The only constant thing in this universe is change. That’s something Greek philosopher Heraclitus said ages ago, and since then a lot—a lot—has changed.
So, it’s only normal for subject legality to be affected by this as well. Well, that, and everything that it is subject to. Mostly ethics, morality, and not losing your head because child labor laws were not a thing back in the olden days.
Image credits: u/90sVib3z
Yep, we’re of course talking about things that used to be quite normal, yet are illegal today, with Redditors posting some of the most spot-on facts to bend our minds a little bit.
#1
Sending your kids to the store to buy cigarettes
Image credits: henri915
#2
Smoking at school.
My HS had a smoking area for students.
Image credits: Japanat1
#3
I can remember when it was perfectly normal for someone to leave their kids in the car (doors unlocked and windows open) while they went inside a business. No one gave it a second thought.
Image credits: Outrageous_Click_352
So, several days ago, a Redditor by the nickname of u/90sVib3z approached the AskReddit community with a question: what’s something that’s illegal now, but used to be perfectly normal?
It didn’t take long for the question to take off and for answers to come pouring in. As of this listicle, the thread has 6,400 upvotes (94% of them positive) and has generated over 8,200 comments, either answering the question or discussing it.
#4
Public executions.
Image credits: LoveDistinct
#5
Used to buy dynamite at the hardware store. My dad and I used it to remove stumps.
Image credits: specialkwsu
#6
The ingredients in cough syrup at the beginning of the 1900s
Image credits: AcidScarab
Much of the thread deals with answers that tie in with dangerous things—either physically and directly, or more passively and more long-term. At least health-wise. You know, being able to buy dynamite at the store, smoking among minors, lead paint, stuff like that.
But some suggested societal issues that could more likely be attributed to morality and ethics. It was things like public executions, guns in schools, child labor laws, that sort of thing. Humanity used to live in wild times.
#7
Cocaine. Used to be in everything, an I think it’s time we brought it back. -caffeine isn’t kicking the way it needs to.
Image credits: ZMAUinHell
#8
Driving with no seat belt. Driving while talking on the phone. Driving with no car seat for a child.
Image credits: Nervous_Cell_25
#9
Lead paint and asbestos in housing.
Image credits: DreyfusBlue
The first bit is probably self explanatory, right? Many, if not all laws are often written in blood or at the very least based on experience. Morality, on the other hand, is a whole different issue.
A study of the human brain suggests that morality isn’t merely a cultural construct. It’s also based on evolutionary factors, passed on from our ancestors, hard-wiring us to think in terms of cooperation and smooth social interactions.
#10
When you picked someone up at the airport, you used to be able to walk right up to where they got off the plane.
Image credits: JoystickMonkey
#11
Riding around town in the back of a pickup truck.
I’m someone who won’t take my car out of park if all the seatbelts aren’t fastened, but as a kid I would jump at the chance to ride in the truck bed.
Image credits: yeasayerstr
#12
Exposed hair in Iran
Image credits: one-upping-MFer
An interesting thing to note about morality in humans is that there are several locations within our brains that play a role in forming a sense of morality and ethics.
Without getting super nerdy, each part of the brain plays a role in handling things like understanding the intentions of others, being aware of how our body feels, managing self-control and intelligence, tackling emotional reactions, among other things. Each of these building blocks play a role in how we handle morality and immorality.
#13
Punching your wife in the face for not having dinner on the table.
Image credits: Sgt_soresack
#14
not wearing a seatbelt. people used to make fun of you for wearing one
Image credits: BacchusBlue45
#15
Owning other humans
Image credits: eagleman223
And while evolution is the basis, it doesn’t mean that morality is set in stone. Culture and social influences have an impact on what we think is right and wrong. This has allowed people to come to decisions to frown upon second-hand smoking. This also led to many human rights movements that have since then made tons of progress to care for each other more than we used to. Because remember, from a natural standpoint, we’re social beings.
#16
Burning your trash in the backyard.
Image credits: Zuid-Dietscher
#17
Smoking indoors.
Image credits: Ok_Day_8559
#18
Cigarette vending machines. No age restriction, just drop a couple of quarters in and pull the handle!
It is this that has pushed us as a species to form our own definitions of morality through interacting with those around us. The power of reason and intelligence in humans is what allows us to have an idea of what morality is and how to navigate it. Through reason, we reach new heights in things like empathy for others, forming bonds and communities. If anything, for survival, but there is potential for caring just because it’s the right thing to do and life is precious.
#19
Spankings in school, including with paddles.
Image credits: Moist-Meat-Popsicle
#20
Being a latchkey kid. Growing up I had so many friends that would get home alone only for their parwnts to come home two or three hours later… Actually just saw somebody on this site who apparently called CPS on this recently
#21
Does anyone remember the 90s when “mooning” was a thing. I remember my mom driving down the highway and my brother and I laughing hysterically at some random guy who was mooning us out his window. I dont know if it’s illegal now, but I think mooning would be perceived a lot differently these days. 
