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Life in the US during the 1950s


RyanBurnsRed

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RyanBurnsRed

Has anyone else ever wondered how it was back then?

I hear a lot that it was when America was at its peak. I don't know what it is about the 50s that has me so intrigued.

When I play games like Fallout 3/NV and Mafia II, and when I see videos and photos from the time period, I can't help but be entranced.

 

I often think how cool it would be to go back in time and bring my smartphone or digital camera and take pictures of as much as I could. I wonder how people would react.

They would probably think I'm some kind of weirdo wearing a t-shirt and jeans with sneakers carrying around a weird looking object.

 

I don't think we will ever be able to time travel backwards as time is always moving forwards. I'm no quantum physicist, so I hope I'm wrong. However I don't think I'll ever see any form of time travelling in my life time. Would be cool though.

 

Anyone else feel the same way?

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RyanBurnsRed

My point is that I'd like to experience it myself. I just have a weird fascination with history.

 

After watching clips from the Ed Sullivan Show, and watching I Love Lucy and what not, it just deepens that fascination.

I just wanted to know if anyone else felt the same way.

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Frank Brown

I have a similar feeling regarding other time periods. The 1950s wouldn't be my first choice.

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RyanBurnsRed

The 50's must have been awesome, if you were a white, straight, Christian male.

 

I think of this too. Unfortunately I only fit one of those categories.

 

I have a similar feeling regarding other time periods. The 1950s wouldn't be my first choice.

 

I also feel this way about other time periods as well.

Ancient Rome, the Middle Ages in Europe and the UK, Mesopotamia, Feudal Japan, and so on. It's just my fascination with history and wanting to be there myself and see it firsthand.

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Well, my child there was the Red Scare...

BUT...

Most of the major routes were paved. You could now travel the 18 miles to Hartford or New Haven and back in one day, without taking the train.

Buses in my city ran every 15 minutes. Except for the diesel exhaust trail they were all clean.

Wages were about 40$US per week.

School bullies were “boys being boys”, it didn’t matter how bloody you were.

Fights were with whatever you picked up. It wasn’t till late in the fifties that zip guns appeared in my area.

Adults wore hats, all the time. A man wasn’t dressed without a hat, and women scarfs or bonnets.

Attendance to Church on Sunday was a big deal.

Didn’t have any Minority Races of note in the town, so there wasn’t much to do about them. Racism wasn't seen much. I heard that employers who were had started the 'High School Diploma' required thing to keep them out.

There were hundreds of stores, each a specialty. Most were put out of business with the ‘Redevelopment project’ in the city center. over two hundred shutdown by eminent domain to build a mall for thirty. [There was no other available stores to move to, or the rents were too high.] This mall called the ‘Hub’ went out of business because it was built next to a government high rise estate. Many of the younger toughs from there would shoplift the stores in the area, not just the mall, till they were forced to close.

A supermarket was at the end of the mall nearest to the estate. It had a conveyer to the outside for people to pickup their groceries. But the Estate residents would loiter in the area to snatch the bags before the customer could get to their purchases.

We had gasoline service stations, banks, and taverns every (seemed like) block.

I remember hearing of an ordnance proposed to limit stores of the same type business (especially liquor) to a minimum of 1000 feet from their competitor.

We had trees lining every street outside of the city center.

Rare to see trash in the gutter or empty lots. There was a guy with a push cart sweeping the streets for a couple of years, before the machines were purchased.

City garbage men plowed the streets and because they knew their area could get to within inches of the curbs.

Schools were permitted to spank, with permission of the parent.

 

This (the end of the 50s) was the beginning of the end of the golden age.

Edited by lil weasel
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Just ask trip and lil weasel.

Bastard! I wasn't born 'till later part of the 60's. I'm a 70's kid gosh darnet.

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The 50's must have been awesome, if you were a white, straight, Christian male.

 

I think of this too. Unfortunately I only fit one of those categories.

Contestants, place your bets!

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I cucked Alex Jones

Well I checked his profile, and it says he's male. I'd say he's white.

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Rainbow Party

Yesterday I was talking to my grandmother and I realized for the first time that she had lived in the 50s (I mean I'm not dumb not to know earlier but I just realized she lived in that decade, if you know what I mean). It must have been kinda crappy in Argentina though but I would like to see what everything looked like back then.

