People Are Sharing Pics Of Life 50-100 Years Ago And They Might Put Things In A New Perspective

“My Grandfather And His Horse, Ruby. 1940’s”

How would you describe normal, everyday life? Well, for a modern person, it’s anything from brushing their teeth to… commuting to work. Oh wait, not anymore. Coronavirus has shaken up quite a few things, and made us work from home, stay in more, keep distances and whatnot. The change is dramatic and it’s only been like two years (almost three!, o-m-g) since it first started in late 2019.

So yep, time is flying like a hadron collider, changing things beyond recognition on the way. But today would look nothing like a day 20, 50, or even 100 years ago. And we mean it. Thanks to the miscellaneous corner of Reddit “The Way We Were,” which is home to a stunning collection of old photos, scanned documents, articles, and personal anecdotes, we can all secure our seat belts and travel to the past.

The community was created back in 2012, and will celebrate its ten-year anniversary in less than a month.

More: Reddit h/t: boredpanda

“My Grandma And Uncle In Iran, April 1971”

Nancy Darling is a professor and chair at the Department of Psychology at Oberlin College and the editor-in-chief of the Journal of Adolescence and she happily shared some very interesting insights.

It turns out that people tend to judge the passage of time as a function of how many things happen. In that sense, our perception of time is purely subjective. “I find it interesting that when my days are packed, I feel time passes both very fast and very slow.” For example: “During a busy week, events a week ago seem in the far, distant past because so many things have intervened since.” Simultaneously, we feel like time is flying by because so many things are happening every hour.

Young Woman Dressed For An Evening Out, Detroit, 1968

Interestingly, as we get older, the way we perceive time may change as well. It has to do with the usual things, “like cooking a meal or grocery shopping, that start taking longer for you to do.”Most importantly, “the passage of time just marks age and accomplishment,” according to Nancy. “I just got an email this morning reminding me I’d promised to do something in July. That seems both forever ago (I’ve done a thousand things since) and very close (every day, I keep saying I’ll do it ’tomorrow.’)”

“Cairo Mary,” Bouncer At Shanghai Reds (5th And Beacon In San Pedro, Ca) Escorts A Customer To The Door. 1953

Interestingly, we can do that with life as well. Just think of your kids being tiny and dependent, urges the professor. “How can my son be living in Manhattan and getting ready to teach in the public schools? Time flies,” she said. At the same time, Nancy said that she feels like “there are many things I’d always planned to do, but haven’t gotten to (yet).” And she added: “I am too old now?”

“This Is My Great Aunt In Front Of Their House In Boston, 1964. The House Was Bought On A Milkman’s Salary”

The key challenge is to keep time on our side, and don’t let yourself fall into the trap of one day turning into the whole year. According to Nancy, there are things that can be done about it. “If you regularly review what your priorities are and focus on those, you feel like a lot has gotten done and you don’t regret the fact that you’ve wasted your days,” she suggested.

“My Kitty … Harlem, NY, 1949”

The sense of accomplishment, whether big or small, creates invisible gaps in time that makes it feel like time stretches. “Days when I accomplish a lot are full and satisfying, but also feel long. A productive week feels like it’s lasted forever. It also feels good,” Nancy concluded.

Children In A Traditional Minobashi Raincoat Going To A New Year’s Event, Niigata Prefecture, Japan, 1956

“Sits Down Spotted”- Crow Nation, Fort Keogh, Montana, 1881. Photo By L.A. Huffman

A Young Woman Posing For A Studio Portrait, Kentucky, Circa 1890-1910

“My Dad Died This Week, And I Was Going Through Photos For The Memorial Slideshow. Here Are My Parents In A Very Early 70’s Kitchen, But Mostly I Really Like How They Are Looking At Each Other”

Four Generations, Circa 1905, Location Unknown

A Young Man Demonstrating Against Low Pay For Teachers, Ca. 1930. “I Left School To Earn $21 A Week. My Teacher’s Pay Is $17.78 A Week.” Photo: Paul Thompson

An Elderly Woman Reading A Book With A Cat On Her Lap, 1944

Adelaide Springett, Who Was So Ashamed At The State Of Her Boots She Took Them Off, Stand For A Photograph In London, 1901. Photo By Horace Warner

Isaac And Rosa, Emancipated Slave Children From New Orleans, 1863

Three Young Ladies Posing With A Friend. Circa 1930

“My Great Grandmother In Her 50s Probably Taken Around The 70s Or 80s”

“My Grandfather And Friends In The Amache Internment Camp In Colorado, Circa 1942. He Was About 15 When This Photo Was Taken; He Passed Away Last Month At 94”

This Kid Is A Water Heater For Halloween, Circa 1979

Butterfly Boy, New York City, 1949

Kids Protesting The Dst. New York, 1939

Two Women At A Bar, New York C. 1945. Photo By Weegee

“My Mother Rose, June 16, 1959”

“1930 – My Second Great Aunt Sara (Right) And Her Mother Manuela (Sitting) And Aunt Emilia. Caja Espíritu, Huancavelica, Perú. The Only Photo That Exists Of Mama Manuela.”

