Odd things our fathers did in 70’s
Posted by anonskier@reddit | GenX | View on Reddit | 1197 comments
For instance, my dad carried a handkerchief in his pocket that he would wipe his nose or blow his nose into and put it back in his pocket to use multiple times. God forbid I sniffled more than a few times because he would stick that gross ass thing under my nose and expect me to blow my nose into it. Another odd thing my father did to tuck in his shirt would be to drop his pants, usually in the kitchen, pull his shirt down and flat and then pull his pants back up, button up, and tighten his belt.
Maybe it’s just my dad, maybe not. I sure miss that old fart.
Anybody else have a dad, or mom for that matter, that did weird shit like that?
fongquardt@reddit
Road beers
pcb07a@reddit
They called them Road Sodas. My buddy’s dad use to pick us up in an Astro mini van with a 12 pack of Busch cans in the center between the front seats. Never thought anything about it when I was a kid…just Jeff’s dad giving us a ride home
sandtomyneck@reddit
My Grandparents had a Winnebago and every year we would drive to our family condo in it. While driving they had bottles of wine and wine glasses they would fill and drink while driving on our family road trips.
Seekonk@reddit
Mine also ironed his cotton boxer shorts
UnicornWig@reddit
The “flicking” open of the metal, refillable pipe lighter.
BigBird215@reddit
I can still hear that sound of my dad’s Zippo lighter. Flicking it open and the sound of his finger running in the roller to start it. And then the sound when he clicked it closed.
canada11235813@reddit
Don’t forget the unique smell of a Zippo lighter immediately after you blow out the flame and the burning fluid smell lingers for a moment. It’ll send you back a few decades instantly.
chairmanghost@reddit
That about made me cry. I can hear it so clear.
jackssweetheart@reddit
My dad still carries hankies! He’s 80! I just got him new ones at Christmas!
Rkcpiano@reddit
My dad had the mom-ironed hanky in his back pants pocket every day. He was also the resident “tooth puller” for me and my four siblings. And now that I think of it, I am pretty sure I remember him using the hanky to wrap around the loose tooth and pull it out. Yuck!!
MissDisplaced@reddit
Hankies were a thing with that generation. No Kleenx
-Sanguinity@reddit
and we still all call it Kleenex, because that was the only available brand of tissue.
CarlySheDevil@reddit
Exactly. Everyone carried hankies at one time.
Hlrrn@reddit
My dad still does
here_now_be@reddit
I'm feeling attacked here.
chairmanghost@reddit
You are normal!
ThisSaladTastesWeird@reddit
I recently came across old picture of my dad at work (he was a teacher and these were composite class photos). The cigarette pack in the front pocket of his shirt was something else!
TabuTM@reddit
Mom used to clean her ears with bobby pins. Is it any wonder I’m an anxious mess?
Seekonk@reddit
But Mom was fine and did not have waxy ears. lol
Comfortable-Town5775@reddit
I cannot believe someone else’s mom does this! 83 year old mom still uses them this way and then they get mixed w the others. Why?
lockenessa@reddit
My dad was a hanky man too!
dby0226@reddit
My mom ironed them for him
-Sanguinity@reddit
My grandma ironed everything. Hankies and socks included.
Vlophoto@reddit
I remember I got a quarter for ironing my dads hankies. Prob around 1975
AC031415@reddit
Same here and I 61M am as well. Our son carries one too. He’s 30.
Snurgalicious@reddit
Mine too!
lfohnoudidnt@reddit
Yup same. Can't ever remember seeing a box of kleenex around growing up.
chairmanghost@reddit
And no paper towels, it wasnt even a thought.
Livininthinair@reddit
Those were too damn expensive
EonJaw@reddit
You guys don't use handkerchiefs? Kleenix is so wasteful, and uncomfortably rough.
ThisSaladTastesWeird@reddit
Usually use Kleenex but I have cut-up squares of old flannel jammies for when it’s cold season and I need something gentle OH MY GOD I AM SOMEONE’S DAD
BirdyMan09@reddit
Quaaludes
The_Nice_Marmot@reddit
Mine kidnapped me and left a note for my mom saying he was going to kill me. The police found me a few days later. He sure is a prankster, that one.
DayTradingCards@reddit
My dad also carried a handkerchief and because of him, I did the same in my teens due to having allergies. I’d change them out daily.
Relevant-Machine-763@reddit
As any good gentleman, my Dad always had a hanky ( which he insisted on using in public), a pocket knife, and a change purse, normally a rubber type one with the local college football schedule on the back, used to be a big thing with banks.
In later years, he was blind and relied on us to get out and about and he always carried these things. Even if he couldn't see to use it, he always had a pocket knife. He passed last year and one of the things that got me was finding several of those change purses full of change in his hanky drawer.
DrgSlinger475@reddit
Ah yes the hanky drawer, with the hankies my mom ironed and stacked perfectly. With a stand of pipes sitting on top of the same chest of drawers.
UnicornWig@reddit
That’s the equivalent to mom licking her finger and fixing your hair.
rory_breakers_ganja@reddit
Or licking a finger and then removing a spot of something on your face.
Had a grandmother who thought that was the way to go if a sink wasn't conveniently nearby.
Aircooled2088@reddit
My dad would whip his pocket knife out and cut cheese or other food with it….
baconcheeseburgarian@reddit
Pocket knives in general were a big thing. My dad would be oiling and sharpening knives while watching Hogan's Heroes on TV.
Bzman1962@reddit
Pocket knives are still a thing for some.
Auntie_Venom@reddit
That was my dad. Occasionally he’d wipe the blade on his pants first. He was never without his pocket knife.
gaarkat@reddit
Lol I picked up the habit from my dad. I still carry a pocket knife.
trueLOVElost4ever@reddit
Almost everyone in my family carrie's a pocket knife... It's a very handy tool..
Aardvark-Decent@reddit
Got a perm and grew a handlebar mustache. Decided he needed to put himself first and pretty much left us in limbo. What a guy.
MiddleRecognition969@reddit
🙀
GenkiElite@reddit
My dad did the same and made sure I had a handkerchief as well a my pocket knife every day for school. I never used either.
trees_are_beautiful@reddit
We had jackknives at school, and used them to play chicken, behind the baseball diamond. Chicken, where you flick your knife at your opponent's feet, getting closer and closer until they chicken out...
justmyusername2820@reddit
Ummmm did we have the same dad? Mine also had a comb in his back pocket, a pen in his shirt pocket and his short sleeves rolled up
HoseNeighbor@reddit
I "always" have a pocket knife with me. I also have ADHD, so "always" means about 90% of the time.
Super handy!
W0nderingMe@reddit
Henry Spencer in the TV show Psych did that and I'm about to post ass of this post to that sub right now, lol.
Different-Air-8959@reddit
I carry a handkerchief, but I refuse to blow my nose into it and then stick it in my pocket
amishtoad@reddit
I carry mine to dry off my sweaty face/head. Also use it a lot as a headband or bandana when working outside.
Just_a_friend2021@reddit
Yes, hankies are useful to have on hand, but no nose blowing please!
I pulled mine out to offer my wife when she started weeping at the end of Come From Away. Got some chivalrous points for that 😇
abbeytoo2@reddit
The movie or Live? I saw it live and LOVED it! I wanted to hug every Canadian for being so nice.
jumpyjumperoo@reddit
My dad had a system that he had my mom fold and press his hankies into to, in effect, make snot pockets out of. That was better than my grandmother and aunties who would stuff a wadded up, used kleenex up their sleeve. Use, stuff it in the sleeve only to be used again. They are paper and meant to be disposable, AT EACH USE, not once a day.
So gross.
Silver_Queen_Bee@reddit
My grandma used to do the kleenex in the sweater sleeve thing…..she would also wash out zip lock baggies to reuse. She was born in 1918. She was the most beautiful, lovely lady. Miss her daily.
dontcallmeEarl@reddit
My dad's first job out of Vietnam was a coin collector that would drive to laundromats and dorm rooms to collect the coins out of washers and dryers. When he wasn't doing that, he was at the shop welding and prepping the machines for deployment or he was fixing plumbing connections on the deployed machines. Entry-level work.
Before work, EVERY MORNING, he was up at 4am to do his morning exercises, wolf down eggs and toast for breakfast, and then he would iron his pants and work shirt. Crisp, clean, perfect iron lines on every one. He would shine his shoes to a mirror sheen. His hair was clean, combed, and "DEP-ped" to perfection. He had that 70s men's beard that had not a hair out of place.
All so he could go to work, collect coins, get filthy working on plumbing, or sweaty as hell working in an un-air conditioned shop in hot ass Texas. Every day the process repeated. He eventually worked his way to a Vice President position in that company.
KLLR_ROBOT@reddit
Back when something like that was possible
HakuohoFan@reddit
RIP the American dream.
Alxl_1970@reddit
What's particularly American about this dream?
DramaticErraticism@reddit
I don't know many guys like that these days, just sayin.
Yorbayuul81@reddit
People like your dad helped build America. Unsung heros in a way, doing the jobs most others didn’t want to do but doing them very well and with pride.
dontcallmeEarl@reddit
Copy that!
DeterminedSparkleCat@reddit
He dressed for the job he wanted, not the job he had.
anonskier@reddit (OP)
Exactly
dontcallmeEarl@reddit
yep! That's an early lesson he taught me.
Fannnybaws@reddit
It was the 70s...even the alky tramps wore suits
Unspicy_Tuna@reddit
Crack a Rolling Rock, get into the good old Dodge Dart to go get a pizza at Luigi's - toss the empty in the back seat. Eventually, the Dart would be driven to the magical "dump", aka recycling center and the empties would be thrown into the green glass cachment by us kids, who were thrilled to break glass
haugheymarg@reddit
was it one of the push button Darts??? I drove a red one in high school - wish I still had it!
PlentyPossibility505@reddit
As a teenager in the 1960s, I remember riding in the car with my father while he disparaged a young man with longish (early Beatle length) hair. He said “How can they tell who’s male and who is female?” Personally I thought those who needed to know would.
anonskier@reddit (OP)
A man before his time. 🤣
Grigori_the_Lemur@reddit
*I* do the trou, shirt flat, button-belt move. How granddad did it, the way dad did it, and it seems to work pretty well.
My dad? He pickled eggs on the counter with beets. Never could get into that.
LydiaTheTattooedLady@reddit
Red beet eggs are the best and your dad knew what was up. We make those at least once a month still and we have turned many of our teens friends into believers after they get past the terrifying thought of weird, pink eggs lol
Just_a_friend2021@reddit
Beet eggs are the best! Pink and rubbery and delicious.
They’re not ready till the yolks are pink to the center!
Gibb82@reddit
Don't forget the mandatory white t-shirt under the shirt your dad was going to wear. Did anyone else's mom iron the white undershirt or was it just mine?
Affectionate_Land317@reddit
Yes and my mom also ironed the undies. She ironed everything while watching the Bears and always had an ashtray and Budweiser at the end of the ironing board.
Also my dad would answer the front door in his white T-shirt and undies. The T-shirt was tucked in his undies. Didn't matter who was at the door. My friends, paperboy, salesman, Jehovah's witness... everyone. That was his "after work" outfit
Snurgalicious@reddit
My dad didn’t but my grandpa did and those Ts are what us grandkids used as nightgowns when we spent the night (which was often because we loved being there)
CriscoWithLime@reddit
My husband does that now
StrangeCrimes@reddit
We moved from Southern California to the Tahoe area when I was nine. By the time I was ten I had my own chainsaw. We'd get a permit to cut down beetle infested trees and de limb them, chop them up and then rent a splitter. He would put me in his lap and let me drive the truck while he worked the pedals. If I didn't have a fire going by the time my parents got home from work I got buuuuusted.
curiousme123456@reddit
Did my dad go to your house a few days a week? Sounds like it
boing757@reddit
My Dad would smoke a cigarette at the dinner table after we ate and use his plate for an ashtray.
anonskier@reddit (OP)
That is beautiful 🤣
PlentyPossibility505@reddit
People used to be less concerned with the grossness of natural things. Maybe because they grew up on farms.
Silver_Breakfast7096@reddit
Less disposable. Now we have Kleenex that gets pitched. Trees cut down. Not reusable. It’s wasn’t a disposable society.
Two_DogNight@reddit
They also didn't have to wash them.
COVID19Blues@reddit
Well, my father worked in the music business in the 70’s & 80’s and he had the sniffles A LOT, but he never carried around one of those hankies.
But my grandfathers both did and even as a kid I found it gross.
anonskier@reddit (OP)
Music scene 70’s and 80’s. There must have been something in the air because everybody had the sniffles. 📏
Silver_Queen_Bee@reddit
It was always snowing in LA in the 70’s…..
anonskier@reddit (OP)
That’s the rumor. 🤣😂
PuzzleheadedBobcat90@reddit
Both my parents kept tissues up up the sleeves of their sweaters or cardigans in colder weather. Its really was the dogs fault he could snatch tissue out of pocket in record time.
My moms rules for a lady was no drinking before 5pm, no smoking while you walked, and you never left the house looking grungy. I also wasn't allowed to wear graphic t-shirts until I was 15.
My dad used to buy me heels to wear with Bobby socks and jeans. It sounds weird, but it was totally innocent. He had a good eye for fashion.
ScarletDarkstar@reddit
My Mom really wanted me to want saddle shoes and Bobby socks for a time.
PuzzleheadedBobcat90@reddit
Picture this, its 1983. I'm in junior high. My mom takes me shopping and I end up with a wardrobe of circle style plaid skirts, white blouses, and marching corduroy blazers with suede elbow patches, and penny loafers with white cuff socks. And braces.
If you thought this girl must have been the most unpopular girl at that school, you would be correct.
My mom went to high school in the early 40s and that's how she dressed.
Gretzi11a@reddit
My parents were born in the late 1920s and were 40 when they had me. My mom, whose style was all 40s inspired glam, bought me several 1940s-style suits during the 80s revival. So I’d look professional in jr high and high school, I guess.
She also made sure I had professional help with my makeup, so I avoided the fad of lighting black eyeliner on fire before applying and applying bright blue mascara with it. with
Def not what the other kids were wearing. But at least she always took me to a good salon for my hair, so, at least I didn’t fall into the 80s frightful hair trap and don’t have to live in fear of friends embarrassing hair shots from the Reagan era. In photos at least, I def looked less goofy than most. But I do look like a disheveled time traveler….
Silver_Queen_Bee@reddit
I was that girl with the mall bangs, lighter for eyeliner, and blue mascara in the 80s 😂😉😂
ScarletDarkstar@reddit
I had a couple of plaid skirts, but they were wool and pleated. Lol
I wasn't obligated to wear them, but I did. She and my grandma both sewed as well, so I regularly had one of a kind items I was going to wear wether they made me or not.
_lucid_dreams@reddit
My dad always wore his socks pulled all the way up
AggravatingField5305@reddit
Several companies expected their male employees to wear gartered socks. IBM explicitly.
Vlophoto@reddit
How would they know?
AggravatingField5305@reddit
You had to pull up your pant leg. It was for sales and outward facing staff, so a subset of employees.
_lucid_dreams@reddit
Any idea why?
AggravatingField5305@reddit
Coming out of the military rigor of WWII and the stifling conformity of the early ‘50s it was probably one way to maximize corporate control over staff. Also sicks didn’t have elastic at that time.
_lucid_dreams@reddit
Ha! That’s hilarious
Agitated_Ad_6702@reddit
My dad still carries a hanky most of the time.
nikita346@reddit
Mine too
RefrigeratorFuture34@reddit
The picture albums in the Wallet!
anonskier@reddit (OP)
🤣
squeaktooth@reddit
My dad only wore button down shirts; short sleeve in summer, long sleeve in winter. The pocket was perfect for 1 pen and a pack of Benson & Hedges. Also-used saccharine tablets that looked like aspirins in his coffee.
classicsat@reddit
Buzz cut and horn rimmed glasses?
Silver_Queen_Bee@reddit
That was my grandpa….He was a school principal so he checked the 1950s boxes.
My dad still has the combed back James Dean hair…..he’s 82.
OhMaiMai@reddit
Memory unlocked! My father smoked Benson & Hedges, too!
Future_Department_88@reddit
Smoked in the car w window cracked. Heh
Finngrove@reddit
My Dad wore rubber things over his shoes on rainy days. He wore lace up business shoes every day to work - sneakers were for exercise on the weekends. He also usually wore a hat of some kind - like a 60s Madmen style business man hat. He wore a collared shirt every day unless it was Saturday. I never saw him watch tv until after dinner. He was a gentleman I miss him terribly.
voted_for_kodos@reddit
“Rubbers” or galoshes. If you wear dress shoes in a place that’s wet or snowy they are indispensable. Been many years since I’ve seen them in a store.
Vlophoto@reddit
My dad wore them to work with dress shoes if the weather was rain or snowy
bp3dots@reddit
Damn I forgot about the shoe condoms. Classic.
ScreenTricky4257@reddit
He wore an onion on his belt, which was the style at the time.
ProfessionalLime2237@reddit
Please explain
ScreenTricky4257@reddit
Money can be exchanged for goods and services.
HubbDave32@reddit
Simpsons reference
Electronic_Leek_10@reddit
Yes… please…
JACK8URT0N@reddit
"gimme 5 bees for a quarter you'd say"
Roomaroo27@reddit
My dad always had a clean hankie, a black hair comb, and a pocket knife in his pockets. Always.
Snurgalicious@reddit
Exact same for my dad. He was the best and miss him constantly.
Roomaroo27@reddit
Me too. Best man I ever knew.
RemarkableMarzipan23@reddit
My dad would blow pipe smoke into a glass and turn it upside down on the kitchen table. My sister and I would watch the smoke swirl around, fascinated. Dad would shine his shoes with an old electric shoe shining kit from the 50's. I loved the smell. I can almost smell it now.
Auntie_Venom@reddit
My dad shined his by hand, “just like we did in the navy”
Actually my husband does too, which reminds me I’ve got some Frye boots that need some scuffs buffed out.
graygarden77@reddit
You can have the one in my 90-year-old mother’s attic
--Van--@reddit
My old man carried a nasty snot rag as well. Lol
Kailicat@reddit
My MiL carries one. She has dozens that she irons and keeps the stuffed in her bra. And she visits and I find them all over the house.
--Van--@reddit
lol. My dad had a dozen of them or so that went through the regular laundry cycle...
ReallyRedOnTheHead@reddit
I loved the sound of my Dad jingling the change in his pockets. He also had a pocket knife which I thought was cool.
Tomble@reddit
When I was a little kid, the sound of coins jingling in a pocket as someone walked was the sound of being a grown up. I loved that sound.
Deep-Attorney1781@reddit
When my dad would go out and I asked where he was going, he would say "I'm going to see a man about a horse".
I was disappointed that a horse never materialized.
graygarden77@reddit
My dad also said this
Equivalent_Vast_1717@reddit
Silly Dad of yours 😂
RescueRacing@reddit
Silly son of dad’s.
HmmDoesItMakeSense@reddit
Jack knife and hat on him at all times.
graygarden77@reddit
I love this
Few_Candle9432@reddit
A comb on him or in the glove box at all times.
StatisticianDull4778@reddit
This brought me back to my paw having those palm combs all the time!
Few_Candle9432@reddit
Yes! The hair was always greased and the swoop in front was always fine tuned.
RefrigeratorFuture34@reddit
I think my dad also had a comb, and he must have oiled his hair too.
Inattendue@reddit
Yeah, everyone is here talking trash about our Dad’s hankies but:
A.) paper Kleenex didn’t exist B) they changed hankies daily (or hand washed, hopefully) C) our parents were either part of the silent generation or the Boomers. Either way, war time and post war frugality was a real thing.
Yes, it’s biologically a minefield but the other option was seeing men blow snot rockets out of their noses onto the street and then wipe the remnants off with their sleeve.
We take many, many things for granted in our modern, disposable society.
anonskier@reddit (OP)
I thought we were just having a little fun. I can see some people are trash talking but I just meant to poke a little fun at the old times. I think most people are taking a tongue in cheek attitude. 😁
Inattendue@reddit
Totally fair and yes, I admit that I dove in head first. But I also think we can’t read tone on the internet and sometimes folx are seriously disgusted by habits born of necessity.
anonskier@reddit (OP)
We get each other. 😁
Armthechihuahuas@reddit
Thank you for so cleverly stating this. I remember my grandfather and my father always having a handkerchief at the ready to wipe away my tears as a child. That just overrides whatever grossness.
Inattendue@reddit
Nothing grosser than being at a public pool in the 80's and seeing some dude blow a loogie (lugy?) along side the pool. ::shudders in abject horror::
darkest_irish_lass@reddit
Kleenex as a disposable handkerchief has existed since 1930
Inattendue@reddit
Ok, I concede and appreciate the point about their existence. To take the analysis a step further, our Boomer / Silent Gen parents were children as Kleenex were becoming readily available in daily life, but their parents, who were in charge of the household purchasing, pre-date the advent of the synonymous facial wipes and lived through the frugality of two world wars and the Great Depression. Many of those life lessons live on in them.
Early cell phone technology has existed since 1943 and the first mobile phone call was made at Motorola in 1973. That doesn’t mean they were ubiquitous on day 1. In fact it took another 30 years to reach that point.
I think the frugality mindset vs disposable product is key. My understanding is that their generation has very similar behaviors around toilet paper (as evidenced in my Mom’s nursing home and another discussion I read here where CNAs and other nursing home support staff reported) regarding the “3-square rule”, which my father also lived by.
I guess my point is that as a general rule, behavior is dictated by more than just availability, it is cultural, socio-economic, and familial (especially pre-internet).
Ill_Yak2851@reddit
In the mid 60s my father waged a campaign against Kleenex because he was an engineer who became enraged when “Man-sized” Kleenex were made smaller. He carried a hanky after that.
JBeeWX@reddit
My Dad still carries a handkerchief. He always shined his shoes on Sunday nights too. He had all the gear.
My Mother always told me that if a skirt went in under your butt, it was too tight. And will always recommend a “ little panty girdle”
makingotherplans@reddit
I tell everyone who discusses “girdles” to notice that “shapewear” and “spanx” are the exact same things.
Same for the high waisted tight jeans we all wore, and lots of the ones kids wear today.
Regular_or_BQ@reddit
I was at dry bar getting a blowout and said, "this is just the same thing as a wash and set" and the women my age nearby looked horrified. But it is.
JBeeWX@reddit
Yes, at least we have better marketing lol.
Tammy993@reddit
My dad did the same tuck my shirt back in thing too. I was always embarrassed!
CriscoWithLime@reddit
My chemistry teacher in high school did that...would go behind the big table though. Such an awkward man.
RefrigeratorFuture34@reddit
Big fat Walker. 40 keys on the keychain.
alvb@reddit
The handkerchief was the standard Christmas gift. My father didn't carry one, but all my uncles did.
rosesforthemonsters@reddit
My father used the same coffee cup every day. He never washed it. Never even rinsed it out. It was disgusting to look at.
I got sick of looking at it with all the old coffee stains running down the side, all brown and nasty inside. So, I washed it. He got so pissed off about me washing it that he threw it away and didn't speak to me for a couple of days.
s_mcbn@reddit
Was he in the military? It’s a thing.
scottwricketts@reddit
It's an Air Force thing for sure
davster99@reddit
I had an English teacher whose coffee cup was always unwashed. I didn’t learn that he’d served in the Air Force until his funeral. You just connected those two pieces together for me. Thank you.
buck_09@reddit
Definitely a Navy thing.
Toadinnahole@reddit
Omg, you ruined years worth of seasoning! I bet you wash your cast iron in the dishwasher you heathen!
Minimum_Painter_3687@reddit
Mine did that too. It did get washed occasionally but he’d go months before doing it.
National-Turnover501@reddit
Handkerchiefs are disgusting to me. I did the family laundry…
RefrigeratorFuture34@reddit
My dad carried fingernail clippers or a Swiss Army knife with a cutting attachment, and he would always be cutting his nails and cuticles while we were in church, like going at it.
Deep-Pension-1976@reddit
My dad definitely did the same handkerchief in his pocket thing! Man I miss him.
