# 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:** 9
**Author:** ![Kiminy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Kiminy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kiminy)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2005, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grandpa-what-does-wind-up-a-watch-mean/327080/161 "2005-10-22T17:22:57Z")
> [@GorillaMan](#): > > I wonder how long before they get redesignated as ‘power outlets’, which is surely what they see more use for nowadays. In my 2000 minivan, they ARE labelled as power outlets. The cigarette lighter itself was optional, so I never had one in that car at all. The “ashtray” is a convenient storage area for change and my YMCA card. When my daughter (now 14yo) was about 3, she asked me what my favorite video had been when I was her age. I explained that we didn’t have videos then. So then she asked what my favorite computer game had been instead. Again, I explained that computers hadn’t really been invented yet, either. She honestly felt SO sad for me, because she was convinced I must have been absolutely bored all the time. I explained that we did get three B/W channels on TV, and that we had lots of 45s with kids’ music to dance to, but that we mostly played with toys that didn’t beep or talk or answer your questions or… I do, though, make popcorn on the stove. I can’t remember the last time I had microwave popcorn. Other additions to the list… Shake the thermometer down before you put it in your mouth. Bookmark your place. (As in, put a marker in your book, rather than saving a website address) fruits and vegetables “out of season” Playing solitaire with playing cards. Getting photos developed. (It exists, but it’s getting rarer.) Watching a film at school and waking up only when you hear the “whip whip” sound of the film coming off the reel at the end of the film. “Fine tuning” ---
**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 22, 2005, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grandpa-what-does-wind-up-a-watch-mean/327080/162 "2005-10-22T18:23:34Z")
Taking your camera film in to get it developed. Buying camera film and flashcubes. ---
**Author:** ![Dunderman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecb155/32.png) [@Dunderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dunderman)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2005, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grandpa-what-does-wind-up-a-watch-mean/327080/163 "2005-10-22T20:01:46Z")
> [@AHunter3](#): > > Buying camera film and flashcubes. Flashcubes! I had completely forgotten about those. ---
**Author:** ![Miss\_Mapp](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miss_mapp/32/369_2.png) [@Miss\_Mapp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miss_Mapp)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2005, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grandpa-what-does-wind-up-a-watch-mean/327080/164 "2005-10-22T20:17:16Z")
The reference to Clip Art made me think of “cutting and pasting.” It’s a term I use nearly every day, but who else remembers actually doing it–with scissors and a pot of thick, gluey white stuff spread with a little plastic spatula? ---
**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 22, 2005, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grandpa-what-does-wind-up-a-watch-mean/327080/165 "2005-10-22T21:28:45Z")
> [@Priceguy](#): > > Flashcubes! I had completely forgotten about those. Don’t forget its “modern” cousin - the flipflash! ---
**Author:** ![LouisB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/dfb087/32.png) [@LouisB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LouisB)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2005, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grandpa-what-does-wind-up-a-watch-mean/327080/166 "2005-10-22T21:30:43Z")
> [@GorillaMan](#): > > Actually, I’d say this was completely wrong…thanks to Ebay. The true cost of delivering items is more real to the average Ebayer than it would’ve been to many people a few years ago. When I was young, one had to pay extra to have letters sent by “airmail.” One received such letters with the words “via airmail” stamped on the envelope. If one were a little snooty, one could purchase envelopes with the words “par avion” stamped on them. Letters sent by “air mail” were usually written on onion skin paper as the cost of postage was based on weight. I haven’t seen a distiction between air mail and regular mail in years; that was the basis of my post. ---
**Author:** ![CanvasShoes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/74df32/32.png) [@CanvasShoes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CanvasShoes)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2005, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grandpa-what-does-wind-up-a-watch-mean/327080/167 "2005-10-22T22:35:46Z")
> [@Leviosaurus](#): > > Sure they will! It’s the hole in the side of a bong 😃 > > How about [Mimeograph](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mimeograph) machines? I remember my teachers would eschew the copier in favor of the much more familiar mimeograph. They wouldn’t let any of the kids in the same room as the mimeograph, which was smart - the one pictured in the link is hand cranked, but by the 70’s they were driven by an electric engine, and that thing would rip your hand off if you got too close. I graduated in '77, our HS still had just the handcranked and nothing was ever Xeroxed. Maybe they had one and used it for office stuff, but we all had the mimeographed stuff for tests and handouts. It was a special treat to get to go “run off the tests” for the teacher. 😃 You got to hang out in the office and handcrank out those 30 or 40 tests. And some of us even got to type them up in the office classes on that special master copy paper thing. Remember how everyone used to pick them up and smell them after they’d been freshly run off and handed out? ---
