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>couldn't climb a flight of stairs or ride a bike without getting completely winded. Any sort of physical exertion would result in gasping, coughing up phlegm,

>couldn't climb a flight of stairs or ride a bike without getting completely winded. Any sort of physical exertion would result in gasping, coughing up phlegm, and seeing stars How did society get on just fine when almost everybody smoked? Is this reaction an outlier?

mixmastamyk 7y ago
Exercise was for suckers and the industrial revolution had already happened.
saiya-jin 7y ago
Not everybody smoked back then, you still stinked worse than pile of shit and it costed you quite a bit. Look at some old photos. Unless one worked hard manually, almost all guys had thin hands, visible bellies, a bit hunched back and other signs of unhealthy lifestyle. Most of them didn't live till 80 unless they had very good eating habits or some manual hobbies. My grandparents are 92 and 93. All of their colleagues from work, all of their friends, siblings are gone. They had a healthy workout of managing garden, raising kids, collecting mushrooms in the forest, occasional walk or hike in mountains. Steady life. Not much drinking, no smoking (grandpa quit when he was still young, my father forced him). I believe daily chores and manual work helps to keep the body well. Its not about intensity but regularity. You see all the old folks who live long, but for every one of them there are many more who died because of bad luck (decisions, genes) and bad habits.
dmurray 7y ago
Even serious athletes used to smoke. Here's a famous photo [0] from the Tour de France of the cyclists smoking in the 1920s. The accepted wisdom was it "opened up your lungs", which might even be correct if you're already a habitual smoker. And there are plenty more anecdotes of elite footballers, tennis players etc being heavy smokers up until the 80s or later. [0] https://twistedsifter.com/2011/12/picture-of-the-day-vintage-tour-de-france-shot-from-the-1920s/ https://twistedsifter.com/2011/12/picture-of-the-day-vintage...
- vic-traill 7y ago
  Guy Lafleur - the Hockey Hall of Fame former Montreal Canadiens forward - was a notorious smoker in the 70s through to the 80s. You wouldn't believe it watching him skate, he was a speedster. Technique overcoming the respiratory system, I suppose. He admits smoking in intermissions between periods in this interview [0] [0] http://oilersnation.com/2013/10/16/guy-lafleur-shares-some-stories/ http://oilersnation.com/2013/10/16/guy-lafleur-shares-some-s...
  - kyuudou 7y ago
    One of my roommates is a triathlete and while he's not amazingly successful, his body is clearly naturally athletic and simply completing a triathlon is in my mind quite an accomplishment. In his mid-30s, serious alcoholic and smokes a few Newports a day along with some CBD blunts a few days a week. I told him he wasn't going to be invincible for ever, though. But like me he probably won't listen until he gets some kind of diagnosis or coughs up blood or something.

mixmastamyk 7y ago

Exercise was for suckers and the industrial revolution had already happened.

saiya-jin 7y ago

Not everybody smoked back then, you still stinked worse than pile of shit and it costed you quite a bit. Look at some old photos. Unless one worked hard manually, almost all guys had thin hands, visible bellies, a bit hunched back and other signs of unhealthy lifestyle. Most of them didn't live till 80 unless they had very good eating habits or some manual hobbies. My grandparents are 92 and 93. All of their colleagues from work, all of their friends, siblings are gone. They had a healthy workout of managing garden, raising kids, collecting mushrooms in the forest, occasional walk or hike in mountains. Steady life. Not much drinking, no smoking (grandpa quit when he was still young, my father forced him). I believe daily chores and manual work helps to keep the body well. Its not about intensity but regularity. You see all the old folks who live long, but for every one of them there are many more who died because of bad luck (decisions, genes) and bad habits.

dmurray 7y ago

Even serious athletes used to smoke. Here's a famous photo [0] from the Tour de France of the cyclists smoking in the 1920s. The accepted wisdom was it "opened up your lungs", which might even be correct if you're already a habitual smoker. And there are plenty more anecdotes of elite footballers, tennis players etc being heavy smokers up until the 80s or later. [0] https://twistedsifter.com/2011/12/picture-of-the-day-vintage-tour-de-france-shot-from-the-1920s/ https://twistedsifter.com/2011/12/picture-of-the-day-vintage...

vic-traill 7y ago
Guy Lafleur - the Hockey Hall of Fame former Montreal Canadiens forward - was a notorious smoker in the 70s through to the 80s. You wouldn't believe it watching him skate, he was a speedster. Technique overcoming the respiratory system, I suppose. He admits smoking in intermissions between periods in this interview [0] [0] http://oilersnation.com/2013/10/16/guy-lafleur-shares-some-stories/ http://oilersnation.com/2013/10/16/guy-lafleur-shares-some-s...
- kyuudou 7y ago
  One of my roommates is a triathlete and while he's not amazingly successful, his body is clearly naturally athletic and simply completing a triathlon is in my mind quite an accomplishment. In his mid-30s, serious alcoholic and smokes a few Newports a day along with some CBD blunts a few days a week. I told him he wasn't going to be invincible for ever, though. But like me he probably won't listen until he gets some kind of diagnosis or coughs up blood or something.