My parents were not rich, but could be quite susceptible to a good sales pitch, which is how we ended up with three sets of encyclpaedias (including a children's set). When they discovered the shopping channel, random kitchen gadgets would start popping up in the house. There was a period of time when I was in my late teens/early 20s during which my parents would buy stuff, but try to hide it from me because I would scold them for their impulse purchases.

It's bizarre, because they are otherwise so sensible and responsible!

[-]

WanderingVerses@reddit

Same same. Encyclopedia poor. But library rich! The excitement from my first library card. What a day. What a smile I wore.

[-]

sweet_pickles12@reddit

Every time I stumble on a thread like this I’m like “was I (and everyone I knew) really that poor? No! Everyone on the internet grew up rich I guess!”

Anyway this was a nonstarter, I did not know a single person with an encyclopedia set at home.

[-]

bokatan778@reddit

We didn’t have a set either. I guess my score is a 1 then!

[-]

Apprehensive_Hat8986@reddit

Technically you don't need a multi-volume set. A concise encyclopedia can be a single book.

[-]

boringsuburbandad@reddit

We weren't actually poor by any stretch, solid middle class. We always had bookshelves full of books, but I think my folks realized even then that a set of encyclopedias are outdated within a few years and we had a great public library system, so why waste the money.

[-]

Apprehensive_Hat8986@reddit

That was the really weird part. We were foodbank poor, but I think a grandparent bought them for us. Nothing quite like browsing a fortune in books, while eating all-bran with powdered milk+water.

[-]

ActualGvmtName@reddit

Yeah, that set of encyclopaedia Britannica

[-]

Secret_Elevator17@reddit

I thikn we had World Books maybe - they were brown with a gold embossing....

[-]

Sir_wlkn_contrdikson@reddit

That was britannica. World book was light brown 70% top. Navy blue 30% bottom. Gold lettering

[-]

Secret_Elevator17@reddit

We had these World Books, the reddish brown one was the gold lettering were Funk and Wagnalls, a brand that I forgot even existed until another redditor mentioned them.

[-]

Sir_wlkn_contrdikson@reddit

Those must have been made been made with papyrus. I think the set my folks bought was either green or blue

[-]

Somandyjo@reddit

Ours were a set from the 1950s that my mom found for cheap in the early 90s. I can smell that memory.

[-]

Apprehensive_Hat8986@reddit

Samsies. Also the childcraft encyclopedia books. Those were fun.

[-]

ActualGvmtName@reddit

Flipping to s to see if it has 'sex'.

[-]

bitchimtryin102@reddit

This is how I learned how a baby was made. No shit.

[-]

keepcalmscrollon@reddit

This may be TMI but there was a picture of a marble statue of, like Napoleon's sister, nude. It was part of my, uh, awakening.

It's bizarre to think about how hard up we were back then. And my parents didn't even have cable so I couldn't watch scrambled Skinomax. Shamefully, horneyness is what fostered my interest in foreign cinema and Masterpiece Theater because they could show boobies on PBS.

But at least that ended up being a positive interest. Maybe the only good thing that came out of teenaged hormones.

[-]

Lucky_Coyote_1073@reddit

Totally, lol

[-]

Lucky_Coyote_1073@reddit

Totally, lol

[-]

Sir_wlkn_contrdikson@reddit

Childcraft was great!!!

[-]

bitchimtryin102@reddit

We had a set of World Book encyclopedia s my grandma gave us. They were dated 1969 😂 for real though, I’d love to have them today

[-]

Frhetorick@reddit

Sounds like Funk and Wagnalls. That's what my family had.

[-]

Secret_Elevator17@reddit

YES!!!!!!

I think we had some world books as well but I think they were the white ones or cream colored world books maybe and then we had the funk and wagnalls that name had completely left my brain until you just said it!

[-]

keepcalmscrollon@reddit

We had a set of World Books my grandparents bought for my mom and uncle. 1966, maybe? Blue. I loved them to death.

I scored a zero. Was surprised "owned a dictionary" was on there but the I thought about it and realized I haven't touched mine in ages. Used to love that too.

[-]

TheLastBlakist@reddit

Aw man I genuinely liked looking at the set of world books my grandma had. They were like... thirty years out of date when I was a teenager but I thought it was neat to just... sit and flip through them.

[-]

Sir_wlkn_contrdikson@reddit

🔫🔫🔫🔫🔫. World book gang over here

[-]

lilbunnygal@reddit

Or Encarta 95

[-]

ActualGvmtName@reddit

Had that cd 😂

[-]

crappy-pete@reddit

Does having encarta on cd count?

Because having the britannica books is bougie af (I think they were thousands of dollars in Australia)

[-]

KahBhume@reddit

I remember when I learned that simple Encarta disc had all the information that was on what took up the entire bottom half of the family book shelf. Blew my mind.

[-]

TheBlissFox@reddit

Lol. My teacher suspected plagiarism in my report, but couldn’t prove it because he wasn’t as tech savvy as my 15 year old ass with Encarta on LaSeR DiSk!

[-]

Extra_Pea8548@reddit

Loved growing up then. Papers were just put up online without worrying too much because teachers hardly knew the tech. Freshman typing teacher didn't know about copy paste when we did it in notepad/word.

[-]

Extra_Pea8548@reddit

It came with our family's first computer. An AST 486. The game was fun in it.

[-]

rosiedoes@reddit

We had leather bound ones from the 1960s.

[-]

El-Viking@reddit

I'm going with household, too. I've never owned a set of encyclopedias, but my family did when I was young. It also had an entry on the war in Vietnam but it was an unresolved conflict at the time of printing.

Needless to say, it wasn't the most reliable reference material when I got to high school.

[-]

sh1nybaubles@reddit

This was my question! I didn’t personally own them but my parents did

[-]

tjdux@reddit

Could even stretch that to grandparents owning a set qualifying.

I remember dad looking up stuff in the encyclopedia at home and not being satisfied and then looking up the same subject on my grandparents encyclopedia because theirs was "better".

I can't remember if it was that they were newer (or older...) or fancier or more in depth but at least a few times that happened.

[-]

Myotherdumbname@reddit

My grandma had a set, but we never did

[-]

cornpudding@reddit

We had World Books that my mom has been buying piecemeal from the grocery store but we moved before we finished the set. That meant that every report me or my siblings wrote has to be sourced from the first half of the alphabet. No reports on trains or Zimbabwe or radon

[-]

sweet_pickles12@reddit

Ok, Richie Rich. You know who owned the encyclopedia? The Library. So many nickel xerox copies.

[-]

zoey8068@reddit

I remember when they were records or LPs LOL

[-]

buffalovirgo@reddit

Owned like four parts of the Charlie Brown encyclopedia my mom was buying for us at the supermarket, not a complete set but in counting it. I also got a zero

[-]

Ninjastyle1805@reddit

Same

[-]

MorrighanAnCailleach@reddit

Same here.

[-]

keepcalmdude@reddit

1 point as well. I never sent a postcard. I just never bothered to do it

[-]

skeetpea@reddit

Exactly. Technically my parents owned it.

[-]

DooficusIdjit@reddit

Are you sure? They came with every computer after cd-roms were standard equipment.

[-]

SinisterDetection@reddit

Same, did borrow certain volumes from the library though

[-]

Teto_the_foxsquirrel@reddit

I'm counting my grandma's encyclopedia bookshelf. I didn't own them myself, but I did use them as a kid.

[-]

sweetnsalty24@reddit

I guess I get a 1 for never listening to vynil

[-]

GlumpsAlot@reddit

Same.

[-]

BadRabiesJudger@reddit

Before you give up on this. Did you or a friend own a fisherprice record player as a child.

[-]

2099AD@reddit

I mean, considering it doesn't exist... :D

[-]

bokatan778@reddit

It’s never too late!

[-]

kathatter75@reddit

Yeah…my family couldn’t afford that, so I got a 1

[-]

neopod9000@reddit

Came here to rep the never owned an encyclopedia crew.

We was too poor....

[-]

Critical-Weird-3391@reddit

So like, Mom signed up for some kind of Encyclopedia subscription through the local grocery store? We had about 1/3 of the books...I don't know how to score that. Without that, I have a 0.

