# "Dated" lines in media **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 20, 2017, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dated-lines-in-media/787087 "2017-05-20T16:54:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2017, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dated-lines-in-media/787087/1 "2017-05-20T16:54:00Z")
A few days ago, all the mentions of the _American Gods_ series made me reread the novel, and one line in particular caught my eye, where someone being offered a payment in gold coins complained, saying something like “do you think there are places that buy gold on every corner?” Why yes, yes there are. So what other lines stand out as particularly outdated now? ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2017, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dated-lines-in-media/787087/2 "2017-05-20T17:02:05Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > A few days ago, all the mentions of the _American Gods_ series made me reread the novel, and one line in particular caught my eye, where someone being offered a payment in gold coins complained, saying something like “do you think there are places that buy gold on every corner?” > > Why yes, yes there are. > > So what other lines stand out as particularly outdated now? I recently read Spider Robinson’s “Time Pressure” (written in the early 1980s but taking place in the early 1970s). There’s a scene when a character is on the phone with a friend, asking him to come over as soon as possible to provide much needed help. At the end of the conversation the friend says “Look, it’s hard to run full tilt like this and talk on the phone. See you sooner.” This is intended to be a cute and whimsical way for the friend to indicate that the sooner he hangs up, the sooner he’ll arrive, since, obviously, he can’t actually be running while talking on the phone in 1973 (or even 1981), but in our world of cell phones, it seems just like a straightforward statement, hardly whimsical at all. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2017, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dated-lines-in-media/787087/3 "2017-05-20T17:06:01Z")
In Jim Croce’s song _Operator_ the singer, near the end, thanks the operator he’s been on the line with _“Thank you for your time, you can keep the dime”_ Today’s kids probably don’t know what a phone operator is/was, and most won’t know about pay phones. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2017, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dated-lines-in-media/787087/4 "2017-05-20T17:16:41Z")
Pretty much every plot or story twist based on the absence of mobile phones in pre-80s literature is obsolete. Many movies have scenes or events that simply wouldn’t be a problem if the character could pull out a flip-phone, and it’s rarely explained in any way… it just is/was, and we all knew it. Anything to do with milk delivery, which I understand is still done or back in some chic neighborhoods, but vanished as a general thing when I was a wee tot. Phrases like “wee tot.” WRT mobile phones, though, I was always impressed that Heinlein not only conceived technologically valid versions of them, but often introduced them in the context of a problem. One 1939 story has the older character unable to dial them correctly. An early juvenile (1948) has the character’s parents bothering him… and his companion was smart enough to pack his away, just to prevent such meddling. Pretty prescient stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Aspidistra](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspidistra/32/3894_2.png) [@Aspidistra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspidistra)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2017, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dated-lines-in-media/787087/5 "2017-05-20T17:40:19Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > A few days ago, all the mentions of the _American Gods_ series made me reread the novel, and one line in particular caught my eye, where someone being offered a payment in gold coins complained, saying something like “do you think there are places that buy gold on every corner?” > > Why yes, yes there are. > > So what other lines stand out as particularly outdated now? Is that line _dated_, as such, or you just don’t think it’s accurate? I hadn’t particularly noticed many places that buy gold in my local area, and I’m not quite sure if there are more or less now than in 1990. F’r instance, if I google “gold dealers” I get maybe a dozen or so in my city. So…easier to find a gold dealer than, say, a trampoline salesman, a lot harder than, say, a bike shop. Doesn’t really strike me as “on every corner”. What am I missing? Back to the spirit of the OP… My favourite “holy crap that’s dated” dialogue is from 1974 kids’ book _The Ogre Downstairs_ (paraphrased from memory) “He hit me!”, said Jonathan. “Aren’t you going to say anything?” Caspar paused. Douglas was, technically, the oldest child, and nobody disputed the eldest’s right to hit a younger sibling who cheeked him. And Jonathan \*had \*undoubtedly cheeked him. “I suppose it should have been me that hit you.” he said. “I will, if you like.” ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2017, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dated-lines-in-media/787087/6 "2017-05-20T17:59:39Z")
There’s the scene in _The Rocky Horror Picture Show_ where Frank asks Janet if she has any tattoos. The idea of a woman having a tattoo got a laugh back in 1975. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2017, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dated-lines-in-media/787087/7 "2017-05-20T18:09:39Z")
