How Old Is Grandpa?

[peter991]

How old is Grandpa?

Stay with this -- the answer is at the end. It will blow you away.

One evening a grandson was talking to his grandfather about current events. The grandson asked his grandfather what he

thought about the shootings at schools, the computer age, and just things in general.

The Grandpa replied, 'Well, let me think a minute, I was born before:

' television

' penicillin

' polio shots

' frozen foods

' Xerox

' contact lenses

' Frisbees and

' the pill

There was no:

' radar

' credit cards

' laser beams or

' ball-point pens

Man had not invented:

' pantyhose

' air conditioners

' dishwashers

' clothes dryers

' and the clothes were hung out to dry in the fresh air and

' man hadn't yet walked on the moon

Your Grandmother and I got married first, and then lived together.

Every family had a father and a mother.

Until I was 25, I called every man older than me, 'Sir'. And after I turned 25, I still called policemen and every man with a title, 'Sir.'

We were before gay-rights, computer- dating, dual careers, daycare centers, and group therapy.

Our lives were governed by the Ten Commandments, good judgment, and common sense..

We were taught to know the difference between right and wrong and to stand up and take responsibility for our actions.

Serving your country was a privilege; living in this country was a bigger privilege.

We thought fast food was what people ate during Lent.

Having a meaningful relationship meant getting along with your cousins.

Draft dodgers were people who closed their front doors when the evening breeze started.

Time-sharing meant time the family spent together in the evenings and weekends - not purchasing condominiums.

We never heard of FM radios, tape decks, CDs, electric typewriters, yogurt, or guys wearing earrings.

We listened to the Big Bands, Jack Benny, and the President's speeches on our radios.

And I don't ever remember any kid blowing his brains out listening to Tommy Dorsey.

If you saw anything with 'Made in Japan ' on it, it was junk.

The term 'making out' referred to how you did on your school exam.

Pizza Hut, McDonald's, and instant coffee were unheard of.

We had 5 &10-cent stores where you could actually buy things for 5 and 10 cents.

Ice-cream cones, phone calls, ride on a bus, and a Coke were all a nickel.

And if you didn't want to splurge, you could spend your nickel on enough stamps to mail 1 letter and 2 postcards.

You could buy a new Chevy Coupe for $600, . . . but who could afford one? Too bad, because gas was 11 cents a gallon.

In my day:

' 'grass' was mowed,

' 'coke' was a cold drink,

' 'pot' was something your mother cooked in and

' 'rock music' was your grandmother's lullaby.

' 'Aids' were helpers in the Principal's office,

' ' chip' meant a piece of wood,

' 'hardware' was found in a hardware store and

' 'software' wasn't even a word.

And we were the last generation to actually believe that a lady needed a husband to have a baby. No wonder people call us 'old and confused' and say there is a generation gap.. and how old do you think I am?

I bet you have this old man in mind...you are in for a shock! Read on to see -- pretty scary if you think about it and pretty sad at the same time.

This man would be only 58 years old!

Peter

[suegha]

Good one peter - made me feel very old though!

[pault17]

Hold it!! Grandpa is at least 104 years old, because "Several inventors, scientists, and engineers contributed to the development of radar. The first to use radio waves to detect "the presence of distant metallic objects via radio waves" was Christian Hülsmeyer, who in 1904 demonstrated the feasibility of detecting the presence of a ship in dense fog, but not its distance (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radar#History).

What a relief

[chavy]

Hold it!! Grandpa is at least 104 years old, because "Several inventors, scientists, and engineers contributed to the development of radar. The first to use radio waves to detect "the presence of distant metallic objects via radio waves" was Christian Hülsmeyer, who in 1904 demonstrated the feasibility of detecting the presence of a ship in dense fog, but not its distance (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radar#History).

What a relief

Yes...I understand ?

[Crossy]

The magnetron which is the heart of RADAR as we know it, was invented in 1940.

AND

The 'Apparatus for Treating Air' (U.S. Pat# 808897) granted in 1906, was the first of several patents awarded to Willis Haviland Carrier. The recognized 'father of air conditioning' is Carrier, but the term 'air conditioning' actually originated with textile engineer, Stuart H. Cramer. Cramer used the phrase 'air conditioning' in a 1906 patent claim filed for a device that added water vapor to the air in textile plants - to condition the yarn.

AND

Adolf E. Fick, Eugene Kalt and August Muller are the men given credit for the 1887 invention of contact lens. They did not work together on the invention of the contact lens. The invention of contact lens did occur the same year with all three men given the credit.

The dates need some re thinking

Edited March 30, 2008 by Crossy

[suegha]

Hello, is this the jokes section?

[njpski]

Never let the facts get in the way of a good story!

[suegha]

Never let the facts get in the way of a good story!

Yeah, the point of the post is that so much has happened in the past 50-60 years, that someone in their 50-60s now lives in a totally different world to that which they could ever imagine. My GrandFather remembered the Wright brothers first flight and lived to see space flights in his lifetime. His parents experienced the Irish famine!

Man, the world has changed!

[peter991]

... and my mother refuses to watch any science fiction programmes on TV.

Her reasoning: What was science fiction when she was a young girl is now science fact.

Peter

[BigSnake]

Yep, how times fly, I can remember most of those things, I am a grandpa also.

[warfie]

I guess the joke itself is quite old...