# Early inventions that were widespread, then obsolete in a generation **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 13, 2015, 7:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/early-inventions-that-were-widespread-then-obsolete-in-a-generation/725026 "2015-07-13T07:18:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 9
**Author:** ![Francis\_Vaughan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/francis_vaughan/32/3093_2.png) [@Francis\_Vaughan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Francis_Vaughan)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2015, 8:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/early-inventions-that-were-widespread-then-obsolete-in-a-generation/725026/161 "2015-07-16T08:09:15Z")
Curiously pocket calculators probably lived less than a generation - at least for geek/nurd engineers. It was once part of the uniform that an engineer had an HP calculator on his (and then it almost always was he) belt, or desk. Before that a slide rule was often part of the geek uniform - and cute little pocket ones, or circular ones part of the geek chic. Laptops and Matlab killed all that off. Now you can get math apps for your smartphone that wipe the floor with the old calculators (and emulators for many HP calculators for smartphones.) ---
**Author:** ![erysichthon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d07c76/32.png) [@erysichthon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/erysichthon)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2015, 8:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/early-inventions-that-were-widespread-then-obsolete-in-a-generation/725026/162 "2015-07-16T08:49:01Z")
> [@enipla](#): > > I think the big thing about black and white e-readers w/e-paper (or whatever, I’m thinking the Kindle Paper White) is you can read them outside in bright sun. I’m going to buy one for vacation. Otherwise, yes I read on my phone all the time. I own both an iPad and an e-ink Kindle, and there’s _no way in hell_ I’m giving up that Kindle. Cold dead hands, etc. If Amazon ever announces that they’re discontinuing them, I’m going to buy three or four. It isn’t just the “read in direct sunlight” issue. I find reading on an iPad very fatiguing. Many people have reported eyestrain from reading on tablets. ---
**Author:** ![SeniorCitizen007](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8baadc/32.png) [@SeniorCitizen007](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeniorCitizen007)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2015, 10:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/early-inventions-that-were-widespread-then-obsolete-in-a-generation/725026/163 "2015-07-16T10:07:16Z")
I used a Curta (a hand-held mechanical calculator) in the 50s when I worked in a laboratory. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2015, 10:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/early-inventions-that-were-widespread-then-obsolete-in-a-generation/725026/164 "2015-07-16T10:52:41Z")
> [@SeniorCitizen007](#): > > I used a Curta (a hand-held mechanical calculator) in the 50s when I worked in a laboratory. Now \*there’s \*a piece of obsolete tech I’d love to have. I don’t know of any available at whimsical impulse purchase prices though. ---
**Author:** ![Kenm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bc79bd/32.png) [@Kenm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kenm)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2015, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/early-inventions-that-were-widespread-then-obsolete-in-a-generation/725026/165 "2015-07-16T15:43:32Z")
> [@erysichthon](#): > > I find reading on an iPad very fatiguing. Many people have reported eyestrain from reading on tablets. Try white type on black. It makes a huge difference for me. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2015, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/early-inventions-that-were-widespread-then-obsolete-in-a-generation/725026/166 "2015-07-16T16:05:55Z")
> [@Kenm](#): > > Try white type on black. It makes a huge difference for me. That’s how I read on my phone. I figure it use less power too. Still gonna get a Kindle so I can read outside. Hope I can sync my phone and Kindle. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2015, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/early-inventions-that-were-widespread-then-obsolete-in-a-generation/725026/167 "2015-07-16T16:58:50Z")
I don’t know if it counts as an invention, but the Pony Express lasted only about a year. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2015, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/early-inventions-that-were-widespread-then-obsolete-in-a-generation/725026/168 "2015-07-16T17:13:50Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > Answering machines. > > Food processors. > > Pornographic magazines. > > Leg warmers. > > Aerobics. > > . All of these are still in common use. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2015, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/early-inventions-that-were-widespread-then-obsolete-in-a-generation/725026/169 "2015-07-16T17:15:42Z")
