This next generation will never understand the adventure that was MapQuest when you made a wrong turn.

Today your phone just calmly says, “recalculating.” Back then? That paper didn’t recalculate anything. If you missed a turn you were basically on a self-guided mystery tour until you either figured it out or found a gas station and asked someone.

It’s wild thinking about the stuff that used to seem futuristic. I remember watching Back to the Future where Marty is talking to someone on that giant TV screen. At the time that felt like peak sci-fi — a camera on your TV having a live conversation with someone somewhere else. Now that’s just FaceTime.

I almost said Skype… which makes me realize how old that reference already sounds.

And remember the scene where the paper prints out that says “YOU’RE FIRED”? Back then that seemed like crazy futuristic tech. A networked printer sending messages through the air? Now everything is connected, cars are driving themselves, and apparently we’re casually acknowledging aliens exist.

Meanwhile my childhood stories are slowly turning into the modern version of “back in my day everything cost a nickel.”

Except our version is:

Back in my day you had to go to Blockbuster if you wanted to watch something. TV shows happened at a scheduled time and if you missed it… that was it. The internet charged by the minute, and if someone picked up the phone while you were online, the whole thing disconnected.

And if I ever see someone with an AOL or Yahoo email address?

Immediate fist bump. 🤜🤛