21 Common Sounds People Grew Up Hearing All The Time, But No Longer Do Today

You'll 100% be hearing these in your head as you read along.

If you're over a certain age, then you probably have a distinct memory of what it sounded like to blow into one of your Nintendo cartridges — and while it was something you heard regularly, it's also a sound you probably haven't heard in 30-plus years.

React / Via youtube.com

Well, recently, Reddit user u/Ms_Mosa was curious about just that when they asked: "What's a sound you heard when you were young that you no longer hear?"

UMG

Of course, thousands of people chimed in to recall all the sounds they heard growing up that all but have disappeared today. Here are some of the best and most top-voted comments:

1. "The white noise sound of the TV when a channel had no reception."

@justin / Via giphy.com

—Hi_Tony

"Remember falling asleep with the TV on and waking up to that weird-colored picture with a BEEEEEEEEEEP."

—INeverSaidIWasNice

2. "The absolute obliteration coming from THX intro."

Lucasfilm

—alotofmangos

"Played a DVD yesterday for my kids 'cause my parents' internet sucks.

But, of course, my dad has the Cadillac of surround systems with a huge sub woofer behind the couch.

THX came up on the screen, and I was convinced it was another earthquake for a second."

—HumboldtChewbacca

3. "Camera flash charging sound."

Squidmediaro / Getty Images/iStockphoto

—qsdf321

"Amazing how you can instantly 'hear' a sound you've not even thought about for years, just by someone saying it. And who would have thought these sounds would be nostalgic one day. :')"

—Aching1536

4. "Sit, Ubu, sit. Good dog."

Ubu Productions

—j3tt

"I suddenly have the Family Ties closing music in my head."

—BobBelcher2021

5. "Weird waterbed sounds..."

tenor.com

—Keone_710

"We had a waterbed growing up, and I remember those weird whooshing sounds...until the bed popped. Then, I remember the squishy sound that carpet made for a long time after."

—ItsEarthDay

6. "The telephone ringing with an actual metal bell, not a recorded sound played through a speaker."

Spauln / Getty Images

—something__clever

"Or, the sound of a rotary dial."

—philote_

7. "The 'ka-chunk' of credit card imprint machines."

Science & Society Picture Librar / SSPL via Getty Images

—wallyslambanger

"A few years back, I was working at a gas station, and 'some crazy sunspot interference' (to quote my boss) knocked out all our electronics. We had to bring out the manual credit card imprinter, and it was such an eargasm moment."

—Viewbob__true

8. "In elementary school, we'd watch movies on projectors with film reels. So...the sounds of a film projector and also the white screens they'd pull down."

Bettmann / Bettmann Archive / Getty Images

—TheFrontierzman

"The 'slap-slap-slap' of the loose film end when it was done rewinding."

—Mondschatten78

9. "Dot matrix printer printing."

Supersmario / Getty Images/iStockphoto

—kingluis88

"They had these at my local library when I was a kid. It was a strangely comforting sound. They don't have 'em anymore, of course, and I miss it. That, and the Ka-CHUNK of those big mechanical stampers they used to date the sheet on the books when you checked them out. Those are gone now, too. All computerized."

—Drakmanka

10. "Dial-up connection."

AOL

—Boredchik

"BIIIIUBRRRRRDUURRRRRRTTDINGDINGDING. That is why I always snuck on the internet at night. No one calls, LMAO."

—SquishiOctopussi

11. "The instant message sound on AIM."

u/sammysuede / Via reddit.com

—ZookeepergameDue8501

"Or, that door opening sound when someone got online. Man, I’d get butterflies hoping it was my crush. Then, you’d hear that door slam, LOL."

—Alternative_Win1979

12. "VHS tapes rewinding in the VCR."

Eutoch / Getty Images/iStockphoto

—nin1332

"That mechanical whirring and clicking when you load and unload a VHS tape. I can still hear it."

—Drakmanka

13. "The invalid phone number tone."

Fox Television

—CatacombsRave

"'We're sorry, your call cannot be completed as dialed.'

Also, the sound the phone made when you left it off the hook too long."

—philote_

14. "Random pay phones ringing when you walked by."

Archive Photos / Getty Images

—TxTilly

"Also, the sound your coin made when it dropped into the phone, and the joy of hearing it drop into the coin draw if you canceled your call and got your money back."

—ABD11A

15. "The actual coins coming out of the slot machines."

Portland Press Herald / Getty Images

—Guilty_Stage_4337

"Oh, gawd yeah. I just get no charge from a printed ticket.

The ones that used real coins were the best."

—squirtloaf

16. "A manual typewriter being typed on."

NBC

—swissgoose555

"We still use one for labels at my office, and when I have a hangover, it sounds like machine gun fire."

—ShortOneSausage

17. "The sound of a packed arcade and, in particular, pinball machines. Now, I'm middle-aged, and I'm seriously eyeing a used pinball machine for my office."

Andy Ryan / Getty Images

—Wind_Yer_Neck_In

18. "The Game Boy sound."

Science & Society Picture Librar / SSPL via Getty Images

—Onelinersandblues

"All those random sounds those older gaming consoles make is why I collect them and still use them all the time. I have an old Game Boy I put a new light-up screen into, and putting a game in is just such a satisfying feeling and sound to me. So much nicer than putting a CD in or even worse, just downloading it."

—Kaze_Chan

19. "You’ve got mail!"

Warner Bros.

—OldPolishProverb

"I needed a client's wife's email today, and he was reading it to me, and when he got to the domain, he got really quiet and was like '... @aol.com', and then, he says, 'Sorry.'"

—DoctorMcAstronaut

20. "The iPhone 'slide to unlock' sound."

EverythingApplePro E A P / Via youtube.com

—VideoGenie

"I loved that sound. 🥲"

—MillyTheMoon

21. And lastly: "Waking up in the middle of the night to: 'ALL MY FRIENDS KNOW THE LOW-RIDER.'"

Warner Bros.

—idontdodrugs42069

"I think most millennials had this experience of falling asleep knowing George Lopez would wake you at 2 a.m. on full blast."

—EggplantParmmie

You can read the full thread of responses on Reddit.

Note: Some responses have been edited for length and/or clarity.