It may be hard to imagine a time before Grindr, a time in which gay men were forced to walk the streets and interact with people in order to find a potential hookup. But did the origin of the dating app actually start earlier than we thought?

Comedy group Sad Cake uncovered an old VHS tape from 1988 that features footage of a Grindr prototype being tested on an eager gay man named Peter.

"Beyond The Year 2000" follows Peter and his giant PC computer on wheels as he searches for interested guys within a very short radius.

Along the journey, we realize how far we've truly come. If you wanted to be "discreet" online in the '80s, for example, you simply had to wear a bag on your head.

Check out the footage to learn what the early days of Grindr may have looked like.