14 photos that prove people in the past aged way faster than today

Twitter user Brandon McCarthy posed a somewhat muddled question to the world and it triggered one of the most hilarious threads. "This is nonsense," he wrote, "but did people in the past look older when they were younger?" In other words, did people used to age way more rapidly than they do today?

Hundreds of people responded with pictures proving that yes, this is indeed the case. People who were 30 years old in the 1920s and '30s look like people in their 40s and 50s today. It's bizarre! The following pictures are proof of this phenomenon. 

Was it the clothes they were wearing? The hairstyles? The fact that the photo is in black and white? But the pleated pants up to his chest is one thing. The receding hairline at 23 years old is another thing.

There are a few pictures of The Rock as a young man floating around the internet, and if I'm being totally honest, they're not enough. We need more. We deserve them. That pencil thin, Gomez Addams mustache really is something else. 

George Wendt I can kind of believe because even though he's in an old man suit, he has sort of a baby face. But John Ratzenberger? Thirty-four years old?! What happened to him?

Several people included soccer players from the '60s and '70s on this list because they all looked so old for some reason. I cannot believe Sir Bobby Charlton was only 32 in this picture. He looks like Paul Simon's cranky older brother.

This is truly insane. If I was presented with these pictures and asked to guess their ages, I would have, with no hesitation, said Buddy Holly was 16, Ritchie Valens was 33, and The Big Bopper was...also 33. Buddy Holly looks like a child.  

This phenomenon is particularly dramatic in people's family photos for some reason. The craziest part is that the baby is only two months old! OK, I made that up. 

My parents are about the same age as the grandparents in these photos, and they look way, way younger than this.  

Even in the '90s, people looked far older than they do today. Otis Nixon may have been 36, but he looks like he had the most stressful baseball career in the history of the sport.  

Wrestlers do a lot of crazy things to their bodies, but 26. Twenty-six. There is probably no point in history at which he would look 26 years old. He probably came out of the womb with that beard. 

This cannot be. To be fair, Ralph Macchio has always had an extreme baby face. But still, these two do not at all seem like they're the same age. Maybe it's because Ralph Macchio waxes on more than Pat Morita, if you know what I mean (I don't even know what I mean).

Sure, this is a crazy fact, but even crazier to me is that Jean Stapleton, who played Edith Bunker, is one year older than Carroll O'Connor. She looks so much younger than him!!

I thought this guy kind of looked like every guy on my college's baseball team, but then I realized he has a very blond mustache, which ages him so much. Why were mustaches such a thing? I'm glad we've graduated to beards. Beards are better than mustaches.

It really seems like having a career in soccer in the '60s or '70s did something to a man because they all looked extremely old. I really have a hard time believing this guy is 24. In this picture, he looks just like Prince Philip today, and he's 98. 

I have to be honest; I didn't know much about Hank Williams. I had no idea that he died when he was only 29 years old... probably because he looks at least 37 in this photo.

I knew that Otis Redding died at a young age, but I didn't realize he was 26. He looks way older than that, and I'm telling you, it's the mustache. Fellas. Mustaches age you 15 years minimum. Take that into consideration before you decide to grow one. 

This article was originally published on January 3, 2020. It has since been updated.