> [@Aspidistra](#): > > Is that line _dated_, as such, or you just don’t think it’s accurate? I hadn’t particularly noticed many places that buy gold in my local area, and I’m not quite sure if there are more or less now than in 1990. It seems to me that the number of “cash for gold” places has vastly increased since 1990 (but maybe dropped down a little since the price of gold was at its peak.) So while they are not literally “on every corner”, somebody in any town bigger than three people and a cat would have no problem finding somebody buying gold. ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2017, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dated-lines-in-media/787087/8 "2017-05-20T18:23:23Z")
> [@](#): > > Pretty much every plot or story twist based on the absence of mobile phones in pre-80s literature is obsolete. Many movies have scenes or events that simply wouldn’t be a problem if the character could pull out a flip-phone, and it’s rarely explained in any way… it just is/was, and we all knew it. Sue Grafton intentionally sets her Kinsey Milhone novels in the early 80s so she doesn’t have to deal with cell phones and Internet. ---
**Author:** ![Aspidistra](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspidistra/32/3894_2.png) [@Aspidistra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspidistra)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2017, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dated-lines-in-media/787087/9 "2017-05-20T19:25:56Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > It seems to me that the number of “cash for gold” places has vastly increased since 1990 (but maybe dropped down a little since the price of gold was at its peak.) So while they are not literally “on every corner”, somebody in any town bigger than three people and a cat would have no problem finding somebody buying gold. How strange. I totally don’t notice this being a thing in Australia. I mean, obviously you can find jewellery stores that will buy gold if you go looking for them but they’re certainly not ubiquitous, or even that common. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2017, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dated-lines-in-media/787087/10 "2017-05-20T19:40:42Z")
Well, you won’t find many in the more reputable parts of town, but usually the same sorts of places that sell prepaid cell phones and offer payday loans will also deal in gold. One of my favorites was from the original _The Day the Earth Stood Still_. Two Earthling doctors are examining the alien (who appears human). One comments on his age, saying that he’s 90-something years old, even though he looks to be in the prime of life. “Really? How does he account for that?” “Better medical science, he says.” And as the doctor is saying this, he’s lighting up a cigarette. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2017, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dated-lines-in-media/787087/11 "2017-05-20T19:41:52Z")
> [@Aspidistra](#): > > How strange. I totally don’t notice this being a thing in Australia. I mean, obviously you can find jewellery stores that will buy gold if you go looking for them but they’re certainly not ubiquitous, or even that common. It’s because there is an active network of conservative news outlets, libertarian/freemen agitators, and straight up con men who are driving a certain segment of the population into a frenzy, which includes the idea that buying and selling gold is good planning for the future. ---
**Author:** ![DoctorJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctorj/32/2904_2.png) [@DoctorJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DoctorJ)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2017, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dated-lines-in-media/787087/12 "2017-05-20T19:56:39Z")
HOMER: There can be only one truly great music festival a lifetime, and it’s the Us Festival. RECORD STORE CLERK: The what festival? HOMER: The Us Festival! Yeesh! It was sponsored by that guy from Apple Computers. RECORD STORE CLERK: What computers? From the “Homerpalooza” episode, first aired in 1996, during Apple’s years in the wilderness. ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2017, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dated-lines-in-media/787087/13 "2017-05-20T19:56:44Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > One of my favorites was from the original _The Day the Earth Stood Still_. Two Earthling doctors are examining the alien (who appears human). One comments on his age, saying that he’s 90-something years old, even though he looks to be in the prime of life. “Really? How does he account for that?” “Better medical science, he says.” And as the doctor is saying this, he’s lighting up a cigarette. I think this was a deliberate joke, though. It’s not like the idea that cigarettes have bad effects was unknown then; it just wasn’t widely accepted. > [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > There’s the scene in _The Rocky Horror Picture Show_ where Frank asks Janet if she has any tattoos. The idea of a woman having a tattoo got a laugh back in 1975. I thought the laugh was about someone as square as Janet having a tattoo. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2017, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dated-lines-in-media/787087/14 "2017-05-20T20:12:11Z")
> [@DoctorJ](#): > > HOMER: The Us Festival! Yeesh! It was sponsored by that guy from Apple Computers. > RECORD STORE CLERK: What computers? Okay, that reminds me of [this](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UlJku_CSyNg) classic video clip. ---
