# Grandpa, what does "wind up a watch" mean? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 20, 2005, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grandpa-what-does-wind-up-a-watch-mean/327080 "2005-10-20T14:42:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![iluvurmom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iluvurmom/32/7276_2.png) [@iluvurmom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iluvurmom)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2005, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grandpa-what-does-wind-up-a-watch-mean/327080/61 "2005-10-20T21:26:41Z")
A gallon of gas less than $3.00…humm those were the days… What about the whole concept of rolling down the window. The whole hand motion that we still do when we want someone to roll down their window. No one has the “butter churner” window device anymore - but we still us that motion. Green screen computers. Saturday morning cartoons, that were not japanimation. Missing children on the milk cartons. Styrofoam containers at fast food restaurants. McDonald’s birthday parties… ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2005, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grandpa-what-does-wind-up-a-watch-mean/327080/62 "2005-10-20T21:28:59Z")
> [@iluvurmom](#): > > No one has the “butter churner” window device anymore They don’t? ---
**Author:** ![Scribble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scribble/32/3317_2.png) [@Scribble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scribble)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2005, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grandpa-what-does-wind-up-a-watch-mean/327080/63 "2005-10-20T21:44:08Z")
[QUOTE=iluvurmom] A gallon of gas less than $3.00…humm those were the days… QUOTE] The last price I saw for a gallon of regular unleaded was $2.47. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2005, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grandpa-what-does-wind-up-a-watch-mean/327080/64 "2005-10-20T21:44:49Z")
> [@Hampshire](#): > > Try telling kids how movies worked back in the 70s. Blockbusters remained in the theatre for almost a year. Once they were gone they were gone. If you were lucky maybe they would show them on TV a few years later. No DVDs or VHS meant no home movies period. I remember reading the paper and looking at the movie section only to see that _Star Wars_ was now in its “23rd Spectacular week!” ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2005, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grandpa-what-does-wind-up-a-watch-mean/327080/65 "2005-10-20T21:48:51Z")
But hey, we all use terms that are now-anachronistic. After all, we still “crank” our cars, even though we don’t, really. ---
**Author:** ![betenoir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/258eb7/32.png) [@betenoir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/betenoir)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2005, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grandpa-what-does-wind-up-a-watch-mean/327080/66 "2005-10-20T21:52:52Z")
computers light bulbs electricity indoor pumbing Don’t you know after the Great Global Catastrophe the kids will be rolling there eyes at grandpa who can’t even figure out how to make fire with two sticks 😃 ? ---
**Author:** ![Amaranta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Amaranta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amaranta)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2005, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grandpa-what-does-wind-up-a-watch-mean/327080/67 "2005-10-20T22:22:05Z")
> [@Hampshire](#): > > Or ask any kid younger than 20 if they can figure out how cashiers rang up and entire cart of groceries before they had upc scanners. I… never thought about that before. Whoa. ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2005, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grandpa-what-does-wind-up-a-watch-mean/327080/68 "2005-10-20T22:43:24Z")
> [@FatBaldGuy](#): > > They made heavy use of the “ka-ching” sound effect of an old-style cash register, and I immediately thought of this thread. Dammit! I wanted to be the first to mention this. There’s a corollary to this thread of sounds that are obsolete: the cha-ching of a cash register, the sound of a typerwriter (clakety clackety ding zzzap), the sound of a needle being dragged across a record. Oddly, the cha-ching and the needle/record are still used extensively – you hear needle/record all the time, as an “interruption” sound effect. Nobody under 25 has ever heard that sound in real life. BTW, I work in the credit card biz – that manual imprinter device is called the “zip-zap machine”. ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2005, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grandpa-what-does-wind-up-a-watch-mean/327080/69 "2005-10-20T22:52:57Z")
> [@jsc1953](#): > > Oddly, the cha-ching and the needle/record are still used extensively – you hear needle/record all the time, as an “interruption” sound effect. You’re right, both of them have taken on roles independent of their origin. Another example of this is the standard Windows ‘save’ icon, which will no doubt remain as a floppy disc long after these have disappeared from all new computers. Although the latest cartoon-type icons from MS seem to have gotten rid of the sprocket-fed printer as the ‘print’ icon in favour of an inkjet. One anachronism that most people don’t notice is that the international (i.e. non-North American) road sign for an ungated railway crossing shows a steam locomotive (see halfway down [this page](http://www.highwaycode.gov.uk/signs05.htm)). That’s the second time I’ve mentioned steam trains in this thread. That’s a bit weird. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2005, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grandpa-what-does-wind-up-a-watch-mean/327080/70 "2005-10-20T22:55:46Z")