Anyway, I guess any decade would have been really cool in the US, at least as long as you didn't get called for a war. But I wouldn't have liked to live in the 50s that much unless I was a child or a teen then because I'd rather grow up to experience the 60s and 70s (I loved the Llewyn Davis movie and the 70s were a really cool decade). The 50s just had cool cars but the music and TV may have sucked. The 60s were probably way more fun. And I'd think parents were probably very conservative and would beat their kids in the 50s but I guess there must have been some exceptions.
So yeah, I'd only enjoy the 50s as a kid but I would have wanted to be a teen or young adult in the 60s when society was starting to get more liberal and music and TV was way better.

Edited by Rainbow Party
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CharlesVercetti

You could have searched for the 98 year olds in this forum and PMed them. :D

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universetwisters

I wonder what people thought about long hair on guys in the 50s. Just in case I were to go back in time along with my hair.

sTgL5iS.png

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I knew this topic would happen one day. f*cking hell.

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Frank Brown

 

Just ask trip and lil weasel.

Bastard! I wasn't born 'till later part of the 60's. I'm a 70's kid gosh darnet.

 

 

It's alright, Pops, don't be ashamed.

 

Now shut up and drink your Ensure.

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GTA3Rockstar

And then the people from 2060 are going to wonder what life was like in the 00s!

 

TERRIBLE!

ppNaW16.png

 

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Rainbow Party

And then the people from 2060 are going to wonder what life was like in the 00s!

 

TERRIBLE!

That actually scares me a little. How people from the future will think our stuff is ancient. I hope the apocalypse comes soon :p

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And then the people from 2060 are going to wonder what life was like in the 00s!

 

TERRIBLE!

 

If you ever have grand kids in the future, then you can tell them stories about what it's like in the early turn of the 21st Century.

Don't know what year it was, but my Junior High history told us, back in its day, you can go to a dinner and get a full meal for 5 cents!

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t3h PeNgU1N oF d00m

Probably wasn't that great considering everything was black and white at the time.

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50's NYC: why couldn't I have seen my early adulthood through that era. Dammit.

 

 

 

Just ask trip and lil weasel.


Bastard! I wasn't born 'till later part of the 60's. I'm a 70's kid gosh darnet.

 

 

It's alright, Pops, don't be ashamed.

 

Now shut up and drink your Ensure.

 

F*cking disrespectful little sh*t...what are you...in your thirties?

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bash the fash m8s 

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THE GHETTO JEZUS

The 50's were the best years of my life, so was the 40's, but not the 30's, and the 20's were the best years of my childhood. But I must say after the 50's things went downhill with all these gizmos and crap that these kids have

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Frank Brown

50's NYC: why couldn't I have seen my early adulthood through that era. Dammit.

 

 

 

Just ask trip and lil weasel.

Bastard! I wasn't born 'till later part of the 60's. I'm a 70's kid gosh darnet.

 

 

It's alright, Pops, don't be ashamed.

 

Now shut up and drink your Ensure.

 

F*cking disrespectful little sh*t...what are you...in your thirties?

 

Calm down, Scotsman. I like trip and weasel. Only older gentlemen I have to respect are family.

Edited by Vlynor
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In all honesty I don't think I would have enjoyed the 50s. It seemed very repressive. There was the whole Communist scare and propaganda...movies, books, basically all entertainment was censored to a degree(here in the states). I'm almost willing to bet the government was even sneakier than people like to perceive the current government to be.

 

Racial segregation was enforced, and hate organizations like the KKK were actively lynching people...with the respect of the towns people.

 

It may have been a simpler time, but then again every previous decade was simpler then it's predecessor.

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The 50's must have been awesome, if you were a white, straight, Christian male.

Christian wasnt necessarily required if ypu just kept your mouth shut about it. My grandpa never really belived in god but never had any issues in the 50s because he didnt say anything about it

 

If I could choose a time period to go back to and experience it would be the 80s the 50s dont seem that interesting to me tbh

Edited by gtamann123
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I cucked Alex Jones

Yeah, I'm sure you didn't have to worry about being gay either as long as you were willing to live in constant fear of someone finding out your sexuality. Truly a better time.

Edited by Nipperkins
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My Grandfather was a ni**er, but they never lynched him as they never knew, because he didn't say anything about it.

Edited by Myron
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Wow way to take what I said completely out of context. I didnt say it was a Better time I was just saying it wasn't that difficult to be a closet atheist

 

Like im a die hard atheist but I could live easily in the 50s because I would just keep my religious beliefs under wraps like my grandfather did

Edited by gtamann123
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And then the people from 2060 are going to wonder what life was like in the 00s!

 

TERRIBLE!

They'll have a better idea. Everything we post will be there for them to see.

 

Hi, future GTAF! I'm the led by for the Movies & TV section, the precursor of the Movies & Hardcore Porn section.

Edited by darthYENIK
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