'Straightening out a dollar on the side of a vending machine': Millennials, Gen X and Boomers reveal the trivial skills they have because they were born before the year 2000

Ally Perry • Writer and Editor

Sep 19, 2024 4:00 PM EDT

It is often taken as a fact that wisdom comes with age, although some people seem hellbent on disproving this notion. What is less talked about, however, is that by virtue of being born in the times that we were we acquire certain skills and knowledge that younger generations may never learn about. If you are an adult of any age, there are probably things you can remember doing as a kid that are kind of obsolete now.

This was the subject of a recent interesting Twitter thread, which asked all of us ancient people born before the year 2000 what trivial skills they had learned just because of the time they had grown up in. The answers varied from the obvious to the depressing, to the fascinating outliers. It's true, those screen-addled Gen Alphas have no idea what they have missed out on because all they know is the 21st century.