Many cultural critics freaked out when people started riding newfangled bicycles in the 19th century. In fact, their complaints sound so much like modern-day writers’ complaints about e-scooters, Christopher Ingraham of the Washington Post created a quiz to see if you can tell the difference between Victorian and contemporary scolds.
A few example questions:
“The new two-wheeled transportation options are no casual amusement.”
“Seize, break, destroy… all such machines found running on the sidewalks.”
“The gentlemen [x]ing coolly across our city streets and sidewalks at 15 miles an hour, the wind gently flapping their ties and tousling their hair, are indifferent to your angry glares.”
“It is better to make safe machines than to pooh-pooh the fears of people who don’t want to get their craniums cracked.”
I scored 8/10