You Know You're Getting Old When...

[Jacobus Loki]

Scarlet fever...............

Let's see, I missed scarlet fever. Had scarlatina, the runner-up. Two kinds of measles. Missed whooping cough. Had chicken pox, tonsilitis, rubella, and a number of other things I've probably forgotten. Influenzas galore.

No, the antibiotic era for me. I'd've been just plain dead eight or nine time in the 19th century. I'd love to visit, time machine and all, but only to visit.

[hypatias mom]

Oh, yes, I totally forgot that. I was in first grade when they had all the school children go to the cafeteria to eat a sugar cube impregnated with the live polio vaccine. This effectively put an end to the huge number of people coming down with what used to be called infantile paralysis (remember FDR). We had no vaccines against measles, mumps, rubella (so-called German measles), or against chicken pox, hepatiis, and a number of other diseases. The only antibiotics I know of that were available then were penicillin and the sulfa drugs, and many people were allergic to them. Asthma could not be treated well, and non-aspirin over the counter pain killers had not been invented yet. Those of us who lived then can now see the things we were lacking, but of course, they weren't something we could even identify.

I used to be amazed that my grandparents went from horse and buggy to rocket ships during their lifetimes, but I am seeing great changes happening today that rival those in importance. I think every era has the promise of being the best of times. It's all in the way you see things.

[Dennis Moore]

(Oops, I'm not supposed to be here......)

[Jacobus Loki]

(Dennis, just lay off the political things for a while. Well find work for you. The Khan already has an offer, if you want to take him up on it.)


Ahem-

How about a 1950's nostalgia living museum like Williamsburg? Houses set up with all the appliances, big B&W TVs?

Show everybody how it used to be.

"This is a typewriter. People used to use these before computers."

"Where is the printer?"

"It's built in, sonny. It prints on every keystroke!"


"What if you make a mistake?"

"Well, you can smudge it out with an eraser. Later they painted it over with little bottles of white paint."

"OOHHHHH."

"There's no screen. How did they read email?"

"Well, you take the paper, fold it, put it in another paper, lick a little piece of paper that you stick on this corner, and a man called a postman takes it to the other person."

"Does the machine type out the answer?"

"Not this machine. You are thinking of a teletype. See, this one has no cords."

"OOOhhhh, old wireless!"

[Jess]

Scarlet fever...............

Let's see, I missed scarlet fever. Had scarlatina, the runner-up. Two kinds of measles. Missed whooping cough. Had chicken pox, tonsilitis, rubella, and a number of other things I've probably forgotten. Influenzas galore.

No, the antibiotic era for me. I'd've been just plain dead eight or nine time in the 19th century. I'd love to visit, time machine and all, but only to visit.

Don't think scarlet fever is dead yet...I had it when I was in 2nd grade

[hypatias mom]

I also have not heard of a vaccination against it, either.

[Prodigy Almighty]

Most people just developed an immunity to it, as happens with all major diseases. I'm looking at you, bubonic plague... that's right, that 33% of Europes population that survived had little bubonic-immune babies, punk!

Anyhoo, I think I'd be just fine with growing up in the late eighties-early nineties. Y'know, the 00s are pretty good with all this new-fangled technolo-gee, but to be a teenager in the nineties, when grunge and plaid were cool, and video games were getting big, would've been nice...

Instead, I was merely a child in the 90s and am stuck here. Meh. Whatever.

[hypatias mom]

Bubonic plague and scarlet fever are caused by bacteria, not viruses, and are fought with antibiotics. Scarlet fever is a rash caused by a strep infection, often strep throat, and can weaken the heart. There is no vaccination that I know of against bacterial infections.

[Kaiser Hasan I]

Prodigy Almighty, the 90's weren't as good as people think. They were sort of boring even with grunge. Everyone walked around apathetically and listened to the same music, dressing the same way. At least now, with the advent of the internet, people have variety in their personal culture instead of it being dictated from one source (television).

[Aurangzeb Khan]

Yes because now we have the choice between being emos or chavs the world is such a better place. Thank you interne3226

[Kaiser Hasan I]

Or that other thing, what's it called? Oh yeah, "Label-less individuals".

[b3n|<3r|\|]

Chavs can afford the internet? I thought all their money was being spent on plastic bling. Ah well, makes sense I'm not aware of recent changes, I hear the budget was reviewed at the national chav's convention in Cardiff earlier this year.

[Aurangzeb Khan]

They do not exist. Everyone is judged by everyone else. Everyone has a label.

[Aurangzeb Khan]

Chavs can afford the internet? I thought all their money was being spent on plastic bling. Ah well, makes sense I'm not aware of recent changes, I hear the budget was reviewed at the national chav's convention in Cardiff earlier this year.

Of course Chavs use the internet. They use youtube so they can remember whether they've happy slapped anyone lately.

[Krasniy Yastreb]

It's rumoured that Happy Slapping will form part of London's 2012 Olympics, as the new national sport of the host nation.

[Aurangzeb Khan]

Oh good - a competition we stand a chance of winning. They won't even have to go far down the road to recruit the team. Nearest Comprehensive School would do the trick.

[babs]

Chavs can afford the internet? I thought all their money was being spent on plastic bling. Ah well, makes sense I'm not aware of recent changes, I hear the budget was reviewed at the national chav's convention in Cardiff earlier this year.

Why!?

[Jacobus Loki]

Ok.

As a foreigner and a certified old person, what are emos and chavs? An large flightless bird and the leftovers from threshing wheat?

[babs]

Chav (backronym: Council House And Violent) Generally come from under-priviledged areas (hence council house). Known for wearing lots of fake jewellery, fake designer clothes (especially Burberry) and wearing tracksuits at every possible oppurtunity. High rate of teenage pregnancies, largely because female chavs aren't attractive, just easy. Listen to chav music, like dance music and rap etc.

Emo (short for Emotional) More or less equal mix between the genders, known for having long hair, typically black, with a fringe (known as 'bangs' in the US I believe) swept over one eye. Wear tight jeans and listen to emo/rock/punky type music. Also known for being depressed, occasionally drawn to self harm, normally by slitting wrists. Type of ear-piercing known as tunnels, basically a gaping hole in the ear lobe.

[Jacobus Loki]

Thank you for the definitions.

[Chrimigules]

Chav = British White Trash

Emo = androgynous attention whores who seek to make themselves into woobies by portraying themselves as so emotionally scarred that they lack any positive outlook on their future or life in general, with the intention being that you are to love them so that they can realize that there is love in the world enough for even poor them. They usually fail due to severe levels of melodrama, and also fail to see why they aren't getting the attention they need/deserve, usually saying that those who ignore/berate them are uncaring, in an equally melodramatic way.

"I have PAIN carved on my arm!" paraphrased from a real Emo's poem

[Jacobus Loki]

Do these ever cross-breed? Sounds like a decent match. The chav could abuse the emo, giving them attention which would re-inforce the existing tendencies?!

[Chrimigules]

Hmmm... a masochistic emo... I'm sure it's perfectly possible.

[Krasniy Yastreb]

And in turn chavs generally like to abuse people who have very little ability or willingness to fight back. It's a match made in heaven.

[Jacobus Loki]

Let's put up a website to match them, and charge them, what 15 pounds?

[babs]

A mixture of both is known as a Chemo.

[Jacobus Loki]