Blatzkreig@reddit
I was also subjected to my Dad’s handkerchief if I had a sniffle.
kmoore61@reddit
My foster grandpa was Polish. He smoked the sweetest smelling pipe tobacco, and he could fold his pocket handkerchief into a mouse and then make it run up his sleeve— watching that never got old.
nickparadigm@reddit
The mouse! Bloody hell. I had completely forgotten about that. My Dad used to do that, we would wait for him to come in from work and he would make a handkerchief mouse and then do that thing where it would jump out of his hand and up his arm.
Thank you for unlocking a cherished forgotten memory
davster99@reddit
Was it like this?
No_Celebration_424@reddit
This made me smile. Thanks for sharing
lemmylemonlemming@reddit
"Go get me the tape!"
I bring him electrical tape.
'I said the tape!"
I bring him duct tape.
"I said the tape!"
I bring him a VHS tape.
"I said the tape...nevermind, I'll get it myself, you're useless!"
Then he comes back with a measuring tape.
ernurse748@reddit
OMG, this hit.
“Bring me the screwdriver”
*brings screwdriver
“OMG, NO, the Phillips Head!”
davster99@reddit
“Hold the light steady… where I’m working WHERE I’M WORKING!!
The_ZombyWoof@reddit
There are entire generations who will never experience the trauma of working on the family car with their father.
"Hand me that 9/16 wrench!"
I'm looking across a sea of silver because dad managed to dump every single wrench he owned onto the driveway for this repair.
"THE 9/16, ITS RIGHT...oh never mind, I'll get it myself!"
Such fun times.
Psychological-Lack98@reddit
Brake jobs were the worst. PUMP THE BRAKES! KEEP PUMPING!
ONROSREPUS@reddit
I got smart with this. So you never brought the wrong size. Bring one size up and down from the one the old man asked for!
Visible-Horror-4223@reddit
Was gonna say the same…”how are you just looking at those and knowing the size?!” Now, I can do that. lol
lemmylemonlemming@reddit
I remember the feeling going to get the pliers he just asked for knowing that there's 400 different kind of pliers. No description whatsoever. Not the red handled pliers. Not the needle nose. Just take a guess.
anonskier@reddit (OP)
GenX right of passage.
Visible-Horror-4223@reddit
Fuuuuck….that was like a rite of passage of childhood back then.
lemmylemonlemming@reddit
Glad I wasn't the only one.
Visible-Horror-4223@reddit
My grandfather was even worse. It fostered an early attention to detail to avoid multiple trips or getting yelled at.
Cedar-creek1492@reddit
We must be siblings! 🤣😂
He always had a knife in his pocket and had a little screwdriver on his keychain.
Nanojack@reddit
My dad got super into CB radios. One in his car, one in my mom's then we had one in the house with a 30 foot antenna on the roof.
MerlinsMentor@reddit
That was just a 70's thing. We had CB's in our cars when I was a kid, too. It did make multi-car road trips more fun, for sure.
hoardac@reddit
The giant whip ones.
CharDeeMacDennisII@reddit
We had all of that and my sister and I each had one in our cars. Most of our friends had them, too. My handle was Super Sidekick. License KIK6903.
BSTXUSA@reddit
🤣
Pur_Veyor_01@reddit
My father too. One of those fads.
Adept_Push@reddit
I wonder with satellite radio and cell phones if truckers still rely on them.
My dad’s handle was “Green Bean.” 🤣
Alternative-Meat4587@reddit
Short answer, yes.
Melissaschwart@reddit
My bio dad had Cb radios in his car as well.we would sit in his car and i would tell the truckers to meet my at the truck stop.they were actually going there then asking why i wasn’t there.lol
SourceReady@reddit
My dad always had a small swiss army knife in his pocket, I got it after he passed. Many middle aged men in my life would with hand in pocket jangle the change in their trousers.
grayness77@reddit
Mandatory pocket knife. I carried one for years, then stopped for about 20, but now I'm back to having one. Infinite uses. I jangle keys since no one carries change. They're work keys. This entire thread makes me feel old. I never carried a snot rag, but I always make sure to have a hankie in my pocket when I go to weddings because you never know who might get teary-eyed.
SourceReady@reddit
I just feel heart rending nostalgia. I love this sub. I will be transported to memories didnt even know were there like the pocket change.
I love that you carry the pocket knife. Absolutely mandatory 💞
Tammy993@reddit
My grandfather had a pocket watch on a chain and a Swiss army knife. Miss those charming things.
Gibb82@reddit
Yes!! My grandpa, dad and uncles all did the pocket change jingle. My male cousins who are mid 60's to early 70's do the same thing.
AffectionatePie8588@reddit
My grandad did that too. He would have a load of them for my grandma to wash, and then start the cycle over. I think it's because they weren't as keen into landfills and massive waste and consumption. I am though, indoctrinated by the machine.
CatrpilrQueen@reddit
Kleenex are only 100 years old. They didn't use handkerchiefs instead of disposables. Disposables barely existed and wouldn't be accessible to most people.
AdmitNothingXYZ@reddit
Kleenex are paper and more irritating than a cloth hankie. It really is softer on your nose to use a handkerchief.
jafun@reddit
I remember my Grandma, and my mom, ironing the hankies too. 🙈
hoverton@reddit
The nasty handkerchief for sure. He also dipped snuff on occasion and had a spit cup with him. Constantly littered when he opened the cellophane on his cigars or had a candy bar or something. He would just throw the trash out the window. It always bothered me. Walked completely naked everyday from the single bathroom to the bedroom to get dressed. Utterly destroyed the bathroom daily. Smoked cigars and pipes in the house and you could see the smoke haze in the late afternoon when the setting sun came in through the windows. We would go swimming in the stock tank and he would dive under water and disappear. A rare aquatic creature known as Mrs. Mermaid would pop up. She looked suspiciously like my dad with a bunch of moss on his head. 99.9% sure it was dad, but was never able to catch her to prove it.
I miss him a lot.
googleflont@reddit
So I have a friend that will come over to have dinner from time to time. My wife really enjoys being hostess, she’ll get out there good dishes, serving utensils, serving plates.
Of course, we’ll get the cloth napkins out, which truth be told we actually use on a daily basis unless things get particularly messy, in which case I’ll supplement with paper.
Now, my buddy has lived a rustic life. He’s an outside dog. A landscape designer, an authority on native plants, a poet, and a testicular cancer survivor. The cancer was probably caused by some of the same chemicals that are now being brought back into the market, and his exposure to them was as a seasonal landscaper.
But I digress.
He is definitely a handkerchief user, and always carries one.
The only issue is that he will steal our napkins. He’ll adopt them as if they’re a handkerchief.
I’ll get them back, laundered, pressed and folded, in a week or so after dinner.
bj12698@reddit
😆
CraftFamiliar5243@reddit
My son carries a clean hankie in case a lady needs one.
340magnums@reddit
my dad would sent me 16 to pick up his beer at local store
redjar66@reddit
My Uncle took snuff and had a hankie for the inevitable sneezing. My stepdad never wore shorts- could be 100 degrees and humid as hell and he'd be in jeans and no shirt.
Emotionallypinkglitr@reddit
When my dad would change my baby brother’s diaper (cloth diaper with XL safety pins), he’d run the sharp end of the pin through his hair! We always asked what he was doing and he’d say, “sharpening the pin!” Years later we reminded him of it, and he said the styling product in his hair actually helped the pin to “glide” through the diaper fabric.
bj12698@reddit
That was smart.
Left-Nothing-3519@reddit
We all had our own hankies, me as the only daughter and the youngest I was responsible for washing them, hanging out on the clothes line, and when dry ironing them neatly back into folded squares. It’s a fun thing to do as a 5yr old, the steam and the smell of clean cotton. Might explain my secret enjoyment of ironing sheets and pillowcases.
Dull_Machine5238@reddit
I continue to use a handkerchief , probably because of the military.
But really who has space for a pack of Kleenex along with everything else you need to carry.
Besides what do you do with used Kleenex if there isn't a suitable receptacle available?
anonskier@reddit (OP)
Put it in your pocket like the hanky🤣
Dull_Machine5238@reddit
Then it shreds. Cotton handkerchiefs are more durable.
generic-ibuprofen@reddit
Are you my brother because you're describing my dad.
TheBison44@reddit
I use a handkerchief all the time. I have several of them as a matter of fact. Why is that odd? I'm 55, got into the habit from my Dad.
Revgaled@reddit
Me too. It’s really handy. I use a different one, so I’m not reusing dirty handkerchiefs
TheBison44@reddit
Exactly! And I wash them in hot water. If it's one of my white ones I bleach it too.
Far-Squash7512@reddit
Same, but I also do it because tissue/Kleenex particles make me sneeze even more when my allergies flare up. If you wave a clean tissue in the air in the sunlight, you'll see what I mean. Anyway, I still use them to this day (seconds ago, in fact) and my dad and I have a running joke about his Hanky Bank. Sometimes, I need to do a withdrawal from it when I visit, so I deposit a clean one on the following trip.
TraditionalBasis4518@reddit
77: bandanna in my pocket always. Used for
Sweat rag/headband, runny nose, bib (I fucking spill everything), bandage, pot holder, tablecloth. Known to family as the GOSR, or Grody Old Snot Rag.
TheRealRaceMiller@reddit
Littering was a common thing in the 70's whatever was in someones hand they didnt want they would throw it on the ground.
Future_Department_88@reddit
Yeah. Car window was a trash can
jenuwefa@reddit
Give a hoot, don't pollute! Never be a dirty bird!
Ok_Gap938@reddit
I still do at 65!
Babymik9@reddit
OP-SAME EXACT THING!
Then he would sneer at me using Kleenex to blow my nose. Like WHAT?
witchylayde@reddit
My dad still does this at 81 yrs old.
2needles2paradise@reddit
My Dad used a hankie as long as i knew him. The pants thing sounds familiar, too. He lived to be 96. He would have been 103 last week.
ItchyBlackberry722@reddit
My dad does the whole pants down to tuck his shirt in thing. 🤣
ShortAttentionSpan75@reddit
Mine did both of these until the day he died in 2007. He also had a pocketful of disgusting peppermints, some of which had wrappers, and some which did not. And let’s not even get into all the crap he kept in his shirt pockets: index cards for notes, a glasses case, toothpicks, a tiny address book, multiple pens and pencils, etc. man, I miss all that.
dadsgoingtoprison@reddit
Was he an engineer? This sounds like my granddaddy’s pockets.
ShortAttentionSpan75@reddit
No. He was a landscaper. That’s what the index cards were. He wrote down names of plants, and drew on them when napkins weren’t handy.
dadsgoingtoprison@reddit
Very cool. I would love to be able to make my own plant book. I’m into herbal remedies.
lilicucu@reddit
Pocket: same. I have pictures and I love seeing them. He had a plastic pen protector to avoid staining the pocket.
ShortAttentionSpan75@reddit
Mine didn’t like pocket protectors, so ALLLLL of his shirt pockets had a large blue stain on them. I’d forgotten that. Thank you.
EyeSuspicious777@reddit
My dad wasn't embarrassed at all to beat his children on the side of the road with his belt If we did things that kids do like make too much noise in the back seat on a road trip.
Psychological-Lack98@reddit
My dad didn't have to pull over. We had a bigass station wagon and I swear, he could reach you even if you were in the wayback.
KLLR_ROBOT@reddit
I don’t think too many people were, back then
Excellent_Budget9069@reddit
My dad carried a handkerchief in honked into it from time to time but the thing I remember most was chapstick. He always had a tube or two with him and he was constantly using it. When I see chapstick I think of him.
LuckyAd2714@reddit
I met my husband when he was 28 now he’s 57 - had a hankie the entire time
Jipsiville@reddit
My Dad did the ‘70’s thing by ignoring his children and becoming a capitalist. He’s now 86 and a bitter asshole. Fuck the silent generation. Greedy mothefuckers, yes Dad, you included.
Gwaptiva@reddit
So how do you remove surplus snot from your nose? You have a box of Kleenex in your jeans pocket?
ScarletDarkstar@reddit
On the soccer field we would just cover one side and blow really hard. It intimidated some of the girls, but the boys team didn't much care.
Electronic_Leek_10@reddit
We used to call that blowing your nose “farmer style”… not sure if that was something we made up 😅
ScarletDarkstar@reddit
Nope, that's what my Mom called it when she taught us to do it as well.
It comes off differently in high school sports, but we had a lot of more agricultural and mountainous experiences where the alternatives were few and creating garbage meant packing stuff in and out.
GiveMeCheesecake@reddit
Girl here. We weren’t intimidated, we were revolted.
ScarletDarkstar@reddit
Girl here also, equally revolting to have it down your face or wiped on a jersey. It worked out better for game play to have the opposition stay away from you. We played in whatever weather if there wasn't lightning, so...
Overall-Register9758@reddit
Snot rocket, as God intended.
PopcornGlamour@reddit
A small package of disposable tissues.
Tinker107@reddit
Always have a folded-up paper towel in my back pocket- blood, tears, snot, dirt- always handy.
purplepeopleeater333@reddit
My dad is 84 and still always has a hankie!
karrynme@reddit
I am 64 and still use a hankie- my dada's hankies in fact!!
kskeiser@reddit
My dad used a dish towel for a dinner napkin. He always said the paper napkins my mom bought were too flimsy and too small. I sort of adopted the habit with cloth napkins at each meal. When they get worn out, they become dust rags or shoe/gun polishers.
Potential-Ad5018@reddit
I just had the handkerchief discussion with my husband. My father always had a snot rag.
Electronic_Leek_10@reddit
I told mine I wouldn’t touch them to wash them any more. That’s how I got him to stop 20 years ago.
SunshineandBullshit@reddit
My dad went to my grandmother's bar after every shift. He'd have two Southern and Seven then drive home. He worked 6pm-6am. He had a key to grans bar.
sarkastro75@reddit
Open container was still legal growing up, dad just casually driving with his jack and coke between his legs
lcplscary@reddit
In 1982 I was 12 learning to drive my dad's Datsun pickup (stick). I already knew how to drive my uncle's automatic Ford.
We lived in a small town, so the lesson would be that I could drive as long as the open beer on the dash didn't spill. I quickly learned to choose routes that avoided hills or stop signs as much as possible.
Pretty sure open container was illegal in California at that time, but no one really cared as the drinker wasn't driving.
FantasticWeasel@reddit
Had to iron my dad's hankies every Sunday.
dankaela@reddit
My dad is 96. I think he still carries a handkerchief
Typical-Spinach-6452@reddit
My 67 yo husband still uses these handkerchiefs!
Electronic_Leek_10@reddit
ROFL, I can’t stop laughing. Wondering if my son wrote this original post. It took me years to talk my (now 70) year old husband to stop using hand kerchiefs. I basically told him I would not touch them to launder them anymore, and he stopped.
twistedredd@reddit
Drone flying, knife throwing, and electric scooter riding.
curiosity_U_know@reddit
My dad the same things. I don't do the hanky. But I do the tucking the shirt into the pants thing.
transmothra@reddit
My dad had an irrational fear of authority figures. Anytime the police, Child Protective Services, the IRS, or anyone trying to deliver a manilla envelope stopped by, he'd take off out the bathroom window in the back of the house and we wouldn't see him for days. It seems like it was one of those people at least a couple times per month growing up. Also someone calling themselves Bill Bondsman but looked like a completely different person every other time he'd come over. He's long gone now but I imagine he must have had some real bad anxiety or something for some reason. Probably why he always had so many prescriptions, even though I don't actually remember him ever going to the doctor. Poor fella. May have been some explanation but my sister says I was blacked out most of my childhood so I could have missed it.
borisdidnothingwrong@reddit
Maybe a Bail Bondsman, which is someone who posts money for bail and takes on the responsibility that the person being bailed out of jail will shore up for their court appearance.
ImmediateBug2@reddit
Psychological-Lack98@reddit
My dad did the hankchief thing. He also wore a white t-shirt under any shirt he wore. And he didn't own a pair of jeans or wear shorts, ever.
anonskier@reddit (OP)
I never saw my dad in short pants and he never wore jeans until he was an old ass man
Psychological-Lack98@reddit
One more thing: he never drank water. Coffee and beer were the only things he drank.
Top_Competition_4496@reddit
My father didn't own jeans until he was 87 years old...also wore undershirts, white button up short sleeve shirts ( with a pocket protector and clip on tie when he was working). Also had the handkerchief. Miss that ol' weirdo every day 🥹
Psychological-Lack98@reddit
I think a lot of that was from being in the Navy for 20 years. I miss him a lot.
Revolutionary_Dare38@reddit
My dad did the exact same thing when tucking in his shirt - but it was in front of the living room window!
anonskier@reddit (OP)
🤣
Art_of_the_Win@reddit
Wait you had a Dad? Ok, Boomer...
(Sorry couldn't help it)
Feenixfan@reddit
My dad did the ol’ hankie thing. He stayed at my house a few years ago on a visit and left a white, nearly threadbare, hankie in the bathroom, it was clean though lol. I took it and kept it to remind me of him every time I see it.
JayceeSR@reddit
I was with a coworker the other day and literally watched him take a handkerchief out of his pocket, blow his nose on it, and put it back in his pocket. I made a note to never shake his hand.
anonskier@reddit (OP)
🤣
Opposite_Jeweler_953@reddit
My father had two. One on the right side pocket for nose, and another one the right for other things.
anonskier@reddit (OP)
Brilliant
janebenn333@reddit
My father passed away in 2023. We made sure to tuck a clean handkerchief in his pocket when he was laid to rest as he would want.
anonskier@reddit (OP)
❤️
PopcornGlamour@reddit
We did that, too! We also made sure his pocket change was put in his pants pocket.
NoSleep2023@reddit
I did that too!
4x4Welder@reddit
In the 80s my father would make "skeeter sticks". You'd light them and carry them in the woods, and mosquitoes would leave you alone.
They were joints.
anonskier@reddit (OP)
🚬
BabyBearTamBella@reddit
My dad also did the handkerchief thing. Still does. He turns 78 tomorrow 💕
Suspicious-Loss-7314@reddit
My husband carries the handkerchief.
Long-Trade-9164@reddit
Hey OP, did you ever witness your dad use the urinal? Based on what you said about his way of tucking in his shirt. I can imagine he was the type of guy who stands at the urinal with his underwear and pants down around his ankles to take a piss!
anonskier@reddit (OP)
He never did that but he did shit in the urinals. 😂
Bliss418@reddit
Yep, my dad and that nasty handkerchief. He still carries one on most days. 🤷♀️
RandomBeverly@reddit
70’s.. lol.. My Papa still uses a handkerchief!!
Turbulent-Demand873@reddit
My dad carry’s a handkerchief I (f) do too. There has never been any trying to use it in anyone else though. Ew!
Correct-Condition-99@reddit
I do that..
Correct-Condition-99@reddit
Like my father before me.
Tasty_Winter9636@reddit
Me too!
FlimsyProtection2268@reddit
He F'd my mom. He apparently only did it in the 70's. All children were conceived after 1970 and born by 1978.
I don't think he actually didn't anything odd in the 70's but after all of the kids were born (I wasn't alive long enough to be truly aware) he developed some odd behaviors in the 80's. Dude became Mr Safety and had a lot of OCD type behaviors.
fuckfredflintstone@reddit
Handkerchief thing. I found it gross. He always told me I should carry one. Nope.
Cronus6@reddit
I carry one. It's very handy. And not just for your nose.
fuckfredflintstone@reddit
Enjoy.
DickensCider66@reddit
My Dad did EXACTLY all that!! 🤣 My Mom, used to IRON his Hankies after washing them!! My God, thanks for sparking good, yet odd memories. Ya, I’d love one more day of that with them both.
judgeejudger@reddit
Ooo ironing (with starch!) my dad’s hankies was one of my first chores
Substantial-Ease567@reddit
I ironed hankies and folded diapers until I was blue in the face!
SouthernSection2955@reddit
I learned to iron by ironing my dad's hankies!!!
Upper-Ad-3877@reddit
I did too!
Chaos_Cat-007@reddit
Same here! And sheets, fitted and not.
blondechineeez@reddit
My dad too and I miss him every single day. It's been 7 years almost to the day he died....
BGlo60@reddit
Oh God that was my dad🤣! I remember helping my mom iron them. She ironed everything including his boxers😂
Flimsy_Instruction59@reddit
Yes to both! My dad had the handkerchief and my mom ironed everything!
NotARobotDefACyborg@reddit
This describes my dad, except he wouldn’t actually fully drop trou if any of us kids were in the room.
kellsells5@reddit
My dad carried one with him until he died 6 years ago. I kept one of his ones when he left it here. (Washed it). He had a stack of unused ones that my sil made into really nice keepsakes when my son and daughter got married.
Substantial-Ease567@reddit
What an amazing SIL!
Raccoon58@reddit
My daughter had roses made from my father’s handkerchiefs for her wedding.
kellsells5@reddit
Wow 💐❣️
The_Circus_Life_206@reddit
I kept my Dad’s hankies as well
Agitated-Canary9840@reddit
Oh gawd the fucking handkerchief! Mine still uses his. He gets his embroidered too! Like someone is gonna mistakenly pick up his.
thewontondisregard@reddit
My grandmother taught me to embroider and I stitched my Dad's initials on handkerchiefs for Fathers Day one year. Memories.
Bones1973@reddit
You just described my dad. He also had a tiny little pocket knife (the size of a small nail clipper), and some loose change.
Beautiful_Arm8364@reddit
My dad was all into the '70s CB fad. He had one in his pickup truck, he had a home system, he had a radio handle, etc. What an odd couple of years. Nobody was a trucker, but everybody talked like one.
mybahaiusername@reddit
Ironically my dad was a 70s trucker and he never used the radio.
flashingcurser@reddit
There was a weird period of time, on the cusp of everyone being online, during dialup days, where a lot of black people were using CB radios. I have a friend who became good friends with Sir mixalot, my friend was white as can be. They talked a lot through CB radio. It was jokingly called the "afro internet". My buddy was a long haul trucker before getting sick, but he wasn't when he met Sir mixalot.
ToughCareer4293@reddit
My dad and a few of our family friends had CBs. We’d plan a yearly convoy to some destination where we’d keep track of each other on the road. One of the longer trips went from SF to Vancouver, BC. My dad would let me handle “comms” most of the time and even let me talk to truckers. They’d have a blast talking to a kid and I thought I was so cool 😎. It was fun to tell my school friend about it.
Beautiful_Arm8364@reddit
SO fun to talk to truckers. lol
I'll bet they miss those times when they were the rock stars of the highway.
ToughCareer4293@reddit
I can’t even count how many times I’d do the arm air pull gesture to get them to honk their horns. It could be in the millions😂
Beautiful_Arm8364@reddit
hell yeah
TroyTony1973@reddit
But does he/did he have a scanner?
Beautiful_Arm8364@reddit
Oh yes
RumbleSkillSpin@reddit
I still remember our FCC license designator for CB, some 50 years later.
Komaisnotsalty@reddit
I grew up in the northwestern Canada. Everybody had a CB radio back then. It was a safety issue and a necessity.
I finally just donated my CB radio from the '70s to a thrift store. Nobody uses them anymore unless you live back up in the bush, and I haven't lived up there now in over a decade.
Was time to retire the old CB and the handle.
missdawn1970@reddit
OMG, my dad did that too!
JimmyJohn_5150@reddit
This was the era of trucker movies, trucks and monkeys.
missdawn1970@reddit
Every Which Way But Loose, BJ & the Bear... core memories unlocked!
KiltOfDoom@reddit
Our 1976 Toyota Celica's call sign was "rice rocket".
