21 Photos That Show Us Our Ancestors Were Way Cooler Than We Are

Almost all of us have heard from our parents, “When I was your age...” Often, we didn’t even want to hear the end of this phrase, because, in our opinion, they were going to say something boring. But it turns out that our ancestors could have had just as much fun as we do now.

“My parents took each other’s picture in 1959 while they were in the car. It’s like a movie scene!”

“Vintage photo of my dad and his rat Smokey in 1994”

“This rat survived the LA earthquake of 1994! My dad protected her and my mom. And this rat is the reason I love rats today.”

“My dad making his putt, while Clint Eastwood casually watches. Location is on one of the courses in Pebble Beach.”

“My great-grandpa walking an alligator, 1920”

“My parents when they were 16 and 17 (1987). They’ve been together for 34 years now!”

“My grandma and I, she always kept me well-dressed! This was taken around 1994.”

“An action shot of my father jumping a patio wall while working a crime scene. Picture was taken November 7th, 1999 in Anaheim, CA.”

“My grandparents, the 1970s to 2014”

“My dad in college with his pet cougar, Spencer, in 1993.”

“My grandma just showed me this photo. It’s her wedding day in 1970.”

“My great-great-great-grandfather’s mustache, 1845”

“My hippie parents on their wedding day in 1988”

“My grandfather and his bass guitar, 1967”

“My dad making my mom laugh at their reception, 1995”

“My weightlifting great-grandpa holding my grandpa over his head, 1947”

“My favorite photo of my mom and dad taken in Canada in 1975. They were always compared to Bruce Lee and Princess Diana.”

“My grandma in 1951. Halloween is still her favorite holiday!”

“My absurdly cool parents, Brooklyn, around 1985”

“My grandfather and grandmother on vacation”

“When I was a child, I couldn’t figure out why there were 2 grandmothers in the photo... It turned out that, in the past, photographers already liked creatively editing photos.”

“My grandmother in 1958. She is a national archery champion who shot her first deer with a bow when she was just 5 years old. She was crowned Miss Georgia in 1958. She solo piloted in front of 25,000 to open McCollum Field in Kennesaw, Georgia.”

“Picture of my dad (in the middle) with his band sometime right before I was born in the mid to late ’80s”