“Six feet tall? Daddy you’re tall, but you only have two feet” “An _inch_? Is that like when you have to scratch?” “Ounce?” etc. ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2005, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grandpa-what-does-wind-up-a-watch-mean/327080/71 "2005-10-20T23:01:25Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > “Six feet tall? Daddy you’re tall, but you only have two feet” Even if they understand the measurement, don’t expect anybody under 25 to be impressed by “he was six feet tall”. That’s probably only just over the average height for young men now. ---
**Author:** ![Amaranta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Amaranta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amaranta)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2005, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grandpa-what-does-wind-up-a-watch-mean/327080/72 "2005-10-20T23:15:19Z")
> [@GorillaMan](#): > > Even if they understand the measurement, don’t expect anybody under 25 to be impressed by “he was six feet tall”. That’s probably only just over the average height for young men now. I’d agree. In fact, a six-foot-tall guy would be considered “the short one” out of my guy friends. ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2005, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grandpa-what-does-wind-up-a-watch-mean/327080/73 "2005-10-20T23:15:23Z")
“How come, in old movies, when somebody drives into a gas station, there’s a “ding ding” sound?” ---
**Author:** ![danceswithcats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9e8a1a/32.png) [@danceswithcats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/danceswithcats)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2005, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grandpa-what-does-wind-up-a-watch-mean/327080/74 "2005-10-20T23:32:31Z")
Stepping on the starter Choking it (not your chicken) :eek: Lawn mowers started with a 2 foot length of rope knotted to a wooden handle Lawn mowers (reel type) without engines Bumper jacks Replacing the needle on a phonograph CONELRAD markings on the AM dial Beverage cans which needed a can opener Canned foods with the T-handle opener attached Filling stations where your windshield, outside mirrors, and headlights were washed, oil was checked, and you never got out of the car Setting the running loop and framing on a 16mm movie projector Clapping erasers Hand operated water pump “Dropping a dime” on someone Switchboard operators Enough for now… 😃 ---
**Author:** ![danceswithcats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9e8a1a/32.png) [@danceswithcats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/danceswithcats)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2005, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grandpa-what-does-wind-up-a-watch-mean/327080/75 "2005-10-20T23:34:57Z")
> [@jsc1953](#): > > “How come, in old movies, when somebody drives into a gas station, there’s a “ding ding” sound?” Because, in the days before self-serve fuel, an air hose rain across the driveway of the station, and the car passing over it rang a bell (ding-ding) to let the mechanic or gas jockey know a customer was present. ---
**Author:** ![danceswithcats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9e8a1a/32.png) [@danceswithcats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/danceswithcats)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2005, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grandpa-what-does-wind-up-a-watch-mean/327080/76 "2005-10-20T23:37:26Z")
ran, not rain :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2005, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grandpa-what-does-wind-up-a-watch-mean/327080/77 "2005-10-20T23:41:47Z")
> [@danceswithcats](#): > > Beverage cans which needed a can opener Beverage cans where the pull tab comes off. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2005, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grandpa-what-does-wind-up-a-watch-mean/327080/78 "2005-10-21T00:09:30Z")
A cop pulls you over for speeding and you don’t have to worry about that beer in your hand as long as you aren’t drunk. No need to worry about a seatbelt either. ---
**Author:** ![MaxTheVool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MaxTheVool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MaxTheVool)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2005, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grandpa-what-does-wind-up-a-watch-mean/327080/79 "2005-10-21T00:27:55Z")
> [@Winston Smith](#): > > The audience clapping at the end of a _movie_ (ah, simpler times) > > Singing the National Anthem at the Ball Game (not even a token effort at the last game I went to) I don’t know what movies and ballgames you go to, but people clap at the end of movies all the time around here (SF bay area) if they particularly enjoyed the film, and I’ve never been to a ball game of any sort with the national anthem. ---
**Author:** ![NinjaChick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/71c47a/32.png) [@NinjaChick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinjaChick)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2005, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grandpa-what-does-wind-up-a-watch-mean/327080/80 "2005-10-21T00:44:56Z")
> [@Hampshire](#): > > Or ask any kid younger than 20 if they can figure out how cashiers rang up and entire cart of groceries before they had upc scanners. Um. How did they? Did they just have a list of every item in the store, with the prices, and the prices never changed? Did they have to enter every single thing individually? What happened when something went on sale? _slinks off to feel young and stupid_ [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grandpa-what-does-wind-up-a-watch-mean/327080.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grandpa-what-does-wind-up-a-watch-mean/327080.md?page=5)