**Author:** ![CanvasShoes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/74df32/32.png) [@CanvasShoes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CanvasShoes)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2005, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grandpa-what-does-wind-up-a-watch-mean/327080/168 "2005-10-22T22:40:03Z")
> [@GorillaMan](#): > > I wonder how long before they get redesignated as ‘power outlets’, which is surely what they see more use for nowadays. I think that in some cars, they may already be thought of as that, though maybe not yet called that. Our company work truck has three of them, just the outlets, not a cigarette lighter in sight. If I remember correctly, there’s no ashtray either. ---
**Author:** ![Icerigger](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icerigger/32/432_2.png) [@Icerigger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icerigger)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2005, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grandpa-what-does-wind-up-a-watch-mean/327080/169 "2005-10-22T23:17:30Z")
> [@](#): > > Flashcubes! I had completely forgotten about those. Remember what would happen if you hit them with a hammer? Heheheheheh. ---
**Author:** ![CanvasShoes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/74df32/32.png) [@CanvasShoes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CanvasShoes)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2005, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grandpa-what-does-wind-up-a-watch-mean/327080/170 "2005-10-22T23:27:28Z")
> [@AHunter3](#): > > 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… I have gotten to the point where I can handle the stupidity of handing me the bills and rcpt and change on top, but what drives me nuts is when they, with their other hand, hold out your sack to you. I’m juggling a purse, the handfull of bills and change sliding around on my palm, and now they want me to hurry up and take my bag and get out of their way? Ummm No. I sweetly take the bag, say “thank you” and then put it down, and put all of my stuff away in my purse and wallet the way it belongs, and THEN and ONLY then do I pick up my bag and leave their window. Sorry, I’m not going to cram all my stuff into a pocket or into the mian compartment of my purse, possibly losing it just for your convenience. Same thing at the drive through. They hand you your drink and your change, all slippery coins on top of the bills, at the same time. I smile sweetly and take the change, put it away, and THEN I turn around and take the drink. Grandpa, what’s “customer service”? ---
**Author:** ![CanvasShoes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/74df32/32.png) [@CanvasShoes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CanvasShoes)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2005, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grandpa-what-does-wind-up-a-watch-mean/327080/171 "2005-10-22T23:34:09Z")
> [@GorillaMan](#): > > This one is spot on…I deal with a fair few teenagers who have to think hard about it, if there’s no analogue clock on the wall :smack: So THAT’S why… All these years, I’ve wondered why I had so much trouble getting my mostly college aged aqua aerobics students to run clockwise and counterclockwise in a circle for their warm-ups. It’s always a trainwreck until they look up and see which direction I’m demonstrating on deck… 😃 ---
**Author:** ![ccwaterback](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df705f/32.png) [@ccwaterback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ccwaterback)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2005, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grandpa-what-does-wind-up-a-watch-mean/327080/172 "2005-10-23T02:11:36Z")
Floppy disks. Modems. CRTs. kilohertz. CTL-ALT-DEL. ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2005, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grandpa-what-does-wind-up-a-watch-mean/327080/173 "2005-10-23T02:25:27Z")
> [@Kiminy](#): > > Watching a film at school and waking up only when you hear the “whip whip” sound of the film coming off the reel at the end of the film. Do gradeschools still use “filmstrips?” They were usually so motherin’ boring…but I do remember seeing a couple every week. ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2005, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grandpa-what-does-wind-up-a-watch-mean/327080/174 "2005-10-23T02:30:05Z")
> [@CanvasShoes](#): > > I have gotten to the point where I can handle the stupidity of handing me the bills and rcpt and change on top, but what drives me nuts is when they, with their other hand, hold out your sack to you. > > I’m juggling a purse, the handfull of bills and change sliding around on my palm, and now they want me to hurry up and take my bag and get out of their way? > > Ummm No. I sweetly take the bag, say “thank you” and then put it down, and put all of my stuff away in my purse and wallet the way it belongs, and THEN and ONLY then do I pick up my bag and leave their window. > > Sorry, I’m not going to cram all my stuff into a pocket or into the mian compartment of my purse, possibly losing it just for your convenience. > > Same thing at the drive through. They hand you your drink and your change, all slippery coins on top of the bills, at the same time. I smile sweetly and take the change, put it away, and THEN I turn around and take the drink. > > Grandpa, what’s “customer service”? And if that’s not enough… Most of the McClerks I run into will hand us the bag of food and two drinks – with NO DRINK CARRIER. How in THE FUCK am I supposed to keep two drinks from spilling all over the place…while I’m gathering fallen change and fumbling with a bag that is usually too small for the amount of food in it? Next time they ask me if I want fries with that, I should say, “No, but I’ll take a small customer service and a side order of common sense, please.” ---