RMW91-@reddit
BJ and The Bear
Any_Condition_2365@reddit
I think all the old guys did this.
k80k80k80@reddit
My dad cut the seatbelts out of our Ford Pinto station wagon because he didn’t like the way they felt. He could have just not used them. My parents also bragged that they never once used a car seat for us. I received a few black eyes from my mom stopping short and launching me into the dashboard. I’m surprised I survived childhood.
mybahaiusername@reddit
To be fair, considering how the Pinto had a tendency to catch on fire when rear-ended, he made it easier for you to escape. Your dad wasn't crazy, he was a genius.
seeingeyegod@reddit
My mom taught us to get down on the floor boards if she told us to, to be safe if we were gonna crash. This was before the huge media campaign in the 80s about seatbelts which made her start enforcing that. I think thats about the same time we actually started locking the front door
ennuiui@reddit
Your mom was supposed to throw out her arm as a barrier when stopping short.
k80k80k80@reddit
Her reflexes weren’t great. I would give her a 70 to 75% success rate with the clothesline
shawncollins512@reddit
I didn’t know there was ever a Pinto station wagon - we had a standard one that was pea green and my mom would hotbox us in that death trap with her More cigarettes.
k80k80k80@reddit
Yup! Ours was bright orange
MrsHorrible@reddit
We had a pea green pinto station wagon for a brief time! My dad bought it used and there was a black and white photo of a very grim looking lady they I found in the glove box. I was like seven, so I was convinced it was her car, she died, and now the car was haunted.
shawncollins512@reddit
That grim-looking lady may have been my mom - did you grow up in Maryland?
SlappyHandstrong@reddit
My mom bought a 2-seater Nissan 280-Z, even though she had 2 kids. I spent my childhood in the hatchback with no seat (or seatbelt) of any kind. If she ever got rear-ended I would’ve been toast.
k80k80k80@reddit
That is WILD
JimmyJohn_5150@reddit
My mom had a 67 VW Beetle that she had from before my parents were married, I dont recall it even had seatbelts. In any case I used to stand on the front seat and hold on the grab bar that was on the dashboard right above the glove compartment. That was safe enough in the early 1970s.
battles@reddit
The clothesline arm, lol. Still remember that too.
Substantial-Chip-102@reddit
I think that’s in mom‘s DNA. I’m 60. I have nobody riding with me 99.9% of the time in my arm still flies out when I hit my brake pedal fast. Cheers!
zeitgeistincognito@reddit
Not a mom. Still use the clothesline arm when braking hard! (On my spouse, on my friends, on my backpack...🤣)
JadedAd6614@reddit
My dad always carried a handkerchief too. As a child, he tried to get me to use them, as it was cheaper than tissues. I had asthma & bad allergies, so it would be soaked in an hour.
The other thing he did that I thought was strange was he would start shedding his clothes as he walked in the door. By the time he got to the kitchen, he’d be in his underwear, and we’d have to follow him, picking up his clothes. He’d stay in his (not-so) tight whites until he changed the next morning. Oh, he also drank a case of beer a day. I thought these things were normal for all dads until I started going to friends houses & their dads stayed clothed and drank soda. lol
BrotherQuartus@reddit
My dad did the same thing, except he wore boxers. In the winter he’d walk around in his long johns. He was a functional alcoholic with major depressive disorder. I thought it was normal for a while, also.
I also suspect he was autistic. My brother and I are, as is one of my sons, and my brother’s only child. Regardless, I don’t share these things to judge him. I loved him very much and lost him to lung cancer over 30 years ago. We spent a lot of time together, exploring caves, taking road trips, observing construction sites, and hiking through forests. He taught me about bugs, and birds, and chemistry, and structural integrity, and physics. I became an engineer because of him. I really miss him.
Tasty-Life4526@reddit
My father carried a small black comb, a nail clipper, chapstick, white handkerchief, wallet and keys. Everyday, always.
Party-Belt-3624@reddit
None of that is odd to me.
ASOM01@reddit
My dad smoked a pipe and all his shirts had tiny holes in them from the tobacco embers
Alloyrocks@reddit
So gross!! I had the hard talk with my friend last week about his handkerchief (he’s in his sixties). All I had to say to him was that by using it in public he’s identifying himself as the old guy in the room. This week he complained about having to find tissue when he’s out and about. Progress!!
wolferiver@reddit
Nope. Not progress. Handkerchiefs are the original renewables. (As are cloth napkins.) A proper handkerchief can be used multiple times - at least four, once at each corner. Then you can launder it and it's as good as new. Of course, you wouldn't hand a used handkerchief over to another for their use, but nothing is stopping you from using it multiple times. If you think you need more uses, carry two of them.
Stefferdiddle@reddit
I have allergies and go through so much Kleenex in a day I’ve considered the hankie route just because of the amount of paper I am wasting.
Personal_Summer@reddit
You're doing laundry anyway, though. A few little handkerchiefs won't require more water in the washing machine.
HipposPooToo@reddit
Your dad was my dad. 🥹
tspoon-99@reddit
The handkerchief, plus a nail trimmer. Not sure why he was always reading for a nail emergency.
Also, do people still use the styptic pencil when they cut themselves shaving? He was always using that thing. Probably because he was too cheap to change razor blades very often.
doomladen@reddit
I certainly use the styptic. It’s a godsend for small nicks.
North_South_Side@reddit
Same. I have one that’s easily 30 years old. I don’t use it every shave and you don’t need much.
SunshineandBullshit@reddit
I'm 57 and have a nail clipper in my fanny pack, one in my car and on my desk lol
PlasticWentech@reddit
Honestly, I've carried a nail clipper since I was probably 12. I'll be 60 in a few months. They're handy to have around.
ScarletDarkstar@reddit
My Dad never ever was without a nail clipper. He said he kept it in his pocket so I always knew where to find it.
MassConsumer1984@reddit
Handkerchief, nail trimmer, and Vicks inhaler!
BrownWingAngel@reddit
I was coming here to say Vicks inhaler but you beat me to it. My dad was addicted.
North_South_Side@reddit
I use a bandanna to do the exact same thing your dad did. I have one in my pocket every day, every hour.
Deckpics777@reddit
Hey, and I tuck my shirt in exactly like OP’s Dad! Lol
colojason@reddit
I’ve carried a handkerchief my whole life so that’s not a weird thing your dad did :)
Adorableviolet@reddit
My Dad was pretty serious but I still remember him insanely laughing at Benny Hill. And it was such a stupid show but I still love it!
Beautiful-Event-1213@reddit
My dad was that way with roadrunner cartoons. He thought they were hilarious.
EBN_Drummer@reddit
I carry a handkerchief but it's mostly for sweat. I'm in Arizona and outside often.
North_South_Side@reddit
Same in Chicago. I wipe my nose with it a little but I use tissue if I have a cold. Mostly for sweat.
I carry one every day. I don’t have time for tissue every time I sniffle.
ciciluca@reddit
my father still carries those handkerchiefs!! he doesn’t stick them in my face if i sniffle. 😮💨
r2killawat@reddit
Our kids are saying the same shit about us. 😆
ciciluca@reddit
my father still carries those handkerchiefs!! he doesn’t stick them in my face if i sniffle. 😮💨
Irasshaimase21@reddit
95 year old dad still uses his hanky. Thought COVID might have rid us of those fabric petri dishes....
Tasty-Life4526@reddit
I stopped carrying a handkerchief, I use a microfiber towel, small.
Choice_Ad3523@reddit
I still carry a white handkerchief. My mom carried one and it really comes in handy.
jabblin@reddit
Comes in "hanky?"
MRenaeH@reddit
My dad still uses a hanky! He will be 78 next month.
Ok-Asparagus-904@reddit
I (grown woman now) always keep a hanky because my dad kept a hanky. It’s such a classy move to offer a crisp hanky when need arises.
StormProfessional950@reddit
Classier to offer a clean tissue.
Ok-Asparagus-904@reddit
No thanks. I’ll do it our dads’ way.
MoaningLisaSimpson@reddit
My dad's stepdad always had a "hanky" in his pocket. He married my widowed grandma when Dad was 13; he'd been a sailor and did his own laundry. I remember being glad for everyone's sake even as a child.
My dad is Mr Kleenex. Always has had Kleenex in his pockets, far more reliably than mom had Kleenex in her purse. And yes, he would drop trou anywhere to tuck his shirt in properly. He once did it with a friend over. We were on our early 20s. I was horrified.
I was SHOCKED when my first boyfriend didn't have Kleenex with him. I thought carrying around tissues in your pocket was the MALe thing to do. I'm teacing my 22 year old son to always carry them.
bluto00@reddit
My father had the handkerchief, always wore a white t-shirt under everything (even in the summer), did the tucking of the shirt, and also always had a pocket knife on him. Also, now every time I smell Canoe aftershave, it reminds me of him.
MissMurderpants@reddit
Dad did the hanky thing but only kept it per that day and if he went out it was a new hanky. He had a minor sinus issue.
He also kept it in a hidden baggie when he went out and was very discrete.
He was very particular about how he presented himself except the last couple of months. He just kinda cared less and less. He knew the end was coming and was clean and good but wore sweatpants and tee shirts those last few months.
I kept one of his clean hanky’s. Each and every time I pull it out if my drawer I’m like wtf is this?!?
He just died this past December.
kstweetersgirl2013@reddit
I kept all my dad's hankies too. He was a biker so his were the bandana types.
aspiegrrrl@reddit
*discreet
b_o_m@reddit
My father always had a handkerchief and a pocket knife on him. Always. It was drilled into me as a young man (12 or so) that a man never left the house without those two items. I'll be 58 in a few weeks, and I always have a handkerchief and a pocket knife on me. You'd be surprised how often those items are needed and extremely useful to have on hand.
pa13579@reddit
When I go into the office in the big bad city, which is only a couple of days a week now, I always carry a white, cotton handkerchief. I rarely use it to blow my nose but it’s got bunches of other uses. Worst comes to worst, I pitch it when I’m done.
Nopedontcarez@reddit
They were really common until our generation. I still have a bunch of monogrammed ones but don't carry them around. Disposable tissues were a later invention and now people tend to just have a small pack of those. All my parents and grandparents carried one around.
I also remember the bar table in the den. He could roll it out into the living room to serve drinks. Not something you see too much these days.
All the smoking paraphernalia is something I will not miss. I hated growing up around smokers.
lthill2001@reddit
My dad (and brother) still carry handkerchiefs for wiping noses
MollyDog2638@reddit
He read the newspaper cover to cover every night when he got home. He continued that every day until he died last year too. Canceling his subscription was one of the hardest calls I had to make.
Rapunzel111@reddit
I’m sorry for your loss. I lost my Dad in 2020 to brain cancer ( tumor). I understand completely. Hugs.
Rapunzel111@reddit
I’m sorry. I lost my Dad too in 2020.
Abbynormal61@reddit
So sorry
Fungus1968@reddit
I felt that one. Sorry for your loss.
Rapunzel111@reddit
My Dad wore tie tacks. He also had one pair of brown and one pair of black wingtip shoes. My Dad had wide ties with crazy groovy patterns in the 1970’s that he kept on a wooden rack that had a little swing out gold wire arm to put each tie on.My Dad also carried a hankie. He used Mentholatum all the time to open his sinuses and I associate that smell with him. My Dear Old Dad died in 2020 of a cancerous brain tumor. I still miss him every day.
sharkbait4000@reddit
My dad wore a three piece suit! And nice cuff links and those bones in the collar (forgot what they were called). And oddly he was not in finance but an engineer. Amazing.
Rapunzel111@reddit
My Dad was an engineer at IBM from 1958-1994. He wrote in binary code and worked on the SAGE ( Semi Automatic Ground Control) project that was the first air defense system in the USA.
Nervous_Home9363@reddit
Collar stays?
Smudgepot_Gerty@reddit
My dad always wore wing tips when he dressed up too. Black, if course.
linguicaANDfilhos@reddit
My nana kept a cotton hanky stuffed in her bra. She’d pull it out, blow her nose, and stuff it back in.
Zealousideal_Pea2961@reddit
My dad used to ride me on the handlebars of his motorcycle. I can’t believe I’m alive! 😆
Puzzleheaded_Use_566@reddit
My dad had driving his motorcycle when I was like 12! Yes, he was sitting right behind me, but no helmets for either of us. 😬
Smudgepot_Gerty@reddit
Same here...only he put it down with us both on it climbing a ravine hill. It was scary fun!!!!!
Zealousideal_Pea2961@reddit
Eek! 😱
judgeejudger@reddit
My dad also carried hankies every day, but he was a child of the Depression, owned multiple 3-piece suits, and knew how much starch he preferred on his shirts, goddamnit! 😂 He’s been gone over two decades, but I miss him terribly. I even miss the light blue polyester plaid pants he just would. not. give. up.
ScarletDarkstar@reddit
Oh, polyester pants. My brother had a vintage pair that his wife desperately wanted to burn.
iftheygivinitaway@reddit
I mean, I'm 53 and know how much starch I used to use on my dress shirts for work.
Alxl_1970@reddit
My dad had to learn how to look after himself when my mum died. He lived for another 10 or 11 years, completely independent and in his own home.
One day I visited him and used the toilet, and I saw a packet of sandpaper in the bathroom. I asked him what the sandpaper was for.
He used it to clean the inside of the toilet bowl. He was a carpenter, so, logical. 🤣🤣
So_She_Did@reddit
This made me laugh way too much 🤣
Sterek01@reddit
Hey, you got to get rid of those crusty hard bits.
Sterek01@reddit
I carry a hankey not for snot but because my late father always said a gentleman carries a hankey just in case of emergencies.
Has helped with tears, spills etc.
dailydillydalli@reddit
I still use a hankie. ;)
Smudgepot_Gerty@reddit
I always have a vintage one in my purse too.
Sad_Pension9734@reddit
Dad in the 1970s: pipe smoker, runner complete with slit up the side running shorts, cigars, and his black "sandals."
Historical-Kick-9126@reddit
My dad was a pipe smoker and runner too. Those shorts were sooo short. He wore those terry cloth headbands with all his hippy hair springing out around him. I loved the smell of his cherry pipe tobacco.
chamrockblarneystone@reddit
My old man was hung like a horse and proud of it. He only wore bikini underwear and bikini bathing suits. So many nice family photos cannot be displayed because his hog is visible.
He’s probably laughing his ass of somewhere. Miss you pops.
CoverHistorical8642@reddit
Your telling me your not gonna drop some pics after all that. If the man was hanging dong proudly he would want you to post them to reddit.
chamrockblarneystone@reddit
My sister has all the old family pictures and would definitely worry if I asked for those! My dad was an amazing gardener and there’s so many pictures of my poor little sister and I are standing with him next to his zucchinis.
On the bright side I was raised to be very body positive. I have fond memories of he and I stripping down and jumping into the ocean in all kinds of weather.
I became a surfer in my 20’s and not being shy about getting into my wet suit in all kinds of places is a plus.
I taught my son to surf and he’s definitely a member of the tribe. He’s 26, still lives with us, and insists on walking around the house in his boxers. My poor wife is always yelling, “Put some clothes on!” Which immediately makes me flash back to my mom yelling at my dad.
Upper-Ad-3877@reddit
Love it! 😂
judgeejudger@reddit
🤣💀
tiffy68@reddit
My mom insisted that pantyhose were panties and hose in one, so she didn't need to wear both panties and pantyhose at the same time. My grandmother was scandalized! For grandma, she wore underwear, hose, AND a girdle even in Houston in August!
yo_mo_mama@reddit
tiffy68@reddit
Yes, always a slip! So many layers of polyester!
Acceptable_Stop2361@reddit
Don't do the handkerchief thing anymore but was raised to carry one. Still do my shirt that way as long as there's not mixed company around. Learned from Dad.
tmaenadw@reddit
Handkerchiefs were a thing. Honestly, I used to use a cloth one when running in the cold and I would wash them after each run, they were easier on my skin.
My dad had a handkerchief, and a pocket protector.
imoldas_fck@reddit
I remember in the 70's and even 80's my dad would go outside shirtless, to mow, work on things, ride his motorcycle, smoke brisket. It was normal.
He's 86, still goes shirtless if he wants, still carries the snot rag, still cleans his fingernails with a pocket knife, but is also very well dressed if he leaves his house.
NervousDogFarts@reddit
Both my mom and dad have the nasty communal handkerchief. They were always crusty and stiff.
My dad used to wear super short cutoff jean shorts with no underpants so his nuts would pop out every time he sat down. My friend’s dad also wore short shorts and no underpants. It seemed like most of my parent’s friends did it too. It was so embarrassing to be around as a young girl.
0905-15@reddit
My dad wore the cutoffs with briefs and I remember one time we had company and his but just hanging right out as he was sitting there going on about something. I died several deaths from second-hand embarrassment
BSTXUSA@reddit
🤣😂🤣
QuesoChef@reddit
My dad still uses a handkerchief. Never forced it on anyone, but hated sniffling.
Now I hate sniffling.
yo_mo_mama@reddit
I have recently laid in a supply of handkerchiefs. One is always in my purse and a fresh daily one in my pocket. As I've gotten older, my nose has started running. Elderly rhinitis. Something to look forward. ;)
Curious_Field7953@reddit
Every day I'm alive I realize how WILDLY different my childhood was to the rest of my generation and how much I yearn to have had a normal upbringing.
In trying to relate to this I came up with dozens of things but all screamed "South Florida's largest importer of marijuana in the 70's" and thought maybe I'd better sit this one out. 😂😂
LatchedNipple@reddit
He get caught behind the roadblock on 29?
Prestigious_Field579@reddit
My 91 year old dad still uses the disgusting snot rag
Early_Reward_8685@reddit
Forget to mention, all dad's carried a pocket knife. Barlow perhaps.
hypnoskills@reddit
Yep. I remember it being a Big Deal when I received my first Barlow pocket knife when I was 6.
RealisticSky2995@reddit
My dad did both. His handkerchiefs were so gross and my mom hated washing them. He eventually gave them up once Kleenex got popular and he retired from working.
doc_skinner@reddit
My dad justified his hankie by taking it to the bathroom at work and washing it out in the sink. He'd bring it back to his office and spread it out on his desk to dry.
QuesoChef@reddit
That’s gross. Haha. My mom never complained. She said they weren’t any grosser (for her) than everyone’s underwear. And she said that didn’t bother her, either.
She said the worst clothes were when we kids worked in food service. But she didn’t complain because she was glad we had jobs. I washed my own laundry starting in high school but my mom would wash anyone’s clothes that made it to the laundry room baskets.
ScarletDarkstar@reddit
My dad never felt the need to pull down his pants to straighten the tuck on his shirt.
He did carry a handkerchief but generally for wiping a dripping mose out in the cold, not a full on blow a snotload to carry in your pocket way. He also had clean ones in the glove box and his briefcase in case one got too heavily used. He would offer the handkerchief to someone else but then you kept it, he didn't take it back.
3ryon@reddit
You misspelled moose.
ScarletDarkstar@reddit
Lol, well I can't fix it now...
No_Farm_3562@reddit
My dad still does the hanky thing and I think it's gross
Abbynormal61@reddit
My Dad did the same things. He also took his teeth out at the table to get a seed or whatever out from under them.
Frigidspinner@reddit
My dad did the same as your dad! He also used to suck pieces of chocolate rather than chew them to get the full goodness out of them (i think this habit was learned during rationing in WW2)
phillymjs@reddit
My dad was absolutely a handkerchief man, but he didn't share it. Nose-blowing assistance was provided by my mom, with a paper towel.
Lupi_y@reddit
Yes, the paper towel, sandpaper for your sore nose. I asked my mother in law for a Kleenex yesterday, she gave me a napkin, only slightly better than a paper towel. 😂
ObligationMurky8716@reddit
I do the cloth hankie thing, picked it up from the military
Melissaschwart@reddit
My bio dad rolled his cigarettes in his sleeve of his white Tshirts.
PositiveUnit829@reddit
My dad would sit in front of the television to watch his baseball game with an ice tray (homemade ice? )full of ice and salt shaker and crunch on that ice like it was candy
xologo@reddit
My dad called Radio Shack almost daily waiting for the cordless phone to come out.
StrangeAssonance@reddit
Dad would send me to buy smokes for him and let me “keep the change”. Summer time meant an ice cream bar or something similar as a reward.
Rikkitikkitabby@reddit
I forgot completely but yeah, that was my dad too.
purplealien15@reddit
Dad never carried a handkerchief but the shirt thing? I always assumed it was a generational thing.
Inattendue@reddit
Knees slightly bent to prevent this pants from hitting the ground because that brass belt buckle (nothing fancy just a regular buckle) was heavy… 😬
Vintage-Injun@reddit
My Dad still uses his snot rag on the daily, I cannot fathom the amount of germs contained in his back pocket, 🤮.
Karadek99@reddit
Are you one of my brothers?
CDM2017@reddit
My dad still uses his handkerchief and it's still gross.
Useful_Humor_1152@reddit
My dad was old school with the handkerchief. Realize when they grew up they did not have paper tissues like we did. The older gens continued to use the cloth handkerchief. My father also wore a undershirt under all his dress shirts/button down shirts.
If your older gen X like me, we still had cloth diapers and diaper laundry service. They would put waterproof diaper covers over our cloth diapers. We did not have pampers until later.
missdawn1970@reddit
Yup, I wore cloth diapers (born 1970). My older sister pierced her ears with one of my diaper pins.
hattenwheeza@reddit
And she put her earlobe between ice cubes before pushing that giant diaper pin with a plastic safety head shaped like a duck thru her semi frozen lobe, and it resisted slightly due to the freezing but didn't bleed much.
Ask me how I know lol
missdawn1970@reddit
ARE YOU MY SISTER???
Useful_Humor_1152@reddit
I got my ears pierced when I was 5 at a department store in 1972. Now my second holes I did with sewing needles . I wore saftey pins as earings in my rebellious teenage years. A lot of us pierced our own ears. We would numb our ears with ice cubes.
missdawn1970@reddit
Yup, I did that with my second piercing. The first one I had done at Claire's.
Sibby_in_May@reddit
My grandad literally had an outhouse — probably a Sears catalog too.
Useful_Humor_1152@reddit
A lot of people still had an outhouse back in yhe day of you lived more rural. I grew up in the city so not sure what NYC did before plumbing. I would have to google that
jameson71@reddit
But did you have a JC Penny catalog?
Sibby_in_May@reddit
Yes of course we also had the JCP catalog. By the time I came along the plumbing was indoor but we still had the white tractor tire with the flower garden over what used to be the privy hole. Yes, grew up in rural NYS. We think of the past as long ago but my dad was born in the 1940s and went to a one room school house like Little House on the Prairie.
Useful_Humor_1152@reddit
We had JC Penny too. We had physical Sears and JC penny stores plus the catalogs we got in the mail.
anonskier@reddit (OP)
I always wear an undershirt too. Cloth diapers. My mom insisted we use them when my first was born in ’89. The horror the horrer. 😂
Useful_Humor_1152@reddit
In 89 she was still using cloth diaper?, At least mom was conscious of how much plastic damage we would get in the future. Pampers are really not a good thing for the environment. Imagine the smell at the dump landfill 😁
anonskier@reddit (OP)
She did. My mom was convinced Pampers caused diaper rash. My mom also treated diaper rash with flour she would scorch in a cast iron frying pan. It worked. My mom is also Mexican and so much of her “Mexican Voodoo” worked.
Useful_Humor_1152@reddit
LMAO . I have Tex/Mex in my family so I understand. Also have a close Cuban friend who's mother who went through a Santira Priestis phase. When my friend imitates his mother and her voodoo, I crack up.
DuchessOfLansdale@reddit
I was my mother’s third child -born in ‘67- she was so excited when Pampers came out which she bought to use on me…. I was allergic to them! Back to washing diapers for her 😆😂🤣
Useful_Humor_1152@reddit
Me too 67 and my mother did not use pampers. She used laundry diaper service. Gave me the plastic liner over them. The ones with the ruffles in summer and ruffle butt tights in the winter. 😁
CatPurrsonNo1@reddit
My dad wore undershirts under his dress shirts! Then again, so did my fiancé.
My mom used cloth diapers on my sister and me. She laundered them herself. I don’t know how she dealt with my diapers when we traveled (we probably didn’t travel much), but with my sister she did use disposables.
brokenmcnugget@reddit
are we related?
rjross0623@reddit
Key parties. Him and my mom. Also, him and his buddies used to trade porn. They thought they were sneaky with their brown bags full of magazines and film reels. When VHS hit it got a lot worse. Yes. Dad was a lot of a perv.
wraithsonic@reddit
I used to carry one when I was a kid because I had such bad sinus issues my nose would run like a facet. I got my first set from my Dad. I guess my immune system finally activated by high school, because I didn’t need it by then.
