Twitter is sharing photos from before coronavirus lockdowns and they feel impossible

Who WERE we??
 By 
Proma Khosla
 on 
Twitter is sharing photos from before coronavirus lockdowns and they feel impossible
A man takes in Western Sydney takes a photo of nearby fire in January 2020. Credit: jenny evans / Getty Images

We don't need to be told that life looked different before the coronavirus led to quarantine and lockdown measures around the world, but it's still a bizarre feeling to scroll through one's phone photos and see the evidence laid bare.

Inspired by a BBC article, Twitter users are sharing their last "normal" photo from before COVID-19 changed the world — relics of a recent past and increasingly distant future.

Live events and large gatherings were the strangest to witness, since those don't exist in the physical space anymore.


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Remember the classic overhead restaurant photo? That's a thing we don't do anymore!

Remember bars? Remember drinking at a table with another person less than six feet away?

This photo is quite frankly terrifying.

This one looks like the setup of an inevitable future horror movie set in 2020.

This brave human once rode a bus (still a necessity for many essential workers to whom we wish utmost health and safety).

Shoutout to Jem here, who went for a swim in water that other people had been in. Our lives were truly insane.

We used to march for things? All the time??

Imagine being on a trip! With people! Smiling!!

But perhaps nothing is more dated than this photo of an Elizabeth Warren rally in Detroit. What a time.

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Proma Khosla

Proma Khosla is a Senior Entertainment Reporter writing about all things TV, from ranking Bridgerton crushes to composer interviews and leading Mashable's stateside coverage of Bollywood and South Asian representation. You might also catch her hosting video explainers or on Mashable's TikTok and Reels, or tweeting silly thoughts from @promawhatup.

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