Image credits: CassiesCrafties
So, why do we need laws, besides our own flesh and bone forcing an agenda on us? Laws give people structure. Without them, it’d be pure chaos (not the magical kind) and folks would end up doing whatever they please without exception. And that might, in the end, affect you as an individual.
In that sense, laws protect us from the chaos of other people’s decision making. They provide consequences for unfair situations, and the freedoms to express ourselves without prejudice. It’s what makes civilizations civil. Well, one of the things.
#22
Child labor. And the arguments to maintain it ranged from “nobody is forcing them” to “but if we ban it our industries will no longer be competitive” and “when they work, they are not on the streets”… I think this is an example that we must always keep in mind because many of these arguments from the “so-called choice” to “competitiveness” through to the “false alternative” are still regularly used today to justify practices that are morally reprehensible…
Image credits: nicogla
#23
Smoking on planes.
#24
Lobotomies
You suffer from nightmares, headaches, or depression? We’ll just slice a chunk out of your frontal lobe and call it a day!
Image credits: ShadowWolfKane
Take that away from societies and you have a civilization where anyone can do anything. And considering there are no consequences to anything, this would very likely mean crime and violence all around. And next to no protection against it too.
While some things are hard to speculate—mostly because we don’t live in a world of zero rules—it’s safe to say that life would be a lot more dangerous and unpredictable. And those are the two things humanity’s been trying to actively avoid throughout its existence.
#25
Letting kids walk to school (or other places) by themselves.
The first time I heard about parents being arrested for this I thought “well, this is a one-off bizarre thing where we don’t have all the facts”. But I’ve seen it happen too often now and it blows my mind. I was walking a mile to school by myself in kindergarten and it was not only normal, but expected back then. Not one of my classmates had a parent drop them off at school.
Image credits: Scary-Boysenberry
#26
Adults marrying teenagers.
“Younger than she are happy mothers made.” – Paris, Romeo and Juliet, Act 1, Scene 2.
Juliet is not quite 14. She’s an eighth grader.
Image credits: JimBeam823
#27
Our high school had a rifle club in school. Kids kept their .22s in their lockers.
Edit: not saying rifle teams are now illegal. Bringing guns into school and storing them in a locker is what is now verboten. And I’m not from a particularly rural area.
Image credits: justaguylookingup
Bottom line is, it’s safe to say humans are going in the right direction. Moral breakdown, i.e. decline in morality, isn’t really a thing. Rather, it’s an illusion, a perception of things based on what we think and see, and not what is actually true.
There are literally hundreds of sources proving that war, genocide and child abuse are slowly declining as time goes on, volunteerism doesn’t show any significant changes, and cooperation among humans is on the rise (up by 10% in nearly 60 years).
#28
So much pollution. People used to change the oil on their car and dump it down storm drains or pour it into a hole in the ground. Old bottles of pills got thrown in the trash. So much aerosol hairspray. Commercially, we dumped so much chemical waste into rivers they started catching on fire, and it started burning through the ozone layer. Superfund sites, the list goes on and on
#29
Drinking and driving
Image credits: Low_Palpitation_4438
#30
Dosing your baby with OTC Laudanum so you can go out dancing all night.
Or so my grandmother said – a couple of flappers overdosed their babies and they stopped selling Laudanum in the drugstore.
Image credits: cardinal29
Considering all of this, what are your thoughts on morality, moral progress or decay, or really anything seen in this listicle? Share your thoughts and stories in the comment section below.
And if you need another hit, why not go through this list of legal things that you feel like a criminal doing?
#31
Crossing a border.
Immigration controls are a quite new thing. Before we had extensive public services nations didn’t bother with border controls.
Image credits: KittenAnya
#32
Boarding houses and single-room-occupancy hotels. Also, strangely enough, we have a lot of people who can’t afford apartments living on the street.
#33
Dueling
#34
Forced marriages
#35
Choosing a new identity, moving anywhere you want and starting over.
Also, being able to avoid that.
Image credits: CostofRepairs
#36
Basically invading people’s privacy. You used to be able to go to a post office and get info on where people lived. Although hospital dependent you could go in and ask about any patient.
#37
Children drinking alcohol. Toddlers used to be given beer to drink because it was cleaner than the available water
#38
Carrying a pocketknife anywhere and everywhere
#39
Taking guns to school. It used to be common for students to have a gun rack in their truck.
Image credits: AmazingAd2765
#40
As an American not needing a passport to go to Canada or Mexico nor just about any Caribbean island. What irks me is showing my passport to go for example to the Bahamas. Distance wise Bimini for example is 400 miles closer than the nearest state which is Georgia.
#41
Owning fully automatic firearms. Prior to the National Firearms Act of 1934, anyone was allowed to own full automatic firearms in the States. Aka “machine guns.”
#42
Lawn darts
Image credits: Snailspaced
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