this post was submitted on 03 Sep 2025
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where did we go wrong (lemmy.blahaj.zone)
submitted 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) by not_IO@lemmy.blahaj.zone to c/history@lemmy.world
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[–] Catoblepas@piefed.blahaj.zone 200 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

1914 artist: will carrying canes ever go out of style? No, of course not, that’s insane. It’s pants that are a fad.

[–] SeductiveTortoise@piefed.social 32 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Don't forget the great hat! I wouldn't want to be seen without one.

[–] ReiRose@lemmy.world 14 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Or the time consuming up-do

[–] ICastFist@programming.dev 5 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

And a pipe, only a buffoon would walk into a museum without one

[–] captainlezbian@lemmy.world 3 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

Ok, but it had to be difficult to imagine in 1914 that basically everyone in the 50s would be smoking cigarettes. The inciting incident for the change had begun (WW1), but it's "they're giving the soldiers shitty poor people tobacco so they can at least have some comfort and because it's more logistically convenient than to give them pipes". And idk if they had started issuing cigs yet in 14.

This is the equivalent of predicting that in the 2060s wealthy people about town will rather than enjoying a nice whiskey on their nights out or on a lovely night in, they'll be (like everyone else) maintaining a solid drunkenness on malt liquor the majority of their waking life because the trump administration got so bad that it took free malt liquor to keep people productive in the majority of the developed world and now everyone there is an alcoholic with shit taste.

[–] NaibofTabr@infosec.pub 63 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

So imagine this but with a 40% obesity rate.

[–] tal@lemmy.today 23 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-025-00404-9

Dozens of new obesity drugs are coming: these are the ones to watch

Next-generation obesity drugs will work differently from Ozempic and Wegovy


aiming to deliver greater weight loss with fewer side effects.

The 1950s can still happen!

[–] Dasus@lemmy.world 7 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (4 children)

Weight loss drugs don't immunise you against food though.

And usually the people who are on drugs for weight loss arent exactly close to the figure represented.

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[–] Onomatopoeia@lemmy.cafe 12 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Obesity in the 50's was more like 10-15%, today it's closer to 35%, but 40 is close enough.

Interestingly, the spike started in the mid-1980's, timed too closely to the low-fat craze to not make me suspicious, especially since that adds up metabolically.

[–] MutilationWave@lemmy.dbzer0.com 10 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

Yeah, many products had (and still have) reduced fat but added sugar. Sugar belongs in desserts in my opinion. Eating fat doesn't make you fat.

[–] vaultdweller013@sh.itjust.works 5 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Pretty sure fat digests pretty easily for humans, while we are omnivores we lean more towards the carnivore side of things. Remember our big evolutionary advantage is our ability to throw things good and just keep walking, persistence hunting was our big fuck you advantage.

[–] ICastFist@programming.dev 5 points 2 weeks ago

Another advantage that we developed later on is our ability to seamlessly shift from small to big team organizations, sometimes working without any apparent hierarchy. Gobleki Tepe is one of the prime examples of prehistoric cities

Too bad the world as a whole kinda stuck with super rigid top down hierarchies for the past 500 years

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[–] Archangel1313@lemmy.ca 47 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

You're just not going to the right clubs.

[–] not_IO@lemmy.blahaj.zone 16 points 2 weeks ago
[–] arin@lemmy.world 43 points 2 weeks ago

I've seen some burning man attendees wear shit like this

[–] athairmor@lemmy.world 39 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

It seems like futuristic utopia fashion predictions always feature less clothing. Whether something like this or sci-fi like Star Trek TNG.

Maybe, they’re prescient shades of the coming global warming or people’s imaginations are just unavoidably horny.

[–] SocialMediaRefugee@lemmy.world 12 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

Horny, nerdy, sci-fi writers.

Based on TV shows in the future everyone on the planet will wear the same jump suit and boots uniform or the woman will wander around in silk robes. The show Buck Rogers said everyone will wear spandex, especially the female officers.

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[–] But_my_mom_says_im_cool@lemmy.world 11 points 2 weeks ago (5 children)

What I picture as future style now is baggy clothes and layers and maybe LED masks, and I can’t wait. I want a big flowing cyberpunk trench coat

[–] captain_aggravated@sh.itjust.works 6 points 2 weeks ago (3 children)

Nah, since fashion has been cyclical, pretty soon we're going to bring back those big frumpy denim dresses with a long sleeve white shirt under them that got weirdly popular in the early 90's, and then bell bottoms are coming back for a third time.

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[–] RickyRigatoni@retrolemmy.com 30 points 2 weeks ago

Well the first problem is we let the abrahamic religions control the media.

[–] Gammelfisch@lemmy.world 30 points 2 weeks ago

Processed food killed that immediately.

[–] dejected_warp_core@lemmy.world 25 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Huh. So, on another timeline, without WWII getting in the way, society just goes straight to Burning Man. I like it.

[–] kautau@lemmy.world 5 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

Nowadays burning man is just like the tech bros corporate retreat, so if it’s today’s burning man we just skipped some steps toward technofeudalism

[–] HubertManne@piefed.social 24 points 2 weeks ago

Its actually surprisingly on par considering the clothing at the time. The bikini came about in the late 40's and the miniskirt was around by the late fifties although the term had not been coined.