[-]

OrbitPKA@reddit

Does MS Encarta count?

[-]

Loocha@reddit

We bought one encyclopedia per week at the grocery stone until we had the whole set. That memory is crazy to think about.

[-]

deep8787@reddit

Same as me...unless Encarta 95 counts?

[-]

IvanNemoy@reddit

Same. Too poor.

[-]

Uncle_Burney@reddit

I’m calling that one free volume “an encyclopedia”

[-]

FlamesNero@reddit

But did your grandparents own an Encyclopedia Britanmica set? Or, have you ever touched a cd Encyclopedia??

[-]

kimchiman85@reddit

That misspelling bugged me a lot.

I got 0 points.

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knivesofsmoothness@reddit

Vynil record was the only point I scored. Vinyl yes, Vynil no.

[-]

spderweb@reddit

Did you have Encarta on your computer though?

[-]

2099AD@reddit

nope

[-]

ElectraFish@reddit

Also 1 point - never recorded off the radio. I wasn't really ever into music.

[-]

bluelaw2013@reddit

This was my one point too.

I copied music for sure, but never from the radio.

[-]

djseifer@reddit

I'm counting the one I owned on CD-ROM.

[-]

HomsarWasRight@reddit

Encarta DEFINITELY counts.

[-]

alittlegnat@reddit

1 - I’ve never used paper maps unless you count Mapquest print outs of my route lol

[-]

bluelaw2013@reddit

Still counts.

No points for you!

[-]

Dazzling_Line_8482@reddit

My parents did but the closest I came was Encyclopedia Brown

[-]

shinbreaker@reddit

Same. I have no idea of where I would even put a whole Britannica set.

[-]

Meperkiz@reddit

Thank you. I was highly disturbed by their spelling. Also: score zero! Represent!

[-]

Potvin_Sucks@reddit

I don't remember if we ever got the full set but I do remember buying them at the supermarket where they were sold one volume each week/month whatever. Better hope you don't go out of town or miss a week because that set will never get complete.

[-]

Ltimbo@reddit

2 points. I never used a Walkman (although I did have a discman so do I get half a point for that?). And I never sent a post card. That seems like a strange one to add to the list.

[-]

akahermione@reddit

I’d give you a zero for sure - Walkman, discman, RadioShack generic - a portable CD player was a portable CD player.

Bonus zero point: anti-skip tech

[-]

Zeqhanis@reddit

Can't spell vinyl, yet spells '80s correctly. Weird, right?

In the spirit of this list, without being a Nazi (surf, grammar/spelling, or otherwise), I got a 0.

[-]

Ted_Fleming@reddit

0 points. I did a few of these things today…

[-]

Prossdog@reddit

Hey, vinyl (vynil?) is coming back now. My parents had a record player when I was a kid but my wife and I just got one a few months ago. There is something warm and fuzzy about the comforting crackle of a record.

[-]

Alltheprettydresses@reddit

Perfect zero

[-]

uplate2much@reddit

0 points.

[-]

CtrlLaff@reddit

I've never used a real rotary phone, but I've used a toy one.

[-]

Less_Likely@reddit

I mean, some of these things I’ve done in the past year

[-]

jrice441100@reddit

I used a paper map today.

[-]

edit_R@reddit

This one boggled my mind… have you ever visited a park?

It should say “use a street map book.” That’s some old school stuff.

[-]

Apprehensive_Hat8986@reddit

Isn't a boombox just what we now call a "bookshelf stereo"?

[-]

atrich@reddit

If you can't hold it up in the air playing In Your Eyes by Peter Gabriel outside your crush's window, it ain't a boom box, brother.

[-]

Secret_Elevator17@reddit

not quite, most boomboxes you could run on batteries and carry around with you - they were big though, it was not a walkman by any means.

[-]

Apprehensive_Hat8986@reddit

🤷‍♂️ I've had both. I know not all boomboxes could separate the speakers, but mine did.

[-]

Secret_Elevator17@reddit

yeah some could, but I thought the ones that were more meant to sit on your entertainment center were called modular or component stereos or hi-fi stereos for a bit

But I think there were some that were both.

[-]

atrich@reddit

If you can't hold it up in the air playing In Your Eyes by Peter Gabriel outside your crush's window, it ain't a boom box, brother.

[-]

mlddragon@reddit

I didnt read the thread yet, just had to stop and ask how you got a picture of my stereo?! :D

[-]

Mediocre-Victory-565@reddit

Ah, the OG of being on speaker phone in public, lmao

[-]

TheLastBlakist@reddit

I've heard them called Ghetto Blasters in the past... Not sure how kosher the term is.

I had one that had detatchable speakers. yet I tended to just plug headphones in because my taste in music is my own and honestly I preferred a walkman for that reason.

[-]

zoey8068@reddit

Google "ghetto blaster"

[-]

Rower78@reddit

Sent/received a fax; those guys are definitely still kicking around.

[-]

officialdougjudy@reddit

If you work in medical, legal, or finance, you definitely get paper faxes right now.

[-]

thegholahayt@reddit

Yep. I'm sending faxes daily at work. Although, now I can fax straight from the computer, so it's a lot easier.

[-]

jelloshot@reddit

I use one daily at work.

[-]

Ailly84@reddit

And yet I'm 40 and haven't ever sent one, not so I really believe i know what they are.

[-]

Elenakalis@reddit

I work in healthcare. I'm forever faxing doctors who failed to follow up on escripts that were promised or faxing paper scripts residents somehow manage to bring back to the pharmacy our facility uses.

[-]

drainbamage1011@reddit

I think I was the last person to use our office's fax machine (albeit, about 5 years ago). I was hired to replace a Boomer who'd retired, and he still used it a fair amount, so some of his clients were still accustomed to it. I used it a few times starting off, before transitioning over to email for everything.

The office manager popped into my office and asked how much I needed the fax machine, because they wanted to change copiers and I was the only one still using it. I told her, "no way, get that thing out of here."

[-]

Horse_Dad@reddit

I remember the first time I heard about a fax machine and I couldn’t get over how such a magical thing could exist.

[-]

ndjs22@reddit

Healthcare. Yep.

[-]

mackfactor@reddit

Especially in Japan.

[-]

DiscordianStooge@reddit

I never sent fax until I was almost 30.

[-]

Minnow_Minnow_Pea@reddit

I had to fax a thing for work recently. I used an email to fax thing, I'm not sure if it counts.

I did use a regular fax machine at work maybe a year and a half ago?

[-]

doggufoamie@reddit

I still have to pay my rent with a physical check.

[-]

bluemitersaw@reddit

I wrote a check on Tuesday.

[-]

aakaase@reddit

I'm a landlord and I appreciate my tenants pay me with Venmo or Apple Pay

[-]

newenglandredshirt@reddit

I've done some of these in the last week

[-]

dorky2@reddit

I listened to a CD today.

[-]

Equivalent_Hat_7220@reddit

0

[-]

majj27@reddit

I don't know how, but my score is negative.

[-]

Cactilily@reddit

-1 for putting tape on a VHS to record over it

-1 for connecting two VCRs so you can play one and make a copy on the other 🤣

[-]

Teflon_John_@reddit

-1 because I’ve I’ve done all that plus used a multi home “party-line” telephone?

[-]

majj27@reddit

Oh, I've done that too.

I gave myself a -1 for listening to music on a reel-to-reel tape player.

My score just keeps descending...

[-]

bshr49@reddit

What about 8-tracks?

[-]

justonemom14@reddit

Giving myself a point for the 8-tracks as well.

[-]

Icy-Finance5042@reddit

Our van had an 8 track player growing up. Had one 8 track that had one song.

[-]

majj27@reddit

I've honestly never used one.

[-]

onebirdonawire@reddit

I'm giving myself a negative point because my father still used 8 track tapes when I was in high school. With my BOOK of cds. I also used one of those tape-to-cd adapters. 😫

[-]

Thesmallestsasquatch@reddit

I guess I am at -2 for owning both reel to reel and 8 track players now!

[-]

YourStarsAlgonquin@reddit

For BETAMAX?

[-]

Intelliphant33@reddit

1 point. Never used a paper map.

