The Saddest thing that reminds you that you're old...

[Drtooth]

Okay... there's a LOT of things that make me feel old and get me kinda depressed and angry. 30th and 20th anniversaries of cartoons I used to watch, 90's nostalgia being a thing... but the worst thing that reminds me how old I am is this...

Does anyone remember when the word "donut" used to have the word "dough" in it, instead of the recently considered correct abbreviation used by certain donut chains? That classically klunky, cumbersome spelling that makes the word look like "Duh-guho-nut" with that annoying silent G. Just the fact that I remember that archaic spelling and haven't seen it in years just makes me feel like one of those old British guys who remembers when "cookie" was spelled with a "y." And it was totally spelled with a y at one point.

 

[D'Snowth]

Sometimes I get the urge to start playing a violin whenever Drtooth gets into one of this little moods. Just sayin'...

"Donut" has kind of always been around, I think it's supposed to be the "American spelling" of the word rather than an abbreviation ('cause, y'know, we always have to do things differently than England and Canada and Australia). I was taught "doughnut" though, and that's the way I spell it.

 

[fuzzygobo]

You can't help getting older, but you don't have to get old. I'm 45, but I don't feel a day over 18. I've been waiting for this middle-age crisis to hit, but if it hasn't come yet, it probably never will.

I was around when Sesame Street was brand-spankin'new, when Oscar was orange and Grover was green (or brown, it was hard to tell on a black-and-white set) but instead of feeling old, I wear it like a badge of pride, knowing I got to see things firsthand most of you only read/googled/wikied about.

I hope all of you get to enjoy life when you're my age- even if I get my "Dunkin' DOUGHNUTS" senior discount before the rest of you.

 

[charlietheowl]

What makes me feel old is seeing that athletes who I remember as rookies announcing their retirements or entering the final stage of their careers. The people who were the stars when I was ten or eleven are moving on, and that makes me feel old.

 

[D'Snowth]

Oh, is this the midlife crisis thread? Well then...

 

[Drtooth]

Actually it's more of a "Newspeak is actually happening" type deal. And strangely, this is something that started well before the LOL's, OMG's, and spelling The with the e before the h.

I honestly remember everyone used the "preferred" spelling of Dughonughnught except for the abbreviated signs used by local and national donut chains. Actually, I'm quite pleased we threw those freaking silent gh's out the window for a streamlined spelling. I almost wish we'd take that cue from Baseball as well and call them "Sox" instead of "Socks."

Gah... now that I think about it, I think I kept getting doughnut spelled wrong on spelling tests. Dunno why... "dough" is right in there. Then of course there's the whole matter of only traditional doughnuts are even made of dough while for the most part, we only really know batter based donuts. Then the bad Kenny Bania jokes come up about "Why do they call them donuts when they're made out of batter? They should be called 'batternuts.'" I swear that jelly filled ones still use dough.

 

[D'Snowth]

Okay, here's a couple, for me and my generation anyway...

You know you're old when you remember when Cartoon Network, like Cookie Monster, used to be called "THE Cartoon Network" (like pre-Cartoon Cartoon era).

Also, you know you're old when you remember that whenever CN would play a showcase of Looney Tunes/Merrie Melodies, old Hanna-Barbera shorts, or anything like that, each individual entry would include music video style subtitles plastered onto the beginning of the cartoon telling you what cartoon you were watching, and the specific entry from that series was, even though you just sat through the opening title sequence for the cartoon.

 

[beatnikchick300]

When I realize that my baby brother, the one I held in the hospital the day we brought him home....is going to be 12 years old tomorrow.

Also, when I realize that my age (26) means I'm closer to 30 than I am to 20.

...Where does the time go?

 

[Erine81981]

I guess seeing my nieces growing older. That makes me feel old. But seeing that i'm 32 i also don't feel a day over 18 as well. But i think it's cool getting to see them get older. I hope that i'm around when they have kids.

 

[Drtooth]

I was watching a cooking show yesterday, and apparently there's an alternate pronunciation of the word "Ate" that sounds like "ett."

Either that's completely archaic or a regional thing since I've never heard that one.