this post was submitted on 17 Dec 2025
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History Memes

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[–] rikudou@lemmings.world 36 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago) (2 children)

The problem is that for me "50 years ago" is 1950, not 1975. Human brain is weird.

[–] shalafi@lemmy.world 6 points 4 days ago

I'm 54. "50 years ago" is long before I was born.

[–] whyNotSquirrel@sh.itjust.works 10 points 4 days ago (1 children)
[–] DasFaultier@sh.itjust.works 16 points 4 days ago

No, i'm pretty sure it's the brain thing.

[–] idegenszavak@sh.itjust.works 19 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago) (1 children)

It also changes the perception that some civil airplane models are very old. E.g. "the cessna" Cessna 172's earlier version Cessna 170 was introduced in 1948, and it's still in production with updates. A model from 1956 and 2025 looks nearly identical at first glance.

[–] captain_aggravated@sh.itjust.works 4 points 4 days ago (1 children)

The Cessna 172 itself dates to the 50's.

[–] idegenszavak@sh.itjust.works 6 points 4 days ago (1 children)

Yes, 170 is from 1948, 172 with different gears is from 1956

[–] captain_aggravated@sh.itjust.works 2 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago) (1 children)

I don't think you'd mistake a '56 172 with a '25 172S even at casual glance; until 1960 they had a more upright vertical stabilizer and until 1963 they had the "fastback" tail cone rather than the lower tail cone with "Omni-Vision" rear window. At that point you arrive pretty much at the anatomically modern Skyhawk airframe. We fully arrive at modernity in 1977 when they switch to the 4-cylinder Lycoming and pre-selectable flaps.

Then they stopped making them for ten years, and in 1996 they resumed production with the R model and I'm unaware of any significant changes to the hull since. They've offered the Lycoming IO-360 in two different de-ratings, they briefly offered a turbo-diesel though I don't know how many of those actually made it to customers, and they went from steam gauges to Garmin glass panels, the latter of which is available for retrofit, so to tell you the age of any Skyhawk made during my lifetime I'd have to look at the hull number.

[–] WhiskyTangoFoxtrot@lemmy.world 12 points 4 days ago

And if you go back to 70 years:

[–] DrBob@lemmy.ca 14 points 4 days ago
[–] Enzy@feddit.nu 14 points 4 days ago (1 children)

Now show me a 200 year old plane

[–] Deceptichum@quokk.au 49 points 4 days ago (2 children)
[–] grue@lemmy.world 12 points 4 days ago

200 year old plane in my head:

200 year old plane in reality: 👆

[–] hanrahan@piefed.social 11 points 4 days ago

It's the myth of progess, Lithium batteries, 1950s, same for microwaves etc. This artcle touches on it

https://dothemath.ucsd.edu/2015/09/you-call-this-progress/

[–] tio_bira@lemmy.world 10 points 4 days ago (1 children)

I have the same feeling with games...

[–] Deceptichum@quokk.au 31 points 4 days ago (1 children)
[–] Skullgrid@lemmy.world 8 points 4 days ago

nah, that one's accurate.

[–] Spacehooks@reddthat.com 7 points 4 days ago

Tomcat was my earliest plane toy I can remember. I used to take it everywhere. I loved how the wings moved....and its model 50 years old.

[–] elucubra@sopuli.xyz 3 points 4 days ago

My father flew the one on top, a buddy, in our 20's, the one on the bottom. Fuck!