Can you imagine getting your feet X-rayed to make sure your shoes fit? X-ray shoe machines were found in virtually every shoe store until doctors discovered the harmful effects of repeated X-ray exposure.

Life without washing machines meant long days of scrubbing clothes on washboards and wringing them out by hand. Housewives would spend all day doing a task we now just press a button and walk away from.

Making phone calls and watching television have been streamlined since the 1950s. We no longer need to use switchboard operators or rabbit ears to facilitate our communication and entertainment options.

Before drive-ins and 24-packs of Coke were sold in the grocery store, soda fountains were the social gathering place. They were the only places to meet up with your friends and grab a nice cold soda pop.

Writing in cursive, Encyclopedia Britannica salesman, and phone booth stuffing are also symbols of past life in America. Nowadays it can be hard to imagine some of these were once staples of everyday living.

Life in America in the 1950s looked a bit different from today. These twelve things highlight the ways in which modern life has changed since the decade that brought us the iconic Chevy Bel Air.