# 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:** 6
**Author:** ![Nature\_s\_Call](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nature_s_call/32/19006_2.png) [@Nature\_s\_Call](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nature_s_Call)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2005, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grandpa-what-does-wind-up-a-watch-mean/327080/101 "2005-10-21T13:27:23Z")
> [@Rune](#): > > I don’t know if you had them in the USA, but I had to tell one of my daughters about dynamo-driven lights on the bike. She thought they sounded super cool. Man do I remember feeling like a mule driving those beasts. Are you talking about that silver bottle shaped generator that attached to the frame of the bike? When you wanted to power the light, you flipped it along its swivel so the wheel at the “mouth of the bottle” made contact with the tire, thus spinning the sucker and generating the juice for the light? Oncoming motorists could only see you if you were going really fast. When my parents bought me the bike that I would ride to school (ten miles, uphill, through 5 ft. of snow) they also (at my insistence) threw in a speedometer, a rear view mirror, that generator light, reflectors all around - all of which was promptly removed by hooligans on Day One. Grampa, what’s a hooligan? ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2005, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grandpa-what-does-wind-up-a-watch-mean/327080/102 "2005-10-21T13:28:19Z")
Anyone else remember re-inking and/or changing typewriter ribbons? My fingers would be stained for days! But I recall getting one of those new-fangled ribbons that was black on the top half and red on the bottom! Two-color typing at your fingertips! My O my! I still have our old Smith-Corona manual typewriter in the basement. I pounded out a lot of school reports on that thing. But upgrading to an electric typewriter (circa 1972) was just awesome! ---
**Author:** ![Rune](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e68b1a/32.png) [@Rune](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rune)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2005, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grandpa-what-does-wind-up-a-watch-mean/327080/103 "2005-10-21T13:40:31Z")
> [@Nature's Call](#): > > Are you talking about that silver bottle shaped generator that attached to the frame of the bike? When you wanted to power the light, you flipped it along its swivel so the wheel at the “mouth of the bottle” made contact with the tire, thus spinning the sucker and generating the juice for the light? Oncoming motorists could only see you if you were going really fast. Yes. For some reason you had to put in a lot of extra energy to drive them, and go fast. I remember there was one kid in school who had a battery driven light. We all thought he was a really irritating spoiled brat (and secretly envious). These days everybody are using batteries. Spoiled brats is what they are. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2005, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grandpa-what-does-wind-up-a-watch-mean/327080/104 "2005-10-21T14:06:32Z")
Where do all of you live that you’ve never seen an old-fashioned cash register? Half of the places where I shop still use them. Y’all shop at big chains only? ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2005, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grandpa-what-does-wind-up-a-watch-mean/327080/105 "2005-10-21T15:06:55Z")
> [@danceswithcats](#): > > 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. :rolleyes: I know. I put my post in quotes, because I was pretending to be an ignorant youngster. Perhaps that didn’t come through… ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2005, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grandpa-what-does-wind-up-a-watch-mean/327080/106 "2005-10-21T15:19:52Z")
> [@AHunter3](#): > > And making change. > > “That’ll be $1.38, from $5, that’s 39, 40, 50, 75, 2, 3, 4, 5 thank you and have a good day.” Oooooooooh…this is one of my pet peeves. I figured out the reason McClerks throw your change on top of your bills (where it then slides to the floor) is because they don’t count change the old fashioned way. Old way: As AHunter3 laid it out – the pennies, dimes, and quarters are counted and placed into your hand, and the bills follow. New way: McClerk sees "Change Due: $3.62, and they hand you three bills and loose change on top of it. You can’t get a good grip on the change and it’s all over the place. Drives me freekin’ nuts. ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2005, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grandpa-what-does-wind-up-a-watch-mean/327080/107 "2005-10-21T16:10:05Z")
My father worked in electronics. Did a lot of work with circuit diagrams (testing and quality control). Had a weird triangular rule with a triangular slider mounted on it. Called it a “slide rule.” Claimed he could do math with it. Suuuuuure, dad, I’d tell him. You can do math on a ruler. And I can parse sentences with a stapler. Riiiight. ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2005, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grandpa-what-does-wind-up-a-watch-mean/327080/108 "2005-10-21T16:38:35Z")
> [@Kalhoun](#): > > Oooooooooh…this is one of my pet peeves. I figured out the reason McClerks throw your change on top of your bills (where it then slides to the floor) is because they don’t count change the old fashioned way. > > Old way: As AHunter3 laid it out – the pennies, dimes, and quarters are counted and placed into your hand, and the bills follow. > > New way: McClerk sees "Change Due: $3.62, and they hand you three bills and loose change on top of it. You can’t get a good grip on the change and it’s all over the place. > > Drives me freekin’ nuts. Yes, absolutely pisses me off to apoplexy. I don’t care that they can’t count the change back to me like in the old days. I’m OK with them handing me the bills first, _waiting_ (little finger and ring-finger curl to hold bills), and then handing me the change (goes into palm of hand, bills are out of the way). I’d rather they hand me the change first, but that works. But don’t put the freaking change on top of the bills. Worse yet, the cashiers that put your bills, your _receipt_, and then your change onto your palm. WTF, you think I want all this #^@! garbage in my wallet?? I’ve taken to scowling, putting down everything I’m holding in the other hand, slamming the money /receipt down on the counter, then picking up the bills, putting them in wallet, picking up the change, putting in change pocket, and picking up the receipt and wadding it up as I stalk out. I should probably stop that, they probably have no idea why I’m so pissed off… ---
**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:** [October 21, 2005, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grandpa-what-does-wind-up-a-watch-mean/327080/109 "2005-10-21T17:47:27Z")
> [@Nature's Call](#): > > We used to love that smell of freshly mimeographed handouts… It was such a thrill the one time I got to create one (can’t remember the project, but I do remember the backwards carbon paper going through the machine, and oh that smell…) Was the mimeograph the same thing as the “ditto machine”? (Also called a “spirit duplicator.”) It produced purple-coloured duplicates of handwritten or typed material and had a strong alcohol-y smell. The first few dittos were thick and dark and the last ones off the machine were faded. ---