My dad was such a fan of TV that we almost always had one in the bathroom. It became so legendary at school that I had people that wanted to spend the night just to see if it really existed.
AccomplishedCat23@reddit
The handkerchief thing --to a T. I thought my dad was the only one that dropped his drawers to tuck in his shirt.
wetwater@reddit
Mine does the same thing with the handkerchief and the pants. Plus he always has a comb in his pocket.
Depending on the length of the shirt I might open up my pants to get it properly tucked but that's rare. At the moment the only shirt I tuck is my white dress shirt and I don't need to undo my pants to tuck that in, though it helps.
No_Celebration_424@reddit
The comb in the pocket triggered a core memory for me! My dad always carried a comb in his pocket too 💞
Delicious-Tea-1564@reddit
My dad still carries a hanky
katharsiss@reddit
At my dad’s funeral my brother handed out dad’s handkerchiefs to everyone as a memento, since he always had a fresh one in his pocket.
gregory92024@reddit
Washed, I hope
Phreakdoubt@reddit
Our house's main suite didn't have an en suite, so after his showers, he'd walk back to the bedroom in a towel to get dressed. Even in front of company. And he was one of those guys who looks like he's wearing a sweater even when he's topless. Full shoulder and back coverage.
His party trick was to see how many golf balls he could stuff in his mouth. His record was 4. Good thing he never aspirated one of them, because he was so barrel-chested it would have taken the whole rest of the family working together to heimlich him.
He still golfs a full 18 holes with his bag on his shoulder at least 3 times a week at 81.
Inevitable-Debt4312@reddit
Have we met??
Lthrr9@reddit
I think most men used hankies then. My dad always had a crisp white one in his suit coat pocket, and a pocket knife in his pants pocket.
Alone_Ad5758@reddit
Same for my dad!
Strong-Raspberry5@reddit
Gah, my dad would buy us an ice cream and then use his used hanky to wipe our faces.
Motorcycle1000@reddit
I can only imagine what gross-ass bacteria and viruses live in those goddam hankies. I always imagined the cure for cancer might quietly be brewing in my father's sport coat pocket.
judgeejudger@reddit
Idk about anyone else’s pop, but my dad’s went in the bleach load. 🤷🏻♀️
Financial_Calendar77@reddit
I am a GenX and I did that too when I was young
Learned-Dr-T@reddit
I’m a Gen X dad and I carry and use a handkerchief.
GogglesPisano@reddit
I do keep a bandana in my work bag for sneeze/nasal/blood emergencies, but it rarely gets used and I'm careful to wash it promptly if it does.
More-Management-2116@reddit
My dad had handkerchiefs and my mom actually ironed them.
mookypop@reddit
My parents are 88 and my dad used handkerchiefs and she still irons them, or either my sister or I will when we visit. 😅
More-Management-2116@reddit
That's so sweet of you.
unbroken_cycle@reddit
His boxers too
No-Crow-8265@reddit
My dad did the handkerchief thing and so did I for a long time. I agree it's pretty gross to give one to someone else if it's been used; I never did that or saw him do that. I'm not sure what is the problem with tucking his shirt in? Because it wasn't in the bedroom or bathroom?
But if you watch a lot of older movies or tv shows, carrying a hankie around was pretty common, even after the invention of facial tissues. I would use mine for various things, not just blowing my nose. Using a common payphone, I had a hankie to clean the mouthpiece. Sitting outside after a rain? I could wipe off a wet and dirty seat. Need to pick up a dirty turtle in the road? Great option when we didn't have plastic bags. Your girlfriend crying at the movies? Give her a clean hankie to dry her eyes and clean her makeup. Those things were very versatile.
Probably the strangest thing my dad would do was take off his shirt after church and walk around in his dress pants and dress shoes. That seemed weird to me.
DrDarcyLewis@reddit
Mine wore basketball shorts in the summer, those polyester short shorts with the white trim and no pockets. If the look didn't work for Larry Bird and Dr. J, it sure as hell didn't work for dad. He always wore knee-high tube socks with them, and his socks WERE his pockets! Cigarettes, lighter, wallet - you name it and he crammed it into his damn socks. I swear my mother carried a handbag just to hold his stuff, not hers.
Thank goodness the 80s gave him cargo shorts.
Killer_Cornbread@reddit
My dad worked in construction, so in the winter he’d buy new jeans. When it started to get too hot for pants he’d cut them off into shorts. Short enough the pockets dangled out the bottom. So his summer fit was Daisy Dukes, no shirt, and white, high-top Reeboks.
kevbayer@reddit
I have a few of my dad's handkerchiefs. Though I have my own too.
My wife and I both have allergies so I usually carry at least one handkerchief for myself though I rarely use it. More than likely my wife will need if if she didn't bring her own or of I didn't bring an extra.
baditup@reddit
oof, my dad still does the hankie shit. fkn gross
sungodly@reddit
I felt a bit old (and a bit old school) when I first started carrying handkerchiefs. I suffer from cold -induced rhinitis, which is a fancy way of saying that if the temperature dips below the mid 60s, my stupid nose runs. With that BS, handkerchiefs are way more convenient than toting around fistfuls of Kleenex.
TheYask@reddit
What?
Is this one of those moments when I realize I'm colour blind?
sungodly@reddit
Presumably this is you too but you didn't realize it wasn't a common condition?
TheYask@reddit
Yeah, I've always thought I had winter allergies that defied Claratin and all that. Thin, almost watery and a handful of sneezes throughout the day. No itchy eyes or other symptoms that people associate with allergies, just "oh no, here we go again" levels of runny nose. it does fade during the winter, but there's the transition zone where it's markedly present for a while. Is that it or do I go back to thinking I have allergies?
sungodly@reddit
FWIW, I don't have sneezes as a result. And it doesn't fade, ever - if it's below \~65 degrees, my nose will run, no matter what time of year. And the colder it gets, the more it runs. Annoying AF, to be honest.
lshifto@reddit
I’ve got a big old cowcatcher of a nose and that sucker stores one drip way out inside the tip all the time in mild weather. It only escapes when I give my wife a peck on the cheek.
I’ve started carrying a hanky just for that.
Beffis777@reddit
Rolling cigarette packs in his sleeve and "showering" under the rain spout.
Stefferdiddle@reddit
Was your dad Schneider from one day at a time?
Beffis777@reddit
Great comparison!
Shadowratenator@reddit
my dad keeps telling me about his idea for a world changing invention... the disposable handkerchief!
FirstLeopard1263@reddit
My dad was born in 1918. Before Kleenex. Always carried a handkerchief and matches (to light a gal’s cigarette).
seeingeyegod@reddit
Yeah my Dad, birn in '43, always had a hanky. Not sure if he finally gave it up.
oooohshinythingy@reddit
My dad always used handkerchiefs. It was a go to Christmas and birthday stocking filler
Automatic_Yam_1857@reddit
Ummmm, did we have the same dad?? I could have easily written this exact post.
Ghee-Buttersnaps-@reddit
I forgot about my dad’s handkerchiefs! They were white linen. My mom must have ironed them. They were usually pretty clean, sometimes maybe a bit of dried snot. He also always wore crew neck, short sleeve, white tees under his dress shirts. On weekends doing chores it was just the tee and a pair of khakis or shorts, but only around the house. He was a classy dude.
oldfarmjoy@reddit
My dad did both!
Intelligent-Ad8436@reddit
Omg I had no idea the handkerchief was so popular. The red checkered ones he had
DefrockedWizard1@reddit
there weren't OTC non drowsy antihistamines at the time
Boring_Government307@reddit
My spouses nose drips like a greyhound. So I bought them really nice linen ones just to have for said occasion. More environmental than Kleenex
pdxorus@reddit
It drips like a greyhound. 🧐
Boring_Government307@reddit
It's a niche comment. Lol
DefrockedWizard1@reddit
you might be a sibling
Jillredhanded@reddit
The gallon jug of Gallo Hearty Burgundy that sat on the floor next to my dad's chair at dinner.
HighlySeasoned@reddit
Daughter of a Gallo Vapolicella drinker here. He also drank Harvey’s Bristol Cream.
Jillredhanded@reddit
Hard core! The sherry would be my English grandmother. That and a 4 pack of Guinness every Christmas.
figsslave@reddit
Dad kept his under the kitchen sink lol
Unimportant-Jello@reddit
Same here. My dad used a handkerchief every day. When I was a kid, if I had some schmutz on my face, he’d pull out, spit on it, and wipe my face off with it.
Thinking back….🤢
DrDarcyLewis@reddit
Oh gawd, thanks for bringing THAT memory back up. If either parent noticed we'd missed a spot, they'd tell us to stick out our tongue, wet the hankies with our spit, then wipe our faces. Ewwwww 🤢
sleebus_jones@reddit
As far as I'm concerned, that's the only way to tuck in your shirt. Well, maybe not the kitchen part, but shoving your shirt in after your pants are up is super inefficient and just doesn't work as well, IMO.
TheYask@reddit
Look at Mr. Tucks in His Shirt Outside the Kitchen over here.
un1ptf@reddit
Worse than that is that, sometimes, those old timers would pull those things out and offer them to people who were crying, to dry their eyes with. Ugh.
Brave-Chain2703@reddit
My Dad used his bandana handkerchiefs until the day he passed..
Hymen_Cholo@reddit
My dad used to drink and beat the shit out of me with jumper cables.
svenskisalot@reddit
He still does, but he used to too
Hymen_Cholo@reddit
RIP Mitch, my all time favorite.
stargarnet79@reddit
Haha my grandpa always had a handkerchief like that. And fresh white tshirts. Bro loved his freshies.
ahutapoo@reddit
A carton of smokes and a pack of new bandanas for Christmas and my grandpa was quite content.
stargarnet79@reddit
My gramps would’ve preferred a box of cigars but to each their own😂
Gaul65@reddit
If I'm re-tucking a shirt, it's still pants down->shirt flat->pants back up. Otherwise you end getting it all twisted around.
Minute_Dog_1793@reddit
Same, but I do it in my bedroom. I don't drop'em in the kitchen
MaxDoor@reddit
If my mom saw that my face was dirty, I was subjected to the dreaded "spit bath".
pwiedel@reddit
Haha. You unlocked a memory.
I remember walking to school one time when I was six. About half way there, my mom pulled up in the car, got out, and cleaned my face that way. Then she drove off and I walked the rest of the way.
3bigdogs@reddit
Ha. We called it a cat bath!
Beneficial-Shock5708@reddit
Man, I think that was every mother did that!
mamavessell@reddit
Same!! Still carries a handkerchief at 91 years old!!!
Major_Mollusk@reddit
Same, except dad is 94.
He also did the drop your pants to tuck in the shirt thing, often in the kitchen.
meowmix79@reddit
My dad had the white hankies for church and the other blue, red, green pack for work. RIP dad. He recently passed away. 😞
scripted_ending@reddit
My dad is in his mid 80’s and has used hankies as long as I can remember. I just bought him 2 new packs not long ago, at my mom’s request.
ernurse748@reddit
Toothpicks. Dad always had a dozen in his shirt pocket and/or Wranglers.
Quickwitknit2@reddit
I’d forgotten dad and his nightly toothpick. He’d gnaw on it all evening. It could’ve also been a replacement for the cigarettes he gave up when I was 10.
Johnsisland1968@reddit
My dad did those things and now I do those things.Generational wealth.
Many-Plenty9358@reddit
we had the same dad. Did yours also hang on to his swim trunks forever? Mine had a firetruck red pair from the late 50's, with litte striped belt. Being on trend was not one of his priorities and he was very much a product of the mend and make do generation
Jena71@reddit
Did we have the same father??
BillyCarson@reddit
It does work better to drop your pants to tuck your shirt. The best way to maintain the tuck in my experience is to wear an undershirt tucked into your underwear, then the dress shirt tucked over all of that and inside your pants. If your undershirt gets untucked from your underwear, you pretty much have to start from scratch to put it all back.
chawchat@reddit
This is totally the way. My wife thinks it's borderline crazy, but if I have undershirt and dress shirt all above the underwear - it does not work. It's a layered tuck 'n tuck, generations be damned.
NahNah-P@reddit
My dad worked in the oilfield and most of my life he wore white shirts and jeans with his hat and when he would come home, he would strip off in the laundry and my mom would spray the clothes and wash them until she got those shirts white with bleach again and the pants somehow turned out good even covered in oil. Idk how she did it everyday? He would also tuck his shirt in like yours OP on the occasion he had to wear something nicer. Which usually meant something button down and slacks. I miss him so much. I miss him hiding around corners to scare us too.
GigabitISDN@reddit
Phosphates. You don’t see them in detergent anymore (and with very good reason) but they work wonders on whites. That’s one of the reasons whites seem to go dingier much faster than they used to.
Also, hot / warm water helps the detergent remove oils from the fabric. Most detergents are formulated for cooler temperatures today but the 90s wisdom of “cold water washes just as good as hot” was misguided at best. In the 70s just about every load was warm.
lshifto@reddit
In the 1950s, Isaac Asimov wrote an essay on the future problems that heavy phosphate use would create. Was absolutely spot-on.
NeedsBetterHobby@reddit
In the 90s my grandpa would carry a pocket knife and a hankie everywhere.
And behind the seat of his pickup was a little coffee can wherein he hid his wallet. He didn't like carrying it in his pocket. There was also a shotgun behind the seat that he would remove before he left the ranch lol
wetwater@reddit
I had to drive someone's truck from the mechanic back to his place. He told me to take $20 from his wallet to pay for gas. He kept a tackle box between the seats and I found his wallet there, underneath his .38 and seemingly endless miles of gas receipts. I couldn't resist looking and his license had expired some 15 years earlier and I have no idea if he had a current one or if his truck was even registered and inspected.
Mr_Pogi_In_Space@reddit
As a kid, I did the handkerchief thing. I guess disposable tissues weren't as commonplace that time? Or we were too poor to afford single-use tissues
geordiedog@reddit
My Dad believed that the 5BX workout should be done only in his tightly whities in the hallway. AND that ice cream was an important part of a high protein diet as were peanuts.
thewalruscandyman@reddit
Drove a Mercury Cougar and wore a atraw hat.
Yorbayuul81@reddit
I guess I must be odd too lol
thewalruscandyman@reddit
Cool odd.
surfingwavefunctions@reddit
My middle school band director had a hanky he'd blow his nose into and also mop his forehead, hair with the same damn hankerchief. Sometimes back to back! I swear his gray hair on the sides had a tinge of green
Conscious-Phone3209@reddit
Dad always had one. Mom hated them and thought they were gross !
Philosopher2670@reddit
My dad (91) still carries a handketchief, a small pocket knife, and clips his keys to his belt. He always wears a button-front shirt with pockets with a white undershirt and a hat (usually a fisherman's cap these days)
wetwater@reddit
Mine retired about 15 years ago and he's still wearing the same polo shirts he wore when he was working. They're falling apart but he's up and showered by 6am every single day and puts one on.
Old_Till2431@reddit
Pop always had that pocket square. He kept his camels hidden with it...otherwise it was snot rockets.
Tonybeetswannabe@reddit
Handkerchiefs rule
Sniffers need to lose their nose
ShadowBitch42@reddit
I’m a female who did electrical work, and at one time our shirts were button-ups with long tails. I finally realized the only way I could get those tails tucked and smooth was the drop trou plan.
Dad was a little too formal for me to know how he got the undershirt tucked in, and I never saw him do the drop unless he was shedding clothes that had gained bees.
pdxorus@reddit
“… clothes that had gained bees.” lol
Apprehensive-Ant2141@reddit
My dad did the handkerchief thing too. Once I turned 9 and became able to do the entire families laundry I dreaded those things.
PM_ME_UR_FLOWERS@reddit
So my dad attached a thing to to back of his lawn mower for weight. I'm not sure what it was. It resembled a huge screw with no head. And I was allowed to stand on it and ride it. He did warn me that if I bent my knees enough to touch the mechanism, it would break them to bits, so it was important that I stood up straight and hang onto him. I saw nothing strange about this.
pdxorus@reddit
You’re a survivor
Southern501@reddit
My father (and grandfather) carried two things, at all times: a handkerchief and a pocket knife. Not a giant one, the small one that could cut up an apple or whittle the end of a stick or even trim the fingernails. I didn't realize that not everyone carried a pocket knife until I was in my 20's and once asked a (male) friend of mine "Let me see your pocket knife a minute to get this open ..." and he said, "I don't have a knife!"
The handkerchief dried many tears in my lifetime, much to my father's dismay. But his were never gross. They were fresh each day. My mother generally had one or two, as well. The decorative ones with flowers embroidered on the corners. I think they were for show, though.
Other things that were staples in my life that I later learned not everyone had growing up:
My grandfather also had a bandana available pretty much any time
My mother always had a half stick of gum in her purse for church. You know the one ... it tastes like perfume and is covered in purse dirt
A bar of Lava soap that I always wanted to use but my grandfather wouldn't let me because my "girl" skin was too delicate, lol
Catfish Charlie in the shed for when we went fishin'
There are so many things ...
SentenceKindly@reddit
My father (and both grandfathers) always carried handkerchiefs or bandanas, at least 2. One was "clean", ie never used on anyone or anything. That one got used if one of us needed it. The other one was the one they used.
My father also always carried a knife, situationally dependent: working? Small pocket knife. Hunting: hunting knife, etc.
I never go anywhere without a bandana and a pocket knife. I took it out at my office job once to open a box or something, and a coworker said, "You can't have that here."
I said, "Try to take it from me. Where's yours?" They just walked away.
Southern501@reddit
Post 2001 was so hard for the men in my life! They didn't consider pocket knives weapons, so it took a minute for them to remember to leave them in the car!
SentenceKindly@reddit
I lost a good one at a Get The Led Out concert! Totally forgot until I was at the venue.
Most times I remember because several of them are treasured keepsakes.
Historical_Bath_9854@reddit
I can smell the Old Spice
Southern501@reddit
English Leather for my dad and that green stuff for my grandfather that eludes me right now! Had a dimpled bottle. 'LectricShave, maybe?
KLLR_ROBOT@reddit
Could it have been Aqua Velva? There was a green version in a dimpled bottle
KLLR_ROBOT@reddit
“Purse dirt” 🤣 that’s the best description I’ve ever heard for that stuff. My mom always had gum or a roll of Lifesavers and sometimes she’d find an old stick or the very end of the roll with lint stuck to it, but thankfully she didn’t make me take it.
Myron896@reddit
I haven’t thought about Catfish Charlie in 35 years. Thanks for the memory.
ScrambledNoggin@reddit
Is it fishing bait?
Southern501@reddit
Yes ... with a VERY distinct smell!!
Sibby_in_May@reddit
Greatest generation and boomers definitely did the handkerchief, my dad and my pops both had them and it was an easy practical Christmas gift every year to get them new ones.
BaldGuy813@reddit
You can't be Italian then. To give someone handkerchiefs as a gift was considered bad luck and that you were hoping they'd cry for you.
Sibby_in_May@reddit
Ah, only on my mom’s side, my dad’s family was Swiss farmers so practicality was appreciated. My mom though puts money in a purse if she gives it away and when she bought us a knife set she taped coins to it.
Michstel_22@reddit
My dad also used a handkerchief. He came from an era before face tissues. He would use a fresh one every day and they would be laundered. I remember hating them when I was sick. In his later years, he changed to Kleenex. He also left the seat up and sometimes would not flush (especially during the night). He unplugged the tv when not in use and demanded we do the same. Depression era upbringing. He cooked steaks in a basket directly on the stove flame, which sometimes caused a minor fire and always caused a huge mess. He smoked Camels. He would toast homemade Italian bread, put Butter and jelly on it and eat it with hot chocolate. God I miss him.
bcpirate@reddit
What kind of basket is he cooking steaks in? She why? I don't have a clear picture of this process and now I'm interested
Michstel_22@reddit
It was like a grill 'basket'. 2 handles, opened up like a book, put the steak on and close it up -so it was flat. What a disaster, but we ate the steaks happily!
kckitty71@reddit
My father always used those long tipped cotton swabs and left them on his nightstand.
TraumaHawk316@reddit
Mine used a bobby-pin to clean/scratch inside his ears. It stayed on the table beside his recliner
wetwater@reddit
That's my mother 🤢
The_Calarg@reddit
Dad used Bobby pins as well as used his Old Timer pocket knife to clean his toenails... drove mom absolutely nuts to hear that!
I always, even to this day, keep a handful of Bobby pins in the jockey box of my truck as dad said I never knew when a gal, or I would need them. Turns out they make a workable set of distributor points when ones truck breaks down 75 miles into back country and the last time a person was seen was 3 days before.
Quirky_Commission_56@reddit
The only thing my dad used his handkerchief for was to wipe the sweat off of his face because he was an auto mechanic by trade and we lived in the desert southwest and it’s hotter than hell most of the year.
thaaag@reddit
My handkerchief does double duty - as padding against my leg for my keys that I stuff in my pockets, and just in case my nose spontaneously runs (like after I sneeze for example) where there are no tissues conveniently at hand. Gets washed after I've used it though.
No-County7603@reddit
My Dad had to windex his car windows daily. Every day before leaving the house. He also liked to keep a tire iron under his driver's seat.
figsslave@reddit
Dad called me one time in his early 70s as he needed me to buy him a new tire iron (he had a flat in the driveway) It see seems he got in an argument with some kids driving like kids do and the cops took his tire iron away 😱
figsslave@reddit
My dad was an adult civilian in Europe during the Second World War. Those guys were fierce!!
No-County7603@reddit
😂😂😂 yup, hated driving in the car with my dad in the 80's he thought he was a bad ass in his El Camino. He was in his mid 30's... which I get it now having gone through them myself and now I'm my 50's. Midlife Crisis😂😂😂
Substantial_Layer_79@reddit
My dad didn't do gross things. He was a single dad, who's dad was widowed early. Safety. Everything revolved around safety. How to work the breaker box, how to use tools, how to use a firearm and how to check that it was empty. Yell fire if I was in trouble, instead of help. If I were going somewhere, take my older brother. I miss him beyond words.
BuckeyeJones@reddit
Yell “fire”? That’s clever—cuts through people ignoring “help”, I guess?
Substantial_Layer_79@reddit
People are more likely to be concerned about their personal property, or being nosey, than someone yelling "Help!"
Sumchap@reddit
Hmm, I still carry a pocket handkerchief every day and I'm from '71.... mind you, I hardly use it for blowing my nose, it's like carrying a Swiss army knife, except you can't cut things with it
DarkIllusionsMasks@reddit
My dad taught me that blacks can't be baseball pitchers or football quarterbacks because they're not smart enough.
Luckily I didn't internalize that nugget of wisdom.
LargeMarge-sentme@reddit
Was stoned all the time.
mjh8212@reddit
My grandma and grandpa carried hankies. Yes it was offered to me to blow my nose and it was usually crusty. My grandma had a drawer full of them and kept them washed. When my allergies acted up I was given my own hankie to carry around.
beautifulwreck_@reddit
My dad did and does still carry a handkerchief.
toocleverbyhalf@reddit
So do I. Only one person gets to use it, though. If you need it, we’re good, but keep it. If you wash it and return it, we’re even better.
PirateJim68@reddit
Nothing odd with that at all. I'm 58 and hae always done those things, as did my Dad, Granddad and Uncles.
karmacorn@reddit
I lost my dad last October and you just gave me a great memory of all the times he whipped out that handkerchief to dab my eyes or tell me to blow my nose. He always had one. Unlike mom who had a crumpled, dusty, partially ripped Kleenex with a Vicks cough drop stuck to it at the bottom of her purse.
Teacherforlife21@reddit
I was traumatized many times by my dad mowing the yard in his dress short, ankle high dress socks and converse tennis shoes
ThreeToedMartian@reddit
My dad mowed the lawn in only jockey shorts and tennis shoes well into his 70s.
Equivalent-Room-7689@reddit
Lol. That's odd?
My Pappy always had two handkerchiefs in his pocket. One to clean his glasses and polish his pipe (that smelled amazing, like vanilla or cherry!) and the other for his nose.
