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Original poster

what was a massive deal when you were growing up that isn't now?

240 replies

learthebear · 03/10/2023 00:28

or you thought was

OP posts:
Unprecedentedusername · 03/10/2023 18:47

Chip pan fires
flammable nighties

converseandjeans · 03/10/2023 19:36

@Persiana

Accidents on railway tracks

Do you remember the public safety adverts about it? Also pylons? I'm sure they were on at cinema as well as TV.

slithytoveisascientist · 03/10/2023 23:23

Saying the word fart
Unlike what my dads reaction led me to believe, the world does not end

BitOutOfPractice · 03/10/2023 23:47

Underskirts

MaidOfSteel · 04/10/2023 00:08

Being vaporised in a nuclear attack.

Lavender14 · 04/10/2023 00:12

MoiraRosesOtherDaughter · 03/10/2023 00:42

Bermuda Triangle

Oh yes, I thought the Bermuda triangle was going to cause me much more trouble in life than it has! The millennium bug as well!

Unexpectedlysinglemum · 04/10/2023 00:40

The millennium bug

Unexpectedlysinglemum · 04/10/2023 00:43

Beautiful3 · 03/10/2023 07:31

I second impulse body spray, o2 in particular.

I can smell the memory of my school locker changing rooms now! This impulse mixed with smelly socks

XenoBitch · 04/10/2023 00:50

quicksand, pylons, rail way lines, farms.

The Bermuda Triangle... what has happened to that now? Has anyone heard anything about it in the past 10 years?

TakemedowntoPotatoCity · 04/10/2023 01:19

Chip pan fires
being electrocuted by pylons

merrymelodies · 04/10/2023 01:21

Disco 🪩

Mumtobabyhavoc · 04/10/2023 03:33

Spontaneous human combustion. I remember my dad watching a sort of investigative report show about it and it scared me shitless! 😱

War.

Aliens.

Some others already mentioned here.

Yes, to Body Shop products. Swatch. Pull-over ski jackets that just had a zipper at the neck. "Tramp stamp" tattoos across the low back with very low-rise jeans on women and "tribal" or "Celtic" tattoos on men (that were neither).
And because we didn't have junk food in the house: going out for ice-cream! 😛😛😊

sashh · 04/10/2023 05:53

UndercoverCop · 03/10/2023 11:25

@Regularoldme same as me, I can still see that image of Leah betts so clearly, I was 11 and it had a huge impact

Leah Betts didn't die from drugs, she died from water intoxication.

Daffodilwoman · 04/10/2023 07:34

The Bermuda Triangle. I remember a friend saying she had been offered a job working on Bermuda. I was horrified, believing I might never see her again. Luckily it fell through and she didn’t end up going.

Persiana · 04/10/2023 08:07

@converseandjeans yes I do, and also watching videos about it at primary school!

ThanksMateThanksMate · 04/10/2023 08:11

Showbiz Sam

Northernsouloldies · 04/10/2023 08:22

Chocolate biscuits, cakes when being visited or visiting as a child dare not taking one before the adults or being invited to help yourself 70s Scotland.

GettingStuffed · 04/10/2023 08:43

Being in a nuclear war.

Xiaoxiong · 04/10/2023 09:56

Well my big childhood fears were:
Really destructive typhoons resulting in deadly mudslides
Preparing for typhoons - taping up windows, getting in food and candles, worrying we didn't have enough food to last if it went on too long
Clearing up after typhoons - my parents were always going on about watching out for shards of broken glass
Neighbouring government marching in and shooting people with tanks
Getting bitten by one of the various poisonous snakes and spiders

Thankfully nothing that is a big deal for me now!! The UK feels like a benignly gentle place to live by comparison.

Bassetlover · 04/10/2023 10:03

Nuclear war, getting electrocuted by flying kites near pylons, white dog poo rabies, getting accidently shut in unused fridges.

Bassetlover · 04/10/2023 10:03

Oh and daleks

CallieQ · 04/10/2023 10:56

'Leah Betts didn't die from drugs, she died from water intoxication.'

Yes but she drank too much water because she took drugs

EverythingYouDoIsaBalloon · 05/10/2023 19:33

YY to the nuclear war panic in the 80s. I was a teen then and, looking back, I naively didn't realise how very real the threat levels were at the time. It was just something pop bands sang about. I find it chilling to look back on how close to the brink the world actually came. (Although, having said that, the doomsday clock is now closer to midnight than it was back then... 😱)

AlecTrevelyan006 · 05/10/2023 19:39

Quicksand
Rabies
Stag beetles

LucyAnnTrent · 07/10/2023 00:09

Starfruit and dragon fruit. They became very trendy and desirable in the 1980s, along with kiwi fruit. Nothing said you'd made it like slices of starfruit in your fruit salad!

Kiwis have stood the test of time, but I haven't seen a starfruit or dragon fruit for years now.