What's the biggest change the world has seen in your lifetime?

[Mich the Tester]

Positive; internet and mobile communications. Bwilliant stuff. And some parts of the world look to be finally becoming more peaceful and stable and may have a much brighter future (e.g Northern Ireland, big chunks of southern Africa and Latin America).

Negative; the last manned moon mission was shortly before I was 1 year old and manned exploration of other parts of solar system might not really kick off again until I'm an old man. I think that's very very sad indeed; nearly 40 years have been lost imho. Concorde died without being developed to its full potential, and with it the dream of really fast mass transport. Again, a step backwards. That, and a whole lot of stupid destructive wars.

[BrilloPad]

I am 48 and the biggest change I have seen is the stress levels that everyone seems to be under.

[Mich the Tester]

I am 48 and the biggest change I have seen is the stress levels that everyone seems to be under.

Yep, that's because the baby boom has now saddled the world with lots of whining old gits that read the Daily Wail.

[Ignis Fatuus]

Nobody darns socks anymore.

That's actually one of the more thoughtful answers.

[Old Greg]

I am 48 and the biggest change I have seen is the stress levels that everyone seems to be under.

This is a result of inadequately sized Monster Munches.

[Mich the Tester]

Nobody darns socks anymore.

Oh, and the Beatles have split up

That's actually one of the more thoughtful answers.

On a similar theme, it's now impossible to carry out tasks that should be simple on one's motor car, such as changing a light bulb, without a pricey trip to the garage.

I am developing an aversion to the 'throw away and replace' culture; I think some things can have a more intrinsic value than the purely financial and should be maintained, repaired and re-used. Although obviously I'm not saying you should try to repair a light bulb, but I feel that what little self reliance we had is being eroded.

[BrilloPad]

Yep, that's because the baby boom has now saddled the world with lots of whining old gits that read the Daily Wail.

I think it is more to do with the pace of life seeming to get faster and faster. When I first joined the city (1st Jan 1987) lunchtime drinking was almost compulsory. I can't remember the last time I had a pint at lunchtime.

[MarillionFan]

On a similar theme, it's now impossible to carry out tasks that should be simple on one's motor car, such as changing a light bulb, without a pricey trip to the garage.

I am developing an aversion to the 'throw away and replace' culture; I think some things can have a more intrinsic value than the purely financial and should be maintained, repaired and re-used. Although obviously I'm not saying you should try to repair a light bulb, but what little self reliance we had is being eroded.

It used to be that things were built to last. My mum had a TV until about 5 years ago that had been built in the late 1960s that was so cool you could tune it to pick up wales tv from devon using the 1960s dish aerial on the top. She got rid of it in the end because she wanted digital.

Everything I have electronically never seems to last more than 5 years

[Ignis Fatuus]

Positive; internet and mobile communications. Bwilliant stuff. And some parts of the world look to be finally becoming more peaceful and stable and may have a much brighter future (e.g Northern Ireland, big chunks of southern Africa and Latin America).

Negative; the last manned moon mission was shortly before I was 1 year old and manned exploration of other parts of solar system might not really kick off again until I'm an old man. I think that's very very sad indeed; nearly 40 years have been lost imho. Concorde died without being developed to its full potential, and with it the dream of really fast mass transport. Again, a step backwards. That, and a whole lot of stupid destructive wars.

I watched the entire space race on TV from the first Telstar transmission across the Atlantic (think - until then, if you wanted to send TV pictures between the US and the UK, you did it by loading the film canisters on a plane) until Armstrong's first step on the Moon. It only took a few years, and in case you forget what an achievement it was, remember the technology of the time: I watched it all on Black and White TVs made with valves. That's all there was. I can't believe it's all been given up, or at least left to a later generation that I won't see.

Likewise Concorde. I'll never get to see what it was a taster of. Imagine if mobile phones came out in 1971 but only a few people could have them, and then they were wiped off the face of the earth in 2003. The history of Concorde seems a bit like that.

[Old Greg]

I think it is more to do with the pace of life seeming to get faster and faster. When I first joined the city (1st Jan 1987) lunchtime drinking was almost compulsory. I can't remember the last time I had a pint at lunchtime.

Smoking! On trains, planes, tubes. In pubs, hospitals. At the workplace.