These Pictures Show That Parents Are Much Cooler Than Kids Give Them Credit For

Whether we want to realize it or not, we're eventually going to be like our parents in some way, even if it's small. We could steal their laugh, their career path, or everything in between. While some people will groan at the thought of being like their "less hip" parents, but we need to remember that they too lived a life before we knew them.

The pictures in this article show the exact moment when kids realized their parents were way cooler than them. It became a trend to share pictures of parents living their best life (probably before they had kids) and these are the best submissions.

Pinning Down Chuck Norris

chuck norris and dad in a grapple
Reddit / LanaDelRayquaza
Reddit / LanaDelRayquaza

You're sitting at the kitchen table with your dad and out of the blue he says, "you know, I once pinned down Chuck Norris back in my prime," to which everyone laughs.

No one believes him because that's seemingly impossible to do. So, he runs to his secret safe and pulls out this picture to shove into everyone's face. Your dad has instantly just turned into the biggest legend of all time. This picture is truly incredible.

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The Vietnam Veteran

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vietnam dad last known picture
Reddit / strawberrygnome
Reddit / strawberrygnome
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This picture was shared by someone who found out that their dad was the solider who is front and center in this action shot. It's from Vietnam in 1971, and neither the kid nor the father had any idea that it even existed until they saw it on the internet.

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The Vietnam War was really the first war that was documented in a film with regularity. A lot of the pictures still have yet to surface from it.

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Dad The Zoo Keeper

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zookeeper dad with rhino
Reddit / 8_bit_Zombies
Reddit / 8_bit_Zombies
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This picture is from 1992 and shows a dad and his good friend. This "good friend" comes in an unusual form with a tusk that can knock anyone down.

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He was the only people at the time who could call the rhinos by name and they would come running over like dogs. Interestingly enough, this dad said that they like getting scratched behind the ear just like dogs too, which is adorable.

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Diving Off The Starboard Fin

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summer of 1983
Reddit / MightyCornDog
Reddit / MightyCornDog
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This picture is pretty incredible when you break it down. While this might look like a very unique pier off of a beach, it's actually a submarine. These men are in the U.S. Navy in the Pacific Ocean during the summer of 1983.

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The man jumping from the starboard fin is the dad of whoever submitted this picture, and it's quite a remarkable picture to see how people in the Navy were able to have a little fun in their off-time.

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When Your Dad Had A Pet Lion

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lions as pets as a veterinarian
Reddit / ryanb99
Reddit / ryanb99
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This picture is from 1959 and shows the father of a kid named Ryan and his veterinarian mother with their pet lion that they raised for two years.

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You know how your parents will talk about old pets that they had laying around the house? Dogs, cats, maybe even a hamster. Well, Ryan gets to hear about how his dad and grandma got to raise a lion. This is a "pics or it didn't happen moment" that is glorious.