"They Were Literal Death Traps": People Are Exposing The Most "Jaw-Droppingly Inappropriate" Things Everyone Just Blindly Accepted In The '80s

Although galore Gen Z'ers are each astir surviving successful the present, I emotion learning astir the outdated trends and habits that were fashionable earlier I was born. Especially the much shocking ones — the fads that everyone thought would past forever, but really aged similar milk.

So we asked the Gen X'ers of the BuzzFeed Community to stock the trends that were erstwhile considered "timeless," but wholly faded into oblivion — and the answers are beauteous shocking arsenic a youngin myself. Here's what they said:

1. "When I worked astatine a large tech institution successful the precocious '80s and aboriginal '90s, each the employees did cocaine together, smoked pot, and partied. We had large parties astatine enactment connected a regular basis. My archetypal time astatine the institution was Halloween — erstwhile I got to the office, everyone was wearing costumes, and determination were kegs of brew and a stone set successful the parking lot. The institution had aggregate buildings, and determination were aggregate parties. I astir apt couldn't fume a vessel with my brag and coworkers successful this time and age."

—crispyjaguar243

2. "Tree forts. They were full decease traps, 10–20 feet successful the air. If you didn't interruption oregon sprain an ankle, past you were fortunate to flight with a tetanus changeable and dozens of splinters. Six nails, immoderate discarded plywood, and 2-by-4 pieces of wood were beauteous sturdy backmost successful the day."

—Anonymous, 44, California

3. "When I was a kid, my dada utilized to fto maine thrust the past spot location aft getting disconnected the highway. I was excessively abbreviated to scope the pedals, truthful I conscionable sat connected his thigh and steered portion helium operated the pedals! It was 1 my favourite things to bash with him! I'm not definite that would beryllium acceptable these days, but honestly, my ma didn't similar it overmuch backmost then, either. It was truthful overmuch fun!"

—Anonymous

4. "I was the people of 1986, and fto maine archer you, precocious schools backmost past were wholly antithetic animals! Once, successful English class, we had to bash a code from a Shakespeare play. When it was my turn, I brought successful 1 of my swords from location to usage arsenic a prop. It was a existent sword. No 1 batted an oculus arsenic I walked down the hallway mode with it successful its scabbard."

—majorh

5. "I don't cognize if this is simply a inclination oregon a habit, but I retrieve successful the aboriginal '80s erstwhile I was a teen — I was astir 15 oregon 16 — my friends and I would inquire idiosyncratic who was going into the liquor store to get strawberry vino oregon pome vino for us. They ever said yes! It's truthful illegal, and I don't deliberation this would alert now! LOL!"

—Anonymous, 60, Florida

6. "I utilized to locomotion to the store by myself arsenic a kid to prime up my dad's cigarettes oregon chewing tobacco. Then, they added an property limit. Back then, smokes were little than $1."

—Anonymous, 55, Indiana

7. "Going to big movie theatres. If you don't cognize what that is, they were theatres that specifically showed porn films, oregon astatine slightest highly graphic intersexual movies. But now, everything is online. Weird to deliberation astir radical watching porn successful a country afloat of radical now."

—Anonymous, 48, Florida

8. "We utilized to spell to friends' houses arsenic a kid unannounced, and basal outside, calling their sanction until they came retired to play. I'd shriek 'Charrrrrlotte, Charrrrlotte,' successful a sing-songy voice, implicit and over. Oh, and also, we utilized to really outcry 'trick oregon treat!' astatine each location we visited connected Halloween. Now, the kids conscionable sound oregon ringing the bell."

—Anonymous, 59

"Simply knocking connected your friend's doorway and asking if they tin travel retired to play!"

—Anonymous, 59, Phoenix

9. "It's hard to picture, but determination utilized to beryllium cigaret fume everywhere, including restaurants and precocious schools. The aerial contamination was ridiculous, particularly successful confederate California, and nary 1 thought doubly astir it. There were besides cars with nary seatbelts, and much radical driving drunk. I could spell on, but the constituent is, beingness is amended today."

—officialmagician684

10. "Pantsing someone. Oh my god, it was truthful popular, and it's absurd to deliberation astir now. I person a representation seared into my encephalon pursuing an unfortunate pantsing astatine my simple school, and it was mortifying. I anticipation it stays retired of vogue forever."

—furrytoaster91

11. "Camcorders! Everyone who was anyone would transportation camcorders astatine sporting events, parks, and tourer attractions. The bigger and much awkward, the better! This would beryllium considered ace unusual today. But determination was thing similar having a bully time, trying to seizure thing that could beryllium submitted to America's Funniest Home Videos."

—Anonymous, 58, Texas

12. "Before compartment phones, radical utilized to 'pop in.' If you were retired moving errands and were passing by your friend's house, you would halt by and spot if thing was new. There were galore different reasons and occasions, but successful general, it was nary large woody if you stopped by someone's location unannounced. Nowadays, radical freak retired if you amusement up unannounced. They instantly deliberation thing is wrong."

—Anonymous, 40, Michigan

13. "Before existent remotes were a thing, parents would delegate a kid to beryllium the 'remote' for them, and your occupation was to really get up and power the channels truthful they didn't person to, whenever they wanted. When you were 'remote' for your parents, you'd conscionable power betwixt 4 channels, and past determine what amusement was the champion retired of the constricted options."

—Anonymous, 44, Kentucky

14. "Back successful the day, it was communal to get into an epic carnal combat with different kid successful the neighbourhood, and 2 days later, you'd hide each astir it and beryllium friends for life. It was nary large deal."

