February 21, 2022

Teens Say the Darndest Things


This was a very fun post to put together! I didn't plan on turning this into a blog post, but it was so fun that I just had to share it. For those of you that are around my age or maybe a little older (I was born in 1982), you will find this nostalgic and probably hilarious.

Do you remember that show "Kids Say the Darndest Things" with Art Linkletter? Well, this is kind of like a version for today's teens. (Now I REALLY want to watch that show--I'm going to see if I can find it on YouTube when I'm done with this post!)

I saw these questions posted on Facebook and then I found myself asking my kids the questions and then I decided I had to write it all down. 

This is a list of questions that people who grew up in my generation would know the answers to right away. However, the fun in this is asking today's teenagers these questions! I asked Noah, Eli, and Eli's girlfriend "M". Noah was born in 2004, Eli in 2006, and I believe M was born in 2005.

I asked them each these questions and gave no hints or anything; I just wrote down exactly what they said. I told them they can't say, "I don't know"--they had to take a guess. And they did not hear each others' answers; I questioned them one at a time. So, I'll write out the questions and each of their answers afterward...

1. What is a Rolodex?
-Something like a watch
-A watch
-A watch



2. What is a Walkman?
-An MP3 player
-A thing to listen to music on; a portable music player
-A walkie-talkie



3. What are the yellow pages?
-Collections of phone numbers and businesses
-A phone book
-A phone book



4. What is a phone jack?
-Somewhere you plug a landline into
-The mount to a phone that you put on a wall?
-A phone on the wall



5. What’s a Trapper Keeper?
-Somewhere you can store notebooks and folders
-A binder for paper
-A binder



6. What is a crimper?
-Something for your hair
-To keep things together; like clamps.
-Something for your hair



7. What is a Hacky Sack?
-A sack that you kick around; a toy.
-A hobby kick-around thing; a round yarn ball
-A bean bag thing. Or is it one of those little tiny stuffed animals?



8. What is a boom box?
-An old school speaker
-A radio
-A radio thing that you take with you



9. What is an Atari?
-A game console
-A game device
-A video game thing



10. What is Tang?
-Either a shortened version of WuTang; or a sense of taste. Like tangy.
-A game
-Some type of make-up



11. What is a TV Guide?
-A scheduling for TV programs
-A TV manual for different channels
-A screen that shows you all the channels



12. What is a View Master?
-Something for TV
-You hold it to your face and click and it shows a picture
-A movie player



13. What is The Oregon Trail?
-A video game
-A video game
-A trade route



14. What was the minimum wage in 1980?
-$4.00
-$7.00
-$0.02

(I had to Google the answer to this, because I had no idea--it was $3.10)


15. What is a BonBon?
-A snack or treat
-Things that cheerleaders use in their hands
-Food; a pastry



16. What is a card catalog?
-A magazine
-A catalog for playing cards
-A card box



17. What is a Lite Brite?
-It sounds like a TV product
-You snap your fingers and turn on a light
-A night light



18. What is Teddy Ruxpin?
-A child's toy--a bear
-A person
-A famous person



19. What is Aqua Net?
-A net that goes in water
-A movie
-A net that goes in water


Isn't this so fun? I think my favorite answer was Eli's regarding BonBons: "Things that cheerleaders use in their hands" (obviously thinking of pom poms). Or the fact that none of them knew what Tang was.

Anyway, I thought some of you may want to ask your own kids the questions, so I typed out an easy copy + paste word document here. It never occurred to me that kids today might not know what a Rolodex is, or a phone jack, or even a card catalog!

7 comments:

  1. OMG. This post had me rolling on the floor! Thanks for sharing. Roledex? I guess they were thinking Rolex when they said watch. I just imagine a Shady guy in NYC in a trench coat...."Psstt...wanna buy a Rolodex....real good price just for you..."

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  2. I have to share this with my sister! She and her husband are raising his three grandchildren and these questions are perfect for them. Thanks for the idea. And, yes. "TANG? You don't know what TANG is?" Love it.

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  3. $7 minimum wage in 1980!!! That's too funny.

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  4. Ha ha ha this is great!!

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  5. Omg this is hilarious! I love this so much! The Tang answers had me laughing the hardest. They did great on some of them though! I guess I didn't realize how old I was getting! ;)

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  6. Oh my gosh. They don't know what a card catalog is!?? We really are old! This was awesome! My kids are very young...but this would be fun to do with the teens at our church! Thanks for the link!!!

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  7. I loved Tang when I was a kid. I just bought a mini light brite for my 4 year old great niece for her birthday.

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