# "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:** 2
**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, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dated-lines-in-media/787087/21 "2017-05-21T14:56:44Z")
> [@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. Until 1974 it was illegal for US citizens to own gold bullion. Gold prices weren’t high enough to make much of a street market for another decade. ---
**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, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dated-lines-in-media/787087/22 "2017-05-21T14:59:30Z")
> [@Andy\_L](#): > > I thought the laugh was about someone as square as Janet having a tattoo. Only women of pretty low character had tats in 1975. So it’s a little of both. ---
**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 21, 2017, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dated-lines-in-media/787087/23 "2017-05-21T15:19:00Z")
> [@Pantastic](#): > > 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. Well put. > [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > Only women of pretty low character had tats in 1975. So it’s a little of both. Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2017, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dated-lines-in-media/787087/24 "2017-05-21T16:24:03Z")
> [@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. …or say thank you. My contribution is Paul McCartney’s song Rock Show, where he states “and the ring at the end of my nose makes me look rather pretty”. In 1975, a ring in your nose would have labeled you pretty damn freakish. Today, not so much. mmm ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2017, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dated-lines-in-media/787087/25 "2017-05-21T18:09:14Z")
I was reading an old mystery and came across a kid being referred to as “half pint.” Would anyone today use that? Would kids know what a half pint was? ---
**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 21, 2017, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dated-lines-in-media/787087/26 "2017-05-21T18:41:01Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > Would anyone today use that? Would kids know what a half pint was? Yes, and yes? ---
**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 21, 2017, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dated-lines-in-media/787087/27 "2017-05-21T18:51:17Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > I was reading an old mystery and came across a kid being referred to as “half pint.” > > Would anyone today use that? Would kids know what a half pint was? They would if they watched “Little House on the Prairie” or read the books. ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2017, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dated-lines-in-media/787087/28 "2017-05-21T19:24:27Z")
> [@Aspidistra](#): > > 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?” If anything, that scene plays out even funnier today—in 1965, having a phone in your shoe is futuristic, whereas in 2017, it’s hilariously quaint. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2017, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dated-lines-in-media/787087/29 "2017-05-21T19:32:26Z")
There is a scene in the movie Silkwood that fits. The movie is from the early 80s and takes place in the late 70s. What was one of the funniest scenes takes place when the protagonists fly to Washington DC. They were a bunch of small town hicks who had never been on an airplane before. After the flight attendant served them their meal, one of the guys took out his wallet to try to pay her. It was hilarious at the time… ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2017, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dated-lines-in-media/787087/30 "2017-05-21T19:45:16Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > Only women of pretty low character had tats in 1975. So it’s a little of both. During the Depression, a woman could get a few tats, and become a sideshow performer. ---
**Author:** ![Flyer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/flyer/32/7298_2.png) [@Flyer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flyer)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2017, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dated-lines-in-media/787087/31 "2017-05-21T20:03:20Z")
> [@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. That’s no problem–any fiction writer worth his salt can come up with an excuse why a cellphone doesn’t work. It may be a lame excuse, but nobody seems to care. It’s already become a cliche. Clips from a bunch of movies: > **[Cell Phones Are Useless - TV Tropes](https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/CellPhonesAreUseless)** > > With the advent of the computer age, writers still don't quite know how to work Cell Phones into a story. It used to be all you had to do for a survival adventure story was plop a bunch of people away from electricity to completely strand them at … ---
**Author:** ![Mr\_Shine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mr_shine/32/464_2.png) [@Mr\_Shine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Shine)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2017, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dated-lines-in-media/787087/32 "2017-05-21T20:27:50Z")
I imagine virtually all the lines The Donald has in his various sitcom appearances over the years will have a different connotation, innocent self-mocking lines turning into harbinger of disaster. ---
**Author:** ![Mr\_Shine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mr_shine/32/464_2.png) [@Mr\_Shine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Shine)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2017, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dated-lines-in-media/787087/33 "2017-05-21T20:36:09Z")
> [@hajario](#): > > There is a scene in the movie Silkwood that fits. The movie is from the early 80s and takes place in the late 70s. What was one of the funniest scenes takes place when the protagonists fly to Washington DC. They were a bunch of small town hicks who had never been on an airplane before. After the flight attendant served them their meal, one of the guys took out his wallet to try to pay her. It was hilarious at the time… I’m drawing a blank. Why would the scene be less funny now? ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2017, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dated-lines-in-media/787087/34 "2017-05-21T20:57:44Z")
Because you actually do have to pay for meals on a plane now. They used to be provided at no additional charge. Sent from my XT1635-02 using Tapatalk ---
**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, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dated-lines-in-media/787087/35 "2017-05-21T21:11:27Z")
> [@Flyer](#): > > That’s no problem–any fiction writer worth his salt can come up with an excuse why a cellphone doesn’t work. It may be a lame excuse, but nobody seems to care. It’s already become a cliche. Of course, they just run Scotty’s doubletalk generator on the plot. But it takes that contrivance to make things work, when in the real world, almost everyone has a cell phone that works 99% of the time, so the contrivance stands out like a purple elephant. ---
**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, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dated-lines-in-media/787087/36 "2017-05-21T21:13:02Z")
> [@hajario](#): > > There is a scene in the movie Silkwood that fits. The movie is from the early 80s and takes place in the late 70s. What was one of the funniest scenes takes place when the protagonists fly to Washington DC. They were a bunch of small town hicks who had never been on an airplane before. After the flight attendant served them their meal, one of the guys took out his wallet to try to pay her. It was hilarious at the time… _That’s_ where that scene is from. Thanks. (Been one of those back-brain itches for a long time.) ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2017, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dated-lines-in-media/787087/37 "2017-05-21T21:38:17Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > I was reading an old mystery and came across a kid being referred to as “half pint.” > > Would anyone today use that? Would kids know what a half pint was? It’s English kids one would wonder about: do they know what a half-pint is? What a shilling is? ---
**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, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dated-lines-in-media/787087/38 "2017-05-21T22:30:27Z")
> [@PastTense](#): > > It’s English kids one would wonder about: do they know what a half-pint is? Yeah, it’s the size you have your beer if you need to go back to work after 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2017, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dated-lines-in-media/787087/39 "2017-05-22T01:12:42Z")
> [@PastTense](#): > > It’s English kids one would wonder about: do they know what a half-pint is? What a shilling is? I wouldn’t go by that. There are tons of expressions used in everyday conversation today, the origins of which the vast majority have no clue. mmm ---
**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 22, 2017, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dated-lines-in-media/787087/40 "2017-05-22T03:08:39Z")
> [@Andy\_L](#): > > I thought the laugh was about someone as square as Janet having a tattoo. > [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > Only women of pretty low character had tats in 1975. So it’s a little of both. > [@RivkahChaya](#): > > During the Depression, a woman could get a few tats, and become a sideshow performer. I don’t think people nowadays realize how uncommon it used to be for a woman to have a tattoo. As RivkahChaya noted, a woman with tattoos could actually get employed in a side show. This is [Laura Richmond](http://img7.bdbphotos.com/images/huge/9/t/9trbqvrhnhgprtqr.jpg?djet1p5k) (no nudity but be advised it’s mildly NSFW). Notice the small barely noticeable tattoo on her back? This was considered a big deal when she posed for Playboy. And that was in 1988. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dated-lines-in-media/787087.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dated-lines-in-media/787087.md?page=3)