Rescuing A Horse That Fell In The Canal. Amsterdam, 1929

Little Girl Roaring At A Stuffed Grizzly Bear At The Sportsman’s Show In The Chicago Coliseum. Chicago, Illinois, 1967

The Fate And Feet Of Three Chinese Girls – A Bare Footed Slave, A Girl With Bound Feet, And A Christian With Unbound Feet – Ca. Early 1900s

“I Went My Whole Life Not Seeing Photos Of My Mexican Family, Until Today. Hope You Enjoy These Photos Of My Family In Nayarit, Mexico, In The Early 1900s As Much As I Do!”

(1964) Engineer Karen Leadlay Working On The Analog Computers In The Space Division Of General Dynamics

“World’s Largest Log Cabin”. Portland, Oregon, USA, 1938. Built In 1905, Burned Down In 1964

Rural American Life In The First Half Of The 20th Century, By Mike Disfarmer, Whose Life Was A Mystery, And Whose Work Was Only Discovered Posthumously

Teddy Girls In 1955 – Their Subculture Centred Around A Still-Bomb-Damaged London

“My Aunt Estie, Who Passed Away Today, High School Graduation, The Bronx 1945”

‘I Love You So Much!’ Boy And Dog Circa Mid 1950s

A Casual Portrait Of A Woman Smiling, 1880

Creole Woman C. 1860

“My Jute Weaver Great-Grandmother And Children (Including My Granny Standing At The Back). Dundee, Scotland 1915”

“Me Circa 1965 In A Suit And Bow Tie Made By My Mom. She Made All Our Clothes Back Then”

A Man With His Cat, Early 1900s

Jaws Inspects The Halloween Loot, 1976

Glorious Kodachrome Shot Of A Lady All Dressed Up On Her Car. Guessing It To Be 1950s?

“Me Circa 1968-1969. Those Sideburns Though”

Young Dutch Mother With Her Baby In A Wooden Pram. Netherlands, 1929

Mother And Son. Lisdoonvarna, Ireland C. 1890

“My Sister And I With A Friend’s Pet Dik-Dik, 1968”

Portrait Of A Young Woman From Denmark. Photographed In 1895

A Photo Of Central Park In NYC During The Great Depression (1933)

In Paris, 1966. Photographer: Jack Garofalo

“My Parents In The Mid 1940s. I’ve Always Loved This Picture”

The Goofy Family, Circa 1910

When The Whole Town Poses For A Photograph…. (Pa, USA) (~1895)

“My Great Grandmother Being Held By Her Mother, My Great-Great Grandmother Circa 1919”

Teenage Sisters Gertrude And Ursula Falke. Germany, 1906

“My Grandfather, The Oldest, And His Siblings (1926)”

Bride And Groom In Traditional Attire. Delsbo, Sweden Ca 1890’s

Teenagers Dressed For A High School Dance In The 1920s

Children In Newcastle Upon Tyne’s West End Play On Piled-Up Mattresses. England, 1981.

A ‘Knocker-Up’ In London (1929). Before Alarm Clocks, People Were Paid To Wake Clients Up For Work By Knocking On Their Doors And Windows With A Stick

The Ladies Of The 1960’s

Big Hairdos, 1960s

Two “Cigarette Girls” At A Tallahassee, Florida Nightclub In 1956

A Michigan Farmer Standing With His Crops, 1910

A Couple Of Hippies On Haight St. In San Francisco, 1967

These Kids Were Fashion Leaders, Circa 1969

Collection Of Homemade Photo Christmas Cards, Circa 1930-1960

A Worker Paints The Golden Gate Bridge, 1956

Sears (1956)

‘Closed-Beds’ Were Popular In The 19th Century, Especially In Brittany, Here’s What They Looked Like (C. 1880s)

Child Soldiers Of The Us Civil War C. 1861-65

70’s Kitchen

“My Great-Grandparents (Age 24 And 18) Circa 1949, In Front Of The General Store My Great-Grandfather Had Just Purchased”

Traffic On The Sunset Strip, Los Angeles – 1979

Bill With Cat. 1968. Love The Late 60’s Style!