—Anonymous, Pennsylvania, 46

15. "I retrieve erstwhile existent achromatic interior tubes from utilized tires were utilized for floating successful a water oregon river. This was successful the '80s, earlier dedicated tubes were made for that, I guess? It conscionable truly sticks successful my caput from that time!"

—Anonymous

16. "We utilized to person a batch of amusive with payphones. We'd punch successful the 'secret' codification to a payphone to marque it ringing by itself, past hold for immoderate unsuspecting passerby to reply it. So galore payphone pranks you conscionable can't bash today."

—Anonymous, 42, Pennsylvania

17. "I'm a boomer, and I person to say, the bully ol' days of the 20th period were NOT really that good. There was precocious crime, precocious involvement rates, inflation, and plentifulness of societal injustice. Many things are amended today. Sure, determination is ever country for improvement, and each epoch has its issues, but beingness contiguous is amended successful galore ways that boomers neglect to recognize."

—sweetpuppy746

18. "It's ever bully to spot chap older radical talking astir however they've been moving since they were kids, due to the fact that it's truthful antithetic nowadays. I ever get the eye-roll from my girl erstwhile I punctual her that I've worked since I was 7. It seems comic now, but babysitting, insubstantial routes, and stringing achromatic puka ammunition necklaces for shopkeepers for other currency was a beauteous communal happening for kids to bash backmost then."

—bridget1234

19. "Car phones — they were built-in phones that lived wrong your car, and you could usage them portion you drove. My friends thought I was SO COOL having 1 successful my car."

—Anonymous, 56, Nebraska

20. "We utilized to devour crockery with our bare hands, adjacent successful restaurants. We cupped our hands to portion it. Nowadays, everyone uses spoons. Back then, restaurants didn't adjacent supply spoons. My ma didn't get america spoons until I went to college. No 1 talks astir the aged pre-spoon days. I don't miss them! I've ever adopted caller technology, adjacent successful my 50s."

—Anonymous, 56

21. "People would usage a Thomas Guide — AKA a elaborate publication of thoroughfare maps — to find their mode from wherever they were to wherever you needed to be! Everyone had 1 successful their car. Now, effort doing that successful an ambulance, with afloat lights and sirens! It makes my hairsbreadth basal up conscionable reasoning astir it!"

—Anonymous, 59, San Diego

22. "Our childhoods were defined by spending clip successful our bedrooms WITHOUT a screen, which is unheard of now! I didn't get a TV successful my country until I was 18, and I tin present truly admit the clip I learned to bask my ain company. It's a accomplishment galore kids nowadays don't have."

—Anonymous

23. "People utilized to 'just spell for a drive' — sometimes to look astatine houses successful the costly neighborhoods, and sometimes to locomotion a section beach. Regardless, a bully thrust meant stopping astatine Dairy Queen for a chocolate-dipped cone. Those were the days."

—Anonymous, 77, Washington State

24. "High schoolhouse seniors utilized to beryllium capable to permission field for luncheon successful their cars. There were hardly immoderate rules, and determination was truthful overmuch freedom. And erstwhile they came back, nary 1 knew wherever they'd been."

—Anonymous

25. "Going to a performance utilized to beryllium easy, cheap, and fun. You'd conscionable inquire your ma to instrumentality you and 4 friends, and the full happening outgo little than $50.

—Anonymous, 55, San Francisco

26. "As a teenager, it utilized to beryllium each good and mean to enactment similar implicit hooligans, but you'd ne'er getting arrested. If you ever got 'caught' by an big oregon the police, you'd conscionable get spoken to and sent home."

—Anonymous, 47, New York

27. "The quality trends surely haven't aged good — radical had large hair, and they wore agleam reddish lipstick and French nails. Also, determination was gaudy jewelry, enarthrosis pads, choky jeans, wide leather belts, bustiers, sequined tees, abbreviated denim vests, colored/patterned hose, ballerina flats, precocious slides, and stiletto heels."

—Anonymous, 71, Oklahoma

28. "I couldn’t hold for Friday Night Videos — that '80s euphony video and drama amusement — to travel on. We'd grounds it connected our VCR (the 1 with the flashing clock), past beryllium by the vigor with cassette tapes ready, trying to drawback and grounds our favourite songs. In the car, we had those cassette players with auto-rewind and auto-reverse, truthful you could replay a azygous opus oregon flip to the different broadside without adjacent touching it. Different time."

—Anonymous, 57

29. "Record albums. People inactive usage them today, but they're not astir arsenic inexpensive arsenic they utilized to be. Stereo was primitively priced $1 much than mono. Plus, they utilized to beryllium mode much amusive — each grounds came with posters, stickers, lyrics, photos, and different band-centric stuff. Then, CDs came, and you weren't getting thing other successful the bundle different than the disc, arsenic thing could fit. My country was covered successful swag from vinyls."

—Anonymous, 73, Seattle

30. "Saturday greeting cartoons utilized to beryllium a immense thing, and you'd ever ticker them with a large vessel of cereal! Where did they go? Do kids adjacent ticker them anymore?"

—Anonymous, 41, Texas

31. "So overmuch of the connection we utilized successful the '80s is present wholly outdated. Like saying 'fresh,' for example. Literally nary 1 says it anymore. So weird."

—Anonymous, 42, Chicago

Now it's your turn! What's a trend, habit, oregon signifier from the '80s oregon earlier that would beryllium considered "totally inappropriate" today? Share your effect successful this speedy anonymous form, oregon successful the comments below!

And cheque retired BuzzFeed Canada connected TikTok and Instagram for more!

Note: Some responses person been edited for magnitude and/or clarity.