15 Things 1980s College Students Did That Would Baffle Kids Today

[IceWizard]

Can you relate? Class of ‘85, meet Intel’s 2015
class of tablets and 2 in 1s

1. Owning a 30-pound desktop that’s larger than your desk.
(Is that a computer? Geek-o-rama!)

2. Fixing typos on your thesis paper using correction tape or whiteout.
(One missing word usually meant you had to
retype everything.)

3. Taking a selfie, then dropping it off at
the film lab.
(Or developing it yourself in the darkroom.)

4. Talking on a corded phone within earshot of all your roommates.
(There was no privacy, like, ever.)

5. Looking up numbers and addresses in the phone book…
(Sometimes you’d look for your own name out of sheer boredom.)

6. …or, worse, dialing 4-1-1 at a grody pay
phone.
(That’s why you always carried spare change.)

7. Pulling pranks under some of the most
unfortunate fashion trends.
(Trolling your dormmates was always IRL.)

8. Renting movies from the off-campus video store…
(Which sometimes didn’t have the movie you
wanted.)

9. …and rewinding the tape when the last
airhead didn’t even bother.
(Like, be kind, rewind, OK?)

10. Waiting for the library to open so you could start your research paper…
(Where else could you find microfiche machines?)

11. …and waiting even longer when someone else was using the encyclopedia volume you needed.
(The original search engines.)

12. Spending quarters at the arcade in
between classes…
(Where most of your laundry money went.)

13. …but saving just enough coins to grab a 62¢ hamburger from the dining hall.
(Reminder: Phone home to ask Mom to send
more cash.)

14. Adjusting the gigantic rabbit-ear antenna on your TV set.
(Only to lose reception as soon as you sat on the couch.)

15. And, finally, sniffing the exams that came fresh out of the mimeograph machine.
(Careful not to smear the ink.)


The roommates were rad. The calculator watch: not so much. Graduate to 2015 with Intel-powered tablets and 2 in 1s.

And this my friends were the good 'ole days!