“My Great Great Great Grandma In The 1910s”

Children On The Streets Of New York, Photographed By Helen Levitt, 1940s

First Day Of School On E 3rd St, NYC (September 1976)

Hanging Out In The 1970s

“How We Rolled In 1980. Dad Driving My Birthday Party Across Town To See The King And His Court. Lucky Riders Sat On The Wheel Wells, But We Also Had Lawn Chairs In The Back”

“My Family On A Road Trip (Kodachrome, 1958)”

“My Great Grandmother And Her Little Sister, Circa 1890”

1901 Beach Attire

Just Another Fun Day In The Neighborhood, Anytown, USA, 1970s

There Is A Story Here But Not Sure How It Involves Formal Dress And A Toaster. 1950s Kodachrome

“Lots Of Love For My Mom’s Car Pic Last Month. Here She Is Welcoming In December/Winter In A Nice Red Dress. This Is 1958, The Day After Their Wedding.”

A Kodachrome Picture Of A Family Having A Picnic In France. 1969.

“This Would Have Been ~1970… Me In My Favorite Outfit…”

High School Life In The 1970’s. All My Credit Goes To The Photographer: Joseph Szabo, Check Out His Other Work On Teenage Life. It’s Amazing!

Television Shopping In 1974

A Clearly Staged, But Interesting Time Capsule Of A Circa 1964 General Foods Corporation Publicity Photo

My Dad In 1974 On His Yamaha. He Worked All Summer Cutting Steel To Save Up For It

Unknown Hair Goddess At The Daytona Beach Bike Week Gathering. Circa 1977

An Unknown Group Of Women, Possible Friends Or Fellow Students Pose For An Undated Photograph, With One Clearly Keen To Show Of Her Chunky Hairbrush. Possibly Late 1890s To 1900s

“Me Sitting In My Nearly Completed Soap Box Derby In 1951. I Raced For Three Years In This Car”

Welsh Coal Miners Having A Round After Their Shift. C.1912

“My Great-Grandfather’s Mugshots, After He Was Arrested For Bigamy. December 1926, Australia”

New Yorkers Learn Of The D-Day Invasion On June 6, 1944

Young Man Watching Whatever His Date/Girlfriend Is Doing. Circa 1959

Yearbook From 1929. The Way High Schoolers Were.

Photos Of New Yorkers, By Vivian Maier. 1950s/60s

ostcard Sent To My Grandma From A Navy Sailor Asking Her On A Date When He Returns. Postmarked April 17, 1945

“My Beautiful Great Aunt. I Believe In The Late 60s Early 70s.”

People Of New York City At Lunchtime, Photos Taken Circa 1977-1980 By Charles H. Traub

“My Dad And Sisters, 1945 Washington DC”

Man Pushing A Little Girl On A Swing. Original Colour Photograph. Sweden In 1939

A Michelin Mascot Stands Next To An Advertising Vehicle In Santa Clara, 1926

An Aircraft Worker Dancing With His Date At The Lockheed ‘Swing Shift Dance’ In 1942

A Young Lad Stands Behind His Winning Sandcastle In The Whitley Bay Sandcastle Competition On 19th August 1908

Couple Laughing At Something Lost To Time. Circa Mid 1950s

An Elderly Woman In Front Of Her Modest Dwelling And An Interior View Of The Same House. Torsås, Sweden In 1904

The Housewife, 1974

1910 – A Boy And His Erector Set

1960s Jack In The Box

Rockaway Beach, Queens, New York, 1946 / Photo By Sam Shere

The Relatives Came To Visit. Boston, 1966

“My Sisters And Me Mid 70’s”

“Me (A Bum) And My Date At A Halloween Party In 1955”

1971 Bathroom (Sears Ad)

Halloween, Rochester, NY, Circa 1912

A Clown “Barker” Hustling Customers For A Strip Club On Broadway In San Francisco’s North Beach (1950) Photo By Fred Lyon

A Family Living In Shanty At The City Dump In Herrin, Illinois, January 1939 – Photos By Arthur Rothstein

“My Grandparents In High School, Early 1950s”

Saluting This Young 22-Year Old As He Is Dropped Off By His Family In South Texas For Naval Flight Training In 1957

Disneyland Hotel Room 1977

Lovers At The Movies, New York, Ca. 1943

The Treasury Discount Store And Supermarket, Circa 1971, As Photographed For Parent J.c. Penney Company’s Annual Report.