> [@leahcim](#): > > The electric pencil sharpener arrived on the scene just in time for mechanical pencils to make its functionality moot. Except mechanical pencils dont work well, IMHO, and you can still buy regular pencils everywhere.:rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2015, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/early-inventions-that-were-widespread-then-obsolete-in-a-generation/725026/170 "2015-07-16T17:19:45Z")
> [@bump](#): > > It might be useful to define “obsolete”. A lot of you are taking obsolete to mean “no longer used”, which isn’t the definition that (IMO) is most applicable. > > . No, a lot of people are taking “obsolete to mean” that\* they \*no longer use it since they are so very cool and hip, thus of course _no-one_ uses it, and they are so hip and cool they can’t see that it’s still in common use. :p:D ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2015, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/early-inventions-that-were-widespread-then-obsolete-in-a-generation/725026/171 "2015-07-16T17:26:11Z")
**Pony Express** - lasted 19 months, and in fact was never very effective. Maybe not a “invention”. (damn beat by madmonk28!) **Mercurochrome** (altho I am told it’s still in use in some other nations! :eek:) ---
**Author:** ![Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/marvin_the_martian/32/2898_2.png) [@Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marvin_the_Martian)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2015, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/early-inventions-that-were-widespread-then-obsolete-in-a-generation/725026/172 "2015-07-16T18:56:38Z")
(1) The Gatling gun - invented during the Civil War, obsoleted by the turn of the century by the machine gun (I mean as a field armament, not the modern rotary cannon on airplanes and helicopters). (2) The dirigible (rigid airship) - the premier way to travel for a time between the world wars. Advances in passenger airplanes killed them off, plus a rather spotty safety record (ignoring the Hindenburg, even the American airships which used helium (not available to the Germans) pretty much all ended up crashing). (3) Steel or iron hulled sailing (cargo) ships (windjammers) - while some remained in service for a long time, they were mostly all built during a 30 year period at the end of the 19th century. ---
**Author:** ![Habeed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a587f6/32.png) [@Habeed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Habeed)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2015, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/early-inventions-that-were-widespread-then-obsolete-in-a-generation/725026/173 "2015-07-16T19:35:48Z")
> [@enipla](#): > > That’s how I read on my phone. I figure it use less power too. The default setting should be white on black (or grey on dark blue, whatever). Doesn’t use less power unless the phone has an OLED, which most phones do not use. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2015, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/early-inventions-that-were-widespread-then-obsolete-in-a-generation/725026/174 "2015-07-16T20:47:58Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > No, a lot of people are taking “obsolete to mean” that\* they \*no longer use it since they are so very cool and hip, thus of course _no-one_ uses it, and they are so hip and cool they can’t see that it’s still in common use. :p:D You’re right, that isn’t it either. But ultimately, the definition doesn’t have much to do with common use; something can be available to be bought, still widely used, and very, very obsolete. Fax machines are a great example. There’s nothing that a fax machine can do that a scanner/copier can’t do (most these days are essentially digital scanners anyway), except connect to another fax machine at glacial speed. I mean, I can scan a 20 page document and email it to someone in a fraction of the time that I can send the same thing via fax machine, and to shine it up even more, the digital copy can be in color and in higher resolution than the fax. Fax machines are as obsolete as buggy whips,but people still need fax machines because there are some companies and people stuck on the things, despite decades of better alternatives. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2015, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/early-inventions-that-were-widespread-then-obsolete-in-a-generation/725026/175 "2015-07-16T21:23:00Z")
> [@bump](#): > > You’re right, that isn’t it either. But ultimately, the definition doesn’t have much to do with common use; something can be available to be bought, still widely used, and very, very obsolete. > > Fax machines are a great example. There’s nothing that a fax machine can do that a scanner/copier can’t do (most these days are essentially digital scanners anyway), except connect to another fax machine at glacial speed. I mean, I can scan a 20 page document and email it to someone in a fraction of the time that I can send the same thing via fax machine, and to shine it up even more, the digital copy can be in color and in higher resolution than the fax. > > Fax machines are as obsolete as buggy whips,but people still need fax machines because there are some companies and people stuck on the things, despite decades of better alternatives. “You keep using that word, I do not think it means what you think it means” **ob·so·lete: no longer produced or used; out of date** You likely mean\* obsolescent.