My Dad doesn't use a handkerchief, but he always has tissues he can throw away because he gets migraines that get so bad he gets conjunctivitis (pink eye).
My Pappy DID (RIP Pap) and my Dad and my older brother all pull their pants down to their knees to tuck in their shirts. I assumed that was standard practice until I saw your post. 😁
tvodny@reddit
Yeah, he used the handkerchief. My brothers and I called it a snot rag.
He used the double edge safety razor for shaving(one on each side). I can still remember him explaining how to shave to me, when I asked long before I was able to shave. He would put bits of toilet paper on his face where he cut himself.
About 10 years ago I started using it as well. It took a while to learn not to cut myself all the time, but I did it.
anonskier@reddit (OP)
I learned how to shave with one of those. I was 14. My face was all fucked up until I figured out the angles.
sharkbait4000@reddit
Yes I remember the styptic pencil, to stop the bleeding!
discozombie770@reddit
Wore a tie anytime company came over
LaFemmeD_Argent@reddit
There was a time when tissues didn’t exist , and even when they did purchasing them just to use and throw them away was considered ridiculous and wasteful. We had those little travel packets of tissues for keeping in the car and what not. Our parents 100% used handkerchiefs. Dozens of them went through the wash every week.
I can recall as a child, if I had a cold or a flu, I had a pile of handkerchiefs with me into my bedroom and use those all throughout my sickness.
Last-Relationship166@reddit
It is wasteful. My wife has degrees in ecology. We've considered switching to handkerchiefs.
LaFemmeD_Argent@reddit
For sure, it is actually beyond ridiculous,but society and hygeine demand it. I get it, we do need to pay attention to cleanliness and contagion, and used hankies are just not even remotely hygenic.. I keep hankies around at home, also use cloth napkins, and rags for spills etc. During allergy season, it's tissues in the house, the car, my purse. There's no way I want to be caught out of the house pulling out a used hankie when I'm having a sneezing fit!
ButterscotchPlane744@reddit
Mine would answer the door in his undies and a pink satin blanket tied around his neck (cape like), to get rid of any sales persons 😁
knit1andpurl2@reddit
Not just your dad. My dad did both those things. Tucking in his shirt was usually in the living room and not the kitchen. The handkerchief grossed me out so bad.
ImNotWitty2019@reddit
My mom used to iron my dad's handkerchiefs. Also ironed his boxer shorts
catshark2o9@reddit
Yup. My mom too. I'd see her iron them then fold them into neat little squares for him. She would lay his work clothes out too and she'd get up at 0500 to prep his lunch etc.
Schulz70j@reddit
I tuck my shit in like that - usually bedroom but whatever, you get a good tick that way. My dad did the hanky too. They are good for wiping sweat but reusable tissue is gross
Bromodrosis@reddit
Same to both.
ekimdad@reddit
Dad always used a coin purse.
UtahSpartan80s@reddit
Mine too. He had grown up on a farm. Yours?
ekimdad@reddit
Yup. Farmer, then janitor at our church.
LL37MOH@reddit
I’m 69 and I still carry a handkerchief. It’s only for my snots though. I’ve offered it to weeping women but only when it’s clean.
hazelquarrier_couch@reddit
My dad had handkerchiefs that always had crusty boogers in them and my mom always had lacey handkerchiefs that also had crusty boogers in them that she kept in her purse. If you needed one you kind of always wanted mom's over dad's.
titlesquatch@reddit
I think I’m your brother…
Spuman147880@reddit
I carry a handkerchief not for me but the women in my life. It has come in handy quite often
Prepperpoints2Ponder@reddit
My husband, gen Jones, still does all this.
Beautifuleyes917@reddit
My dad also always carried a handkerchief, a red one
Beautifuleyes917@reddit
Like a bandana
Suitable_Dependent68@reddit
Speed
Hedonistic_Yinzer@reddit
0 I do both of these things. The hanky is a great people deterrent. You don't even have to use it, just pull it out and people will give you space. Nothing works better at saying leave me alone, then a hanky. Except maybe for dropping your drawers to tuck in your shirt.
bird9066@reddit
Always had to have a glass of milk with every meal...with ice in it
Mangolandia@reddit
That was thanks to the dairy industry in the U.S. https://www.thecollector.com/america-love-affair-milk-propaganda-protein/
Bettypickup@reddit
My dad used to have his coffee in a cup with a saucer, he would pour the coffee into the saucer and slurp it out of there. 😝🤣 I’m
Not sure if it was too hot or he just liked to slurp. He also dunk all kinds of food into said coffee. 🤢
harrimsa@reddit
That is the purpose of the saucer. To cool the tea or coffee.
bravenewwhorl@reddit
This is how all people drank tea in the 1800s
WyoBuckeye@reddit
I still carry a hanky. I spend a lot of time outdoors. And having a hanky in your pocket is helpful in many situations. Also dropping your pants to tuck your shirt allows you to get a better tuck for sure. I don’t know about doing it in the kitchen in front of people. I choose privacy. But when I tuck, I drop.
johninfla52@reddit
Me too. I use my hanky daily. Wiping sweat on runs, a makeshift pirate hat if I forget my hat, as a bandaidge when I snag my old man skin on a thorn, drying my hands when there is no towel, and of course blowing snot.
harrimsa@reddit
Grandfather carried a "hankie" like that into the 2000's.
I still tuck my pants in like that but try not to do it in the kitchen. LOL.
imcrowning@reddit
My weird dad left my mom to raise 3 kids on her own. But my grandpa did use a handkerchief.
GoodOldBadger@reddit
My pop (80) and grandpop always carried a handkerchief and a pocket knife as do I (m44). My 8 year old son grabs a clean handkerchief when his allergies are acting up. With a properly folded handkerchief you get 16 clean spots to blow your nose on and 32 if you don’t mind using the other side. So much softer, less wasteful, and more versatile than paper tissues.
hawkeye053@reddit
Took a job promotion in another state. By the time they purchased a house to move into, he was already shacking up with his girlfriend.
KLLR_ROBOT@reddit
Dang…
Bettypickup@reddit
My dad had a “ snot rag,” as I called it . Till he passed he still had hankies. 🤣
Teacherforlife21@reddit
My dad called it his booger vault
BennyHawkins969@reddit
My dad had the hankie thing too. But, also always carried a pocket knife. Came in handy on many occasions. Never a self defense thing , more of a cutting an apple or opening up a package thing.
Maleficent_Theory818@reddit
My dad had a stack of white handkerchiefs that he changed out each day. Mom would iron each one after washing them.
ONROSREPUS@reddit
I hope they didn't get starched. Crusty clean handkerchiefs or used ones.
Maleficent_Theory818@reddit
She starched the pillow cases. I do have a vague memory of my grandma mixing the starch and the smell. I do think they were lightly starched.
Yangoose@reddit
Handkerchiefs are awesome.
I started carrying them about 10 years ago and got hooked immediately.
Nice, soft cotton is so much better than tissues, less wasteful too.
Certainly better than wiping a dribbly nose on your sleeve when there's no tissues handy.
JoyfulNoise1964@reddit
I was taught to iron starting with the handkerchiefs
Due_Cucumber_6956@reddit
We're you also about 6 when you learned, or was that just me?
JoyfulNoise1964@reddit
Yes I was! And as I got older I ironed all of my own clothes and polished my shoes every Sunday evening
Due_Cucumber_6956@reddit
Same
rogun64@reddit
I still do those things. Lol
reallifeswanson@reddit
The handkerchief, but also a never ending supply of those round red and white peppermint candies. He would always be offering somebody one.
24HrSleeper@reddit
My Grandpa always had a hanky and butterscotch candy's.🙂
hattenwheeza@reddit
Husband is 72. Still uses hanky, just like his father, just as you described. Many of his hankies were his father's (1920 - 2015).
Furthermore, he tucks a button up shirt in precisely the same way, just generally not in kitchen. I remember my father did it identically.
PS: I still carry a pretty hanky in my handbag, as I have since 80s and inheriting my grandmother's hankies. I don't try to use it on grandkids if dirty lol
Those were norms in previous generations. A feature, not a bug.
JazzlikeSkill5225@reddit
Plus Kleenex came out in 1924 but was usually too expensive for anyone to use outside of the house I don’t know when they came out with the little package that you can put in a purse or pocket! I remember my grandfather with a hankie in his pocket all the time!
yurinator71@reddit
My dad is a small man, so everything he owns needs to be small or light weight. Its like he is on a permanent backpacking trip. I, on the other hand, am not small or dainty. I broke so much of his stuff!
MachineUpset5919@reddit
My dad used a hankie too. When I was little, my first job was to iron the hankies. He also wore those white “Parma” socks that are the rage now. It was embarrassing and it still looks odd to me today.
Remote-Zucchini-9212@reddit
I have my grandpa’s hankies and also my grandmother’s embroidered ones. I know I had to blow my nose in most of them at some point during my childhood. I’m 62 now and I still miss my grandparents.
Emotional_Mess261@reddit
My Dad’s hankie was often used to wipe something off my face. He’d lick it a lil and swipe 🤢
OlderAndTired@reddit
My dad carried a white handkerchief, folded into a perfect square, everywhere he went. We washed and ironed them for him, and I took pride in folding them just right and keeping a stack of them in the front of his armoire so he could grab a clean one each morning. I remember telling him the idea of reusing a dirty one made me gag, and he asked which would be worse: needing a kleenex or hanky and not having one at all or only having a dirty one?
I always have kleenex in my purse or pocket to this day. I miss my dad.
blot101@reddit
I do these things too. I'm only 45. I didn't know it was an old person thing.
One thing I remember about my dad, was that no matter how cold, no matter how early, he'd wash his face. Camping in the winter, I could expect to wake up to him washing his face in a Creek nearby, and showing no evidence it was cold.
boringlesbian@reddit
My dad always had B.C. Powder at hand. I remember having a headache as a small child and my dad pulling the powder and a collapsible cup out of the car’s glove box and showing me how to take it.
krissi104@reddit
What’s b.c. Powder?
Swimming_Ad_8856@reddit
Headache powder I think they make a couple different brands nowadays
flamingweaselonastik@reddit
My dad teaching me to take B.C. Powder is the reason I still only take pills and capsules with a pre-loaded mouthful of water or juice.
Spring-Available@reddit
My dad was a hankje man too. He would have my uncle in England send him them from Marks and Spencer’s. He also got most of his underwear from there too. We live in NYC but he worked for the UN before settling here so he traveled a lot. He was always a very well dressed man and never wore jeans because he just didn’t like them. In fact neither of my parents ever wore denim.
NekoTheSpookieCat@reddit
My dad also used handkerchiefs. I remember that he used to drink Pabst Blue Ribbon beer, and he would always take a can opener, pop two holes in the bottom of the can, and sprinkle salt on the hole, then drink with the can upside down.
Linfinity8@reddit
Did he ever say why? I have so many questions
NekoTheSpookieCat@reddit
Not that I recall, I was 6 or 7 at the time (Dad was military, so he wasn’t always around). I got the impression that he liked it better with salt, but I truly don’t know exactly.
Enough-Variety-8468@reddit
Practice his golf swing in every room in the house
Miss you Dad
krissi104@reddit
My dad rinsed out his mouth with hydrogen peroxide every morning after he brushed his teeth. He also drove around with a beer in the cup holder with me in the front seat. And he bought a brown, fancy van once with a sink and fridge. He would keep vodka and orange juice in the fridge and that was his van drink.
Not dad related but we got soda delivered in the ‘70’s. It would come in a case of like 12z I can’t remember the name of it but the black cherry and cream were the beer. The bottles were returnable every time we got a new order.
My dad always said “okie dokie” and he called me “pal”.
SirWarm6963@reddit
Was it Faygo soda?
mlachick@reddit
We picked up cases of soda when we returned our empties at "The Pop Shop."
NaughtyLittleDogs@reddit
My dad always carried a normal white handkerchief in his pocket. I loved when he pulled it out for me to use because it smelled like tobacco and the leather from his wallet. Such a distinctly warm "dad" smell for me. He didn't really use it much. He just always had a clean hankie in his pocket when you really needed it.
In the summer, when he did yard work, he always had a bandana instead. They were always super soft from being washed a million times. He used to let me take one when I went to Girl Scout camp and when I eventually moved away for college, I took one of his bandanas with me. I still have it 35 years later and it's a treasured memento.
annarbor-guy@reddit
Can’t tell you how many times my handkerchief has come to the rescue. Always in my back pocket. Washes easily. 😂
Ancient_Timer2053@reddit
Ditto
No-Jump-9601@reddit
My Dad still uses a handkerchief in exactly the same way. He insists that it’s fresh every day and is washed on a hot wash. As kids he’d hold it under our noses and say blow.
Mysterious_Can_6106@reddit
I can remember my dad getting his new Ford Astro Minivan. He told me he got it because it had two beer cans holders, one for the trip to pick me up and one for the trip home. He was a cop, drinking while driving his young daughter.
The other crazy thing he did was put a picture of his wife’s mother (second wife) on the inside of a lower cabinet door. He would open the door and tell his Doberman & German Shepard to attack. Those dogs SCARED THE HELL out of me .. they would start with a snarl and show their teeth then go full bore and destroy the picture. The real fucking demented part was my dad had MULTIPLE copies of this picture, he would just put a new one up when the dogs destroyed it. 🤷♀️
WTF dad! I have 3 dogs but it’s no wonder I am afraid of Dobermans and German Shepards. Not to mention, I thought all dads drank driving their kids around.
KLLR_ROBOT@reddit
He really didn’t like his MiL
External-Dude779@reddit
My dad driving with a can of beer inside a paper bag is a key childhood memory for me. Just one but he'd probably had a few before. He quit drinking when I was around 10.
Also there's a picture of me at around age 5 or 6 with a can of beer in my hand and a cigarette in my mouth with my dad and uncle laughing hysterically in the background
Mysterious_Can_6106@reddit
Crazy when you think about it .. but hey we all survived 😉👍
Starkville@reddit
My dad did, too. He was a very skilled driver, so I never thought anything of it. And the only time he was ever in an accident is when a drunk driver hit OUR car.
FairBaker315@reddit
My dad tucked his shirts in like that too.
I always thought it was something he picked up in the Marines.
mlachick@reddit
My dad carried a handkerchief, and my mom washed and pressed it. However, I was never expected to use it because my father wouldn't have noticed his kids' nose running or anything else about his kids. Mom thought handkerchiefs were discussing.
My grandpa would blow his nose right into his hand. 🤮
During cancer treatment, my nose ran nonstop so I started carrying handkerchiefs. I still do now (5 years cancer-free), and I really like them. I use paper tissues for anything exciting or if I'm actually sick, and I do wash them regularly.
melty75@reddit
My Dad had hankies and so did my Grandpa. Dad was more of a spitter though. He'd always hock loogies in the truck as soon as we hit the road. Loogies and darts, every drive. Once I was of age, on Saturdays after yardwork was done, we'd go for a "ham sandwich", which was code for a few beers and a joint. Miss Dad every day.
AcanthisittaKey1822@reddit
Haha my old man had a hanky too!! Lord I hated when he would want me to use it!
GuitarHeroInMyHead@reddit
I still carry a handkerchief - it is a habit I picked up from my Dad. Sometimes there is just not a convenient box of Kleenex around!
Bumberti@reddit
Or you need to clean your glasses, or wipe a can lid, or brush off a seat, or dry something off… Man I use my handkerchief so many times a day. I might dab at my nose during allergy season but I almost never actually blow my nose in it.
GuitarHeroInMyHead@reddit
Oh...I definitely blow my nose in it!
GoddessRayne@reddit
Mine almost always wore a button up shirt with a pocket. Long sleeve, short sleeve, didn't matter. Buttons, snaps, but that pocket, which always had his pack of cigarettes and a clicker ball point pen. My sister and I still talk about how if he hugged us, our faces would be smushed into that pocket!
UnicornSlayer5000@reddit
My grandpa, born 1925, carried a snot rag too and it always grossed me out. 🤢
KansasDavid1960@reddit
booger vault
chr7stopher@reddit
I always presumed handkerchief use like you described during our childhood is something from the past that lingered on before paper napkins and Kleenex tissue paper became more ubiquitous and inexpensive to use like we do now.
Entiox@reddit
Nah, I carry a handkerchief everyday.
WitchesCotillion@reddit
It’s much classier and dignified.
jameson71@reddit
I disagree that a snot rag in the pocket is classy or in any way dignified.
westkose@reddit
Thankfully, my mom had tissues...usually up her sleeve, sometimes crumpled in the bottom of the purse. I don't think they were used, but who knows? Just typing this now though, the smell of tissues from my mom's purse has hit me. Not bad, not good, but a distinct smell. Now I am missing my mom.
But horror of all horrors for a shy, middle school student in the 70's: my parents did not own blue jeans. Polyester. All. The. Time.
ONROSREPUS@reddit
My dad must have been some sort or rebel. I think I can count on two hands how many times I seen him with a tucked in shirt. Handkerchief? ppffft. Just hold one nostril shut and let if fly off to the side. Class all the way. He never did that in from of my mom thou.
GadgetGirlTx@reddit
Yuck! My dad did that when we were out in the garden or fishing. Also, never in front of my mom.
lovelylynda@reddit
“He never did that in from of my mom thou.”
That’s true love.
CuriousCatNap@reddit
Carrying and using a handkerchief wasn't odd in those days. My father, grandfather, and grandmother used them. Seems more frugal and sustainable to reuse handkerchiefs rather than purchase boxes of tissue. I miss my father too.
robertwadehall@reddit
My Dad (1921) always carried a handkerchief. He was a great man, I learned a lot from him. Miss him--he passed in 1999 when I was 29. He always dressed in custom tailored suits for work, but around the house and on our farm was in old jeans and outdoor work shirts..like Sears Roebucks shirts. He was a professional w/ a master's degree, but was very skilled in wood working, auto mechanics, making wine, horticulture, etc. Was right at home driving his fancy Lincoln Continentals and Town Cars as he was in his Mustangs, Thunderbirds and old F-100 pickup.
Elusive_strength2000@reddit
My dad had the handkerchief too.
Background_Nature_75@reddit
My dad always had his nasty handkerchief! I actually have one of his. Clean, of course😆 HER also wore rubbers over his shoes if it was raining. I don't even know if that's a thing anymore?
hernondo@reddit
Almost all men that grew up in the earlier 1900's carried pocket handkerchiefs. This was not weird, but very normal. Kleenex's weren't popular as a household staple. Many times the men would be out working and would need it, and have a box of tissues outside working just doesn't work.
OCsurfishin@reddit
My dad was a dairy farm kid. He would lay his finger on the side of his nose and blast out whatever was in the other nostril straight onto the ground. If we were indoors he would do over the kitchen waste bin, I mean the guy had manners. He could hock a loogey farther than anyone with sniper like accuracy.
hernondo@reddit
Same! :)
Weak_Drag_5895@reddit
My dad (still at 94) wears a Martha’s restaurant hat everyday of his life last 30 years. He won’t get his hair cut when we want so that hat makes it look like someone is trying to take care of him. He sleeps in it also.
All the years growing up he took us backpacking and skiing and adventuring with this mutilated cowboy hat that long lost its shape before we were born. It was floppy it was so old. He NEVER went outside without that hat. Had scruffy fabric flowers on it also.
Pandalicious1234@reddit
He sounds awesome! Tell him a random stranger said hi.
Odd-Artist-2595@reddit
When I (70f) was a kid, my dad used to complain because I never carried handkerchiefs and always needed to use his extra one—which I would then hand back to him, which was admittedly gross, and pissed him off. (Gentlemen in those days always carried 2; one to use, the other to lend at times of need). I didn’t carry one, myself, because being a girl, I didn’t have pockets.
Now I carry and use my own handkerchiefs, folding it over to contain any dampness before putting it back in my pocket. Tissues (or, more likely, toilet paper) gets used at home when I’m really sick, but I don’t usually carry tissues. They’re my germs. I see no reason to spread my germs to the general public by throwing my used tissues away when I can keep them contained in one or more handkerchiefs and take them home with me to be laundered. And, if I forget one is in my pocket when I do the laundry, it doesn’t disintegrate and scatter itself all over the load.
Plus, unlike tissues, my handkerchiefs can be used, laundered, and reused many times before going to live in a landfill. They make far more sense environmentally. And, they’re far more versatile than tissues are. They can be used for far more than just blowing your nose, just make sure you’re using a clean one. I honestly don’t understand the current hate for them.
BravestBlossom@reddit
Totally agree. My dad, now 83, always carried one, still does. I 51f do too. My son 19m does too. When he was 2 and wore overalls frequently, people loved seeing him pull his own hanky from his overall front pocket to wipe his own snotty nose! I hate seeing kids sniffing snot and wiping it on their arms and hands, so gross. A handkerchief is better.
Hankies are practical! Not just snot, but sweat, dirt, injury, washcloth, emergency wiper of any kind! And they can be sentimental, embroidered and ironed faithfully.
I have scrubs and each pocket has a designation, lol. Left front is always hankie! My purse usually has more than one 😂👌
Sockm0nkey@reddit
FWIW, I still carry one every time I wear a jacket/sportcoat.
And I never "lend" them. If I offer it to someone in need they always just keep it. (Right or wrong, my gentlemanliness ends at putting someone else's snot rag back into my pocket.)
lucindawilliams@reddit
My dad had the red paisley bandana snot rag and he also liked to carry a pocket watch in the chest of his overalls when he was working outside. He usually had a pipe stuffed in one of the pockets if it wasn’t in his mouth. He wore his old navy cap with the brim turned down like a bucket hat.
ZubLor@reddit
My Dad wore the polyester jumpsuits (shudder)
NotReallyButMaybeNot@reddit
Thankful my parents and grandparents preferred Kleenex… in the old gold and brown patterned boxes
No-Gain-1087@reddit
I still tuck my shirts that way it looks neater then just jamming it in your waist
4Q69freak@reddit
My dad also carried a handkerchief, usually a red bandana while out farming. He always carried a white one when he was doing anything else. He also always had a pocket knife on him unless he was wearing his suit.
KurtStation68@reddit
I had an Uncle that would do that, always thought it was practical, but yeah, nasty.
Though I guess using my arm sleeves is similar. No wonder my mom always carries Kleenex in her purse.
Original_Ant_1386@reddit
My father reached 93 and never filled or switched a washing machine on in his lifetime.
ParkingTradition799@reddit
When I was in school they had a sign up that said ' coughs and sneezing spread diseases please use your handkerchief.' So I suspect that there was a massive outbreak of flu at some point. An in the 60s/70s it was a thing that everyone had. I also thought they were disgusting an very unhygienic. Never understood why you would reuse a cloth.
Floopydoodler@reddit
When I was a teenager, part of my allowance chores were to iron my Dad's work shirts and iron his hankies. Freshly washed and pressed, he carried one every day. I miss him and his hankies.
Johoski@reddit
Ironing and dusting were my chores. Did you have to dampen your ironing the day before? We had a special Tupperware tumbler with a perforated lid to sprinkle water on the clothes before rolling them up in a plastic bag and sticking them in the fridge.
I never iron now. I have a steamer if something really needs it.
Floopydoodler@reddit
No, definitely didn't do that. Shirts were hung right out of the dryer and I would iron after that. Hankies were just put into a little basket after they were washed and when the basket was full I'd iron them. I've seen people sprinkle water on ironing but my Dad was a no starch kinda guy so his shirts were more often the "permanent press" kind that really just needed ironing to make it look crisp.
PiEatingContest75@reddit
We had one of those shakers too, yellow with a red lid. I wonder what ever happened to it. I also hate ironing and only use a shaker or a quick spin in the dryer these days.
punkwalrus@reddit
My dad wore dress shirts and slacks in the house. Only saw him in those clothes and silk pajamas for bed. Never saw him in anything more casual than a golf shirt and slacks, which he wore at the beach.
My father was uninterested in child rearing, suburban life style, or teaching me what he knew. He considered me property managed by his wife. Kind of like his wife bought a yappy French poodle that annoyed him.
My dad could not cook. Refused to do so.
GadgetGirlTx@reddit
Wow, that read like an exact description of my father-in-law!
