In the past you didn’t get old – in the truest sense of the word. The average life expectancy of a person in the Middle Ages was around 25 to 30 years. Conversely, this meant that childhood was over quickly and at 15 you were practically ripe for the midlife crisis. But even in our not too distant past, people seem to have aged faster than they do today. At least that’s what the following pictures suggest.
The parents and grandparents were also young once. But if you look at the following family pictures, one suspects that people used to age much faster.
1. “My grandfather as a soldier, 22 years old, 1940.”
My Grandfather, Canadian Soldier, 22 years old. Men looked so much older and harder in those days. 1940 from r / OldSchoolCool
2. “My grandmother at the age of 16, 1917.”
My grandmother at 16 years old in 1917 from r / OldSchoolCool
3. “My Ukrainian grandmother as a 17 year old, 1927.”
4. “My grandmother looked at old pictures of London on the internet and came across one of her own. She was 18 and cooler than I’ll ever be. “
My Nan was looking at old pictures of London online and stumbled across one of herself! She was 18 and cooler than I’ll ever be from r / OldSchoolCool
5. “My grandfather looked like a classic gangster when he was 19.”
My grandpa at 19 looking like an old school gangster from r / OldSchoolCool
6. “My handsome grandfather when he was 19 years old, 1940.”
My Chad of a grandpa at 19 years old in 1940 from r / OldSchoolCool
7. “My mother in her Peaches shirt, 1980 or 1981.”
My mom in her Peaches shirt, 1980 or ’81. from r / OldSchoolCool
8. “This is a picture of my grandfather on his first tractor, 1954. He was around 15 years old and always wore his father’s hat to look older when he drove.”
This is a picture of my granddad on his first tractor 1954. He was around 15 years old and always wore his fathers hat to look older when he was driving from r / OldSchoolCool
9. “My grandmother at 16 years old. She turns 80 this year. She makes me laugh every day. I love this woman!”
My grandma at 16. She is turning 80 this year. She makes me laugh every day. I love this woman! from r / OldSchoolCool
10. “My 14 year old grandfather on his new moped, 1949, Dayton, Ohio.”
My 14 year old grandfather riding his new bike in 1949 Dayton, Ohio from r / OldSchoolCool
11. “In 1942 my grandfather looked really neat. He was 18 years old at the time. “
My grandfather, looking rather dapper in 1942. 18 years old at the time. from r / OldSchoolCool
12. “My mom, when she was 18 years old, South Africa.”
My mom when she was 18 years old. South Africa. from r / OldSchoolCool
13. “In 1952, when I was just 16, my mother really had style.”
My mother at just 16 years old had so much style. 1952 from r / OldSchoolCool
14. “My mother, 22 years old, 1992.”
My mom back in 1992, 22 years old. from r / OldSchoolCool
15. “A colored photo of my grandfather when he was 16 years old.”
My paternal grandfather aged 16 colored from r / 13or30
Whether it was the hard life or the shorter life expectancy: It cannot be denied that some minors in these photos would pass as adults today.
Pictures like this one show us in a fascinating and disturbing way how different life used to be:
Thumbnails: © Pinterest / livetrending © Reddit / IndifferentSkeptic