# End of the newspaper, gas cars & analog TV eras. What other "eras" are coming to a close? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 4, 2009, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/end-of-the-newspaper-gas-cars-analog-tv-eras-what-other-eras-are-coming-to-a-close/501911 "2009-07-04T17:23:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Alex\_Dubinsky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dbc845/32.png) [@Alex\_Dubinsky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alex_Dubinsky)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2009, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/end-of-the-newspaper-gas-cars-analog-tv-eras-what-other-eras-are-coming-to-a-close/501911/41 "2009-07-07T02:55:08Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > the Miami-Dade Expressway Authority is converting all their booths to cashless ones by 2011. > > I don’t really understand that system - how do they expect to collect unpaid tolls from foreigners? Small price to pay to know where all the nationals are. > [@DrDeth](#): > > Generally, it’s a % fee, with the % decreasing as the average purchase gets higher. It usually runs from 3%- 1%. So, a 3% fee on a $3 toll would be 9 cents. It is both a percent and a flat fee, with the flat fee becoming ever more important the smaller the transaction. ---
**Author:** ![Wallenstein](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b5a626/32.png) [@Wallenstein](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wallenstein)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2009, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/end-of-the-newspaper-gas-cars-analog-tv-eras-what-other-eras-are-coming-to-a-close/501911/42 "2009-07-08T12:56:46Z")
Supermarket checkout staff. Load a shopping trolly (cart?) with your goods, each of which has an RFID chip, walk through the exit archway and the cost is automatically totalled and deducted from your account. We already have self-scan aisles in the UK which is reducing the number of checkout staff needed (or the Waitrose model where you carry a hand-held scanner and scan as you pick items off the shelf), but there’s still a risk of theft. RFID would pretty much eliminate that. Edit: so maybe also the end of shoplifting 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![eldowan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/848f3c/32.png) [@eldowan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eldowan)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2009, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/end-of-the-newspaper-gas-cars-analog-tv-eras-what-other-eras-are-coming-to-a-close/501911/43 "2009-07-09T02:08:03Z")
> [@Wallenstein](#): > > Supermarket checkout staff. > > Load a shopping trolly (cart?) with your goods, each of which has an RFID chip, walk through the exit archway and the cost is automatically totalled and deducted from your account. > > We already have self-scan aisles in the UK which is reducing the number of checkout staff needed (or the Waitrose model where you carry a hand-held scanner and scan as you pick items off the shelf), but there’s still a risk of theft. RFID would pretty much eliminate that. > > Edit: so maybe also the end of shoplifting 🙂 Maybe _not_ the end of shoplifting after all… [QUOTE=[Faraday cage - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Faraday_cage)] A shopping bag lined with aluminum foil acts as a Faraday cage. It is often used by shoplifters to steal RFID tagged items. [/QUOTE] ---
**Author:** ![Kozmik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/8dc957/32.png) [@Kozmik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kozmik)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2009, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/end-of-the-newspaper-gas-cars-analog-tv-eras-what-other-eras-are-coming-to-a-close/501911/44 "2009-07-09T02:55:28Z")
The era of the music star who is known worldwide. ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2009, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/end-of-the-newspaper-gas-cars-analog-tv-eras-what-other-eras-are-coming-to-a-close/501911/45 "2009-07-09T03:12:00Z")
noise ordinances, ringtones, the electric “bing” when I enter a store, the blooping scanner in the grocery store. . . when was the last time you heard an actual bell ring? Shoe laces round clocks (even the face fo a digital watch used to be round, remember?) Racism (Yay!) 9-5 jobs (i.e. the limitation that made your boss apologize for calling you outside those hours) Boo! ---
**Author:** ![Raguleader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/258eb7/32.png) [@Raguleader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raguleader)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2009, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/end-of-the-newspaper-gas-cars-analog-tv-eras-what-other-eras-are-coming-to-a-close/501911/46 "2009-07-09T03:16:12Z")
> [@TruCelt](#): > > Shoe laces I’ve not seen any indication at all that shoe laces are going anywhere. Even the latest greatest Air Force uniform includes boots with laces (fuzzy green IR-masked boots with laces). ---
