People Are Sharing Things That Used To Be Normal But Are Now Illegal, And I Didn't Know About A Few Of These

This post contains discussion of rape.

Times change, and so things that used to be totally fine — legal, even — could very well get you arrested in the present day.

Redditor u/90sVib3z recently asked the people of Reddit, "What's something that's illegal now, but used to be perfectly normal?" Take a trip back in time and witness how many things have changed over the years:

1."I used to buy dynamite at the hardware store. My dad and I used it to remove stumps."

—u/specialkwsu

2."Cigarette vending machines. No age restriction, just drop a couple of quarters in and pull the handle!"

—u/NewIdGuy77

3."Sending your kids to the store to buy cigarettes."

—u/henri915

4."Smoking at school. My high school had a smoking area for students."

—u/Japanat1

5."Lead paint and asbestos in housing."

—u/DreyfusBlue

6."Public executions."

—u/LoveDistinct

7."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."

—u/cardinal29

8."Smoking indoors."

—u/Ok_Day_8559

9."Our high school had a rifle club in schools. Kids kept their .22s in their lockers."

—u/justaguylookingup

10."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."

—u/yeasayerstr

11."Drinking and driving."

—u/Low_Palpitation_4438

12."Not wearing a seatbelt. People used to make fun of you for wearing one."

—u/BacchusBlue45

13."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."

—u/Outrageous_Click_352

14."Cocaine. It used to be in everything."

—u/ZMAUinHell

15."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' and 'competitiveness' through to the 'false alternative,' are still regularly used today to justify practices that are morally reprehensible."

—u/nicogla

16."Marital rape."

—u/theycallmeasloth

17."Driving while talking on the phone."

—u/Nervous_Cell_25

18."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."

—u/AMoreExcitingTime

19."Crossing a border. Immigration controls are a quite new thing. Before we had extensive public services, nations didn't bother with border controls."

—u/KittenAnya

And finally...

20."Owning other humans."

—u/eagleman223

Have your own suggestions? See you in the comments!

These entries have been edited for length and clarity.

If you or someone you know has experienced sexual assault, you can call the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673), which routes the caller to their nearest sexual assault service provider. You can also search for your local center here.