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Stories

Six Old-Fashioned Things Millennials & Gen Z Would NEVER Know How To Use

by Jane Kenney

Published January 5, 2021

Six Old-Fashioned Things Millennials & Gen Z Would NEVER Know How To Use

Let’s face it, as the years go on, a lot of things go out of style and we welcome in the new. It goes without saying that millennials and Gen Z-ers may not know how to use a lot of things from year’s past, or may have not even heard of it! That’s because things have evolved so much over time that there’s no need for these old-fashioned things or ways of life.

Here are six old-fashioned and nostalgic things that most millennials and Gen Z would never know how to use! Do you know how to use them?

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1. 8-Inch Floppy Disk

Six Old-Fashioned Things Millennials & Gen Z Would NEVER Know How To Use
8-Inch Floppy Disks / SnappyGoat.com

To be fair, as a 1995 baby, I do remember using these floppy disks before USB flash drives became a thing, or just simply saving a computer document to the desktop. Eight-inch floppy disks were first introduced by IBM in 1971 and in the late ’70s, they were replaced by 5 1/4-inch disks. Later on, those were replaced by the 3 1/2-inch format. Eventually, they just went completely obsolete.

RELATED: Millennials Are Embracing A Clothing Trend Called ‘Granny Chic’

2. Slide Rules

Six Old-Fashioned Things Millennials & Gen Z Would NEVER Know How To Use
Slide Rules for solving math equations / Wikimedia Commons

Yeah, I’m out on this one. Millions of people remember having to use slide rules to solve math equations on their school homework. This was before electronic calculators existed (and now, in most schools, it’s required to have a calculator!)

3. Automats

Six Old-Fashioned Things Millennials & Gen Z Would NEVER Know How To Use
Automat Service / GetArchive

Horn & Hardart automats were the main way people got their food before McDonald’s and other popular chains were around every corner. They were basically restaurants with coin-operated vending machines where people could purchase different varieties of meals. It wasn’t like today’s vending machines where you just get a small bag of chips… you could purchase a whole Salisbury steak or mashed potatoes!

4. Keys For Rollerskates

Rollerskating in the ’50s and ’60s was much different than getting on the go these days. You needed a key just to get them on or off!

5. Milk Chutes

Milk delivery has become obsolete as we just pop on over to the supermarket to grab a carton. Back in the day, though, milk chutes were attached to most homes so delivery men could just pop them in for delivery and collect the used bottles.

6. Brownie Cameras

Six Old-Fashioned Things Millennials & Gen Z Would NEVER Know How To Use
Brownie Camera by Kodak / Pixabay

My grandma definitely had one of these! While old-style cameras are coming back, Kodak’s Brownie cameras were the ‘it’ thing back then for home photography. Kodak sold millions of this model between 1952 and 1967.

Do you remember using any of these things in years past? Let us know!

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