**Author:** ![Aspidistra](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspidistra/32/3894_2.png) [@Aspidistra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspidistra)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2017, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dated-lines-in-media/787087/15 "2017-05-21T03:39:39Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > It’s because there is an active network of conservative news outlets, libertarian/freemen agitators, and straight up con men who are driving a certain segment of the population into a frenzy, which includes the idea that buying and selling gold is good planning for the future. Ah! Ok, here’s another one. If you really want to blow your mind, try watching the opening scene of _Get Smart_ (TOS) with a pre-teen. The scene is at the opera and in the middle of the crowd, while everyone is hushed and listening to the music, Max’s Shoe Phone goes off. And the millenials are all “Duh, why didn’t he have his phone in his pocket on vibrate, like a normal person?” ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2017, 6:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dated-lines-in-media/787087/16 "2017-05-21T06:03:29Z")
[QUOTE=Neuromancer] The sky above the port was the color of television, tuned to a dead channel. [/QUOTE] When Gibson wrote that it was a cool way of saying “gray”, like static. Not blue, which is the common default for televisions these days. I recall running across a quote making fun of the original line; “The sky was the untroubled blue of a television tuned to a dead channel”. ---
**Author:** ![blindboyard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blindboyard/32/2833_2.png) [@blindboyard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blindboyard)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2017, 11:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dated-lines-in-media/787087/17 "2017-05-21T11:23:19Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > Pretty much every plot or story twist based on the absence of mobile phones in pre-80s literature is obsolete. Many movies have scenes or events that simply wouldn’t be a problem if the character could pull out a flip-phone, and it’s rarely explained in any way… it just is/was, and we all knew it. The Seinfeld episode The Chinese Restaurant, which revolves entirely around George waiting for a payphone, leaving a message on someone’s answering machine and waiting for them to phone him back on the restaurant’s phone. ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2017, 11:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dated-lines-in-media/787087/18 "2017-05-21T11:47:37Z")
> [@Baker](#): > > In Jim Croce’s song _Operator_ the singer, near the end, thanks the operator he’s been on the line with _“Thank you for your time, you can keep the dime”_ > > Today’s kids probably don’t know what a phone operator is/was, and most won’t know about pay phones. Also, “Memphis,” by Johnny Rivers (among others), which features the lines: “Help me, information, get in touch with my Marie She’s the only one who’d call me here from Memphis Tennessee Her home is on the south side, high upon a ridge Just a half a mile from the Mississippi bridge” Even as a kid (I was born in 1973), I understood that if _I_ used directions like that with Information, I’d get nowhere. Early Stephen King (his 1970s and early 80s stuff, mostly) is loaded with this stuff. In “Gramma,” the protagonist is a child home alone with his dying grandmother. At one point, he has to use the phone, and they’re still on the [“party line”](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Party_line_(telephony)) system, so he has to ask others to hang up so he can call. ---
**Author:** ![Pantastic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3bc359/32.png) [@Pantastic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pantastic)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2017, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dated-lines-in-media/787087/19 "2017-05-21T13:42:27Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > When Gibson wrote that it was a cool way of saying “gray”, like static. Not blue, which is the common default for televisions these days. What I like about the line is that it meant much more than just a color; talking about a television tuned to a dead channel evoked a lot of mental images that help set the tone. When it was current you’d think of someone passed out drunk in the couch who didn’t turn off the TV, someone depressed and unwilling to face life who just left the TV on even though the channel is fake, someone trying to find a show but just clicking through static, and similar things. It sets a dreary and depressing tone as a background for the scene without using a whole lot of words. I don’t think there’s a simple modern equivalent - channels tend to run 24 hours, there are so many channels and streaming options, and TVs typically auto-sleep so you don’t generally see a ‘static’ screen for long even if the TV does something other than black. And I think the loss of the metaphorical significance is bigger than just the color change. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2017, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dated-lines-in-media/787087/20 "2017-05-21T14:52:58Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > Sue Grafton intentionally sets her Kinsey Milhone novels in the early 80s so she doesn’t have to deal with cell phones and Internet. If i just knew how to pronounce “Millhone” I’d be okay with it. 🙂 [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dated-lines-in-media/787087.md?page=2)