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> The youngest member of the group, the lab’s technical director, is practically a child himself: Adolfo Kaminsky, age 18. I doubt that people referred to 18 y
by gioele 10y ago
> The youngest member of the group, the lab’s technical director, is practically a child himself: Adolfo Kaminsky, age 18.
I doubt that people referred to 18 years old men as "children" in 1944. In the '40s the average age for marriage was 23 for men and 21 for women.
- douche 10y agoCertainly not when it was as common as it was during WW2 for 16 and 17 year olds to lie about their age and enlist, or as things got down to the wire, take anybody who could fit in a stahlhem and fire a panzerfaust into the Volksturm. My granfather was referred to as "old man" or "gramps" when he got drafted into the navy towards the end of the war. He was 25.
- jakobegger 10y agoIs it actually common to refer to 18 year olds as children today? Or is that a US thing? I considered myself a grown up at that age; and it wouldn't occur to me to call someone who is older than 15 a kid.
- icebraining 10y ago"College kid" is a common term in US media. In my (European) country, we call them "young" (as in, "Young invents device" or "Two youngs were yesterday found ..."), not children.
- Symbiote 10y agoYou probably use the word that translates as "youth". (Jugend, unge etc). It was normal in Britain, examples are youth hostel, youth centre, Fountain of Youth. But in the last 20 years or so, I think it's been used negatively so often ("drunken youths", "aggressive youths") that if you begin with "a group of youths..." most people will expect something bad. "A group of teenagers" or "a group of children" is neutral. As an adjective, it's still fine. "Youth football team" and so on is fine.
- eyelidlessness 10y agoI call anyone younger than me a kid.
- zafka 10y agoMost of the engineers where I work are between 40-60. We called the two recent grads "the kids"
- GFK_of_xmaspast 10y agoThe "practically" modifier may be of interest to you here.
- weazelle 10y agoI agree. It's always an an interesting choice, when an author decides to use weasel words. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weasel_word https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weasel_word
- nikdaheratik 10y agoThe drinking age in the U.S. was and is 21. The voting age up until around WWII was also 21. I believe many financial contracts aren't allowed to be entered into until 21 either. It's not unreasonable to consider 18 as "practically" a child since they weren't really an adult though may be closer to an adult than not.
- kafkaesq 10y agoFor literally holding holding the fates of others -- quite possibly, their only chance at survival -- in your bare hands, yes, 18 is far too young and tender of an age.