\* In any case, mechanical vs wood pencil is a matter of personal taste, some prefer one, other the other. Many/most professional artists use wood pencils, not mechanical. Same with Food processors, etc. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2015, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/early-inventions-that-were-widespread-then-obsolete-in-a-generation/725026/176 "2015-07-20T16:16:52Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > “You keep using that word, I do not think it means what you think it means” > **ob·so·lete: no longer produced or used; out of date** > > You likely mean\* obsolescent.\* > > In any case, mechanical vs wood pencil is a matter of personal taste, some prefer one, other the other. Many/most professional artists use wood pencils, not mechanical. Same with Food processors, etc. It’s the “out of date” part that’s probably most important- plenty of obsolete stuff is still produced and used; photographic film, floppy drives, military equipment, etc… Nobody’s going to argue that a 1.44 floppy isn’t obsolete, yet you can buy new production diskettes and drives ($20 for a USB external 1.44 floppy drive), so clearly the “out of date” part is what applies in most cases. Similarly, you _can_ still buy a buggy whip, and even a buggy and a horse to go with it. Doesn’t make it any less obsolete. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2015, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/early-inventions-that-were-widespread-then-obsolete-in-a-generation/725026/177 "2015-07-20T17:16:58Z")
> [@Blue\_Blistering\_Barnacle](#): > > I was at an auto dealership, waiting on my recall repair. They had the Keurig style coffee. Yes, I had my coffee cup in a minute or two. But at the other dealer, with a pot of coffee, I could have had it in seconds! You notice the time, if you’re just standing around. I’m no great fan of Keurig. But as between a fresh-brewed cup of even WalMart brand K-cup knockoff coffee and a cup of perk grind Maxwell House from a pot brewed three hours ago in a clapped out never-washed Mr. Coffee I know which one I prefer. And it ain’t the Mr. Coffee even if that is almost 120 whole entire seconds quicker. ---
**Author:** ![Blue\_Blistering\_Barnacle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blue_blistering_barnacle/32/3386_2.png) [@Blue\_Blistering\_Barnacle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blue_Blistering_Barnacle)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2015, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/early-inventions-that-were-widespread-then-obsolete-in-a-generation/725026/178 "2015-07-21T00:33:25Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > I’m no great fan of Keurig. > > But as between a fresh-brewed cup of even WalMart brand K-cup knockoff coffee and a cup of perk grind Maxwell House from a pot brewed three hours ago in a clapped out never-washed Mr. Coffee I know which one I prefer. > > And it ain’t the Mr. Coffee even if that is almost 120 whole entire seconds quicker. I have a love-hate relationship with coffee. Sometimes, I love to hate it- keeps me awake better. I was never a coffee drinker until after college- and then the coffee I drank to stay awake came from a vending machine. I think the awful taste made it more effective. ---
**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:** [July 21, 2015, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/early-inventions-that-were-widespread-then-obsolete-in-a-generation/725026/179 "2015-07-21T01:17:26Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > But as between a fresh-brewed cup of even WalMart brand K-cup knockoff coffee and a cup of perk grind Maxwell House from a pot brewed three hours ago in a clapped out never-washed Mr. Coffee I know which one I prefer. Keurig is a good choice for community and public service - waiting rooms where the wait might be more than 5 minutes, most office staff rooms where there’s no consensus on or need for a pot of coffee, etc. I am not convinced it’s a good choice _anywhere else_, though, and that’s the counter argument I see most often. It seems to be a case of a solution that went looking for an expanded market on somewhat flimsy pretenses… kind of like all the restaurant-ish espresso machines everyone had to have a few years ago. ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2015, 11:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/early-inventions-that-were-widespread-then-obsolete-in-a-generation/725026/180 "2015-07-21T11:52:07Z")
> [@naita](#): > > [Microform - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microform) > > And I used microfilm readers myself for research early in this century. My library has them-gathering dust-I never see anyone using them. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/early-inventions-that-were-widespread-then-obsolete-in-a-generation/725026.md?page=8) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/early-inventions-that-were-widespread-then-obsolete-in-a-generation/725026.md?page=10)