**Author:** ![Exgineer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a88e4f/32.png) [@Exgineer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exgineer)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2005, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grandpa-what-does-wind-up-a-watch-mean/327080/110 "2005-10-21T17:50:22Z")
> [@Rune](#): > > I don’t know if you had them in the USA, but I had to tell one of my daughters about dynamo-driven lights on the bike. She thought they sounded super cool. Man do I remember feeling like a mule driving those beasts. We had them here too. All the cool kids had them on their bikes. ---
**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:** [October 21, 2005, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grandpa-what-does-wind-up-a-watch-mean/327080/111 "2005-10-21T17:53:28Z")
> [@eleanorigby](#): > > Cable existed but was all Ocala jai lai (sp?) when I saw it at my Dad’s down in FL (as far as I know, it didn’t exist in IL at that time–late '70’s). Cable existed, but mostly in areas that didn’t get good broadcast reception. ---
**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:** [October 21, 2005, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grandpa-what-does-wind-up-a-watch-mean/327080/112 "2005-10-21T17:56:14Z")
> [@GorillaMan](#): > > Or in the British case, being jealous of countries that could get _twelve channels!!!_ Well, there were 12 positions on the VHF dial (and up to 83 on UHF), but you wouldn’t be able to receive that many channels. We only got four. ---
**Author:** ![Nature\_s\_Call](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nature_s_call/32/19006_2.png) [@Nature\_s\_Call](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nature_s_Call)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2005, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grandpa-what-does-wind-up-a-watch-mean/327080/113 "2005-10-21T18:01:50Z")
> [@acsenray](#): > > Was the mimeograph the same thing as the “ditto machine”? (Also called a “spirit duplicator.”) It produced purple-coloured duplicates of handwritten or typed material and had a strong alcohol-y smell. The first few dittos were thick and dark and the last ones off the machine were faded. Lookup up [mimeograph](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mimeograph) and [spirit duplicator](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spirit_duplicator) in Wikipedia, it turns out the two are different and my recollection is of the latter. You reminded me that we called the copies “dittos” but called the machine either the “ditto machine” or the “mimeograph.” The Wikipedia article mentions the word mimeograph, once a trademark, has become a generic term so that’s probably why we called it that. I’d not heard the term “spirit duplicator” before your post, though. ---
**Author:** ![Nature\_s\_Call](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nature_s_call/32/19006_2.png) [@Nature\_s\_Call](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nature_s_Call)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2005, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grandpa-what-does-wind-up-a-watch-mean/327080/114 "2005-10-21T18:12:47Z")
Hey! Does anyone work in a place that still uses pneumatic tubes to send memos? ---
**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:** [October 21, 2005, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grandpa-what-does-wind-up-a-watch-mean/327080/115 "2005-10-21T18:23:00Z")
> [@Nature's Call](#): > > Hey! Does anyone work in a place that still uses pneumatic tubes to send memos? There are still banks around here that use them at the drive up window. ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2005, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grandpa-what-does-wind-up-a-watch-mean/327080/116 "2005-10-21T18:26:36Z")
My local supermarket, recently expanded, has pneumatic tubes at every till, as a secure way to send bags of cash away from the shop floor. I’ve noticed them in various other shops, too - but for obvious reasons they’re fairly discreet. ---
**Author:** ![Jurph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/50afbb/32.png) [@Jurph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jurph)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2005, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grandpa-what-does-wind-up-a-watch-mean/327080/117 "2005-10-21T18:28:12Z")
> [@Nature's Call](#): > > Hey! Does anyone work in a place that still uses pneumatic tubes to send memos? Wal\*Mart uses them in some stores. The cashiers can send checks and/or stacks of large bills from the registers to a secure location. Not sure how upper management / vault squirrels / the bookkeeper know(s) which register the tube came from, unless there’s no manifold, and each tube is a separate one-to-one channel. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2005, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grandpa-what-does-wind-up-a-watch-mean/327080/118 "2005-10-21T18:34:35Z")
So does anyone still dictate letters? “Shorthand? What’s that?” ---
**Author:** ![Rebo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rebo/32/13005_2.png) [@Rebo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rebo)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2005, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grandpa-what-does-wind-up-a-watch-mean/327080/119 "2005-10-21T18:43:21Z")
Grandpa, what does “clockwise” mean? I was a checker in a grocery store before scanners. I got to be very fast. You would have the prices of the staple items pretty well memorized, as well as produce. It amazes me these days that the checkers don’t even know what some fairly common produce items _are!_ Like yellow squash, or zucchini! That’s why the stores have taken to labeling the produce with a code. (I also hate the way the clerks hand your change to you. You would think it would annoy them, so they wouldn’t do it to you!) ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Torque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Max\_Torque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Torque)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2005, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grandpa-what-does-wind-up-a-watch-mean/327080/120 "2005-10-21T18:51:39Z")
> [@Nature's Call](#): > > “Turn on” a typewriter… whippersnapper! heh. I learned to type on a manual typewriter, back in the 6th grade. My teacher said she preferred a manual because it taught you to strike with equal force with every finger, or else some letters would come out lighter or darker than others. By gum, she was right. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grandpa-what-does-wind-up-a-watch-mean/327080.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grandpa-what-does-wind-up-a-watch-mean/327080.md?page=7)