**Author:** ![Metacom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecae2f/32.png) [@Metacom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Metacom)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2005, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grandpa-what-does-wind-up-a-watch-mean/327080/175 "2005-10-23T03:30:30Z")
> [@eleanorigby](#): > > Drive up fast food. NOT drive thru. I am talking about Dog n’ Suds and the like. Where you parked on an angle and went in, gave your order and then the food was delivered to your car. I am too young to have seen the roller skated waitresses, but know they existed. Y’all need to come down here and eat at a [Sonics Drive In,](http://www.sonicdrivein.com/index.jsp) which are flourishing. Pull up, park diagonally, place your order, and a waitress brings it out to your car (I’ve seen them with and without roller skates). It is _the_ place to go in Texas when you get a late-evening hankerin’ for some chili, ranch-dressing, and cheese covered tater tots (heart attack $0.25 extra). ---
**Author:** ![NinjaChick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/71c47a/32.png) [@NinjaChick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinjaChick)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2005, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grandpa-what-does-wind-up-a-watch-mean/327080/176 "2005-10-23T04:20:50Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > 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? _ahem_ At least to my generation, “old-fashioned” cash registers are the 80’s-style: big beige-y boxes, big clunky buttons usually programmed for a certain item/category/etc. Modern ones are pretty much all touch-screens. Another stupid question: I’ve heard endlessly about how kids of generations past used to put cards on the spokes of their bikes. I can’t for the life of me picture how you did this, nor imagine _why_ - so, how and why? ---
**Author:** ![asterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2005, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grandpa-what-does-wind-up-a-watch-mean/327080/177 "2005-10-23T04:55:23Z")
I did it once. I think I jammed it between the spokes and the gears. It was supposed to make a motorcycle sound or something. Maybe I didn’t use a thick enough card (I believe it was a promo card from a pack of baseball cards) but it didn’t work worth squat. ---
**Author:** ![Foaming\_Cleanser](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f05b48/32.png) [@Foaming\_Cleanser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Foaming_Cleanser)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2005, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grandpa-what-does-wind-up-a-watch-mean/327080/178 "2005-10-23T05:05:52Z")
Attach, for instance, a spring clothes pin\* to the fork, and stick a playing card in the pincer end of the clothes pin, with one end of the card sticking between the spokes. (All we could afford were the two of spades and two of clubs, but we were happy to have them.) The fast thwap, thwap, thwap of the card against the spokes approximated the sound of an engine, at least in the mind of a child. (But some wiseacre “big kid” would spoil it by telling us the wheel would fall apart because the card would loosen the spokes. \*Clothes pin: Before electric and gas dryers, these were used to [hang washing](http://www.poeticexpressions.co.uk/POEMS/Siegfried%20Line.htm) on the [Siegfried Line]([http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siegfried](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siegfried) Line). ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2005, 9:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grandpa-what-does-wind-up-a-watch-mean/327080/179 "2005-10-23T09:40:20Z")
> [@LouisB](#): > > When I was young, one had to pay extra to have letters sent by “airmail.” One received such letters with the words “via airmail” stamped on the envelope. If one were a little snooty, one could purchase envelopes with the words “par avion” stamped on them… I’m pretty sure I’ve seen these on sale recently…and this was lying on my desk when reading this thread. I should’ve made clear I was talking about international mail, where the distinction is still there ([British example](http://www.postoffice.co.uk/portal/po/jump1?mediaId=19100179&catId=19100176)). I suppose ebaying outside of the US means more familiarity with such options - when I’ve bought vinyl from America, I’ve gone for the significantly-slower surface mail which really does take many weeks. And Ebay’s UK site has a whole range of options for sellers to set these various international postage rates. So no, airmail ain’t dead - but I’m wondering, was it once an option when sending mail _within_ the US? ---
**Author:** ![asterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2005, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grandpa-what-does-wind-up-a-watch-mean/327080/180 "2005-10-23T14:28:17Z")
Well, something like two or one-day mail will almost always have to go by air, especially if we’re talking NY to LA type distances. Frankly, though, I’ve never thought about it for a normal first-class mailing. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grandpa-what-does-wind-up-a-watch-mean/327080.md?page=8) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grandpa-what-does-wind-up-a-watch-mean/327080.md?page=10)