He was extremely slim and never wore shorts, claiming that his legs were too skinny for them, even in the S Texas heat. He worked on his vehicles, around the house, and even did lawn work wearing old dress shirts and slacks.
Like your father, he also had no interest in child rearing. He said to us once (in front of both his kids, my Hubs, and his sister!) that he never wanted kids, and that they only had them because my MIL wanted them. My husband always felt his dad's dismissiveness, wanting his dad's guidance and mentoring but not getting it. I was in total shock at that admission, but he said it as casually as one might discuss the weather. 😰
ohhowcanthatbe@reddit
Amen. All around.
MHP456@reddit
My Dad passed away in 2021 and I kept two of his handkerchiefs. I spent so many hours ironing and folding those suckers as a kid but they will forever remind me of him. My daughter actually got some very pretty embroidered handkerchiefs for her bridesmaids and all the parents for her wedding. I used mine and my husband’s that day!
Weak_Drag_5895@reddit
I have my dad’s embroidered red hanky from when he was a kid with a cowboy boot and lasso. So cute. I have a few hanky’s from grandmothers and such; put them all in my top drawer just to look at when I go into the drawer.
Whut-The-Mel@reddit
I don’t think the handkerchief is that gross. Everybody used them before tissues became common. Ladies carried fancy ones in their purses or up a sleeve. My dad always had one in his pocket …and my mom even ironed them! 🤯
littlescreechyowl@reddit
Every Sunday my dad would wash his 5 work shirts, 14 hankies and then he would iron them while he watched football or baseball.
When I got old enough ironing them became my job, not because I had to. I loved the smell of the fresh slightly damp shirt, the smell of the spray starch, the steam from the iron. Plus I got to hang out with my dad in the basement and no one else was usually down there.
I still love to iron, but my husband insists on taking them to the dry cleaner because he doesn’t think I should have to do his laundry. Sometimes I do them anyway before he can take them in.
th3tadzilla@reddit
I was born in '76. You just described my own stepfather to a T!! Nasty handkerchief and pants down to tuck in shirt. He also had them short short coaches baseball shorts 🙄🙄 can't roll my eyes enough for those!!!
finderintheforest@reddit
I used to ask my dad why he put on a costume (suit) every morning. The fedora, in particular, confused me.
MyraBradley@reddit
My dad always had a handkerchief too. Blew his nose like a trumpet into it several times a day.
ChicagoFly123@reddit
Is your father my father?
grannygogo@reddit
My uncle kept $100 bills under the floor mats in his car. He’d always tell us to go get a 100 to buy ourselves something.
littlescreechyowl@reddit
I keep my Aldi quarter under the floormat. Never thought about keeping actual cash.
grannygogo@reddit
He was single, made good money, and spoiled us.
krissi104@reddit
Yup my dad always had a handkerchief I hated that thing!!!
Beyond_the_Matrix@reddit
Nope! My Dad did this, too.
And my Mom had her dainty handkerchief.
I have adopted the habit and I think it's great. Not for the nose blowing and snot collecting. But sometimes you need something to wipe your eyes or cover your nose when you're on public transportation and don't want to smell something.
My Mom and ilder cousins used to spray perfume on their handkerchiefs, so they can smell when they encountered a foul smell (my cousins lived outside of the U.S. and dealt with not so clean public streets and public transportation).
BrentBolthouse4Prez@reddit
Mine did too! (The handkerchief)
jthockey78@reddit
Haha my dad had a handkerchief as well. Always thought it was so gross.
Starkville@reddit
My dad had a huge bar of Army-issued soap left over from his service in Vietnam. It was greenish and a strong Castile soap, and it lasted for years.
He also slept on the couch in his clothing, despite having two bedrooms upstairs and pajamas. My sister asked him, and she said that he always wanted to be able to make a quick escape from the house if needed. She thinks it was related to PTSD from his time in the war.
KLLR_ROBOT@reddit
My uncle came back from Vietnam suffering from PTSD. His first night back, my grandma went into his room to put a sheet to cover him as he slept. He jumped up out of bed and grabbed my grandma by the throat. My other uncle had to restrain him. Eventually he slept on the couch for several months and everyone knew to not disturb him during the night. He’s gone now, and I hope at peace.
thundercloset@reddit
I wish I could give your dad a hug. ❤️
oldschoolie@reddit
My dad lined the bathroom sink with newspaper before trimming his beard, eyebrows and nose hair. He would then wrap it up carefully, bring it into the garden and empty it onto the flower beds.
BlueButtons07@reddit
My dad also did the handkerchief thing!
Mine would carry a sewing needle poked into a small piece of paper and keep it in his wallet, in case he ever got a sliver. He passed when I was a kid...but I still have his old wallet with the sewing needle in it.
lilmeanie@reddit
Was your dad in the military? Mine was Army and tucked shirt the same way: it was how he learned to do it for passing inspection.
anonskier@reddit (OP)
Yeah my dad was in the Army in between Korea and Vietnam. He was drafted.
thisoldguy74@reddit
I honestly don't know how else to tuck in a shirt without it looking wadded up. I usually put my shirt on before my pants to skip the having to unfasten and drop them stage though.
govnah06@reddit
Still carry one (because of my dad, who still carries one). It’s only handed to my wife or kids if clean, and it’s theirs for their pockets after that.
babayagaparenting@reddit
My dad left his wallet and keys in his truck in front of the house every single night. His wallet only got stolen once. He also used to drink bottles of Tab- we went through an 8 pack a day. Nasty stuff.
AnitaLatte@reddit
Tab was a favorite. Happy little jingle in the ads. We all drank tons of Tab. Then we found out that cyclamate, the sugar substitute, was carcinogenic. So the formula changed to saccharine, which leaves a bitter metallic after taste.
Kitchen-Homework-816@reddit
Dad had handkerchief and always had a toothpick in his mouth. He was actually a pretty cool dude and was super authentic.
Komaisnotsalty@reddit
My dad was... uh... well, he was something.
Snot rag? No no. My dad, stellar man of class that he was, would plug a nostril and blow his nose like he was clearing a clogged water pipe and send a snot rocket off in to the dirt, wall, whatever.
He lit his hair on fire once with a welding torch because he scratched an itch on his head. He also smoked while welding.
Scratched his balls in public.
Picked his nose and flung whatever he dug up on to whatever surface was nearby.
Burped and farted openly.
Chewed cinnamon flavoured Dentine gum all day but when he was done, he'd stick it on to the lightbulb of whatever lamp was nearby.
Real classy guy.
UraTargetMarket@reddit
🤣 I’m crying over here.
Komaisnotsalty@reddit
LOL! Happy to entertain. He was a character and a half and hilarious. Gross, but hilarious in his own way.
anonskier@reddit (OP)
JFC. I can understand burping and farting, but the rest of that stuff. Laying down snot rockets. 🤣
Komaisnotsalty@reddit
My oldest brother is 66 now. SO much like dad. Complete pig. Just nasty.
Though I think his current wife finally cured him of hocking snot. 🤮
noodletropin@reddit
I've seen people do the gum thing, and they said that it was like an air freshener because the heat from the light bulb helps release the flavor from the gum into the air. Yeah, no thanks.
Komaisnotsalty@reddit
Yeah. I have a pretty clear memory of when I was little and mom and dad's bedroom had a scent of old cinnamon and sweat.
Bits of cinnamon gobbed on the nightstand lamps, I remember that so very well.
Even more fun, I recall seeing him take a gob back after he 'just stash it there for dinner' and keep chewing it, now with bulb dust.
Hrrrk.
Individual_Raisin684@reddit
My husband wears a uniform to work and that’s how he tucks his shirt in. That’s how we taught our boys to tuck in their baseball jerseys too! It makes for the smoothest tuck. Otherwise the shirttails look so bunched up!
wrhnj@reddit
I have allergies and other sinus issues and keep a handkerchief in my pocket too.
Glittering-Ad4561@reddit
My Dad stills uses a handkerchief
LyndaMR@reddit
My (F61) dad (M46 in 1970) was also a handkerchief guy and though I use pocket tissues, in the summer I always carry a handkerchief to wipe the sweat off my face when I’m out in the heat. I lived in some tropical & semi-tropical (hot!!) places and they were lifesavers. I have some really cute ones now that I love but plain white hankies always did the job too.
Extension_Case3722@reddit
I never saw my dad wear jeans,polyester pants or sweatpants only.
Vivian-1963@reddit
My dad, according to my mom, was a dapper dresser for many years. He got much more comfy over the years and would say he’s wearing his “dress” sweatshirt, which was a newer one from Eddie Bauer. Miss him so much.
88secret@reddit
How is this the first time I realized my dad never wore jeans either?! He’s been gone 24 years….maybe he did and I’ve just forgotten. Gotta ask my brother….
qriousqestioner@reddit
I love handkerchiefs! They seemed gross when I was young and my dad used them. Now he doesn't and I do. Seasonal allergies require that I have something, and cotton hankeys are soft and easily washed. I have fresh ones every day, and usually have a nice one I carry around in case it's helpful for someone else. (These are a few pretty ones that really don't get used often, but can be a charming boost for someone caught unawares during flu season.)
Individual_Raisin684@reddit
Me too!! I have a whole drawer of hankies! I have my socks, my undies and my hankies. I have terrible allergies and I’m always sneezing and blowing my nose during allergy season and using tissues makes my nose so much more red and chapped than hankies. Plus hankies are more environmentally friendly and useful in other ways too!
Alternative_Roll_925@reddit
I did that for a long time too. One for me and a clean one in case someone else needed it. Honestly I only stopped because after having 3 kids it was one more thing to worry about, and we usually had some kind of baby wipes with us anyway.
Standard-Cockroach64@reddit
I remember my dad having a special deck of cards and scoring pad for playing solitaire. Also adding salt to his beer to keep the foam down.
AnitaLatte@reddit
Hubby and I were watching an old movie and they had a bar scene where someone added salt to their beer. I forgot that was a thing. Hubby had never heard of it. Salt enhanced the flavor and increased the carbonation.
Aggressive-Bath-1906@reddit
I still carry a handkerchief in my pocket I don’t share it though.
Smilneyes420@reddit
My dad was in advertising and on take your son to work day we’d always go have a 3 martini lunch with the boss and a couple of the managers. Since I was only 12 I got 3 beers. I’m pretty certain all of the managers were snorting coke all day. Some of their outfits were quite colorful as well as being a serious fire hazard.
_genepool_@reddit
I am 56, I do both of those things ....
OG-BigMilky@reddit
Damn with the handkerchief. I guess I inherited the pants thing because I do that too. Lol
Cute_Professional703@reddit
My grandfather always wore an undershirt. He also had a handkerchief. Ew.
My Dad had this old school porcelain mug with shaving foam, and a circular bristle brush, that he used for shaving. Old school. ❤️
PlanStandard2174@reddit
Same with my dad. But did your dad have a styptic pencil that he would use when he cut himself shaving? Grandpa? Always with an undershirt. Wonderful men both of them
KLLR_ROBOT@reddit
Today I learned something new. I’ve never heard of a styptic pencil. My parents divorced when I was very young, so I never got to see him shave. I did watch my uncle shave and he’d always stick tiny pieces of toilet paper to the nicks until they dried. He would have loved that pencil.
Safe-Count-6857@reddit
Modern machined safety razors and some classic safety razors have become increasingly popular over the last few years, as have badger hair brushes and shaving soap. I think small bowls are more common, if you use puck soap, but they are definitely a lot more popular than they have been in decades.
97Whaler@reddit
My dad did same shit are we related?
Zen_Hydra@reddit
My father used to (and perhaps still does) keep a jug of bleach in the shower, and rub himself down in it because he was convinced it kept him healthy and smelling nice. It can't be good for your skin even as diluted as most OTC bleach is, and the truth is that he doesn't have a strong body odor due to genes and diet. My father has always had some whackadoo beliefs, the Art Bell type, and yet somehow this same woo junky introduced me to the wonders of science at a very early age. In the 70's my dad also affected tobacco pipes. He only very rarely smoked one, because he always struggled to keep it lit, and the times he kept it lit he would inevitably burn his tongue. Instead, he had a small collection of nice pipes that he would hold in his mouth and gesture with (even though they typically remained devoid of tobacco). Back then my father was also super-duper into studying indigenous American cultures, collected indigenous art, jewelry, and clothing, would regularly take us to pow wows (fry bread power!), and perform practical anthropological experiments (like growing heirloom "Indian" varieties of corn, squash, and beans, as well as using handmade tools to skin, tan, and make clothing out of deer hide). He definitely danced right on the line between exploring a deep historical interest, and cultural appropriation.
bendingoutward@reddit
To be fair, you can't really get into fringe science if you're not into things that actually happen in this reality science.
Cassedaway@reddit
Hanky. And that colored plastic-rubber coin purse with the slit down the middle that he squeezed to open
phinger1@reddit
My uncle had one of those coin purses, it was blue and smelled like a HS art teacher.
TheSpatulaOfLove@reddit
What does a HS art teacher smell like?
phinger1@reddit
Something like pine pitch and patchouli oil...
AnitaLatte@reddit
Every company handed those out for promotions. Along with combs, pens, little glass ashtrays and bottle openers.
I was recently at a seminar and the presenter had promotional items. One was a little aluminum bottle opener on a key chain and someone asked me what it was. Okay, most of us there were old enough to remember when caps on beer and pop weren’t twist-off. I told her what it was and said I only knew that because I like to have a Grain Belt once in a while.
KLLR_ROBOT@reddit
I remember those coin purses being common promotional items
KarmaBike@reddit
Small town bank give-aways.
banjobell25@reddit
My dad had a hankie and $100 cash in his pocket at all times. Not gonna lie.... I do the same (just some cash)... Cuz you never know
mldyfox@reddit
My dad carried a handkerchief for his whole adult life. After a while, he'd carry two, one for himself and one for any of us family members that might be in need of one while out and about.
Helped me when I'd visit my folks with my son when he was a little guy. I'd carry a diaper bag with wipes, but would often forget to replace the travel size tissues. Grandpa to the rescue!
spitfiredaggers@reddit
My dad would clean his finger nails with his pocket knife.
yarn_slinger@reddit
Did he clean his ears with his car keys, too?
spitfiredaggers@reddit
Yep!!
froction@reddit
Do people not do that now?
How else do you start your head?
xocolatte@reddit
Memory unlocked
Bazoun@reddit
Oh God you unlocked a memory there.
darthjazzhands@reddit
Yup. Always carried a handkerchief, a small tin of Aspirin (actually made of tin and branded "Aspirin"), a roll of chapstick, and a small pocket knife.
borkborkbork99@reddit
My dad (89) would carry a handkerchief (clean one), a small Swiss Army knife classic SD, a pen and a mini spiral notebook.
Wore a suit and tie to work every day.
darthjazzhands@reddit
Your dad and mine were of the same generation. Mine was born in '29 and passed this year.
I think the silent Gen learned the hard way about self reliance and preparedness during the depression.
borkborkbork99@reddit
And civic duties. He’s almost 90 and if you saw the awards and plaques on his office walls you’d be impressed by all of the professional business societies he was involved in.
darthjazzhands@reddit
I strongly feel that "Noblesse oblige" died with their generation.
379tuco@reddit
I had an uncle that used to clean his ears with his car key
Extension_Case3722@reddit
My dad used the end of his pen that he always had in his chest pocket.
Pretend_Editor_4447@reddit
My dad did that.
Jagg811@reddit
My dad always had a clean folded handkerchief in his pocket with the letter E embroidered on them. (for Elmer!) Yes it was gross but back then I don’t think they had those little pocket packs of Kleenex like they now have! God, I miss my dad!
WileyCoyote7@reddit
Pack of Marlboro Reds in his shirt pocket, leather belt with his father’s rodeo champ buckle that he wore with everything, Bic lighter in his jeans pocket that could only be red or blue.
AmphibianFragrant453@reddit
The leather belt in our house was a warning - don’t make me go get my belt!
WileyCoyote7@reddit
Yes indeed. Was told more than once, “Keep acting up, and you won’t get the leather. You’ll get the buckle.”
Think-Football-2918@reddit
My Mom kept her cigarettes (and a wide assortment of other things) tucked in her bra.
Syfysamurai@reddit
Oh those were the days 🤪. My dad did both of those things
Pretend_Editor_4447@reddit
SAME! On all counts. Would pay cash money to have that hanky handed to me right now
bandit-6@reddit
My dad used to field strip his cigarettes. Had no clue why until reading a book about Viet Nam.
NERepo@reddit
I'm not sure I know what that means
TTYFKR@reddit
rolling the filter of the used cigarette to remove the ash and tobacco before stowing the filter in a pocket or container until you can find a trash can
NERepo@reddit
Ahh, got it. Thanks.
davster99@reddit
Neither did I, and I couldn’t wait to get a book
qUHTehGB@reddit
My dad had handkerchiefs and after they were washed, we had to fold and iron them.
Sometimes not all the snot would have washed out. Ewww!
It was a big deal as a kid bc the handkerchiefs were how my Mom taught me to iron - a whole other deal that isn’t a thing anymore. Our ironing board out in the kitchen was like a whole piece of vital furniture except for when guests came over.
Recently when cleaning out an aunts home found boxes of womens handkerchiefs my grandmother would buy and then add crocheting edges to.
So much energy for crafts in my family - didn’t inherit
doesanyuserealnames@reddit
I inherited a bunch of my grandma's hankies, and I give them to close friends who have suffered a major loss.
Mollywisk@reddit
Same with ironing!
Lighteningbug1971@reddit
I miss him so bad and the 70s .
platypusandpibble@reddit
Did we have separated-at-birth twin Dads? Mine did the same stuff. Especially the handkerchief thing. Ick. He’s still alive and has switched to disposable tissues, so I guess he’s learned something in his old age. (Very old - he’s 85.)
Ginger630@reddit
My dad still carries handkerchiefs.
doesanyuserealnames@reddit
My daughter uses a bandana when she's got a cold or allergies. She started that in high school 🙃
Fluffy_Ad2274@reddit
I still use handkerchiefs... No different to putting a used tissue in your pocket, and far, far more environmentally friendly. Plus, a clean hanky can double as a tourniquet, bandage, sunhat, flag of surrender, flannel, general cloth, and whatever else all before being boil washed and used again.
InsertCleverNickHere@reddit
Absolutely. I suspect many of our hanky-sporting dads in the 70s were lax in the hanky-washing department, though.
Fluffy_Ad2274@reddit
Ah, yes, I forgot their essential role as being used to wipe grubby faces! You're probably correct on the hygiene front there- my mum used to boil my father's hankies in a big saucepan on the stove. I'd completely forgotten about that until I saw your post - thanks, I guess...🤣
admiralackbarrrrrrr@reddit
God I’m still a handkerchief guy because my dad was lolol I never knew how disgusting I must seem to people around me (tho I use it more for wiping my face, etc)
rbrumble@reddit
My Dad was a handkerchief user as well, a disgusting thing. My Mom would throw them in the laundry with all our clothes, like pack the washer and run it on cold water, so my laundry would come back with dryer fused boogers all over my clothes. As soon as I could do my own laundry, I did. My Mom was a stay at home partner and did the absolute minimum. Every bit of clothing I wore was ruined with bleach, because she thought it was needed to disinfect. Boomer parents were literally garbage.
Round-Public435@reddit
My dad was also a "handkerchief" dad - and when I was expected to start helping with laundry, I remember how absolutely grossed out I was by having to handle those handkerchiefs - because by the time laundry was ready to be washed, the handkerchiefs were all stuck together with gunk. 🤮
On a slightly related note, our dad had a specific morning routine that everyone in the house knew. Our house was very small, and you could hear pretty much everything in every room of the house. Everything he did had some sort of loud noise associated with it - even blowing his nose, which was like a trumpet blast. He would get up early for work, walk out to the kitchen, drop his shoes on the floor to put them on (*BANG!*), blow his nose (*PHRRRRRRP!*), give a big belch (*BRAAAAAP!*), then slam the door on his way out (*BANG!*).
We all knew it was time to get up for school when we heard that last bang. No alarm clock needed.
doesanyuserealnames@reddit
Was your dad in the service? My hubby tucks his shirt in the same way it was an Army thing.
oldschool_potato@reddit
My dad used a wind up alarm clock until the day he died. Had an electric one until the power blinked and his alarm didn’t go off in the morning.
My mom used one too and they seemed to never be in sync that double ticking sound was a sound of comfort. When I was little I would crawl into bed with my mom before school after my dad got up.
Working-Lemon1645@reddit
Dad slept in the buff and never bothered to put in clothes when he got ready for his night or swing shifts. He just walked quickly past with a single washcloth in front of his junk. Mom was also basically a nudist, so she thought nothing of it unless I had a friend over.
He saved used toothpicks on his side table and got upset if anyone tossed them.
He also stole almost all of the Sweet N Low or Splenda packets from diners as if the remaining three packets would render his crimes invisible.
thecardshark555@reddit
Handkerchiefs were good if they weren't constantly used. My husband carried one for years... Came in very handy at the altar when he handed it to me to stop my tears.
My dad and his dad both carried them.
RoninRobot@reddit
Dull as shit pocket knives. “Hey pops I need to cut this _____, pass me your knife.” and he’d hand me what amounted to a fold-out steel popsicle stick. Every blade. The only way you could tell what the “sharp” side was supposed to be was it was in the handle before you folded it out. I stopped asking.
Now I carry a single-blade knife and it’s sharp af. I know it will cut every time because I keep it that way. If I use it, it gets sharpened again. Why he constantly carried a knife that didn’t work I’ll never understand.
Ok_Profession_990@reddit
My ex FIL still carries a hanky. Guess what I got him every year?
paula924@reddit
My great-grandpa would go out on his porch and hold one nostril while he blew the contents of the other nostril out into the yard and then switch sides and do it again. My great-grandma always had flowers planted along the edge of the porch in the summertime so the snot would spray all over them. My great-grandma would tell me occasionally that I could pick one her flowers which she viewed as a huge treat. I never picked one.
davster99@reddit
Snot rockets
burnerphone123455@reddit
Late Gen X here … 1976. My dad always carried a handkerchief. I started carrying one in elementary school, but got away from it in junior high and high school. But now through most of my 40s and soon to be 50s, I still carry one every day.
Reeeeallly@reddit
My grandpa was from Germany, and when he had to pee, he left the bathroom door open even if there was company. He would close the door if it was beyond pee. Is that an old-school European thing?
Successful-Watch3814@reddit
Men of a certain age, still do the hankies thing .. 🤮, I’ve always found it gross 🤢.. but not as gross as after a female friend told me her ex had a “ wankie hankie!!! “ 🤮🤮🤮😂😂
KLLR_ROBOT@reddit
WTF!
Fit-Presentation44@reddit
Haha do we have the same dad?!
Awkward_Point4749@reddit
My mother has multiple self portraits all of just herself, in almost every room of the house. I thought this was normal growing up, until I realized that no one else’s mother did that
Technical_Weight5021@reddit
OP, is doing these things not the…right, way?
I do these things 😂
Ageofaquarius68@reddit
My dad died 3 years ago. He had chronic allergies his whole life. He carried those nasty handkerchiefs in hospital pockets until the day he died. My mom hated them!
Look_its_Rob@reddit
Hospital pockets?
Ageofaquarius68@reddit
Haha! Dumb phone - HIS pockets!
old_namewasnt_best@reddit
I'm 49 and I use a handkerchief everyday.
prudent__sound@reddit
Same. It's not that gross. They dry pretty quickly. They're softer on your nose than tissues. They're reusable. What's not to love?
anonskier@reddit (OP)
Something not to love, the dried booger that got stabbed into your nostril when he pinched your nose for you to blow. 😂
JTEli@reddit
Our living room and dining room was blocked off by a wall, but there was no door. There was no privacy in either room. When my sister and I were teens, every time a boyfriend or potential boyfriend came over, Daddy would sit at the bar in the dining room and fart. And then...he'd snicker just loud enough so we'd hear it. Then, a few seconds later, we'd hear Mama say, "Jimmy don't do that! You know they swear their lives are over every damn time you do that!" And of course, that resulted in round 2.
