The Class Of 2007

[Charis (imported)]

Just in case you weren't feeling old enough today, this will certainly change things. Each year the staff at Beloit College in Wisconsin puts together a list to try to give the Faculty a sense of the mindset of the year's incoming freshman.

Here is the 2007 list:

The people who are starting college this fall across the nation were born in 1985.

They have no meaningful recollection of the Reagan Era and probably did not know he had ever been shot.

They were prepubescent when the Persian Gulf War was waged.

There has been only one Pope in their lifetime.

They were 10 when the Soviet Union broke apart and do not remember the Cold War.

They are too young to remember the space shuttle blowing up.

Tiananmen Square means nothing to them.

Bottle caps have always been screw off and plastic.

Atari predates them, as do vinyl albums.

The statement "You sound like a broken record" means nothing to them.

They have never owned a record player.

They have likely never played Pac Man and have never heard of Pong.

They may have never heard of an 8 track. The Compact Disc was introduced when they were 1 year old.

They have always had an answering machine.

Most have never seen a TV set with only 13 channels, nor have they seen a black and white TV.

They have always had cable.

There have always been VCRs, but they have no idea what BETA was.

They cannot fathom not having a remote control.

They don't know what a cloth baby diaper is, or know about the "Help me,

I've fallen and I can't get up" commercial..

Feeling old Yet? There's more:

They were born the year that Walkmen were introduced by Sony.

Roller skating has always meant inline for them.

Michael Jackson has always been white.

Jay Leno has always been on the Tonight Show.

They have no idea when or why Jordache jeans were cool.

Popcorn has always been cooked in the microwave.

They have never seen Larry Bird play.

They never took a swim and thought about Jaws.

The Vietnam War is as ancient history to them as W.W.I, W.W.II and the Civil War.

They have no idea that Americans were ever held hostage in Iran.

They can't imagine what hard contact lenses are.

They don't know who Mork was or where he was from. (The correct answer, by the way, is Ork)

They never heard: "Where's the beef?", "I'd walk a mile for a Camel," or "De plane, de plane!"

They do not care who shot J.R. and have no idea who J.R. was.

Kansas, Chicago, Boston, America, and Alabama are places, not bands.

There has always been MTV.

They don't have a clue how to use a typewriter.

Do you feel old yet?

If you do, then pass this on to some other old fogies... but don't send it back to me, I feel old enough.

[Kangan (imported)]

Pretty scary. When I was born, radios had tubes, and there was no TV. Computers were room sized monstrosities that could barely add and subtract a 10-digit number. There was no Internet and you sent a telegram if you wanted to write to someone in a hurry. The message was deivered by a messenger on a bicycle.

There was no Velcro or duct tape. Watches had to be wound daily and kept time poorly. Flashlights rarely worked since the batteries would die in a month or so after being left alone in a drawer.

However, you could catch a train to just about anywhere, and gasoline was only a few cents per gallon. Traffic lights had only red and green bulbs, there was no yellow.

NOW DO YOU FEEL OLD?

[twaddler (imported)]

"There has always been MTV. "

...and it has always been the shittiest channel in existence.

[tugon (imported)]

"There has always been MTV. "

...and it has always been the shittiest channel in existence.

Young one there was a time Mtv played music videos.

[Paolo]

Being 40-ish now, I can recall having:

A wringer-style washing machine. I ran my fingers though it once. Aunt Rachel ran her tit through it once...

An outhouse. Complete with spiders, mice, snakes, and can of white lime powder. To this day, the grass is quite green where it once stood.

Telephones you dialed, and the wire being two that ran just below and off to the side of power lines. I have a drawing I did in kindergarten (called preschool then).

A "Warm Morning" incinerator in the kitchen, and a pot belly stove that burned anything that would produce heat. No AC either in the summer. We had one fan in one window and the windows were always open. Back then, there was no noise.

No traffic after ever man in the neighborhood came home from work. It was highly unusual for the VERY few old ladies who drove to be out and about, and that was usually to take a very sick kid to the doctor or to visit the nursing home or graveyards.

We used to ride our bikes on the roads. People would slow down and chat on the road. No one minded, either, and teenagers didn't drive unless it was the farm truck at harvest time or a tractor going to and from the fields.

A black and white 13 channel TV that got 4 channels in good weather. It stood on a rickety brass stand and wobbled. TV antennas, or aerials. Remember the joy of finding an odd channel coming in during or before a storm?

Lightning rods on roofs.

Outlet guards to protect kids like me who stuck pennies into them. It was only 110 after all.

Hardwood floors. Waxed. We used to slide on them in our colored socks. Sticking a dime in the light socket also shot you across them well, too.

Boiling water on the stove. We got a water heater when I was 7. We had running water just before I was born, so they say.

Hand pumps. We had one inside the back room.

A barn. They had one next door, and there was an abandoned one back in the woods. That's where trees grow densely and animals live. Tell that to a kid these days.

I would mention gardening, but that's still around and making a comeback. But how many kids have seen anyone can anything in a glass Mason jar and wait for the lid to POP?

Pressure cookers. (Tend to explode) - unlike a microwave that shorts out.

Haircuts, the day school let out for the summer (if you were lucky) that consisted of you sitting on a stool in the back yard, shirtless and barefoot, while your hair was buzzed down to the skin. You got ONE haircut per summer.

Going barefoot, but only on or after May 1.

Overalls. Blue denim. Does any kid still wear these?

One-piece red winter PJ's. "Union Suits" they call them now. Or white. Or green. With a button-butt that would not stay buttoned.

Having 2 pair of shoes. One for school, usually sneakers that had to last all year and were bought big. You stuffed the toes with something to make them fit. The other pair was for church, funerals, etc. If the sneakers were bad by summer when school was out, you went barefoot.

Picking berries along the road. (I did that tonight. You can imagine the odd looks I got.) Or spending the day doing it and selling them by the gallon for a few dollars, thus making you rich for a few days during that short season.

Mushroom hunting (morels) in the spring, and puffballs (white) in the fall. They have no taste at all, by the way.

Picking wildflowers. (and some pretty weeds)

Eating a tomato in the garden right off the vine.

Fertilizing the garden with real manure.

I could go on, but I'm getting depressed...

[twaddler (imported)]

Young one there was a time Mtv played music videos.

I know it. It wasn't always a reality TV channel! lol.. I used to love Headbangers Balls and Yo! MTV Raps.

[curious1 (imported)]

Wow, I really do feel old. Loved the part about Michael Jackson having always been white!

[Prudence (imported)]

There has been only one Pope in their lifetime.

Already old/outdated, after just one year... Amazing how things change.