8 thoughts on “VIDEO (22m): Did People Used To Look Older?”
When I was a kid, 50 was *OLD*. Wilford Brimley old.
And all of the old people that I was exposed to had multiple children. Like, I didn’t know any old people who only had two kids. I knew a bunch who had three, or four, or five… but the only ones without children were, ahem, “confirmed bachelors”.
Now? I know *TONS* of people who don’t have kids. Fewer lines on their face, they look like they get 8 hours a night, and they do fun recreational stuff quite regularly. They look a lot younger than the grownups I was exposed to as a kid.
When ‘Cocoon’ reached theaters on June 21, 1985, Wilford Brimley was 18,530 days old (50 years, 9 months and 6 days). I’m older than that right now. (And so was Brimley’s character in the movie, but we needn’t let that ruin the joke.)Report
I always thought you looked unhealthily yellow.Report
Add exercise to the list. My mother aged pretty gracefully. Her hair and clothing gave her away, but her posture didn’t. It was a bit of a surprise the first time I was talking to her on the phone when she was about 70 and she said, “I have to let you go now, or I’ll be late for strength training.”
I’ll be 70 this year. I’ll do some 20- and 25-mile bicycle rides this summer. I keep a pair of 20-pound dumbbells in my office so that from time to time I can do a 20-minute upper body workout. (The Fort Collins Senior Center has a good weight room, but it’s always crowded.) If I could find a fencing club within a reasonable distance I’d really like to get back into that.
Note that there’s a pronounced difference between what my mom did and I do and the consequences of life-long heavy manual labor. I know several plumbers or former plumbers. By a certain age they either moved into owning and operating a business with employees that did the actual plumbing, or moved on to something else entirely, because they had screwed up their backs.Report
Yep, actual physical labor for a living destroys your body by and large. Just obliterates it.Report
one thing the video didn’t touch on imo is worth bringing up, is the fact that young people were expected to act more mature. attitude and mannerisms have a lot to play.Report
When I was a kid, 50 was *OLD*. Wilford Brimley old.
And all of the old people that I was exposed to had multiple children. Like, I didn’t know any old people who only had two kids. I knew a bunch who had three, or four, or five… but the only ones without children were, ahem, “confirmed bachelors”.
Now? I know *TONS* of people who don’t have kids. Fewer lines on their face, they look like they get 8 hours a night, and they do fun recreational stuff quite regularly. They look a lot younger than the grownups I was exposed to as a kid.
Yeah, and sunscreen, of course.Report
Also a lot fewer people smoke these days.
When ‘Cocoon’ reached theaters on June 21, 1985, Wilford Brimley was 18,530 days old (50 years, 9 months and 6 days). I’m older than that right now. (And so was Brimley’s character in the movie, but we needn’t let that ruin the joke.)Report
You look great. Young 40’s, I’d say.Report
Right back atcha, sir!Report
I always thought you looked unhealthily yellow.Report
Add exercise to the list. My mother aged pretty gracefully. Her hair and clothing gave her away, but her posture didn’t. It was a bit of a surprise the first time I was talking to her on the phone when she was about 70 and she said, “I have to let you go now, or I’ll be late for strength training.”
I’ll be 70 this year. I’ll do some 20- and 25-mile bicycle rides this summer. I keep a pair of 20-pound dumbbells in my office so that from time to time I can do a 20-minute upper body workout. (The Fort Collins Senior Center has a good weight room, but it’s always crowded.) If I could find a fencing club within a reasonable distance I’d really like to get back into that.
Note that there’s a pronounced difference between what my mom did and I do and the consequences of life-long heavy manual labor. I know several plumbers or former plumbers. By a certain age they either moved into owning and operating a business with employees that did the actual plumbing, or moved on to something else entirely, because they had screwed up their backs.Report
Yep, actual physical labor for a living destroys your body by and large. Just obliterates it.Report
one thing the video didn’t touch on imo is worth bringing up, is the fact that young people were expected to act more mature. attitude and mannerisms have a lot to play.Report