[-]

Hi_Its_Me_Stan_@reddit

Same. I didn’t drive until I was in my early 20’s and by then we had MapQuest.

[-]

atrich@reddit

If you printed it out on your bubblejet printer to take in the car with you, I think that's a paper map.

Me, I had a Thompson's guide banging around in my car well into my 20s

[-]

EXlTPURSUEDBYAGOLDEN@reddit

Paper maps were great. Once you finished re-reading your Roald Dahl book and the batteries died on your gameboy, the only form of entertainment on family roadtrips was comparing mileage markers in the road atlas against the current speed of your minivan to calculate how much longer it would take to pass the next major exit. Then you'd hit a winding section of road, get car sick from concentrating on the map, and puke into a gallon ziplock bag. Good fun.

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Rare_Tomorrow_5425@reddit

Damn that unlocked some memories lol

[-]

RemoteTransition9892@reddit

1 Point, I don't think I ever rented from a blockbuster considering it was in the next town over about 25 minutes away and we had like three or four rental stores in our town. I definitely bought from them a few times though.

[-]

insanecarbunkle@reddit

1 because there was no blockbusters where I grew up. We had Hometown Video

[-]

Individual-Schemes@reddit

That counts

[-]

ZedArkadia@reddit

I'd say that just going to a video store counts. Blockbuster isn't any more retro than any other video store that was around at the time; it's probably more retro to have gone to a store that had an adult section.

[-]

WindSprenn@reddit

Hollywood Studio was cheaper and closer than Blockbuster so we went there. The real question is who else rented a VHS from a grocery store?

[-]

jamie535535@reddit

That’s my 1 too. We had one but they wouldn’t give me a card.

[-]

Gloomy_Story818@reddit

0 as well! 🥳

[-]

SnoochieBuchie@reddit

0 for me

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Everyone_dreams@reddit

The only thing on here I get a point for is never using a type writer.

My dad bought a computer in 85-86 and we always had one in the house after that.

[-]

goodfriend_tom@reddit

That was easy. What did I win?

[-]

GF_baker_2024@reddit

Oof. Yeah, perfect zero score.

[-]

tillyspeed81@reddit

Big zero

[-]

Shatterstar23@reddit

We didn’t know an encyclopedia and we didn’t have a blockbuster.

[-]

Mental_Pound4509@reddit

Yep zero

[-]

ConLawHero@reddit

Some of these are just a function of having a job, even today.

For example, I've faxed in 2024 because the IRS primarily accepts paperwork through faxes from attorneys.

I have a dictionary because we have Black's Law Dictionary - what every attorney uses.

Even checks, I loath using them, but some places will only accept checks or they'll give you a discount because you're not using a credit card. Though, I will say, I think I'm still using the same check book I opened my bank account with like 10 years ago.

[-]

justonemom14@reddit

I did this quiz with my 18-year-old kid. On the Blockbuster question, she said um...oh yeah, we did rent a video that one time. I'm like ??, no that was a Redbox, they had DVDs. She said, "Wait, what was the question?" omg I lost it. I had to explain that a video from Blockbuster means a VHS from the walk-in store. I guess they had DVDs in the later years, but Redbox doesn't count.

On an interesting note, she has listened to music from a wax cylinder on a phonograph, because of this one time we went to a museum. But she hasn't ever listened to music on vinyl!

[-]

Prollyjokin@reddit

Boomer Facebook memes need to find a more appropriate sub

[-]

LukeMayeshothand@reddit

1- No postcard sent.

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Consistent_Shake4405@reddit

Zero!

[-]

Possible-Tangelo9344@reddit

1 point. We didn't go to Blockbuster, we went to a local place then we got Hollywood Video

[-]

CaptZombieHero@reddit

I sent a fax yesterday for my work. Listened to Ella Fitzgerald on Vinyl last week. Also, perfect zero.

[-]

tbr6742@reddit

2-no Blockbusters out in the middle of nowhere and never sent a post card.

[-]

General-Basket-1691@reddit

Perfect 0 here too

[-]

Diligent_Accident775@reddit

I've never sent a postcard or used a paper map :(

[-]

panteragstk@reddit

I don't see "listened to 8 tracks" on the list.

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gyanrahi@reddit

Perfect 20 here

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rpmsm@reddit

I still pay my rent with a paper check. Definitely zero

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blue_suavitel@reddit

Yeah we couldn’t afford the encyclopedia so I get 1 point for that

[-]

CharlieMoonMan@reddit

Does the Mac Os Encyclopedia count? With the pre-loaded Cranberries album?

[-]

highwindxix@reddit

I got 1 point, cause I don’t think I ever sent a postcard.

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Movie-goer@reddit

Book a flight/holiday in a travel agent's office needs to be on there.

[-]

tip0thehat@reddit

That kind of misses a lot of poor people.

[-]

NectarSweat@reddit

Yes! Did that once.

[-]

herseyhawkins33@reddit

Meet someone at the gate too

[-]

TheFuckingHippoGuy@reddit

Been on a flight where smoking was allowed

[-]

Movie-goer@reddit

And thumbing a lift.

[-]

_dangling_participle@reddit

My parents literally still do this. Just had their agent drop off a set of tickets at their home yesterday while I was visiting and I couldn't compute.

[-]

miku_dominos@reddit

I still do that because my cousin is a travel agent and he gets me good deals.

[-]

HYThrowaway1980@reddit

I did that for my honeymoon not ten years ago

[-]

Corvus-333@reddit

0 club….as long as we count the family encyclopedia set as mine

[-]

Suspicious-Yard4205@reddit

1 - I never recorded onto a cassette from the radio. I recorded plenty of nonsense onto a cassette, but never anything from the radio.

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Low_Control_8603@reddit

18

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drwebb@reddit

Easy zero

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enkidomark@reddit

None of these are even deep cuts. Maybe the encyclopedia.

[-]

javaman83@reddit

Half a point. I never rented a video from Blockbuster, because there weren't any around here, but I did rent from a mom and pop, and then Hollywood Video.

[-]

eldritch_elder@reddit

Also perfect zero!

[-]

Terriblarious@reddit

1, I've never sent a postcard.

[-]

no_thank_you33@reddit

Who are you billionaires who owned encyclopedias?

[-]

NectarSweat@reddit

We definitely weren't even millionaires but we had the adult set and the child set that was beige and red. There were so many good stories at the end of the child books I'd read over again when I was bored.

[-]

OllieFromCairo@reddit

My parents viewed it as an investment in our education.

I think World Book was about $300.

[-]

Somerset1982@reddit

Same. My family was far from rich, but we had a set of World Books. I read them all the time as a kid.

[-]

JamesBuffalkill@reddit

We had World Book 1986 which, aside from its educational purposes, made for great bathroom reading material well into the 2000's.

[-]

OllieFromCairo@reddit

Mine was probably 89, and yes, they were fun for many, many years.

[-]

29stumpjumper@reddit

Same. I used to love to just sit and look through them. I can visualize how they felt and smelled even though I haven't seen one in decades. If I recall, someone sold them to us door to door.

Duck billed platypus was one of the first things I looked up because of the commercials they'd run.

[-]

CalebWilliamson@reddit (OP)

They were second hand.

[-]

ShartyMcFly1982@reddit

Second hand, I was using a 1968 version of world books in the early 90’s. Well we had them, I only looked at the pictures.

[-]

anniemdi@reddit

We were also using 1968 World Books in the 1990s.

[-]

LardLad00@reddit

Yeah my family's set were hand-me-downs from the '70s. World Books, of course.

[-]

firesticks@reddit

Ah those 1972 World Books we had really hit a wall in the late eighties/early nineties.

[-]

Somandyjo@reddit

50s here lol

[-]

IamREBELoe@reddit

Slot for a library card, here.

[-]

Bob_Lawablaw@reddit

World Book!! Fuck yeah!

[-]

portraitframe810@reddit

My cousin had a full, up to date set in 1999. I was so jealous.

[-]

letharus@reddit

Does Encarta count?

[-]

gyrlonfilm6@reddit

I was just about to ask that. That's the only encyclopedia I had. I loved the game on Encarta!

