ladbible homepage
ladbible homepage
  • iconNews
  • videos
  • entertainment
  • Home
  • News
    • UK
    • US
    • World
    • Ireland
    • Australia
    • Science
    • Crime
    • Weather
  • Entertainment
    • Celebrity
    • TV
    • Film
    • Music
    • Gaming
    • Netflix
    • Disney
  • Sport
  • Technology
  • Travel
  • Lifestyle
  • Money
  • Originals
    • FFS PRODUCTIONS
    • Say Maaate to a Mate
    • Daily Ladness
    • UOKM8?
    • FreeToBe
    • Citizen Reef
  • Advertise
  • Terms
  • Privacy & Cookies
  • License Our Content
  • About Us & Contact
  • Jobs
  • Latest
  • Archive
  • Topics A-Z
  • Authors
Facebook
Instagram
X
Threads
Snapchat
TikTok
YouTube
Submit Your Content Here
  • SPORTbible
  • Tyla
  • GAMINGbible
  • LADbible Group
  • UNILAD
  • FOODbible
  • UNILAD Tech
Man reacts to seeing iPhones and Times Square after spending 44 years in prison

Home> News> Technology

Published 19:58 9 Jan 2026 GMT

Man reacts to seeing iPhones and Times Square after spending 44 years in prison

Former inmate Otis Johnson walked into a completely different world after finishing his sentence

Brenna Cooper

Brenna Cooper

google discoverFollow us on Google Discover

A US man who spent over four decades behind bars had an astonishing reaction after seeing how the world had changed.

In May 1970, martial arts teacher Otis Johnson, then 25, was sentenced for the attempted murder of a police officer - a crime which he has never admitted to - and handed a 25-to-life sentence.

It would be another 44 years before Johnson would see the wider world again, when he was released in August 2014.

At 69 years old, he was then handed an ID, documents discussing his criminal case history, two bus tickets, and $40 (£32.04) before being sent off into society once again.

Advert

Something which would've been completely overwhelming for a man who would've been used to rotary dial phones and bell-bottom trousers.

Life in 2014 was very different to 1970 (YouTube/Al Jazeera)
Life in 2014 was very different to 1970 (YouTube/Al Jazeera)

Unsurprisingly, catching up on numerous major world events and an entire digital revolution was overwhelming for Johnson, who told Al Jazeera: "Prison affected me a lot. My re-entry was a little bit hard at first, because things have changed."

Now Johnson had been thrust into a world of iPhones, electronic billboards and tiny wired headphones, the latter of which made every passerby resemble stereotypical CIA agents.

"On the windows?! I ain't never seen anything like this before! Look! On the windows," Johnson said of the rolling billboards which paint New York's Times Square, something which is completely normal to a person who has grown up in the past couple of decades, but completely alien to a man who essentially time-travelled from the 1970s to the 2010s.

"We ain't seen nothing on no windows but people walking by, not no video," he laughed, before sharing his thoughts about the people who passed through the thoroughfare.

Despite the momentous adjustment, Otis was happy to be in society again (YouTube/Al Jazeera)
Despite the momentous adjustment, Otis was happy to be in society again (YouTube/Al Jazeera)

"I was looking at the atmosphere, the new things that was happening and I seen that the majority of people were talking to themselves," he continued.

Moving on to the topic of people appearing glued to their iPhones, Johnson went on to explain why they resembled secret agents to him.

"Then I look closely, and they seemed to have things in their ears. I don't know with those things, the phone things...iPhones they call them or something like that?" he said.

"I thought, 'What, everybody became CIA or agents and stuff like that?' Because that's the only thing I can think of if somebody walking around with wires in the ears. That's what they had when I was out during the 60s and the 70s."

Even a simple task such as buying food was completely baffling to Johnson, who was surprised by the 'crazy' amount of stuff available in his local supermarkets.

"I eat different things now because I'm looking at all this crazy stuff they got," he said. "The funny dinners, different coloured drinks.

"There's so many things that you can eat, so it's a hard choice to pick out the food that you want. For instance, the peanut butter - it had jelly in it?

"And I ain't never seen nothing like that before, it definitely wasn't in the prison system. Peanut butter and jelly in the same place, in a jar? That that was strange."

Featured Image Credit: YouTube/Al Jazeera

Topics: Technology, iPhone, Crime

Brenna Cooper
Brenna Cooper

Brenna Cooper is a journalist at LADbible. She graduated from the University of Sheffield with a degree in History, followed by an NCTJ accredited masters in Journalism. She began her career as a freelance writer for Digital Spy, where she wrote about all things TV, film and showbiz. Her favourite topics to cover are music, travel and any bizarre pop culture.

X

@_brencoco

Recommended reads

US army 'going hungry' after horrifying images of food emergesentdefender/XCharity cuts ties with Sharon Osbourne as she backs Tommy Robinson rallySteve Granitz/FilmMagicTrump-endorser Caitlyn Jenner can no longer travel internationally because of Trump's passport policy(Photo by Mike Marsland/Mike Marsland/Getty Images for Sky)Bride reveals ongoing trauma after sister-in-law throws black paint over her in brutal act of revenge(Cover Images)

Advert

Choose your content:

4 hours ago
5 hours ago
  • (Photo by Mike Marsland/Mike Marsland/Getty Images for Sky)
    4 hours ago

    Trump-endorser Caitlyn Jenner can no longer travel internationally because of Trump's passport policy

    The US President passed an executive order mandating that passports can only list a person's birth gender

    News
  • (Cover Images)
    4 hours ago

    Bride reveals ongoing trauma after sister-in-law throws black paint over her in brutal act of revenge

    Gemma Monk's mental health suffered after the horrifying attack

    News
  • (Koin Archives)
    5 hours ago

    Proof emerges that solves mystery of family who disappeared more than 60 years ago

    There has been a DNA breakthrough in the case of the missing Martin family, who were last seen in 1958

    News
  • Arturo Holmes/Getty Images for Coachella
    5 hours ago

    Horrific message displayed above Coachella Festival as singer d4vd arrested for murder

    The origin of the message and its meaning are unknown so it may be a coincidence

    News
  • Man freed from prison after 30 years makes startling observation about how the world has changed
  • People divided after Apple announce prices of brand new iPhones including 'thinnest ever'
  • Many stolen iPhones from all over the world have been tracked to one single building
  • Five-second trick protects iPhones when locked after 1,000 stolen phones seized in a week