19 Things Florida Boomers Needed to Know That Are Useless Now

Before you could ask your phone for directions or order dinner to your Florida home with a few taps, boomers had to know how to do everything the hard way.

You didn’t just drive—you read a paper map, checked the oil, and maybe even used jumper cables. You didn’t just call someone—you memorized their number and hoped the payphone worked.

But in today’s world? Most of those skills are as outdated as a flip phone with no battery.

How to Use a Rotary Phone

Back in the day, making a phone call was a whole process. You’d stick your finger in the dial, spin it around, and wait as the mechanism slowly reset for each digit.

It wasn’t fast. It wasn’t convenient. But it worked. Unless, of course, you messed up on the last number. Then you had to start all over again.

If the cord stretched across the room, bonus points. That meant you could multitask while still being tethered to the kitchen wall.

Today’s phones have no cords, no dials, and no patience for slowness.

Ask someone under 25 what that circular dial is, and they’ll assume it’s an art project.

How to Balance a Checkbook

For boomers, this was a basic life skill. If you didn’t keep track of every deposit and withdrawal, your finances could spiral fast.

You’d sit down with a pen, a calculator, and your bank statement, hoping the math added up and you didn’t bounce a check.

Banks didn’t alert you in real-time. Overdrafts were real and expensive. You had to know where your money was going.

Now?

Most people haven’t touched a checkbook in years. Apps do the math, and mobile banking gives instant updates. Balancing by hand is practically extinct.

How to Fold a Map

Before GPS, you had two choices: get lost or get good at reading maps. Road trips required planning, highlighters, and that oversized atlas in the glove box.

Unfolding was easy. Folding it back up?

That was the true challenge. You needed patience and a dose of origami-level skills.

One wrong fold, and the thing turned into a crumpled mess better suited for the recycling bin.

Now, maps talk to you. They reroute you in real time. And nobody needs to guess which way is north.

How to Use a Typewriter

That satisfying clack of keys. The ding of the carriage return. The white-out tape that never quite lined up perfectly.

Boomers learned to type on machines that punished mistakes and rewarded rhythm. There was no backspace. Just correction fluid and crossed fingers.

If you didn’t know how to load ribbon or align the paper, good luck getting through that term paper.

These days, kids can type with thumbs on glass screens. Typewriters are now retro decor or collectors’ items.

How to Use a Payphone

Payphones were the lifeline before cell phones took over. You always needed a few coins, and you always hoped no one had jammed gum in the slot.

Boomers learned how to make collect calls, how to dial long distance, and how to keep a mental list of important numbers.

You could call home, but you couldn’t text “on my way.” You had to wait—or hope someone picked up the home line.

Today, finding a working payphone is like spotting a unicorn.

How to Develop Film

You took your 24 shots and hoped they weren’t all blurry. Then you dropped them off and waited a week for the results.

Sometimes, you paid extra for a one-hour photo turnaround time. Sometimes, the best picture was ruined by a rogue thumb.

Boomers knew the anticipation. The mystery. The heartbreak of overexposed flash.

Now, we take 100 photos to get one we like, and delete the rest with the touch of a finger.

How to Use a Card Catalog

Before Google, there was the library card catalog. It was analog, alphabetical, and absolutely unforgiving.

Boomers had to know the Dewey Decimal System—or at least how to fake it.

Finding one book might involve flipping through dozens of tiny drawers filled with index cards.

Today’s library searches are digital and instant. The only drawers kids open now are full of snacks.

How to Memorize Phone Numbers

Home. Work. Grandma. Best friend. Crush. You kept all those numbers in your head, or maybe jotted them on a napkin.

Boomers had to rely on memory or a physical address book—no cloud, no backup, just brainpower.

Lose your contacts? You were starting from scratch.

Now? Most people don’t even know their partner’s number by heart.

How to Use Carbon Paper

Need a copy of something? You’d sandwich carbon paper between two sheets and hope your handwriting didn’t smudge the duplicate.