[-]

LardLad00@reddit

No

[-]

letharus@reddit

:(

[-]

compulov@reddit

This is the closest I ever had to an encyclopedia in my house. Of course by that point I also had the Internet. Oh, and maybe a few random volumes of Funk & Wagnalls, but never a complete set. Parents were frugal and didn't see a point when I had easy enough access to proper encyclopedias at school and the library.

[-]

El-Viking@reddit

My parents bought a set from a door-to-door salesman when my mom was pregnant with my older brother as an "investment in his future". Fast forward to me in high school still using them as twenty year old reference material.

[-]

DooficusIdjit@reddit

They werent all super expensive. A few publishers were selling very discounted sets with cheap bindings and covers for like 2-300 brand new.

[-]

ClockwrkAngel2112@reddit

Honestly I didn't realize they were that expensive... My dad bought a Britannica set new when I started 2nd grade, so I guess 1987 ish.

[-]

Valuable_Tomorrow882@reddit

I’m pretty sure we don’t have a complete set. We bought them from a door to door salesman on some kind of a book of the month plan that my parents stopped paying for.

[-]

Teto_the_foxsquirrel@reddit

My grandma had a set, not sure if she got them new or if she got the previous years set on sale.

You really only needed one of them per family though, so I counted it on my list.

[-]

Agoodnamenotyettaken@reddit

A few months before I was born, my dad was in an accident at work and got a fairly nice payout. He was flat broke and deep in debt again by my first birthday. But despite being poor, I grew up with the World Book encyclopedia set and the complete Child Craft set. We also had a Commodore 64, an Atari with maybe a dozen games, a laser disk player with several movies, and the best stereo/record player 1980 had to offer.

[-]

StaceyPfan@reddit

My parents bought them in the late 70s before I was born.

[-]

spderweb@reddit

Encarta. Or hand me downs.

[-]

AccidentalGK@reddit

Found in a box on the curb. They were probably 20 years out of date but it still counts.

[-]

bokatan778@reddit

I grew up pretty standard “middle class” and we didn’t have a set. I mean I used the ones from the library plenty, we just didn’t have them at home.

[-]

joeybagofdonuts80@reddit

You didn’t have to be rich, but the richer you were the more current the books were. Ours were from the 70’s :)

[-]

DonShulaDoingTheHula@reddit

I have no idea where they came from but they were old at the time. Like they might not have accounted for 50 states type old.

[-]

schoolisuncool@reddit

We didn’t have much money at all, but my mom made sure I had encyclopedias because she valued my education… I only used them for book reports though

[-]

sweet_pickles12@reddit

Lmao your username… your mom has buyer’s remorse

[-]

automaticmantis@reddit

I remember my parents buying those sets they sold at the supermarket. You’d buy like one book at a time. You have an upcoming school report on snakes? Sorry the “S” volume hasn’t been purchased yet.

[-]

Secret_Elevator17@reddit

I think my dad's work gave them sets at some point

[-]

grumpyoldnord@reddit

Same. My dad worked shipping and motor pool for the local university, so we got all kinds of perks like internet and encyclopedias and shit.

[-]

JaxxisR@reddit

My first computer came with one on CD-Rom.

[-]

6thBornSOB@reddit

I think ours were from the late 60s or so

[-]

FlyingAnvils@reddit

Comptons for the win!

[-]

zenlittleplatypus@reddit

Faxes are still popular in the medical community; sharing protected information via email isn't safe.

[-]

Procrasturbating@reddit

I still do number 7. Like actually at this moment listening to The Claypool Lennon Delirium.

[-]

zoey8068@reddit

Fuck am I that old (insert sad face)

[-]

Dast_Kook@reddit

Zero for me too. Shoot, I've done have these things in the last 30 days.

[-]

NectarSweat@reddit

1 point. Never sent a postcard.

[-]

Somerset1982@reddit

I scored a 0. The paper checks thing surprises me- there are still things today for which I need to write paper checks. Is that unusual?

[-]

selfmadetrader@reddit

Yup... zero

[-]

OllieFromCairo@reddit

One point for number 7. My records were all made of vinyl.

[-]

El-Viking@reddit

I'll give you a -1 if you've ever rocked out to a wax cylinder

[-]

OllieFromCairo@reddit

Reel to reel and magnetic wire, yes, but never wax cylinder.

[-]

El-Viking@reddit

I'm pretty sure my dad still has his reel to reel (and some reels) in his basement

[-]

melismyhero@reddit

Perfect score here

[-]

The_Goondocks@reddit

Got em all. I've seen things.

[-]

TheJustBleedGod@reddit

Don't think I've ever sent a postcard

[-]

doornumber2v2@reddit

Same. Never went anywhere to send one from. I have mailed letters.

[-]

anniemdi@reddit

My mom gave us card stock and had us draw on the front and write on the back to send to relatives.

[-]

tjdux@reddit

I have mailed letters.

Close enough.

[-]

Rare_Tomorrow_5425@reddit

I think they're interchangeable too. Which, if so, gives me a zero score .

[-]

Chest_Rockfield@reddit

Zero. Also, I just faxed something yesterday...

[-]

PickledPepa@reddit

I did all of these things. I'm an old 40.

[-]

ezhammer@reddit

Hard zero for me.

[-]

Hodl2Moon@reddit

VINYL. goddamn that irked me…also scored a 0

[-]

nathanimal_d@reddit

People act like this makes them good at something. It just means you were alive in the 80s/90s. Have you ever shod a horse? Crank started a car?

[-]

SailNW@reddit

I got a 1. By the time I started driving, we at least had Mapquest.

[-]

Starwarsandbacon@reddit

Perfect 0

[-]

NProgress7@reddit

0 is my score...I'm officially an old fart😅💨

[-]

Feline_Fine3@reddit

I wasn’t sure if printed MapQuest directions count as a paper map, ha ha. Because if they do, then it is a zero

[-]

Goblinboogers@reddit

1 point! We were too poor for a encyclopedia

[-]

ShakyTheBear@reddit

0

[-]

Enso_Herewe_Go@reddit

1984 millennial here...zero.

[-]

IUMogg@reddit

Does a paper map include the directions and map I printed off of Mapquest?

[-]

QuentinEichenauer@reddit

Perfect zero, but I didn't send a fax until 2022.

[-]

abirdreads@reddit

0 out of 20. Oh, and I still listen to vinyl. :)

[-]

xnef1025@reddit

No rotary phone use here. My friend had one in his house, but I never used it, and by the first time I used a pay phone they’d all been replaced with touch tones.

[-]

Trevon45-2@reddit

Zero here

[-]

Difficult_Plantain89@reddit

I never sent a postcard. We made some in class and my mom was supposed to send them out or whatever.

[-]

Capital_Push5557@reddit

Listened to a cassette tape TODAY

[-]

someguyfromsk@reddit

gif

[-]

tersegirl@reddit

I was still doing some of these things in the 00s. Life in a backwater, I guess

[-]

yaktrone@reddit

Im a 90s baby and im still paying some bills with checks? Is that just a having boomer parent thing?

[-]

OpheliaDarkling@reddit

In the words of Elvis Costello, "everything means less than zero.."

gif

[-]

LordButterbeard@reddit

0

[-]

unkiestink@reddit

2, I never owned a dictionary or a encyclopedia but my sister did!

[-]

bluemitersaw@reddit

2 for the same reasons. Although I do own a thesaurus so I'm not sure what that means.

[-]

VirgilsCrew@reddit

0

[-]

nitrot150@reddit

0 here too

[-]

Exciting-Flounder-85@reddit

I think I have sent a fax or two. Almost had a point there

[-]

ThomasSirveaux@reddit

1 point. I've never listened to a vinyl record. We had 8 tracks and cassettes, but no record player. When I was about 12, we got a CD player.

[-]

cantwejustplaynice@reddit

Australians stopped paying with cheques a LONG time ago. That said, there are still some official transactions that require one, like buying a home for instance. I missed out because we bought our home during lockdowns and everything was online.

[-]

Unlucky-tracer@reddit

-1 = had a pen pal

[-]

JinxOnU78@reddit

Same… “0”

[-]

Konnorwolf@reddit

Zero of course. I could see maybe not using a rotary phone. Everything else was just too common for the time.