[–] EfreetSK@lemmy.world 22 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

Sort of correct? At least the lady is pretty spot on, summer dress, short skirt. The hair is a bit extravagant but we did have more pompous hair styles in the 50s and 60s. The only thing that seems out of place is the bow but not by a lot

The guy is ridiculous of course. Well at least the outfit. Because looking at today's rapers with their crazy tattoos ...

[–] RickyRigatoni@retrolemmy.com 26 points 2 weeks ago

Rappers. It's rappers. Two P's. Please. Rap per.

[–] ToastedRavioli@midwest.social 13 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (1 children)

Its not remotely correct if you compare it to 1950 instead of 2025. In fact that outfit is closer to a 20s flapper outfit than anything, but then the flappers had short hair, not super-updos

The guy is just a straight up quasi-indigenous-esque look, which is pretty spot on for fetishization of that type of stuff that was prevalent at the time this was drawn (and thereafter)

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[–] Kolanaki@pawb.social 20 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (1 children)

We should start dressing like that by the 2050's. We have 25 years to make the transition. It'll be hot as fuck by then, so the lack of coverings will be helpful for staying cool.

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[–] humanspiral@lemmy.ca 17 points 2 weeks ago (6 children)

Why was a cane ever considered essential accessory? Was it related to needing a weapon?

[–] captainlezbian@lemmy.world 16 points 2 weeks ago

It's a device that can be made fancy and beautiful that serves as a weapon when needed, and is an assistive device for the disabled. We're talking 1914, so it's not the most disabled the men of the western world have been, but four years later will be.

And even without the war, you're in a time where there's no joint replacement, and there's a lot of people with injuries from industrial accidents and people who've had diseases of industrialization. You have the beginnings of recreational sport (a good way to get injured if you don't know how to prevent it) and not much other exercise except walking places. The newfangled "safety bicycle" is still a death trap by modern standards but compared to a pennyfarthing without pneumatic wheels it earns its name. Also there's no antibiotics so you've got a lot more people sporting a single leg than in modern times, especially if you're in America where veterans of the Civil war are still around at the time.

[–] Jax@sh.itjust.works 16 points 2 weeks ago

Class symbol with the added perks of beating the poors and mobility aid.

[–] null_dot@lemmy.dbzer0.com 12 points 2 weeks ago

I think navigating an urban landscape a century ago was just generally more challenging than it is now.

Having a stick to fend off rats, dogs, or livestock would be essential.

Also muddy streets, gutters etcetera, are easier to navigate with a walking stick.

Finally just carrying a cool stick around with you while you conduct your affairs doesn't seem terrible. I find myself kinda wishing it was still a thing.

[–] Gaja0@lemmy.zip 7 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Why isn't a cane considered an essential accessory? We could all use personal lightsabers at all times.

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[–] AlexLost@lemmy.world 3 points 2 weeks ago

Weapon, balance wet cobblestone streets, ease on your legs from a long day waiting on the trolley. Pick upreach device. Also, another thing for people to sell, i.e. hat, pocket watch, bracelet, necklace, etc... that's mostly what "fashion" and "fads" are, a new gimmick to sell and distract people from the horror of everyday life.

Seriously though, a walking stick while hiking is a game changer. I'm not talking ski poles, those are mostly useless outside light balance stuff. I do so much with my walking staff and have never had a fall or trip while on the trail. A third leg can be a godsend sometimes, especially in muddy swampy sections. Creek crossings are a breeze.

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[–] Taleya@aussie.zone 14 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Pretty sure that's woodstock, so ten years off

[–] AlexLost@lemmy.world 14 points 2 weeks ago

They were off by a few decades. The 80's didn't want to let this guy down

[–] HairyHarry@lemmy.world 13 points 2 weeks ago

Spot on the predicted climate change.

I went downtown and saw people who looked like that

[–] TomMasz@piefed.social 12 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

Egad, a woman smoking? Such depravity does not bode well for 1950.

[–] ReiRose@lemmy.world 5 points 2 weeks ago

But no tattoos or body paint on the women that would be too much!

Smoking indoors! Such depravity is not acceptable in 2025!

[–] Timecircleline@sh.itjust.works 10 points 2 weeks ago

The future is so disappointing.

[–] ArmchairAce1944@discuss.online 10 points 2 weeks ago

One thing I fucking love about this is the man's hat. Like it fits so well with his speedo/loincloth thing it is perfect. The artist probably had a lot of fun with that.

[–] jimmy90@lemmy.world 8 points 2 weeks ago

With the genital hugging pseudo gym outfits a lot of people wear, it's not far off

[–] Fizz@lemmy.nz 7 points 2 weeks ago

Kinda fire. Is this suitable for the office?

[–] SabinStargem@lemmy.today 7 points 2 weeks ago

I wouldn't mind seeing Minoan sensibilities to come back into fashion.

I admire their child like optimism.

[–] Noel_Skum@sh.itjust.works 4 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Personally I feel his hat is unnecessarily large and the ensemble doesn’t completely balance as a consequence.

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[–] SocialMediaRefugee@lemmy.world 4 points 2 weeks ago

Cruise wear

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