" I can refold a map correctly and unknot curly telephony wire to get all the curls facing the right way . "

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 useru/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 destroyedSuper MarioBrothers in almost no time flat very recently on theNintendo Switchafter 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.”

Grandmother holding granddaughter on lap.

textbook with a brown paper bag cover

a woman on the phone

a person hitting a tv

old phone

a person counting change

screenshot of MS Paint

people pushing a car

a kid with a  paper fortune tellers

a pile of old phones

a screenshot of limewire

a vcr with VCR tapes on top

tv with antenna

writing in cursive

a man using his shoulder to hold up. phone

the library

screen shot of Super Mario Brothers

using a pencil to rewind a cassette

a person reading a map

a person in a darkroom