Used pliers to change the channel on your old TV because the dial broke

[-]

Threetimes3@reddit

Never really used a rotary phone here. My parents were young, so had a newer phone, never really spent much of my young childhood with other family to be around them

[-]

New_Sail_7821@reddit

This is some boomer shit. I thought we were going to be better

[-]

SpicyBreakfastTomato@reddit

Also a perfect 0.

And, I mean, businesses still use fax machines.

[-]

AdhesivenessWeary377@reddit

Never recorded off the radio. Never had the correct equipment.

[-]

BUTTERSBOTTOMBlTCH@reddit

Scored a zero but was born in 84. So I guess I have a seat on the council but will not be given the rank of master.

[-]

Tiny_Addendum707@reddit

.5 because I had encarta not britanica

[-]

JamieC1610@reddit

0

I feel old now.

[-]

Downtown_Falcon_2127@reddit

almost scored a 1. sent a fax from a truck stop in grayson ky sometime in the mid aughts

[-]

ST_Lawson@reddit

1 point for me because the nearest Blockbuster was like 2 hours away. We had video rental places, but no big chains until later when family video showed up.

[-]

red-ernie_6691@reddit

Woohoo! Zero!

[-]

Moist-Golf-8339@reddit

1 point for me for the encyclopedia. But do I get -1 point for still using paper maps to this day? Specifically in the BWCA

[-]

Icy-Finance5042@reddit

2 never owned encyclopedia or sent a postcard.

[-]

aakaase@reddit

☑︎ Used a rotary phone

☑︎ Used a floppy disk

☑︎ Used a typewriter

☑︎ Taken pictures with a film camera

☑︎ Listened to music on a CD

☑︎ Listened to a cassette tape

☑︎ Listened to a vinyl record

☑︎ Listened to music on a Walkman

☑︎ Listened to music on a boombox

☑︎ watched a video from a VHS tape

☑︎ Sent or received a fax

☑ Recorded music from radio to cassette tape

☐ Rented a video from camera Blockbuster

☑ Accessed the internet by dial-up

☑ Used a phone book

☑ Sent a postcard

☑ Used a paper map to get somewhere

☑ Owned a dictionary

☐ Owned an encyclopedia

☑ Paid with a paper check

My score: 18

[-]

SomethingWitty2023@reddit

Passes with a perfect zero as well!

[-]

El-Viking@reddit

Do I get an extra point for watching a movie on LaserDisc? What about renting a LaserDisc to record onto VHS?

[-]

InNausetWeTrust@reddit

Same…0 pts. I still get the phone book delivered to my house. I don’t ask for it and it shows up. Goes in the trash 🗑️ right away 🤷

[-]

CosmicCommentator@reddit

0!! So, did I pass or fail?

[-]

MeatPopsicle10@reddit

I did some of these today

[-]

DownEastAtticus@reddit

I’m too old for this, 38 years old and got a 0

[-]

DeGreenster@reddit

Id be drunk AF

[-]

ApexAzimuth@reddit

Easily a zero.

[-]

Happy-Freedom6835@reddit

I’m trying to figure out how to make a less than zero reference, but I’m coming up short… it’s been a long week

[-]

Slippi88@reddit

Zero. And I’m a millennial born in 88.

[-]

swish301@reddit

I only won with 0 because we had the “A” encyclopedia and no others.

I don’t remember how we got it, but if I ever had a report on something with the letter A, I was all set.

[-]

mahzian@reddit

1 point for me, never paid via cheque, it was antiquated by the time I was making money.

[-]

patellison@reddit

20/20

[-]

jimbeam84@reddit

19 / 20

I never rented from Blockbuster as the closest outlet was 4 hours away.

[-]

Complete_Volume@reddit

I’m 35, and I scored a zero.

[-]

Thesmallestsasquatch@reddit

0

[-]

TangMoG@reddit

0, if you count Microsoft Encarta as an encyclopedia

[-]

No_Bake_3627@reddit

0 points

[-]

John_TheBlackestBurn@reddit

I don’t know if Ive ever sent a postcard… 🤔

[-]

Onetwentyonegigawat@reddit

20 dayum

[-]

mamafl@reddit

Perfect zero

[-]

SunflowerDonut9847@reddit

1 point… never faxed a thing in my life

[-]

Turbulent_Tale6497@reddit

I owned A encyclopedia. My parents got World book volume A for free, were too cheap to buy the rest. Throughout school, I wrote lots of papers on A subjects.

So, yes, I owned A encyclopedia

[-]

friskyburlington@reddit

19/20. I never rented from Blockbuster. I did have an account at Family Video back when that existed around here.

[-]

jordosmodernlife@reddit

Zero 0️⃣ and Vynil lol

[-]

GonzoThompson@reddit

My grandparents got the encyclopedias for my family, so they weren’t mine per se, but I used them the most. If that’s a point for me, it’s the only one.

[-]

Futbalislyfe@reddit

Paid for a long distance phone plan.

Waited until after 6pm for free nights and weekends to make a phone call.

Told someone they owe me money if they send me a text.

[-]

Zealousideal-Ear1036@reddit

20/20

[-]

gwinnsolent@reddit

0 points!

[-]

CountryKick@reddit

0 for 20... definitely remember having the Britannica, with those shiny gold page edges

[-]

Some-Union2853@reddit

Same, and had time left over to spell check "Vynil?"

[-]

Release82@reddit

19 points. 😂

[-]

dvs-0ne@reddit

I was hoping i will miss points on boombox but then i googled what that is and, yeah, got that one too... im 35 and im fucking old

[-]

Ingestre@reddit

Never sent a fax.

[-]

Slevinkellevra710@reddit

I think i have a 1. I don't believe I ever recorded of the radio.

[-]

Due_Night414@reddit

Damn. 20/20. Perfect score baby!!!

[-]

marvin_nash9@reddit

20/20 here

[-]

honkyhey@reddit

Well I guess I need to take 20 shots

[-]

Toadthehobo2@reddit

Perfect score of a 0. Damn I am getting old.

[-]

LaughingCook@reddit

0

[-]

SirHillaryPushemoff@reddit

For number 9, would you also have accepted a ghetto blaster?

[-]

oilyrailroader@reddit

Should have on the list: rented a VCR

[-]

djbuttplay@reddit

0

[-]

YinzerInExile@reddit

0 for 20. I still pay some things with paper checks

[-]

AggravatedOtters@reddit

I'm trying to understand how people don't write checks anymore. All of the contractors that I have paid to work on the house ask for checks and any municipal bills aren't online yet where I live. Do they ask their bank to issue a check instead? I'm so not with it.

[-]

burf@reddit

Are you American, by chance? Electronic transfers down there seem to be a decade or so behind everywhere else. When I hire contractors here, I just send them electronic fund transfers to pay them, if they don't take credit.

[-]

pregnantandsober@reddit

A couple of contractors I've worked with took Zelle or Venmo, but most want checks. Some tree trimmers were pretty excited when my husband didn't know where the checkbook was and just paid them in cash.

[-]

burf@reddit

Yeah if I had to use a third party app to transfer funds I wouldn’t do it either. lol

[-]

AggravatedOtters@reddit

Guilty. I use apps like venmo or paypal, but not for large dollar amounts.

[-]

tjdux@reddit

Makes a person think a teenager made this list, becaise I assume most adults would skip the check one.

Should be had a credit card "swiped" with the paper transfer machine

[-]

flatulating_ninja@reddit

I just used one yesterday for a down payment on a car.

[-]

lucidspoon@reddit

I hired an interior designer, and I went to pay her the other day. She accepted Cashapp, which I have, but I've never paid with it, so I was fumbling with it. Gave up and wrote a check.

But because I do it so rarely I forgot to sign it, and didn't think about it till hours later...

[-]

haeddre83@reddit

Never sent a postcard, but mailed tons of letters. I also never owned a dictionary or encyclopedia myself but used ones in different libraries. I can navigate a card catalogue tho lol 😁

More than likely bc of where I'm from and being poor had a hand in that, so I still think I should get a zero lol

[-]

fatuousfred@reddit

0 and I'm only 35

[-]

Th3-B0n3R@reddit

1, I've never sent a postcard.