It was messy, fragile, and easy to ruin. But for decades, it was the only way to make duplicates on the go.

Boomers had to master it for everything from receipts to rental agreements.

Now, digital PDFs and wireless printers have taken over, not a single sheet of carbon in sight.

How to Adjust TV Antennas

If you wanted a clear picture, you had to work for it. Boomers became experts in antenna positioning, tinfoil hacks, and the occasional slap to the side of the set.

Sometimes you held the antenna yourself while someone else watched. Teamwork at its most annoying.

“Don’t move!” they’d shout as soon as the picture cleared.

Today’s TVs stream everything, in HD, with no rabbit ears required.

How to Write in Cursive

Penmanship used to be an art. Boomers were taught to write in loops and slants, often under strict rules from sharp-eyed teachers.

Good cursive meant something. It was a skill, almost a rite of passage.

But as keyboards took over, cursive fell to the wayside. Many schools no longer teach it. Many younger folks can’t read it, let alone write it.

Boomers still have beautiful signatures. Everyone else has a scribble and a PIN number.

How to Use a Slide Rule

Before calculators were cheap and everywhere, slide rules were the go-to tool for math and engineering.

Boomers in school learned how to use them for real calculations, not just to look smart in photos.

Using a slide rule wasn’t intuitive. It required understanding logarithmic scales and physical precision.

Today, it’s an antique. There’s an app for that—and a better one, too.

How to Write and Mail Letters

Handwritten notes. Stamps. Return addresses. The whole process had its own rhythm and etiquette.

Boomers wrote letters for everything: thank-yous, job applications, birthday greetings, love confessions.

You waited days for a reply, and the arrival of mail felt like an event.

Now, everything’s instant. Most kids barely know how to address an envelope.

How to Use an Actual Encyclopedia

You wanted to know something? You went to the bookshelf and pulled out the correct volume, hoping the information wasn’t outdated.

Encyclopedias were expensive, heavy, and often sold door to door. Boomers grew up with them as household staples.

You didn’t just learn facts. You learned patience.

Now? We carry the equivalent of 10,000 encyclopedias in our pocket, with memes included.

How to Use a Check

Checks were once the gold standard. You wrote them for groceries, rent, and even birthday gifts.

Boomers had to know how to fill them out properly, track them in a register, and sometimes even float one until payday.

Now, checks are slow and rarely accepted. Venmo and Zelle handle it all in seconds.

Paper money is fading, and paper checks are even further gone.

How to Drive Stick Shift

Learning to drive meant mastering the clutch, listening to the engine, and stalling in traffic more times than you’d like to admit.

Boomers were expected to drive manual. Many did so for decades.

Today? Fewer and fewer cars even offer it. Stick shift is now a niche skill, not a must-have.

If you can still drive one, congrats—you belong to a dwindling club.

How to Iron Everything

Boomers grew up in a world where wrinkle-free wasn’t an option. It was an expectation.

You ironed your shirts, your slacks, and sometimes even your pillowcases.

It was time-consuming, hot, and involved a lot of steam burns and starch.

Now?

Wrinkle-release spray and low-maintenance fabrics do the job. Ironing boards collect dust.

How to Use a Phone Book

Before Google, there was the giant yellow-and-white brick known as the phone book. If you needed to find a plumber, a pizza place, or a long-lost friend, this was your first stop.

Boomers had to flip through thousands of tiny listings, squint at fonts, and hope the person hadn’t changed their number.

You even learned to bookmark the “important” sections with old receipts or paperclips.

Today, phone books still exist, but mostly as doorstep clutter. Need a number?

Just ask your phone.

How to Set a VCR Timer

Recording your favorite show meant wrestling with your VCR. You had to program the clock (which always blinked “12:00”), enter the start and stop times, and pray nothing cut off early.

Boomers became VCR ninjas out of necessity. If you missed the show, that was it—no reruns, no streaming.