Mediocre_Lobster6398@reddit
😂 Totally something my dad would have done
Livid-Technology-396@reddit
WVA, July 4th 1976. My father was a coal miner that had helped clean up an old abandoned mine and brought home a case of dynamite that was sweating glycerin. They took it up in the mountains and torched it off under an abandoned Volkswagen beetle. It shook the entire area. My dad told me after I was an adult that it was the stupidest decision he’d ever made in his life, as he and his friend had VW parts raining down on them like hot shrapnel. He said he thought they were going to die.
anonskier@reddit (OP)
That is fucking awesome.
Mattman425@reddit
My dad was also on the handkerchief. I think he gave it up by the 1990s.
TheHandsOfFate@reddit
Same.
Sea-Bad1546@reddit
He took his teeth out after dinner and scraped them with his fork🤮
anonskier@reddit (OP)
JFC. 🤮
ONROSREPUS@reddit
This brought up a memory from not that long ago. My wife and I were at a restaurant and a guy pulled out his teeth so he could get the fork back in his mouth and pull out some left overs. His wife, I believe, picked up his teeth and licked them off.
I was in shock and awe, couldn't say a thing besides poke my wife so she made sure she got a look.
Comprehensive-Elk597@reddit
Ftw. So far.
dpulchra@reddit
Welp. No more Internet for me today. 🤮
Majestic_Fox_556@reddit
My dad did the handkerchief in pocket and still does it now, lol
ReweSerious@reddit
My dad still has his trusted old hankies, some are to wrap around his head to catch sweat and others for the boogey collection. His collection of paper and plastic bags. Lord forbid should anyone throw one out and he witness that! 😳 Or the wood scrap and metal scrap piles he kept for years, just because he could. Everything can be recycled was his motto 😊 Can't help but love the guy ❤️
TiredGen-XMom@reddit
My dad is 83 and still carries a handkerchief.
Kicktoria@reddit
My dad is 80 and same
Plastic-Sentence9429@reddit
My dad did that shirt tuck thing (always in the kitchen), I was just thinking about it the other day. There are so may things he did that I do, but I've sworn that that will not be one of them.
minnesotawristwatch@reddit
My dad did the hanky and I do, too but only when I’m sick. Grosses my wife out. Nice soft, smooth cool damp hanky on a chaffed nose? Win.
zeitgeistincognito@reddit
Not 70's but early 80's...the short aquanet helmet hairstyle, the tucking of his dress shirt into his tighty whiteys before pulling his pants up, the nissan 240z, no hugging at work (he worked in management at an amusement park and I would get to go to work with him sometimes and run around the park on my own), the loaded handgun in the headboard of his bed that I was warned to never touch, the threats of a whipping if I made a mistake. Wild stuff
gray-beard53@reddit
I’m a boomer, but my dad taught me how to use the hunky hanky thumb over one side of your nose and blow
ScrambledNoggin@reddit
The ol’ snot rocket
GreatBoneStructure@reddit
The Farmer’s Hankie
Klutzy-Reaction5536@reddit
When I see people do that (like footballers on the pitch, for instance) it makes my stomach lurch. I find it viscerally yuck.
UraTargetMarket@reddit
I just remembered something else my did but it was more recently and not in the 70s. Around the time I was born, my dad quit smoking, however, he picked it up again, in his late 40s/early 50s. The last 10+ years of his life he switched to loose leaf tobacco that he’d roll himself, along with a filter tip. When he’d smoke away from home, like while running errands or visiting somewhere or whatever, he’d put out his cigarette on the ground and put the butt in his pants pocket. I’m not sure when he’d throw away his collected butts, but the man smelled like a walking ashtray. I do very much appreciate that he did that rather than litter all over the ground, though! And I miss his various smells from throughout my life, including the bad bathroom smells that only dads seem to be able to create.
Gorissey@reddit
I carry a handkerchief, I didn’t know it was gross but I hate to use so much paper
EnjoyingTheRide-0606@reddit
Tissue is full of fibers and smells that cause me allergic reactions. I’ve found the paper towels at work to be the best.
CitizenjaneEast@reddit
I respect that. I think it’s more gross to make a second person use it!
GrowlingAtTheWorld@reddit
My dad wore an undershirt, carryover from service. Plus it did wick moisture away but not make it look like his button down was drenched in sweat. He wore glasses and when they would get smudgy he would hand them to my mom and she would huff on them and clean them with her blouse ends and hand them back to him. It always hit me as odd.
Holiday_Cry_8682@reddit
OMG.. my dad did the same ass disgusting thing with the handkerchief
kittykatvictor2020@reddit
My dad had a vicks inhaler that he used all the time. That was until my mom told him, after they were divorced, she read it was addictive and caused paranoia. He stopped using it then. That was the early 80s. Now I'm going to have research those inhalers. He was acting very paranoid at that point.
Klutzy-Reaction5536@reddit
My mother was totally addicted to huffing the Vicks inhaler, too, for a time.
Weird-n-Gilly@reddit
My parents divorced before I was 2. So he only saw me and my sister for summers. So he’d get up walk around in his tighty whities. He was a handkerchief guy for sure. And he had a huge key chain that retracted like a tape measure. He thought he was an awesome singer, so he’d sleep through most of church but wake up to sing the hymns too loud. He worked on his god damn lawn from time he got home till dark, whilst I ran amok through the neighborhood.
Notch99@reddit
My uncle was a farmer, his handkerchiefs were all torn in half. IYKYK.
bxbrucem@reddit
I do not know
ONROSREPUS@reddit
One was used in the field for number 2 duties. I hope I don't need to be more detailed then that.
latomar@reddit
😳
Tralfaz1138@reddit
I remember the "farmer hanky" back in the day. Pinch a nostril and blow, no handkerchief needed. That said, my dad wasn't a farmer and did carry a handkerchief. Even as a kid I never understood those things and they grossed me out.
Inevitable-Main3449@reddit
My dad still uses handkerchiefs. He’s 88. So gross 🤢
mpls_big_daddy@reddit
Undoing your belt buckle to readjust your shirt and get neat is something that happens often in mixed company at work. Nobody thinks anything of it now that I think about it, including women.
I have several hankerchiefs actually, but I only pack one when I am wearing a suit.
Individual-Army811@reddit
Happens? As in current tense? Where do you live?? 😱
I have worked for 40 years in various offices - with tradesmen, professionals, a d everything in between and have never once seen a dude drop trou in the office.
mpls_big_daddy@reddit
They aren't dropping them to their ankles, they are just readjusting the belt fit.
Individual-Army811@reddit
Still, haven't seen it. Ever.
SanJoseThrowAway2023@reddit
Every time I saw mine undoing his belt I knew a beating was coming.
mpls_big_daddy@reddit
Same for my dad.
Evening-Magician-824@reddit
OP u/anonskier, I was laughing and crying at the same time while reading your post. And lordy you had me at, "missing the old fart". I wonder if your dad and my dad were brothers. 🙃
epicgrilledchees@reddit
I think I might’ve posted this.
starship7201u@reddit
The Old Man was a mechanic in his younger days. Check on the handkerchief. Ditto for my Grandpa.
Individual-Army811@reddit
Yay, snot and sweat! 🤮
starship7201u@reddit
And grease from whatever he was working on. So his handkerchief was a biohazard.
johnonymous1973@reddit
My dad did these things. I do the pants thing. My dad was Greatest Generation, not Boomer.
itstrueitellyou@reddit
My father, RIP dad, used to walk around with a little transitor radio with the news on nonstop
kitikonti@reddit
Earlier version of mobile Internet! The transistor went everywhere, when we bought him a walkman in the 90s he was amazed. Didn't like headphones though so transistor remained.
froction@reddit
Worst mistake I ever made was buying my father a Sony Watchman for Fathers Day in the 80s. We basically never saw him again after that. Plus it ate like six AA batteries a day.
itstrueitellyou@reddit
He was always at the store buying batteries 🤣😂
itstrueitellyou@reddit
They were also all over the place at baseball games. People would watch the game live and listen to play by play on the radio.
kitikonti@reddit
He always took the transistor to matches for this very reason!
foosballallah@reddit
My Dad always wore a shirt and tie to work and stayed in it after he got home. He'd watch the news, eat dinner, do some light yard work all in a shirt and tie. it only came off when he went to bed. Personally, I wore a shirt and tie as well to work and couldn't wait to change when I got home.
soopirV@reddit
Um, I do the pants thing all the time- how else are you supposed to tuck in your shirt smoothly?
I’m glad you have fond memories of your dad- reminded me that mine walked around in his JC Penny tighty-whities and as a young, impressionable child, assumed that we grew an additional penis every year, and was worried about the catching-up process- realized later that he just had a giant FUPA and was a general slob.
HecticGoldenOrb@reddit
lmao
Thank you kind internet stranger, this turn of phrase is giving me a much needed laugh : ]
Siouxzanna_Banana@reddit
My older sister wondered, when she was little, when her ‘hair shirt’ was going to grow in. I love that story. 💕
_Losing_Generation_@reddit
My dad used to rip a corner of a matchbook off so he could floss his teeth
anonskier@reddit (OP)
That is awesome
Veiled_Obsidianeyes@reddit
Haha! Same, but my dad didn't rip the corner.
Michstel_22@reddit
My mother did this lol. She had a huge gap on her front two teeth.
tc_cad@reddit
I use a handkerchief still. I inherited a bad nose from my Dad. Bad nosebleeds and I’ve never broken my nose. I ended up getting some cauterizing done to my nostrils. I haven’t had a bad nosebleed in two decades now, but the handkerchief remains as you never know.
friendlypeopleperson@reddit
First, I really miss my Dad (Mom, too.) Yes, my Dad used a handkerchief or two every day, but he never offered it to others. lol I never thought of it as being odd; most men carry a handkerchief, don’t they? 😁
A truly odd thing about my Dad, he could never wear a wrist watch or carry a pocket watch. His magnetic personality would stop them. Seriously, his body caused watches to stop. I was playing in a creek one time and had him put my watch in his pocket so it didn’t get wet; he stopped it. Lol. 😂 I’ve never heard of this with anyone else. Has anyone else ever heard of this happening?
anonskier@reddit (OP)
r/aliens 🤣
Low-Sandwich-7389@reddit
I have the same issue with watches.
Select_MCM-5345@reddit
My mom can’t wear watches for the same reason.
Specialist_Ad2936@reddit
My grandfather had this issue with watches, too!
TheTrueGoatMom@reddit
My dad and I are both nonwatch wearers!! Same reason! I believe there are others on his side of the family as well.
jooji_pop4@reddit
Yes! My dad had the same issue with watches! Also carried a handkerchief.
Charyou_Tree_19@reddit
Ooh! My dad can’t wear a watch either. He learned to tel the time by the sky and is usually within 15mins. It’s pretty impressive. Funnily enough, I can only wear a watch on my left wrist because my right wrist stops them too.
youngkpepper@reddit
My mom has the same problem with watches.
Last-Relationship166@reddit
I've no issue with a handkerchief as long as you aren't sharing it. It beats the hell out of the way we're decimating boreal forest for toilet paper and facial tissue production.
Blametheorangejuice@reddit
More than once, I was offered a crusty hanky out of a back pocket from my father or grandmother.
DuchessOfLansdale@reddit
🤢
Blametheorangejuice@reddit
Eventually, my grandmother gave up hankies, so when she visited, she carried around a tissue box. When she was done with a tissue, she would stuff it into the cushions of the furniture.
It was my job after grandma was gone to round up all the tissues and throw them away.
UraTargetMarket@reddit
That made me laugh too hard! My grandmother would keep tissues in her sleeves. I’ve done that too because women’s clothes, as we know, often lack functional pockets. I’ve even tucked a tissue under the strap of my bra. Anyway, a dad’s bandana snot rag always seemed like a much better offering than a mom’s deteriorating tissue from the bottom of her purse that she’d spit on to wipe something off your face.
DuchessOfLansdale@reddit
I had commented on how my husband switched to hankies when he turned 50. I think I started tucking tissues into my waistband, shirt sleeves, bra, etc, longggggg before I turned 50 😂
And your mom’s purse-tissue made me LOL
UraTargetMarket@reddit
I think I started with the tissue tucking around 30-35. It kicked into high gear when I moved somewhere with a ton of allergens beating me down at 40. I forgot to mention my mom’s purse kleenex always smelled like her spearmint gum too. I caught myself going in to spit clean some gunk off my kid’s face and luckily stopped myself. Now, if I could only break the inter generational habits that really matter!
DuchessOfLansdale@reddit
Great story 👏🏼 👏🏼 👏🏼 I bet they’ll be finding my tissues long after I’m gone 😂
7toedcat@reddit
Hahahahaha! My dad did this too!
Kristylane@reddit
Oh my god, Jason? Is that you?
That is EXACTLY my Dad. The handkerchief, the pulling down his pants to tuck in his shirt IN THE KITCHEN!
panjvaut13@reddit
Mine too!!
WaterwingsDavid@reddit
This! My dad always carried a cloth handkerchief. Even as a small kid the idea of reusing a cloth one filled with snot grossed me out big time!!
CaptMerrillStubing@reddit
I had completely forgot about those but my dad did both of those too!
Rootin-Tootin-Newton@reddit
My dad did some f’ed up things that are probably not appropriate to relate here. That being said, he’s passed away, but I’m the most hyper vigilant, anxious person I know.
Comprehensive-Elk597@reddit
Oh cmon don’t leave us hangin
Rootin-Tootin-Newton@reddit
One thing he did was outline his tools on the wall in black marker and check daily. There was hell to pay if there was something missing.
He accused me at 9 years old of “stealing” Christmas cookies, I denied it, because I didn’t do it. He made me stand on a particular tile in the kitchen after dinner, all night. Kept checking to see if I was laying down or, ready to tell the truth. My mom came down at like 3 and put me to bed and called me out sick the next day.
That wasn’t even close to the worst shit.
Organic_Mix2282@reddit
I'm the same.
UraTargetMarket@reddit
Not just your dad. My dad too. Except that shit carried on to the 80s. When I have more time I can add to the list of weird things my dad did in the 70s and 80s.
Blametheorangejuice@reddit
Yes, same here. My father's everyday carry was a hanky, a knife, and an obscenely overstuffed wallet.
UraTargetMarket@reddit
The overstuffed wallet was mandatory. I somehow almost forgot about it. When my dad was in the hospital at the end of his life, we needed to get in his wallet to find stuff like the elusive DD214 card. His wallet was no longer the overstuffed billfold, but was a Velcro wallet with “Grandpa” embroidered on the front. No matter his state of wakefulness, he had his wallet and phone lying on his belly with his arms wrapped around them. Two days prior to his passing, he’d still immediately wake up all suspicious when we tried to slip the wallet from his clutches. And, if we were successful getting the wallet, then there was that sound of Velcro that would wake him. I felt like we were trying to sneak a twenty out or something. I guess dads are going to dad until the end!
Blametheorangejuice@reddit
When my father-in-law died, we stopped by the police station to reclaim his possessions, which had been held as evidence. His waller must have been a solid three pounds. You could see the spine on the thing was barely held together and he had all of these random cards, papers, and coupons in it. It was very much like George Costanza's wallet.
Father__Thyme@reddit
My dad did the gross handkerchief thing - the only good thing about it was it was easy to get him father's day gifts - a new package of hankies!
trampyjoe@reddit
Someone I know uses the same hankie to blow his nose and clean his glasses.
Father__Thyme@reddit
Ewww, but I guess it keeps the lenses from fogging up!
Visible-Horror-4223@reddit
My dad always carried one of those big utility style lunch boxes, but also a giant brown paper lunch bag. I never understood that. My parents divorced when I was really young. It wasn’t until much later that my mom told me the lunch bag was just full of pills. He was a pill popper, and would take anything. He would take your pills right outta your medicine cabinet. Didn’t know or care what it was.
My mom once told me he had an overnight hospital stay. He stole a prescription pad, when doctors would just leave those bedside, and was writing/forging his own prescriptions. She found it and threw it away.
Wishiwasinalaska@reddit
My dad did both, lol.
MoreCowbellllll@reddit
He ate peanut butter and tomato sandwiches.
Friend egg and fried bologna sandwiches. Cold.
Handkerchief, oh yeah! He got pissed if I didn’t have one, and I never did.
Cut glass 32oz Budweiser bottles into beer glasses by cutting off the tapered part of the bottle.
Tried to steal as many Chi-Chi’s margarita glasses as he could over time. He had 20+… why though? LoL
LieOhMy@reddit
Friend egg and fried bologna sandwiches sound really good, but why cold? Did he cook the stuff and let it cool off first? wth
MoreCowbellllll@reddit
Yes. Made them the night before and put them in the fridge
Blkrabbitofinle1601@reddit
Thinking same thing, sounds good, but can’t imagine it’d be that good COLD. With scrambled egg, it might be alright cold, but not a fried egg with the greasiness congealing on it.
twirlybird11@reddit
I get the klepto-collector thing, I was a complete menace about ashtrays, of all things.
248Spacebucks@reddit
My grandpa always carried a hanky, a fresh one every day! Boy howdy did it do everything. Wiped noses and faces and tears, cleaned hands and mouths. Provided a barrier to pick up small dead animals or trash. Covered my hand on the way to the ER when I broke my finger so I didnt have to see it.
My sister and I both have pretty hearty immune systems, which I attribute to the absolute science experiment that was rubbed on our faces regularly.
Elbomac87@reddit
Holy shit, are you my sibling? Both of these things.
In terms of tucking in his shirt, my father would also like pleat the shirt behind his back (so it would be smooth) before pulling his pants back up. I can still see the kind of bow-legged squat he would do to keep his pants from falling all the way down.
Also, he’d use the corner of the kitchen cabinets to scratch his back.
I miss him terribly.
a4evanygirl@reddit
My dad did the same two things as well as always wearing a hat. While the handkerchief thing is just wrong, if I had something on my face, he would lick his finger and wipe my face. 🤢
Yorbayuul81@reddit
I always thought that was just a mom thing
a4evanygirl@reddit
She did it too 😭
Yorbayuul81@reddit
God it hated that too but somehow I think it would be worse coming from my dad, with a distinct cigarillo flavour to it 🚬
a4evanygirl@reddit
Or after having tuns fish. I am permanently scarred.
Yorbayuul81@reddit
🤮
Reverend_Chaos@reddit
My dad was big on making sure the clocks in the house all showed the exact same time. He'd call the number (at the tone, the time will be...) weekly to set his watch, and then go around the house and make sure all the clocks matched his watch. He'd even go to the trouble to make sure they all matched down to the second
Infuryous@reddit
Man who owns one clock always knows what time it is, man that owns many clocks is never sure.
Reverend_Chaos@reddit
Dude even had the clock on the vcr and on the microwave changing at the exact same second. He was kinda weird, almost obsessed about it
Wendijosie@reddit
When time used to matter 😅
Ok-Answer-6951@reddit
The shirt straight down, then pants up thing is the best way i have found to get it to look right. Been doing that since I started playing baseball, and now 45 years later taught my daughter the same move.
Glum-One2514@reddit
I think the public performance is in question, not the technique.
Ok-Answer-6951@reddit
Is your kitchen open to the public? He didn't say he would also do it at the food court in the mall...
Fit_Platform_3500@reddit
My dad had one
mustbethedragon@reddit
Mine still carries a handkerchief.
VioletVenable@reddit
My dad tucked in his shirts the same way. Just…whyyyy?
CBus660R@reddit
I mean, how else do you tuck in a shirt so it looks good and presentable? Do you just try to jam it past the waist of your buttoned and belted up pants?
VioletVenable@reddit
Oh, the technique is fine. It’s that they randomly did it in the kitchen!
Cold-Truck2470@reddit
I was born in the 70s and I use a handkerchief i got allergies and the same to tuck shirt in. Old habits are hard to break
runnergirl3333@reddit
It might be coming back. I have a 25 year-old son who bought some on Amazon. He’s a construction guy who likes a cloth handkerchief. Helps with the sawdust.
Cold-Truck2470@reddit
I work construction to and in the summer I carry two one for my head sweat and the other for nose
Maximum-Still-2484@reddit
My dad had a habit of walking around the house in his tighty whiteys, undershirt, and black compression socks. In the morning, in the evening, didn’t matter. He was not a small man either.
Affectionate-Net-707@reddit
My dad wore short shorts, guessing men's shorts were small, he was always showing everybody his ass crack, when ever he bent down, he also carried a briefcase, I still have that Samsonite.
kevtay1969@reddit
I’m 57 and I’ve used hankies since I was 20, though I switched from white to bandanas now. Never be caught without one.
Wendijosie@reddit
I have several that I inherited from my grandfather and his brothers that were embroidered with their initials. Keep one in every pocket and purse, been washed hundreds of times and still like new!
Formal_Plum_2285@reddit
I think it was before I was born, cause I’ve never seen it, but apparently my dad loved crocheting in the 70’s. Well my stepdad (who married my mom when I was 2, so he’s my dad).
My biodad painted on every surface available. 70’s graffiti I guess. But he used brushes not cans.
nermalstretch@reddit
I think my sister’s husband helped make a crocheted bedspread but they also made their own leather moccasins from a DIY kit. Bloody hippies.
LockieBalboa@reddit
That sounds amazing
LockieBalboa@reddit
Allegedly my dad did macrame!
Formal_Plum_2285@reddit
Lol probably the same my dad did. I really wonder why though.
Bazoun@reddit
It’s relaxing. And you get something out of it. Once you learn the basics, you can watch tv or carry on a conversation. If I’m knitting something simple, I can even read a book while knitting. Slowly.
It used to be more common for men to do fibre arts - back when shepherds were a more common thing, it was something to help wile away the time. And even today, surgeons sometimes learn to improve finger dexterity.
silentsnak3@reddit
Nope my dad did the re-tuck thing also.
The handkerchief though, yea I just started doing that myself. I would never let my kid use mine though.
FlyAdministrative886@reddit
My dad did the same thing with the kerchief, except I did not have to use his after he did. I just recall doing them in the laundry dry. Bleeeecckk
ImDisneyAF@reddit
My dad had one too. My dad was into velcro shoes his entire life & our whole family made fun of him :) I had bobble head done of my parents for their 50th anniversary & included the famous velcro shoes LOL
chiaratara@reddit
This is such a cute idea lol.
ImDisneyAF@reddit
he did such a good job. I highly rec him: Custom Bobblehead Based on Your Photos and Ideas,
Personalized Bobblehead Custom Bobble Head Custom Figurines Custom Sculpture Custom Statue - Etsy
DocGaviota@reddit
My dad had a short list of things a gentleman should always carry: Breath mints (nobody likes bad breath), a clean handkerchief (don’t use it and return it to your pocket), a nice looking cigarette lighter (even if you don’t smoke, in case a lady needs a light) and a small pocketknife.
MltryMama@reddit
My Dad carried all of these at all times as well
GlobalTapeHead@reddit
My dad did both those things except the pants didn’t drop that far, lol, just enough to get the shirt back in.
Nervous-Cricket-4895@reddit
My dad also carried a handkerchief. My mom used to wash and IRON (!!) them. When I got old enough, she would pay me (a nickel?) to iron them. Then she went to work and everything changed.
allmykitlets@reddit
I learned to iron on my dad's handkerchiefs 🙂
Fuzzteam7@reddit
My dad carried a handkerchief until he died in 2020. Of course they were raised by the depression era parents so “waste not, want not”.
PurposeAltruistic@reddit
Kleenex is a "relatively" new thing. And like paper towels, why spend money on "convenience" when you can save it and reuse a hankie? Aka my dad used a hankie too.
Btw...the term on the rag is not a joke. Pads and ta.pons were only introduced in the 50/60s. Before that? On the rag. That beats any snot filled handkerchief.
Fuzzteam7@reddit
Indeed 👍
Substantial-Chip-102@reddit
Raised by my grandparents born in 1900 and 1906. You describe my grandfather to a T! Not sure what the “T” even stands for but I got that phrase from them too. Along with several others that I have no clue what mean!
archedhighbrow@reddit
I survived the handkerchief. Ugh My dad has always kept himself busy and active. He'd take me and my sister to his sports league games where we'd run around unsupervised.
Drnedsnickers2@reddit
My dad did both those things.
Gollum69@reddit
I am that dad.
