‘What’s the most embarrassing way you’ve discovered that your cultural references are obsolete?’ – 21 people who think they’re still making Top of the Pops

Remember being a kid and being unable to comprehend how your parents didn’t know, or, more shockingly, even care, which bands were in the charts?

Well, we all end up there eventually, whether we like it or not.

Over on the AskUK subdreddit, they’ve been discussing getting left behind by the fast pace of changing trends after user These_Alternative_49 posted this…

What’s the most embarrassing way you’ve discovered that your cultural references are obsolete?

I said “You are live on Channel 4, please do not swear” in a Zoom meeting today and was met with crickets.

Ouch. And lots of other people chipped in with their own humiliations, like these…

1.

‘I mentioned the band Barenaked Ladies, familiar to anybody who watched a teen comedy in the 00s, to our new intern and got a blank look.

“You know, the One Week guys?” Blank look.

“Chickity China, the Chinese chicken. Have a drumstick and your brain starts ticking. Watching X Files with no lights on, we’re dans le maison, hope the Smoking Man’s in this one?” Extra blank look.

Absolutely hideous moment of realisation where I realise I look like an absolute mental-case old bloke rapping in the office. I AM a mental-case old bloke rapping at a recent graduate. Oh my god, I’ve become David Brent.

I’m David Brent, and worse if I say that THEY WON’T KNOW WHO I MEAN.

“You know what? Don’t worry about it. I’m going to the bathroom to scream for a minute and then we’ll try to forget all about all of this.”‘
–cillablackpower

2.

‘Talking to a meeting with 4 x 21-ish year olds at work the other day about pivot tables, and I of course said “PIVAAAAHT!”

Turns out none of them have ever even seen Friends. That hurt a lot.’
–tyrannosaurus-tail

3.

‘”That’ll do, pig.” from Babe. My younger colleagues only knew “That’ll do, Donkey” from Shrek.’
–lounicolle

4.

‘I made a Chuckle Brother ‘to me, to you’ reference the other day. No-one got it. Can I just add. If you’re gen meh ( like me) and you haven’t taught your younger family members at least THIS. It’s no wonder we’re forgotten about.’
–Narrow_Gear_7387

5.

‘Stood in as my local’s Pub Quiz host and started with “Tonight Matthew, I’m gonna be (regular Host’s name)”, to be met with blank faces from the front two tables. Thankfully others got it but it was a “Oh God, I’m old” moment.’
–JamesL25

6.

‘This was 15 years ago. Someone hit a vending machine at work and I made a Fonz reference. They asked what a Fonz was.’
–ResplendentBear

7.

‘Me and a co-worker having to explain to two young-uns what Um-Bongo was.’
–Awkward-Tax102

8.

‘I had to explain to someone who had never seen Spaced why I had told them to ‘skip to the end’ when they were talking.’
–CodAdministrative765

9.

‘At every wedding prep as a photographer. Singing ‘there’s somebody at the door’ every time there was a knock.

As each year went by, less and less people knew what I was rattling on about.’
–biddlywad

10.

‘I made a Byker Grove PJ and Duncan reference (yes, of course, it was the paintball scene “My eyes, man!”) in conversation with another parent at the school gates today and she had no idea what I was on about.’
–Minute-Style4044

11.

‘Someone offered me a Ferrero Rocher and I replied “meester ambassador, you are zpoiling uz”. I got a very odd look.’
–Dropped_Apollo