Someone asked what people with office jobs did before computers and mobile phones – 21 nostalgic replies
12.
Based on 7 seasons of Mad Men, the answer appears to be day drinking and having affairs.
— rcoll1 (@rcoll1_brisbane) January 17, 2026
13.
There were office jobs before phones. Imagine being a computer in like 1800 at a bank ("computer" used to be a job — an actual person who was paid to do math).
— TheShadowbanned (@ShadowbanSlam) January 17, 2026
14.
Paper. There was so much paper. There would be a meeting and you're told what to do, then you would type up letters and send them, and make calls to people and send them letters, and have more meetings, then meet people you arranged to meet via phone or letter.
— Natali Simmonds (@NJSimmondsbooks) January 17, 2026
15.
You'd give your secretary stuff to type,
Whilst you shuffled paper and puffed on a pipe, pic.twitter.com/NzrkjTDDiI— Donny Reila (@DonnyReila) January 17, 2026
16.
Most things were handled in person or on the phone. Lots, lots, lots more phone calls.
Occasionally a message would be hand delivered around the office in an indestructible envelope and you'd have to sign the back confirming you'd read it.
I'm not even kidding. https://t.co/bBJW3R5PGS pic.twitter.com/GEWh6MqpkM
— Jonathan Snowden (@JESnowden) April 17, 2024
17.
All the stuff you do on computers, you did on paper.
You wrote. On paper.
You did spreadsheets. On paper. There were whole BOOKS of them.
You had forms you filled out. On paper.
You had these things called pencils and pens. They made little marks.
On paper. https://t.co/ByYRKtnDyk
— Daddy Warpig (@DaddyWarpig) April 18, 2024
18.
The pain was real. pic.twitter.com/QKPfpS9ven
— Wideawakenow (@wideawake2025) January 16, 2026
19.
You had an inbox and an out box. They were actual boxes on your desk. You took things out if the inbox, completed them, then put them in the out box. You called people if you needed to communicate with them.
— Amanda Stroud (@amandakstroud) January 17, 2026
20.
Spent hours trying to change a ribbon in typewriter? https://t.co/QbLpbTZjiR
— Riley/A Dog's Life (@adogslifeTO) April 17, 2024
21.
We started the mornings by drying out papyrus and plucking geese for our quill pens. Then off to the agora for a 3 meade lunch.
— Murray Garwood (@garwood_murray) April 18, 2024
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