering and Harry Potter back then. Did you learn nothing from the scare fever of Dungeons and dragons? I didn’t even know what that was until the Comminity episode (and then later everyone Big Bang theory) and I was like “that’s it? Imaginary role playing with Dice and book?!” How do kids grow up in this dumb panic grow to adults as dumb as their parents were?

[thirteen3]

Bigfootmania died when cellphone cameras went HD.

[Hit Girl]

Child's Play 3

[bibboid]

When I was a kid, our schools had given up on “Duck and Cover” drills but I still learned to identify where the nearest civil defense shelters were, how fast I could get to each of them, and where to shelter in my house if I couldn’t get to them in time after the Soviet Union started launching nuclear missiles at us.

[BlackoutCreature]

The growth of the internet over the last few decades has led to a massive influx of available knowledge about many subjects. While there have been many negative consequences to this, notably on the political front, it has also allowed a lot of clarity and rational thought on many subjects as well. For example, many, if not all, of the disappearances and mysteries of the Bermuda Triangle can now be explained through rational analysis and real evidence, with the more salacious claims and rumors easily debunked as either fraud or misinterpretations. Something like that is not going to get the traction it used to when every weird claim about it can be disproved with a thirty second Google search.

Back on topic, I remember ticks and Lyme Disease being a big topic of discussion when I was a kid. My Mother was constantly worried about it to the point where she had me scared to death to even go outside in case I suddenly dropped dead from a random bug bite. Nowadays people seem to be a big more passive about the subject. Or maybe my Mom was just a crackpot. Or probably both.

[Fade]

Weed.

Violent video games

Religious indoctrination & conversely the influence of “satanism” or “dark” figures.

I was personally very concerned about the Bermuda Triangle, spontaneous human combustion, and Nostradamus’s predictions. So I guess the lesson is relax and b happy

[Mid-Carder]

Y2K

[Feyrhausen]

I mean Elvis would probably be dead by now anyway.

Like Blackout mentioned the internet allows all kinds of research. You can look at the Bermuda Triangle numbers and see the amount of strange incidents are normal for such a heavily trafficked area.

Yet with this wealth of knowledge we have more willful ignorance than ever before. Flat Earth anyone?

[El Pollo Guerrera]

Jul 9, 2023 16:35:10 GMT -5 thirteen3 said:

Bigfootmania died when cellphone cameras went HD.

Y'know, it seems like there was a drop in UFO sightings once cell phones got better cameras.

I remember reading about people having incredibly descriptive sightings... stuff like "the flying saucer had circling lights and two rows of windows and you could see humanoid shapes staring out the windows". Now you just get an odd shape or a weird light in the distance.

[Cranjis McBasketball]

Jul 9, 2023 17:36:19 GMT -5 El Pollo Guerrera said:

Jul 9, 2023 16:35:10 GMT -5 thirteen3 said:

Bigfootmania died when cellphone cameras went HD.

Y'know, it seems like there was a drop in UFO sightings once cell phones got better cameras.

I remember reading about people having incredibly descriptive sightings... stuff like "the flying saucer had circling lights and two rows of windows and you could see humanoid shapes staring out the windows". Now you just get an odd shape or a weird light in the distance.

Now you're a guy who has never read what has been happening on r/UFO the last month or so. They're more convinced than ever.

Also, there hasn't been an alien movie lately. Whenever a movie comes out with aliens, abductions skyrocket and the aliens and their ship look exactly like the movies. It's been true since the first time someone described a flying saucer and the little green man flying it.

[willywonka666]

Jul 9, 2023 16:35:10 GMT -5 thirteen3 said:

Bigfootmania died when cellphone cameras went HD.

It's still very much a thing here in Kentucky oddly enough

[Sephiroth]

That Mountain Dew lowered sperm counts

[Zombie Mod]

Jul 9, 2023 17:30:10 GMT -5 Feyrhausen said:

I mean Elvis would probably be dead by now anyway.

at least he took out that evil soul sucking mummy before he went.

[thechase]

Everything that ended up on the X-Files

[Push R Truth]

I'm surprised that quicksand hasn't slaughtered all of us by now.

Similar to the Elvis stuff but with a dose of extra conspiracy sauce: all the "HITLER IS ALIVE AND IN ARGENTINA" stuff kinda went quiet once he would have been about 90something.

[wildojinx]

How about teachers and parents warning about people giving out LSD-laced "tatoos" outside schools?

[Futureraven: Beelzebruv]

Rattlesnakes have proved less of a threat in my life than kids TV shows made them seem, so far at least.

[wildojinx]

Jul 10, 2023 8:49:41 GMT -5 Futureraven: Beelzebruv said:

Rattlesnakes have proved less of a threat in my life than kids TV shows made them seem, so far at least.

Speaking of "dangerous" animals, Pit Bulls and Rottweilers were demonized when I was a kid in the 80s/90s, which is unfortunate as they are perfectly fine dogs. It's the people who raise them as guard dogs, or worse, fighting dogs that are the real problem.

[willywonka666]

Quicksand, apparently

[MiLB Fan]

Remember when Starter hats and jackets were a big thing? Parents were afraid that if their kid wore the apparel to school, it would get stolen. I even heard about some who wrote their kid’s name on the inside of the clothing.

I never heard of this happening with any other clothing brand.