Before the '90s and the advancement of technology, a lot of people had a ~unique~ set of skills to help them get through the day — for example: remembering phone numbers.
So, when Reddit user u/motivetodayyasked: "People born before 1990, what trivial skill do you possess that no one uses anymore?" I thought it would be great to "go back in time" to reminisce on some of these skills. Here's a list of them below:
1."I can cover a textbook with a brown paper bag."
2."I can unknot curly telephone wire and get all the curls facing the right way and behaving themselves."
3."Giving the television a karate chop to fix reception."
4."Remembering phone numbers."
5."The ability to make and count out change for a purchase."
6."My family gets mad at me for using MS Paint instead of Photoshop."
7."Crash-starting a manual car by rolling down a hill in second gear with the ignition on, then popping the clutch — cars were not so reliable back in the day!"
8."Making paper fortune tellers."
9."Texting with 10 keys. I still have it all memorized and could pick up a flip phone and send paragraphs if needed."
10."Downloading music using p2p software that isn't Usenet or BitTorrent (Kazaa, LimeWire, FrostWire, BearShare, etc.)."
11."I still know how to set up a VCR to record a television program in advance."
12."Being able to get the sharpest reception for the TV channel you're watching by turning the giant dial on the top of the television that rotates the ginormous antenna on the roof."
13."I write in cursive — does that count?"
14."Using your shoulder to hold a telephone up to your ear while doing multiple other things at once. Now, the phones are so damned small that I drop them."
15."Using the Dewey Decimal System at the library."
16."I outright destroyed Super Mario Brothers in almost no time flat very recently on the Nintendo Switch after not having played it for probably 30 years. I did it totally from memory on just the second run-through. I even hit the multiple 1-up glitch on World 3–1. My kids thought I was a god (for just a few minutes)."
17."Record to tape from the radio. Trying to make sure to not get the DJ/presenter talking shit or an ad."
18."I can re-fold a map correctly."
19."I can develop and process photographic film and enlarge prints in a darkroom."
Do you have a trivial skill you learned before the '90s that wasn't listed above? If so, tell us what it is in the comments below:
