How did "Recents" folder work in older macOS versions?

Is it true that in older versions of macOS, most probably in the years between Leopard and Mavericks, the “Recents” folder in Finder not only called but also worked differently, in a more useful way?

I remember for sure that about two years ago I heard something like this and even found a solution how to re-implement the old behavior by using the Smart Folder feature. But now I cannot trace where I read about this. Not even the description of the old behavior.