[-]

rc20kj@reddit

20 points for me. Gen X hose drinker here.

[-]

Alone-Chemical-1160@reddit

Zero

[-]

Majestic-Bed6151@reddit

Zero here. I still pay bills at my business with paper checks. Wrote 12 of them today! And I still listen to my old cassettes in my 1995 celica 🤘

[-]

AppropriateTouching@reddit

Goose egg

[-]

Jessica_Ariadne@reddit

Omg I got a zero.

[-]

Beneficial_Record119@reddit

1 point- never sent a postcard.

[-]

MatildaJeanMay@reddit

Technically I never rented from Blockbuster. We used the local video rental place.

[-]

spssky@reddit

Tbf im a straight up millennial (born in 87) and scored a zero and I think my brother who was born in 90 would too

[-]

Lauriepoo@reddit

0 for me too

[-]

InjuryDesperate1048@reddit

Is it weird to have only a score of 3 as a genZ?

Just never had a Walkman or used dial up or a floppy disk.

[-]

_37canolis_@reddit

You guys used typewriters or just saw one and clicked a few times?

[-]

xx_deleted_x@reddit

hell...I'd only score a 10 THIS YEAR

Lifetime = 0

[-]

BreakfastOk163@reddit

Perfect O here as well!

[-]

BigSal44@reddit

I got a goose egg.

[-]

flatulating_ninja@reddit

Renting a viedo from Blockbuster is the only one I've never done but to be fair my small town didn't have a Blockbuster but my first job was at the locally owned video store if that counts instead.

[-]

valdus@reddit

One point. My parents owned the encyclopedia set.

[-]

thecicilala@reddit

Zero for me as well

[-]

imthewronggeneration@reddit

I have literally done all of these except 3.

[-]

ChiEFs823@reddit

Perfect Zero

[-]

dottie_petunia@reddit

1- because I didn’t have a fax machine.

[-]

GrolarBear69@reddit

1 point. Never sent a postcard.
If I can't drive to your house inside of an hour, you're basically dead to me.

[-]

New-Radio-6177@reddit

Screw all of you infants! I have done all of these things, including used an 8-track player and gone to bed after Television signed off. Harrumpphhh!!!! (walking away as quickly as my creaky knees will let me).

[-]

Recent_Obligation276@reddit

2 points and I’m a late millennial

More 80s and 90s

[-]

Johnny2076@reddit

Do the Fink and Wagnall’s encyclopedia purchased serially through Super Duper’s count.

I think we had maybe half the set.

[-]

Ok_Researcher_9796@reddit

I don't think I've sent a postcard. Done all the others though.

[-]

RachelPalmer79@reddit

Perfect zero!!

[-]

DeathLikeAHammer@reddit

Wait, what's the point of never-have-i-ever, again? Is it like golf?

[-]

Nsflguru@reddit

Big fucking zero.

[-]

AnxiousStand2603@reddit

Solid 17 points

[-]

J_Worldpeace@reddit

Dialed 9 to get an outside line should be on there

[-]

CLUTCH3R@reddit

Perfect zero

[-]

Once_Upon_Time@reddit

2 Blockbuster wasn't a thing in Canada if we say any video rental store then down to 1, unless printing out mapquest counts then 0.

[-]

Supersith4real@reddit

Man I got 0 points. This hurts as I like to imagine I am not yet old.

[-]

DarthFuzzzy@reddit

Aren't we all going to be 0? Maybe 1 point here and there for those who never personally used fax machines or had encyclopedias.

[-]

AndyThePig@reddit

sigh

I've been watching Perfect Strangers again. I did the math ... it's 38 years old.

I shouldn't have done the math

[-]

Strict-Square456@reddit

Big phat 0.

[-]

PokesBo@reddit

1

Recorded music from radio to cassette tape.

[-]

unlovelyladybartleby@reddit

"Vynil" no. Vinyl, yes. So not sure if my score is a 1 or a 0

[-]

the_fever1981@reddit

Also, they were called records, not vinyl.

[-]

Melodic-Variation103@reddit

1 - My town was too small for a Blockbuster.

[-]

SunshineInDetroit@reddit

I scored a 23 on the purity test

[-]

OverCollar4010@reddit

Ive done every single one.... 0

[-]

jessek@reddit

I never owned a real encyclopedia. Always wanted one back then but we never had the money for it.

[-]

Bluecolt@reddit

Either a 1 or 0 depending on what counts for using a rotary phone. When I was old enough to use the phone at home I recall it having buttons, but I used to play with the working rotary phone my grandparents still had connected when visiting because I thought it was interesting, but I didn't meaningfully "use" it. A quick search reveals that button dial phones where introduced in 1963, so I guess it's not unexpectedly my parents had button dial by the 80s.

[-]

Coakis@reddit

Born in 85 so less a xennial and more a very early millennial, I only scored a 3

[-]

tjdux@reddit

Which did you get?

I am close to you age wise and I had to fudge the radio to tape one. Probably did something to that effect as a kid playing around but not to really listen too.

I did burn a shit load of CDs from downloaded music, even made a few bucks doing it for other people.

And definitely used that illegally downloaded music, played over shitty computer speakers, recorded by my crappy pre flip phone cell phone to make my own "custom" free ring tones lol.

It was a weird time.

[-]

Coakis@reddit

I had cassettes but never had an urge to copy, or record from radio.
Never had an Encyclopedia set, Though relatives and my grandmother had an older set. And oddly enough I never traveled enough as a kid to have made out a postcard and send it anywhere, although I may have purchased a few as a memento.

I burned a few CD's in my time and my current Mp3 collection may or may not have a significant amount that were dubiously obtained in the early 00's

[-]

Seldarin@reddit

2 points.

I grew up in a small rural town. There were no Blockbusters within 80 miles of us. We had a Movie Gallery like 20 miles up the road, if that counts.

Never sent a postcard, either.

[-]

slademccoy47@reddit

my score: 2-ish

I have had faxes sent and received on my behalf, and I have troubleshooted fax machines as recently as 2024, but I have never actually gone through the process of sending a fax with my own hands, nor have I received one addressed directly to me.

I used printed-out google maps with directions in the earlier google maps days, but never actually used a real map.

[-]

Radiant-Programmer33@reddit

Got two points due to 14 and 20.

My first internet connection was at uni and there the connection was definitely not a dial-up. I also thought the computer lab was the best place to hang out on weekend (nights).. okay, I know how that makes me sound and yes, I was never cool nor popular.

Paper checks haven't been a thing here since the 80s. I got a basic ATM card in the early 90s.

[-]

AskTheNavigator@reddit

Scored 0. But I always had to go to the library for updated editions of World Book. Our family set was about 5 editions out of date - dad bought it when he and mom got married - in anticipation of having kids.

[-]

jreashville@reddit

I don’t think I ever used a typewriter.

[-]

Why_So-Serious@reddit

gif

[-]

ReadyLaugh7827@reddit

two... never sent or received a fax, and i've never sent a post card..

[-]

HYThrowaway1980@reddit

Zero.

I must have paid for some things by cheque because I remember have stubs. Although I dont recall ever actually using one in a shop. Perhaps it was for mail order things?

[-]

SilverSnapDragon@reddit

I scored a perfect ZERO and I’m damned proud of it!

[-]

Teflon_John_@reddit

-1 because I’ve I’ve done all that plus used a multi home “party-line” telephone?

[-]

FafaFluhigh@reddit

20

[-]

CanIHaveAName84@reddit

I think the recording from the radio was my only point.

[-]

notenoughwineforthis@reddit

0 here! :)

[-]

NUFIGHTER7771@reddit

Zero too and I was born in the '90s!

[-]

No-Acanthisitta7930@reddit

Fuck me...zero. lol

[-]

Designer-Pound6459@reddit

I have done everything on the list multiple times.

[-]

accidental-eeyore@reddit

Whelp. I guess my ass is old.

[-]

blueberry_pancakes14@reddit

I mean I don't know what a "vynil" is, but I have a turntable, great Bose box speakers that were my dad's from the 80s, and a great record collection.