**Author:** ![Snickers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@Snickers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snickers)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2009, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/end-of-the-newspaper-gas-cars-analog-tv-eras-what-other-eras-are-coming-to-a-close/501911/47 "2009-07-09T15:39:57Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > Perhaps rental cars will come with the electronic toll transponders, and some way for the rental car agency to check usage and charge it back to the renter. What if you drive your own car? Getting around Chicago to go on a road trip back east would be impossible. And I’m not buying a pass; we (mostly) don’t have toll roads in Minnesota. ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2009, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/end-of-the-newspaper-gas-cars-analog-tv-eras-what-other-eras-are-coming-to-a-close/501911/48 "2009-07-09T16:27:47Z")
> [@Freddy\_the\_Pig](#): > > But with inflation, and our stubborn and asinine refusal to change the demarcation line between coins and bills, they’re increasingly worthless. I have been wishing for years for a $5 coin. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2009, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/end-of-the-newspaper-gas-cars-analog-tv-eras-what-other-eras-are-coming-to-a-close/501911/49 "2009-07-09T16:32:01Z")
> [@Wallenstein](#): > > Supermarket checkout staff. > > Load a shopping trolly (cart?) with your goods, each of which has an RFID chip, walk through the exit archway and the cost is automatically totalled and deducted from your account. > > We already have self-scan aisles in the UK which is reducing the number of checkout staff needed (or the Waitrose model where you carry a hand-held scanner and scan as you pick items off the shelf), but there’s still a risk of theft. RFID would pretty much eliminate that. > > Edit: so maybe also the end of shoplifting 🙂 End of littering too. Litter warden finds a RFID’d bit of litter, automatically fines the person who paid for it. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2009, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/end-of-the-newspaper-gas-cars-analog-tv-eras-what-other-eras-are-coming-to-a-close/501911/50 "2009-07-09T17:11:12Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > Yes, the are dying, just the same way that television killed radio and movies. Too bad we can’t see movies or listen to the radio any more, since they’re completely gone and newspapers and magazines will follow them. In some ways, this is almost true. Radio drama survives in some small way, but we’re never going to see another _Lux Radio Theatre_, _The Shadow_, or _Inner Sanctum_. It’s mostly just background noise, now - I don’t imagine anyone sitting 'round the radio for an hour of entertainment. ---
**Author:** ![Rayne\_Man](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/df705f/32.png) [@Rayne\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rayne_Man)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2009, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/end-of-the-newspaper-gas-cars-analog-tv-eras-what-other-eras-are-coming-to-a-close/501911/51 "2009-07-09T17:48:47Z")
There is at least one place where radio drama is alive and well. This is BBC Radio 4. Everyday of the year this station broadcasts at least one, and usually two radio plays, ranging in length from thirty minutes to an hour-and-a-half. In addition the station has a good mix of other speech-based programmes, including comedies, quizzes, documentaries and news magazines. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2009, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/end-of-the-newspaper-gas-cars-analog-tv-eras-what-other-eras-are-coming-to-a-close/501911/52 "2009-07-10T00:32:39Z")
The Fraternal org’s heyday is certainly at an end- many buildings in downtown used to be the Odd Fellows, Elks, Moose, Lions, Masons, Eagles, Foresters, Jaycees, Kiwanis, Knights of Columbus, Optimists, Rotary, and so forth. Every male who was anyone belonged to one of these. Now- the Masons still are somewhat active and some of the others continue as mostly charitable orgs. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2009, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/end-of-the-newspaper-gas-cars-analog-tv-eras-what-other-eras-are-coming-to-a-close/501911/53 "2009-07-10T01:27:34Z")
Colleges campuses are becoming increasingly hostile to social fraternities. That’s not that big a deal- Greeks tend to donate significantly more money to their alma maters than the average alumnus. However, if Lloyds’ of London ever goes under, fraternities are done for. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2009, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/end-of-the-newspaper-gas-cars-analog-tv-eras-what-other-eras-are-coming-to-a-close/501911/54 "2009-07-10T03:06:58Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Now- the Masons still are somewhat active and some of the others continue as mostly charitable orgs. That’s because the Masons secretly rule the world. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/end-of-the-newspaper-gas-cars-analog-tv-eras-what-other-eras-are-coming-to-a-close/501911.md?page=2)