Step right up, fellow time-travelers! In the never-ending saga of generational banter, our beloved baby boomers have taken center stage, holding on tight to some quirky relics of the past. From fuzzy toilet seats to patterned wallpaper, they’re on a mission to keep these gems alive. So buckle up as we journey through a list of 20 things the boomers are refusing to bid farewell to.
Bar Soap
In most homes in 2023, you’ll find liquid soap. It is more convenient, less complicated to use and less annoying. It was suggested by CNN in 2014 that bar soap sales have declined, and it’s thought that it’s because it is for ‘old people’. However, this is supported due to the statistic that 60% of bar soap users are over the age of 65.
Racquetball
If you’ve accidentally walked into the racquetball room at your local gym, then you most likely turned on your heels and walked straight back out again. Most of the time, these rooms are occupied by balding, middle-aged men.
TV Dinners
The baby boomer lifestyle definitely has to have TV dinners and canned foods. They save so much time and effort. Whereas millennials much prefer the fresh food over the processed meals that baby boomers enjoy so much.
Cruises
Millennials, prefer getting on a plane and landing somewhere hot, where they can drink in the sun and enjoy time by the beach. However, baby boomers much prefer a cruise, where they don’t have to move much, can visit lots of different places and lounge by the pool.
Metal Detecting
Baby boomers love metal detecting. They take it as seriously as they do golf, but the only thing they usually find are scraps of metal and old bottle caps. The worst thing about metal detecting is that you can’t really speak whilst doing it, otherwise you’ll miss the beeping, and that’s the most important part.
Diamonds
You might have heard that ‘diamonds are a girl’s best friend’, well this definitely applies to baby boomer girls. The women in this generation were convinced that if they were the owner of these exclusive and expensive gems, they would get the validation they required in society. However, what they didn’t realize is that diamonds aren’t all that uncommon or expensive. The only reason why they were is because they were slowly released into the market.
Juice Concentrate
It’s simple for us to get juice these days. We just take the bottle out of the fridge and pour it in a glass before returning the bottle to the fridge. However, baby boomers really complicate the process. They juice the fruit, freeze it and then thaw it out again and add ice when they want to drink it.
Potpourri
You may have noticed some strange dead petals scattered around a baby boomer’s home. This is potpourri and they are usually displayed in jars, decorative bowls or little bags. Even though this might seem like a great idea, they lose their scent after a while, and then they’re only good for gathering dust.
Throw Cushions
There is a huge difference between comfort pillows and throw pillows. Comfort pillows are used for a need-basis, to be comfortable when sitting on the couch. Whereas throw pillows are thrown around to create a soft mess. They aren’t comfortable and they just interrupt any space that was left before them.
Malls
Millennials tend to do more shopping online rather than going to a mall like a baby boomer dreams of every day. There is nothing more convenient than having your clothes or groceries delivered to your front door. However, baby boomers love aimlessly walking through the shops in the mall and they see them as a supreme adventure.
Salads
There might be a reason why children don’t like salads, and it’s because of the baby boomer parents creating weird combinations. Do you think broccoli and apples together with a slather of mayonnaise sounds a bit strange? Or even marshmallow and jell-o salad? Well, these were all the craze back in the day, believe it or not.
Conspiracy Theories
According to baby boomers, the moon landing was fake but the conspiracy behind JFK’s death is real. This generation believes in many different conspiracy theories, and even though they can grasp a lot of people with their interesting concepts, they are still theories.
Infomercials
There is nothing more frustrating when we’re watching a video and we have to sit through mere 5 seconds of adverts. However, baby boomers are known to willingly sit through half an hour of adverts. Infomercials have been a thing since the 80’s, but they have since disappeared.
24-hour News Network
It wasn’t until 1980 that the first 24-hour news network came out, even though the 50’s were considered the Golden Age of Television. CNN was founded as a 24-hour cable news channel, but before this, people had to wait all day until the evening to hear from their favourite reporter. Baby boomers would love the fact they would stay up-to-date with the latest happenings, but these days, we’re able to get our information and news online at any time.
Fuzzy Toilet Seats
We are all in agreement these days that fuzzy toilet seats are just bad taste. Nobody wants to sit on a grimy, unhygienic surface that many behinds have touched before them. Even though they were able to be put in the wash, baby boomers still love the idea of these, regardless of the amount of times they’re told that they are no longer ‘in’.
Home Shopping Channels
If the TV in a baby boomers house isn’t on CNN or Fox News, then you’re probably watching HSN or QVC. These were once very popular, and they had great deals on the latest gadgets or jewelry. However, these are not so popular anymore due to online shopping. They are still aired on our TVs though, and this is thanks to baby boomers.
Cable TV Packages
We all know that streaming services like Netflix exist, however, baby boomers pay $80 per month for everything that you can get online, except they have more commercials. The internet is hijacking most of the market, so cable tv packages only cater to baby boomers.
Reader’s Digest
Reader’s digest came out nearly a century ago, and even though they have filed for bankruptcy a few times, they somehow still manage to have a space on the shelves with new issues. If you know people who read this, then they’ll probably be over the age of 50!
Patterned Wallpaper
Everything these days is neutral, and wallpaper is a thing of the past. However, you go into a baby boomers house, or talk decorative to them, and they’ll suggest hideous patterned wallpaper. Don’t get us wrong, we know that some modern houses have patterned wallpaper, and that’s great, but baby boomers tend to go for the offensive wallpaper that is made of shockingly bright colors and designs.