To go one further, as a pipe smoker I own and use a spitoon.
Beneficial-Shock5708@reddit
I thought spitoons were for chewing tobacco. I do love the smell of good pipe tobacco!
Fluffy-Structure-368@reddit
Smoked in the grocery store
BeautifulPainz@reddit
Back in the day, everybody smoked in the grocery store. I remember each end cap had ashtrays.
TehFuriousOne@reddit
Smoking with me in the car, windows up, listening to AM talk radio...
Oh and every now and again, hed pass out with a little cigarette and make burn marks in the couch. Even set one on fire once... woke up and that fucker was in the backyard
padall@reddit
Oh, yeah, my dad used handkerchiefs his whole life. Idk why. Lol
Beneficial-Shock5708@reddit
I learned both those same things from my pops and I do the same thing
ReeMayRe@reddit
In the 70s, my Dad wore a lot of cologne and the gold chain with the shirt open a little. That changed in the 80s but my Dad went through the disco era full force, lol
doconc35@reddit
Did some type of work almost every single day. He was a high school physics teacher during the week, but he coached almost every night for a long time. He also always had some sort of construction project gong that he spent every Saturday and usually at least half a day on Sunday on. When my brother and I were old enough (9 and 10!) we were enlisted as helpers. Redid a lot of kitchens and bathrooms and roofed a lot of houses.
Master_Hospital_8631@reddit
My dad used to drive around in the summer with my brother and I in the back seat of his '66 Impala convertable.
The top was down and my brother and I would stand in the back seat. Dad would be in the front seat, smoking a cigarette with a cold Old Style between his legs.
FeedtheDman@reddit
We used to be a proper country.
PrincessMagDump@reddit
Yeah, we didn't let driving interfere with our cigarettes and beer.
Both knee's at six o'clock is the same as hands at ten and two; they each equal twelve, don't they?
Upbeat_Literature483@reddit
My grandfather also carried around a handkerchief. I miss him like crazy.
grayhairedqueenbitch@reddit
I just started carrying handkerchiefs. I used to iron my Dad's when I was a kid.
Mountain_Brother3012@reddit
When I first learned to iron , my mum would let me practice on handkerchiefs 😊
tkkana@reddit
I use them when the public bathrooms dont have paper towels to dry my hands. For my precious nose I have kleenex.
Yorbayuul81@reddit
This thread is absolute gold 🤣🤣🤣
thisisnotnorman@reddit
Not dad, but grandpa, carried a pair of pliers in his pocket for teeth extraction.
GetUranus2Mars@reddit
My BIL says when he was a kid and got knocked out teeth-first into a pole on the playground, he woke up to find his dad and uncle with a bottle of whisky and a pair of pliers. His grandma stepped in just in the nick of time to intervene and send them to the dentist (who incidentally happened to be their best friend, but hey you can save a bundle by DIY, right??).
And on an even darker note, a friend told a story about how he and his family while out on a Sunday drive witnessed a passenger jet crash just a few miles away. By the time they arrived there were already looters there with pliers taking the gold fillings from the bodies, as though folks just keep a pair hanging around just for moments like this.
ransier831@reddit
I remember in the late 70s, my Dad and his brother getting drunk and debating all afternoon the best way to remove my Uncle's painful tooth. Its the first I heard of tying floss to the tooth and the other end to a doorknob and slamming the door. By the time they got really drunk, my uncles tooth didnt hurt anymore.
WitchesCotillion@reddit
Did he use them Often?
froction@reddit
32 times max!
thisisnotnorman@reddit
Often enough that they had a name and were recognized by all of us kids
BestUsernameLeft@reddit
Whaaaaattt o.O
sauvandrew@reddit
Disappeared. Never to be heard from again. I thought that was weird.
CompanyOther2608@reddit
Ouch
Brass_Bonanza@reddit
My Dad was a mechanical engineer and he rocked his pocket protector into the 80’s.
jethro_bovine@reddit
Mu dad had a handkerchief too. It was always so comforting when I was little to be crying over a skinned knee or someting and he'd wipe my nose with it.
traveling_grandpa@reddit
Dad used a handkerchief to blow his nose, cover his face like a bandit if it was dusty, and wear it as a bandana around his head to keep sweat out of his eyes. Always had candy in his pocket(butterscotch) and Kool-Aid in his gallon jug!
Unexpected_Cheddar-@reddit
My dad 100% did that nasty “hanky” thing. I still remember smelling that snotrag coming at me and being like noooooo!!!!
JoeyMack47@reddit
My dad passed away in 2015. Ain't been the same since. Among some of his things I have, is one of his handkerchiefs. I witnessed directly what was done to them. I don't care. It's a piece of him I can look at, and chuckle over good but gross memories of my silent gen father. I don't remember him using it on me, but am sure I would've declined because I thought it was disgusting. Now look at me, keeping one for memories.
Comesontoostrong@reddit
My Dad (still) wears his tighty whities inside out- Mom said it is bc he left handed. Took me a long time to figure that one out.
AboveGroundPoolQueen@reddit
OK, please clarify. Now I’m going to take a long time to figure this out if you don’t explain it to me!
luckyblue222@reddit
So he could, you know, pull himself out from the correct side haha
AboveGroundPoolQueen@reddit
AboveGroundPoolQueen@reddit
Oh damn. That would’ve taken me ages to figure out. I might have died still wondering. Thank you for the explanation.
Contralogic@reddit
How the barn door works upfront
AboveGroundPoolQueen@reddit
Casualposter@reddit
My guess is the opening is folded in a way that is biased to using your right hand.
AboveGroundPoolQueen@reddit
widgt@reddit
It’s to align the front flap for your pecker to the left.
AboveGroundPoolQueen@reddit
sfdsquid@reddit
I can't think of anything like that that my father does. He's been pretty obsessed with making quality studio recordings of his new and old music with a full band and has written a memoir of his childhood, so I guess he's confronting mortality? Then again he still rolls a few cigarettes a day and smokes a doobie now and then. (But doesn't drink, so it's a wash.)
I am in no hurry for him to leave. He's the coolest guy I know.
depeupleur@reddit
The hankerchief thing was gross. I guess it was handy for sweat and tears, but snot?!
Yorbayuul81@reddit
My father did those exact same two things. I always wondered if I had another brother/sister out there…respond with his initials and if it matches we should talk 😆
One more thing: was his wallet on a chain?
sfdsquid@reddit
I thought that was more of a hipster thing.
Yorbayuul81@reddit
My father was doing it before it was supposed to be ironically cool. There’s pics of him with it in the late ‘70s. Way before hipsters, but in the time of hippies (which he always grumbled about 😠and still does lol)
julia-peculiar@reddit
That was my dad too, with the handkerchief. Mum had a special saucepan, just for boiling the feckers in 🤢
doffraymnd@reddit
Wait…that’s not how you properly tuck in your shirt?!? What are y’all doing, some sort of “Chris-Farley-Down-by-the-river” stuffing?
Jas62021@reddit
No kidding. My husband tucks his shirts this way
LtLemur@reddit
Handkerchiefs were super prevalent back then
Rubberfootman@reddit
Periodically my mum would wash - and iron - about 50 of my dad’s handkerchiefs.
The snotty block of used ones must have been tricky to force into the washing machine.
Yorbayuul81@reddit
Iron? 🤣🤣🤣🤣
Rubberfootman@reddit
I know!
For comparison, when my son was 6 he burned his hand on the iron. He touched it, because _he’d never seen one before_
WimpyZombie@reddit
My dad never carried a handkerchief - but my grandfather did. What I think is funny is how he used a handkerchief, but my grandmother always had facial tissues. She kept a box in almost every room of the house, but Grandpa still used a handkerchief.
RealWolfmeis@reddit
I still have my grandaddy's handkerchiefs. We use tissues, but I have them. ❤️
Jas62021@reddit
My dad wore black. Pants. Not jeans. Button down shirts. No t shirts. I remember going to the beach as a kid and him wearing his “dad uniform”
Specialist-Ad-5583@reddit
You have to remember that tissues weren't really a thing so handkerchiefs were really what they had. While they are eco-friendly in comparison to tissues they seem very unsanitary to us.
LouSevens@reddit
He would wear t shirts for years with holes in them. Wouldn't replace them.
Went to flea markets and was convinced he was getting good deals on broken items. Drove us insane.
Throwaway7219017@reddit
A few years ago, my allergies got really bad. I always had environmental allergies (pets, dust, some flowers) but now I get obliterated with pollen.
I have a runny nose most of the year, and as a result use handkerchiefs all the time. I wash them all the time, doesn’t seem so bad to me.
I figure we’ve only had disposable tissues for under 100 years, so I’ll be fine.
Significant-Way-7893@reddit
Always carried a pocket knife.
Rivetingly@reddit
Always carried pocket change.
Rubberfootman@reddit
The jingle of pocket change was the sound of my dad.
LtLemur@reddit
Mine, too. And would peel or slice an apple after cutting/scraping/whittling who knows what without wiping it or washing the blade off first
vin4thewin@reddit
Use the handkerchief to wipe the blade. (Or your pants leg)
PomegranatePlus6526@reddit
How is that odd? I still carry a pocket knife every day.
canitouchyours@reddit
My dad walked around outside in our yard in way too small speedos. He was/is overweight. Cut the lawn in those things. Nothing else. Spent the whole day at home in speedos. This was a normal neighbourhood, so lots of other people around.
ooomellieooo@reddit
My father was the same. He'd go to the public pool in them and lay out to tan. My parents had no shame about doing things outside. Especially on the balcony. So cringe.
anonskier@reddit (OP)
We had Armenian neighbors and the dad did the same thing. He called his speedo’s his bikini.
ransier831@reddit
My father fell asleep with a cigarette (way before me) and burned a rather large fist size hole in his robe. He continued to wear that robe all throughout my childhood with a huge hole directly through the ass part, so everytime you would look at him walking away from you, you got full vision of his pasty, white ass cheek just hanging out there. Good times.
Specialist_Ad2936@reddit
My parents and grandparents smoked while reading in bed all the time. I remember burn marks on the floor and nightstands from when they would fall asleep or even just drop their cigarettes/miss the ashtrays. Periodically I wonder why old houses don’t have those burn marks anymore, presumably this was fairly common judging by all the people smoking in bed in old movies and tv shows, right?
juliedeee@reddit
I am rolling with laughter over here!
Yorbayuul81@reddit
Every time I vow to quit Reddit, I find a thread like this that keeps becoming back
newgalactic@reddit
Handkerchiefs are so handy, and not just for noses. If you get anything on your hands and washing isn't immediately available, a handkerchief can get you to 90% clean.
My daily carry: 1. Small pocket knife 2. Mini led flashlight 3. Microfiber cloth for eyeglasses 4. Handkerchief
kivsemaj@reddit
What no gun? Must be British lol
Red_Hunt_Care@reddit
Rubber Bands round a 5 inch thick billfold with $40 and every receipt he ever had?
ChuckYeagerWV@reddit
My dad did the handkerchief, do gross. He also wore a wrist watch with the face on the inside of the wrist.
Available-Bison-9222@reddit
We had the same dad
anonskier@reddit (OP)
😂🤣. Embarrassing and wtf back then, but i really miss him
Available-Bison-9222@reddit
My dad is still around and still has his grotty hankies
deadbeef4@reddit
Yeah, my dad did the handkerchief thing his whole life.
Livid-Ad-6439@reddit
Mine still does. He's 85 now and it's still disgusting 😀
Expensive_Rest_6773@reddit
My dad does that shirt tuck thing, too!
CBus660R@reddit
I mean, how else do you tuck in a shirt so it looks good and presentable? Do you just try to jam it past the waist of your buttoned and belted up pants?
InvestigatorJaded261@reddit
I still use a handkerchief. I can’t carry a box of tissues everywhere I go.
Status-Effort-9380@reddit
My dad always wrote with a fountain pen. He had beautiful handwriting, even though he was left handed, and he often practiced his handwriting and making perfect circles with his pen freehand.
Ok_Watercress_7801@reddit
I still do this. I find commercially produced, disposable tissue to be a waste. You’re not supposed to flush them. If I have serious snot going on, I use toilet tissue. Handkerchiefs are more for dabbing at the eyes, light post nasal drip & random cleanups. I carry two, so I always have a clean one to offer someone else in need.
I also carry a fountain pen, notepad,a watch that I wind every morning. I use suspenders instead of a belt. If I’m not in my uniform or task specific clothing, I’m usually dressed in my most comfortable house clothes.
froction@reddit
Every single person in every generation of
My family has absolutely atrocious handwriting. My brother and I are both adopted, so it's not even genetic!
"At least my kids' can't be anymore than mine." Nope, theirs is beyond chicken scratch.
International-Ant174@reddit
I use a handkerchief (started \~ 10 years ago). Got tired of carrying around those stupidly priced kleenex packets, blowing through them and making a mess. Buy a dozen, keep them in the sock drawer, toss in wash when nasty.
Don't be knockin' those rockin' the 'chief. Especially anyone who works outdoors. Multi-purpose tool.
You are supposed to carry two: one for you and one for sharing (so they don't get your snot rockets).
SeaworthinessUnlucky@reddit
Handkerchiefs are insubstantial. I carry washcloths. Seriously.
International-Ant174@reddit
I agree: I have pretty reasonable weight handkerchiefs, not the dainty ones which you can see daylight through.
A full on washcloth for me may be a bit too much "bulk" wadded up in the pocket, but I get it.
DDlg72@reddit
My dad would pull his stinky socks off after work, balled them up and threw them at me. (Not every time lol.) They were soaked with sweat and smelled horrid! Gross!
ww_adh77@reddit
Ha! Yeah, my dad carried a handkerchief, and well past the '70s. Thing is, I'm pretty sure it came in handy sometimes.
wigwearer@reddit
My dad always wore a watch and carried a pocket knife...... I have worn a watch and carried a knife since I was five years old
CreekBeaterFishing@reddit
Same except dad switched to a pocket watch when I was little. He’s still carrying the same Swiss Army knife from the 80s every day. And yeah, he’s also probably got a bandana in his pocket to blow the dust out of his nose.
Csonkus@reddit
Same here.
Epicassion@reddit
Father was same. No knife for me though.
Far_Green_2907@reddit
In addition to using a handkerchief and putting it back in his pocket, my dad trimmed his nose hairs with burning matches.
ancientastronaut2@reddit
I love the smell of burnt hair and sulphur in the morning.
Father__Thyme@reddit
A friend of mine once was in Turkey and went to a barber shop - after the haircut the barber stuck a burning stick up his nostrils to "trim" the nose hairs.
Scottchicken@reddit
I'll have to try that
anonskier@reddit (OP)
JFC. That is the most awesome things I have ever read. 🤣😂
Fabulous-Metal-1972@reddit
Mine did the exact same thing!
GretaVanFrankenmuth@reddit
Yes, to the handkerchief thing. My dad would also wear his work clothes all day, every day. He was a machine repairman at a car factory and had to wear blue pants and a white shirt with his name sewn on it above the shirt pocket and I don’t ever remember seeing him in street clothes ever. He was in that uniform 24/7 I swear.
Fritz5678@reddit
My grandfather was an airline mechanic with the dark blue work chinos and the light blue work shirt. His weekend/retirement wear was khaki chinos and button shirt. Same clothes, different colors.
mydarndest@reddit
That was my dad! Too funny. In defense of the hanky thing, I started carrying one and preferred it to not having a way to blow my/my kid’s nose. I would see other mom’s using their sleeve! I don’t drop my pants to tuck in my shirt, but he was known to do that everywhere, even the golf course lol.
ancientastronaut2@reddit
Well carrying a handkerchief wasn't considered odd at all, believe it or not. Hopefully he changed it out for a clean one as needed. I remember folding them in the laundry.
My dad wore a pocket protector, and put powder in his pants, I guess to prevent swamp ass. He also wore clip on ties.
ARWrangler24@reddit
My dad always had a handkerchief in his back left pocket. Both of my grandfather’s also had one. I’ll go ahead and admit that I also carry one.
Bazoun@reddit
Blue handkerchiefs in the back left pocket? /jk
kittyshakedown@reddit
That just made me remember my dad using handkerchiefs all the time. There would be stack of them folded up from the laundry. He would get a fresh one a couple of times a day. He didn’t offer his handkerchief. lol
And now I realize he was also in his 20s in the 1970s. That seems weird now. It seemed kind of odd then but I didn’t know.
MollyDog2638@reddit
Same. But he did offer his handkerchief to us sometimes. I loved my Dad in a suit, he had so many. I thought he was so professional and successful because he was one of the few men in the neighborhood who wore a suit to work. Now I realize how young he was and it boggles my mind.
ScorpioRising66@reddit
I still drop my pants to tuck in a shirt. That was a dad lesson. For the record, I always thought hankies were gross.
Ornery_Banana_6752@reddit
My Dad was a handkerchief guy too. I could name tons of other weird stuff he did
Historical_Project86@reddit
Yep, my dad used to tuck himself back in, in front of everyone. Jeans down, the works.
3jake@reddit
Haha that’s what I learned from my pops - I was always aghast but after a handful of decades, now it’s what I do too (although not normally in front of people!)
OrangeLoco@reddit
My dad kept used toothpicks sticking out of the trim above the driver's side window.
KikiDaisy@reddit
Same. And mom left bobby pins, used to clean her ears, lying next to her chair in the living room. Good times.
Appropriate_Tear_105@reddit
My dad used to wear a big thick rubber band around his wrist and when he was reading, driving or just bored he’d weave it around his fingers with one hand. He said it kept his hands busy. (He was a smoker)
Small-Instance-3442@reddit
Both of my granfathers did that until they died. One in 92 and the other in 2023. Always had that handkerchief! Miss them terribly
SliceOk577@reddit
My dad did a magic trick and disappeared!
KikiDaisy@reddit
I’m sure he’ll be back with milk any minute
Severe-Reality5546@reddit
My dad used car keys to dig earwax from his ears. He would even do it in the middle of a conversation with someone.
Butt_Stallion67@reddit
Mine used paper clips
Ok-Answer-6951@reddit
Matches were my dads go too for that 🤣
SecretTangerine2932@reddit
My dad uses Bobby pins for this but a car key would have done in a pinch.
prudent__sound@reddit
I use a handkerchief to blow my nose! I don't constantly carry one around unless it's allergy season or I have a cold, but hell yeah I use one.
DuchessOfLansdale@reddit
When my husband turned 50, he started using hankies 🤷🏻♀️ LOL
anonskier@reddit (OP)
😂
thelaineybelle@reddit
Washable and so much softer on the nose. Win win!
jersey8894@reddit
Oh Dad had the handkerchief and yep used it for all of us. Wierdest thing that drove me absolutely up a wall when Dad was alive but now miss terribly is he constantly was jangling the change in his pocket. If Dad's right hand was NOT busy he was jangling the change...OMG!!! Constantly...in church, during my graduation, during my wedding...I honestly wonder if Dad even realized how often he did it. I think it was just what kept him busy and it drove me crazy! We fought about it often he always claimed it didn't bother anybody (it bugged me repeititve noise drives me crazy I admit it) but what I wouldn't give to hear him jangling his change!!!
DubiousSpaniel@reddit
Pocket change was the silent generation’s fidget spinner for all the undiagnosed ADD dads!
jersey8894@reddit
I figured it was a nervous habit but your explanation makes more sense!!! I have always thought he would have loved fidget spinners!!!
anonskier@reddit (OP)
I miss my dad too, all the weird shit he said and stuff like that
LAHAROFDEATH@reddit
Taking his pants off after work and flopping onto the couch to watch the news in his tighty whities
Odd_Astronomer_8804@reddit
I still remember a time my uncle did that, unzipping his pants to tuck his shirt in when we were all visiting in a hospital room. My cousin saw it and loudly said, "Dad, what the heck?" The older people didn't think it was funny but all of us younger ones were trying to hold in laughs. Mostly because the older men there were all the sort that did it too.
EntertainerNo4509@reddit
My dad w the pants dropping shirt tuck. Wtf dad?
V1per73@reddit
I still do that tbh.
LayerNo3634@reddit
My dad was blue collar and always had a red rag hanging out of his back pocket. Grease, snot...didn't matter, it was used for everything. He went through several a day, the one in his pocket at the end of his shift came home and went back the next day.
notanelonfan2024@reddit
I have a handkerchief with me right now. Only civilized way to blow.
Winter-Macaroon-4296@reddit
My dad always had a red bandana handkerchief and a pocket knife. He'd also walk around the property with his Corelle coffee cups and set them down. It would be my job to search the barn, shop and garage to round up the coffee cups for my mom when the cupboard was empty. In two days it will have been a year since he passed.
Mindless-Baker-7757@reddit
My grandfather had a handkerchief and did all that.
My dad wore cowboy boots despite being from the north east and a navy officer. Not sure how he got into them.
edwbuck@reddit
My microbiology professor had a handkerchief, even though he would take care to indicate it was a "fomite" a disease carrying item based on how it was used. To his credit, he never offered it to anyone else.
I knew from reading an old-fashioned etiquette book, that a man should never offer his handkerchief to anyone if it had been used since laundering, or was stained. Even the appearance of soiling was deemed to make others uncomfortable, and the rule in that book was, attempt to make others comfortable, and failing that, attempt to avoid making them uncomfortable.
Ok_Web_8166@reddit
Hell, I do those same things!!
anonskier@reddit (OP)
🤣
CawlinAlcarz@reddit
My grandfather (b. 1910) did the handkerchief and shirt tucking thing described in the OP. My father (b. 1946) did not.
There is a lot to be said for carrying a handkerchief though, even if you don't blow your nose into it.
My dad walked around the house in his tighty whities. I guess that's the weirdest thing he did that wasn't a behavior typical of his narcissistic, broken personality.
Cambiknitter@reddit
My silent generation Dad always had a white handkerchief that my mom would wash and then IRON. Not sure when he transitioned to tissues.
anonskier@reddit (OP)
My mom ironed my dad’s too. 😁
JimmyJohn_5150@reddit
My dad carried a hanky at all times. The best is when he would blow his nose at church, big old gothic Catholic church that echoed like you wouldnt believe. A 747 makes less noise.
anonskier@reddit (OP)
Perfect. 🤣
Moonsmom181@reddit
My Dad still carries a handkerchief kind of as an emergency. He doesn’t use it, then put it back in his pocket. I’ve had to borrow it a few times when we’re out. It’s always clean and ironed (thanks, Mom).
missdawn1970@reddit
My dad also used a handkerchief (silent generation, born 1937).
anonskier@reddit (OP)
Same year my dad was born
RidiculousDear@reddit
My 79 year old dad still uses a handkerchief.
shody86@reddit
My dad was in his 40s and used it on our noses when we were kids. Beats blowing into our clothing
Cruise1313@reddit
My Dad had a hanky as well. 🤮
mimi_whitehair@reddit
My 72yo husband still uses a handkerchief! Gross....
SpyCats@reddit
Oh god my father still does this at 85 🤮
boybrian@reddit
I found my b1932 Dads elementary school records and proper use of a hankerchief was one of the skills to master. I am sure he carried one until his dying day as there is a stack of them on the top shelf of the laundry room I have not delt with yet.
Cerebral-Knievel-1@reddit
I was a snotty kid that grew up to be a snotty adult.. I have cloth handkerchiefs everywhere because paper tissues just dont hold up to the brute force of my snot. I uae disposable when I can, and wash the snot rags daily.
SackBadger2024@reddit
My father, as well as every other father of my friends hung out in the house in his boxers and T-shirt. Maybe it was the lower middle class neighborhood, but God forbid you didn't announce the arrival of someone (freinds just popping over for a visit, who were female), the old man would jump up and put on his shorts, and I would get hollered at.
Temporary_View_3303@reddit
You’re lucky that your dad wore underwear. Mine had no reservations about walking through the house naked or shitting with the bathroom door wide open.
poetrygrenade@reddit
Proudly wore "Free Mustache Rides" ball caps.
Ray_The_Engineer@reddit
My dad did the same stuff, lol. Handkerchiefs were a common thing that men carried, before a certain point. And yeah, I always wondered about how snotty that thing was getting as he'd shove it back in his pocket.