I guess technically my parents owed the encyclopedia, but it was for me and my benefit (along with the National Geographic CD-ROM set, man that thing was awesome). And I'm sure I had a children's encyclopedia at some point, so it counts.

I still pay my water/sewer/garbage bill with a paper check, because my city is stupid and charges a fee for online payments. So waste your expensive government employee's time processing my paper check each month, jerks.

[-]

uberallez@reddit

I point- I never rented from Blockbuster.

Both my parents owed them money, so we were banned.

We had to rent from Hollywood bideo or independent places.

[-]

Zsirhcz1981@reddit

0 and it’s not even a challenge. 😃

[-]

ooo-ooo-oooyea@reddit

I'm a one. We actually did not have blockbuster in my town during my prime renting years. We had a local place that also rented out videogames that was awesome, then we discovered our local library had excellent videos for rent including a full set of wrestle manias.

[-]

ExportTHCs@reddit

Well I've never sent a postcard

[-]

terminally_irish@reddit

Zero.

[-]

Tim-Sylvester@reddit

Well now I'm angry.

[-]

CalebWilliamson@reddit (OP)

gif

[-]

AggressiveCommand739@reddit

Same. Club 0 over here. Legit credentials!

[-]

Commercial_Fee422@reddit

I sent a fax yesterday.

[-]

musicpheliac@reddit

Does my parents having a huge 30 book encyclopedia count? No way I was buying that when I was 6.

We never had Blockbuster growing up, we had Family Video, and I was there many times.

I'm counting both of their towards my 0!

[-]

garygnu@reddit

Yeah, the encyclopedia set was not "mine," but I did read the hell out of the family's World Book set.

A Blockbuster eventually opened in hometown and we occasionally rented there, but we were pretty loyal to little, local, Rosewood Video.

[-]

babe_ruthless3@reddit

Fat zero. I did all these things and sometimes, I still do some of these things (listen to music on cd)

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New_Conference_3425@reddit

Postcards are awesome. Still send them to my parents when I’m abroad.

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RyanLanceAuthor@reddit

Perfect Zero as well

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yeezushchristmas@reddit

Zero hero

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OneHumanBill@reddit

When I was a kid, I wanted a copy of Brittanica sooo badly but it was way out of the realm of possibility.

One point.

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Ok_Egg_471@reddit

Never faxed anything and never sent a postcard.

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NoDontDoThatCanada@reddit

Not that old but l grew up in a small town that was like 20 years behind. With almost a complete set of encyclopedias! The salesman stopped coming around V.

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Mikey_5386@reddit

1 but only because we had Hollywood Video instead of Blockbuster.

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Bob_Lawablaw@reddit

Zero for me, too... But paper checks? What's wrong with that?

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llllllllIIIIIIl@reddit

0

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skeptical_hope@reddit

I still send postcards; postcards are dope!

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flerchin@reddit

Vinyl.

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CreepyKiki@reddit

1 point sort of but that's only because I didn't rent my VHS tapes from Blockbuster but a local store.

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Moon_Noodle@reddit

Zero. I even sent a fax today.

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DefyingGravity234@reddit

Never owned an encyclopedia.

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RobinMayPanPan@reddit

2 points...

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gymgremlin77@reddit

Fat zero plus I played dig dug on atari.

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nemomnemonic@reddit

2 points. Rented movies in other places and never used a check (I think I haven't seen one of those since I was a child). I was about to add the fax one, but I think I ONCE sent one.

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StaceyPfan@reddit

0

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llamasauce@reddit

0

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Moon_Noodle@reddit

Vynil

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aerodeck@reddit

I’ve never listened to “vynil” 😖

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lordtyp0@reddit

I really missed Blockbuster and Hollywood video. There was so much more vested interest in the movie selection.

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Previous_Farm5146@reddit

I got 3

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FionaGoodeEnough@reddit

1 for me. We were not rich enough to own encyclopedias. We had to walk to the library if we wanted to look up G for Genitalia.

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oakleafwellness@reddit

Two.

Maps were not my family’s thing, and that trickled down to me. I’ve never sent or received a fax.

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adamcmorrison@reddit

Sigh

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wheres_the_revolt@reddit

0 - but maybe .5 because I had like 5 letters/books of an encyclopedia set lol

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Lar281@reddit

Federal Blue Cross still pays for prescription drug reimbursement with paper checks. Is part of their wait until the last minute to pay scam. Also, is just for overseas claims that I know of.

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alisoncarey@reddit

Used a phone book

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mrdrofficer@reddit

Is a point good or bad? Regardless, I don't have any.

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mariah188@reddit

1 point

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Moxie_Stardust@reddit

A zero?

gif

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CalebWilliamson@reddit (OP)

https://i.redd.it/jr61gth20nde1.gif

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Warm-Gift-7741@reddit

0

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R1pp3R23@reddit

0.0

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Kolslaw77@reddit

Zero. Yay I’m old

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squashy67@reddit

Done them all lol

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phildu57@reddit

1 point, never rented from blockbuster (burned and raised in EU)

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phildu57@reddit

born

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AdScary1757@reddit

I had an 8 track player in the dash of my car.

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neversafeforwork_78@reddit

I score zero. In fact, I am listening to a vinyl record right now, so that should make me a negative-1. (and vynil on this list is a typo)

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MojoHighway@reddit

ZERO

And I get bonus minus points for knowing how to correctly spell "vinyl".

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Odd-Improvement-1980@reddit

12 and 13 are the only ones I never did. I grew up in a small town in the middle of nowhere. We didn’t have a radio station worth recording songs from and we didn’t have a blockbuster within 90 miles of where I lived. There were other movie rental businesses in my town.

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elcheapodeluxe@reddit

I'm giving myself a "0" even though my *family* owned a set of Funk & Wagnels, technically *I* did not. I did own an Encarta 95 CD though.

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actionerror@reddit

gif

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Zealousideal_Tear159@reddit

Zero. Fuck I’m old

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Beanieson@reddit

2 pts I’ve never sent a postcard, never used a typewriter 👏

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FriendlyPea805@reddit

Zero here.

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sarahsmiles17@reddit

I received a fax this week…. Some of these things are still being used routinely haha

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RanHakubi@reddit

Does Encarta count as an encyclopedia? Yes=2 No=1

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mlvassallo@reddit

0 points.

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JoeN0t5ur3@reddit

0.0

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ladymouserat@reddit

1–recorded from radio to cassette

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LemonPartyW0rldTour@reddit

Never rented a movie from blockbuster because we were a podunk town who only got local chains. And to be honest, I wouldn’t change it for all the world. Local stores were always the shit IMO

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Talonhawke@reddit

1-No block buster near me growing up. If we count any movie rental place back at 0

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switchquest@reddit

Zero ^^

We had disposable camera's placed on every table at our wedding which is only 11 years ago.

Because digital photo's would en up on a hard drive somewhere and never looked at 😅

(Which is exactly what happened with all the digital pics)

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elMurpherino@reddit

0 bro. This is easy mode lol

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mutualbuttsqueezin@reddit

I'm a lost millennial, I got all of them

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jschmalfuss@reddit

I definitely have received postcards, I don't recall ever sending one though.. guess I lose

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Hancock02@reddit

0

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Northern_Lights_2@reddit

Well, I’m old. And it’s just common sense to have a paper atlas! We are far too reliant on technology. Now I feel older…

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flipnitch@reddit

Missing “listened to music on an 8-track” and “watched video on betamax”

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SteveEcks@reddit

I sent a fax like 10 years ago and even then I was like "WHO DOES THIS??"

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Crafty-Gain-6542@reddit

1 point - somehow I never recorded music off the radio. I’m not sure how I failed to do that.

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Arnieman83@reddit

Perfect zero...

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Unable-Message9271@reddit

Team zero!

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ccarrieandthejets@reddit

I still fax things.

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Much_Ad470@reddit

I still use a paper check to pay my rent 🫠

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lilbunnygal@reddit

Just 1 point : foiled by the fax machine.

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wintertash@reddit

Zero for me too

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rev9of8@reddit

My prep school literally gave all of us a copy of the Concise Oxford Dictionary when we completed our final year at the school...

