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Gen Xers share 33 ‘crazy’ things that were seen as totally normal when they were kids

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October 12, 2026   |   Read online
In this issue of The Upworthiest, Annie Reneau rounds up 33 things Gen X kids thought were totally normal that would horrify a modern parent. Then a 15-year-old PSA saves a life, the Monkees finally make the appearance we promised last week, and a veteran teacher compares the classroom of 2006 to today’s.
Being a kid in the 1970s and ’80s hit different.

Gen Xers share 33 ‘crazy’ things that were seen as totally normal when they were kids

“Your parents sending you into the store to buy cigarettes…”
By Annie Reneau
Gen X childhoods have become legendary, and for good reason. So many things that were “normal” for ’70s and ’80s kids are unheard of now. Today’s youth would be shocked. Heck, a lot of us are shocked when we look back at those days.
Artist and coach Rick Osborn shared a video with some wild memories from his own Gen X childhood. He then asked his audience, “What did you grow up Gen X thinking was completely normal that would be crazy today?” And hoo boy, did people deliver.
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Elizabeth Banks during an interview in November 2019.

She thought it was just a panic attack. But then remembering a 15-year-old Elizabeth Banks PSA saved her life.

She figured it was indigestion, grabbed an ice pack, and eventually ended up on the floor.
By Adam Albright-Hanna
A woman sat on her couch watching Lanterns when her chest started hurting. Her first thought was indigestion.
She shifted positions, paced her home, and grabbed an ice pack when she started sweating. By the time she ended up on the floor, she was wondering why she was having a panic attack.
“I’m not even prone to panic attacks,” she wrote afterward on Threads, posting as @grrr_em_lin.
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David’s joy is so contagious! ♥️
The Monkees perform on “The Johnny Cash Show.”

In 1969, the Monkees appeared on The Johnny Cash Show and played a stunning, original country song

“Nine Times Blue” is a jaw dropping intersection of craftsmanship and pure talent.
By Tod Perry
The great debate about The Monkees is whether they were a real band or just a group of actors thrown together for a TV show. The answer is yes. They were actors cast to play an American version of The Beatles, and many of their early songs were written by big-time professional songwriters such as Tommy Boyce, Bobby Hart, Neil Diamond, Carole King, and Gerry Goffin.
However, The Monkees would pick up their own instruments, play on the 1967 Headquarters album and perform as a live band on sold-out tours. After a resurgence in the ’80s, the band enjoyed a lucrative career as a legacy act, with various members continuing to perform as The Monkees until Michael Nesmith died in 2021. Nesmith, originally a country singer from Dallas, Texas, wrote several of The Monkees’ hits, including “Mary, Mary,” “Papa Gene’s Blues,” “The Girl I Knew Somewhere,” and “Listen to the Band,” and was a driving force in the group being taken seriously as musicians.
By the summer of 1969, The Monkees’ TV series was off the air, and the affable Peter Tork had exited the group, citing exhaustion. The remaining three soldiered on, performing on The Johnny Cash Show to promote their latest album, Instant Replay. The band chose to perform “Nine Times Blue,” a country song written by Nesmith that he had demoed at the time but wouldn’t be released until he recorded it as a solo artist in 1970.
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Last Week’s Results

An Upworthiest Quiz

In 1978, which state became the first to require car seats for young kids?

Before that, the station wagon’s way-back was basically a ball pit.
California
New York
Tennessee
Michigan
In Friday’s issue, we shared Gen X’s attempt to explain itself with one band, one movie, one TV show and one obsolete object.
And we asked: Which obsolete object gives you the strongest nostalgia hit? 43.4% of you picked a rotary phone. Nothing built patience like waiting for the dial to crawl back after every zero.
  • A cassette tape (21.2%)
  • A rotary phone (43.4%) 🏆
  • A VHS tape (4.3%)
  • A paper road map (31.1%)
Longtime teacher reflects on what teaching was like 20 years ago vs now.

Longtime teacher thoughtfully breaks down 5 drastic differences in teaching in 2026 vs 2006

“The world around children has changed.”
By Evan Porter
There’s no doubt that teaching has changed dramatically over the last several years. Most educators would say it’s gotten harder, as reflected by the rising number of teachers quitting the profession and many never entering it at all.
Simply put, there aren’t many veteran teachers left who remember what it was like before technology and culture changed everything.
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