Scored a perfect zero on this test.

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Munchkin531@reddit

I've never used a typewriter, but everything else I've done.

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WingShooter_28ga@reddit

My two horse town didn’t have a Blockbuster. To be fair, some of the stuff on the list are still a part of normal life. Paper checks are still needed. Faxing was still essential until a few years ago with academic records. Sending a post card is a cool way to send yourself a souvenir.

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FlyingAnvils@reddit

Some of these I still do today!

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drainbamage1011@reddit

I don't know how people have gotten by without writing a check. Some things I do will only accept cash or check, and I rarely carry much cash.

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RedPillNavigator@reddit

16 points :D

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Kiwikid14@reddit

1 point. Never had a chequebook.

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Ok-Peach-2200@reddit

1…never sent a postcard…always thought they were kind of obnoxious for some reason.

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ReturntoForever3116@reddit

Give this test to your partner too. If they score more than 3, congrats.

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three-sense@reddit

Donut ( 0 )

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Gonna_do_this_again@reddit

Who hasn't at least heard music from a CD

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Glittering-Most-9535@reddit

I recorded from tapes to tapes, records to tapes, reel-to-reel to tape. But never off the radio. One.

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Minnow_Minnow_Pea@reddit

I don't remember if I ever used a rotary phone. We had one, but I think by the time I was actually talking on the phone, we had a touch pad.

My parents put the rotary phone in our play room, and it was one of my favorite things.

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Perfect-Resist5478@reddit

0/20

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joeybagofdonuts80@reddit

I’ve never sent a postcard.

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SaccharineHuxley@reddit

gif

Ps gonna miss you, Mr. President. 🇨🇦

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compulov@reddit

Gonna miss Trudeau from our neighbors to the north, mostly because he's been around for nine years. Guess that's still better then trying to remember who the current Prime Minister of the UK is. Well, before the liberal government most recently took over.

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Zerostar39@reddit

Same here. What does that mean about us?

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Morriganx3@reddit

Same and same

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Overall_Falcon_8526@reddit

Same and same.

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genesimmonstongue415@reddit

Same 😔

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Spare-Bid-5131@reddit

Hard zero. Like zero x 1000, which is still just zero

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BlackEngineEarings@reddit

1 point. We didn't own encyclopedias

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RonIsIZe_13@reddit

Born 86, scored a 5.

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JohnnieLawerence@reddit

0

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Philhughes_85@reddit

1 point I've never sent or received a fax

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eulynn34@reddit

I never owned an encyclopedia. My grandma had a Britannica from like 1960 I think-- which was not always the best source for doing papers in the 1990s

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repo_code@reddit

Does a discman count as a walkman? I never had a cassette walkman.

Had a transistor am/fm radio though. Fun times.

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myco_lion@reddit

I never sent a postcard but that's the only one. So 1 point for me.

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Quenzayne@reddit

I’m stuck on Sent or Received a Fax.

There were a few times I tried to send one but the machine never worked. Not even once. And I tried it on many multiple machines.

And I can’t recall if I ever received one or not. I was present when they came in, but I can’t remember one being addressed to me.

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FreedomSquatch@reddit

People in offices everywhere fax stuff all the time to this very day…

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VisibleSea4533@reddit

Zero as well

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Biscuits4u2@reddit

Zero

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bygtopp@reddit

Big zero for me.

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Liathano_Fire@reddit

Zero!

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xiaomayzeee@reddit

2 - we never went to Blockbuster and we weren’t fancy enough to own any volume of the encyclopedia.

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SweetCosmicPope@reddit

Perfect 0, as well

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ChaoticGoodMrdrHobo@reddit

1 point. But only because there was no blockbuster near where I grew up.

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Uller85@reddit

1, never owned an encyclopedia

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albauer2@reddit

Yup, perfect zero. Seriously this must be for like teenagers.

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shintojuunana@reddit

A perfect 0! Beautiful.

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iRedFive@reddit

I scored zero, wife got a 1. She’s 7 years younger. Didn’t do the record song on cassette from radio.

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Scioptic-@reddit

Score 0. Born 1985. And yet there'll still be gatekeepers who say I'm not a Xennial.

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Tiny-Reading5982@reddit

2... never used a fax machine or written a check . I have written checks for old ladies when I worked at a grocery store though lol.

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candycookiecake@reddit

I'm actually pretty sure I still have my typewriter!

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HortonHearsTheWho@reddit

This is the one thing I’m like 80% sure I’ve never done. OTOH I was a journalist for an actual physically printed newspaper so I feel like that should count.

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FlyingAnvils@reddit

Lot of dbags in Portland using them today.

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candycookiecake@reddit

So the dreams of the '90s being alive in Portland is a true statement? My typewriter is electric which doesn't make it portable and/or douche-baggy (I think).

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Newgeta@reddit

Zero, woof

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burnitdwn@reddit

I never used a real/mechanical typewriter. We had an Apple 2e when I was a kid, and then a 486, and then when I was 16, I got a job and built my own PC from inexpensive parts that I picked up at a computer show.

I never had a paper encyclopedia, but we had "prodigy bbs" which came with an encyclopedia as part of the subscription. Eventually prodigy became our ISP, though after my folks split up, when I lived with my mom we didn't really have internet until I built my PC in 96 and signed up for a local ISP called netwave.

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grumpyoldnord@reddit

1 point - never listened to a vynil record, whatever that is; I have listened to a vinyl record, tho, so typo aside it's zero for me.

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TheLastBlakist@reddit

One point - and that's because I had never had a reason to use a fax machine.

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Scary-Ad9646@reddit

Who could afford those encyclopedias?

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fiso17@reddit

What about used a car phone? Most kids would have no idea what that even is lol

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AtomicSmoothbore@reddit

Fuckin zero, man haha

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MetaVulture@reddit

I have zero points.

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universe-zen@reddit

You know, I never had to use a paper map to get around. I just kinda knew where I was going when I was driving. Now, I have been in the car on family road trips when a map was used, but not me personally.

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Main-Meringue5697@reddit

1 point because for blockbuster

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Unapologetic_Canuck@reddit

Good ol zero.

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schoolisuncool@reddit

I never sent or received a fax. Other than that, I’ve done all of it

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aardw0lf11@reddit

I've done them at some point. A few of these are still common, paper checks and faxes, hell even postcards.

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Orlando1701@reddit

r/BoomersBeingFools is leaking.

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Mithrandir_Holmes@reddit

Same

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jambr380@reddit

These were just basic things everybody did back in the day. I’d be surprised if almost everybody didn’t score a zero.

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EarlBeforeSwine@reddit

0

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amethystalien6@reddit

Zero but it was tight. I didn’t love anywhere with a Blockbuster until the last 3 years of its existence. And technically a DVD not “video”.

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DigitalDancePants@reddit

Every last one of them.

Damn.

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taleofbenji@reddit

Waited for a porn image to load in a new tab.

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Secret_Elevator17@reddit

i don't think we had tabs back then, i think it was just a new window lol

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Sunchinethewerewolf@reddit

Spelt vinyl incorrectly.

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TheFinalGirl84@reddit

Zero

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oxnardmontalvo7@reddit

20 for 20

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babyllamamama23@reddit

Those encyclopedias were the biggest con! I remember the dressing downs my Dad would give my Mom over their price. He gloated once encyclopedias on CD-Rom came out. We'd devoted two coveted shelves to those family fracturing, instantly outdated badboys. Ah, the 90s. Score 0.

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Overall_Falcon_8526@reddit

Yup. Zero. I guess Encyclopedia will be the hardest one, but my family bought a used set that was somewhat out of date :-)

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MahliSaia@reddit

I’m giving myself 2.

I’ve never recorded the radio to a cassette, and I’ve never owned an encyclopedia. Technically I’ve also never rented from Blockbuster - my family went to Hollywood Video instead.

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genesimmonstongue415@reddit

Zero.

What I've done the least, is send a fax. Only a few times.

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shiftdown@reddit

I think anyone born before 1990 would score a zero here.

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CalebWilliamson@reddit (OP)

The first fax machine was 1846, and the typewriter was 1874, so at least two.

[-]

The perfect score

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