# How old can you go? Ancient stuff in a high tech world **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 7, 2001, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-old-can-you-go-ancient-stuff-in-a-high-tech-world/64670 "2001-05-07T17:45:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![elmwood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmwood/32/3060_2.png) [@elmwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elmwood)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2001, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-old-can-you-go-ancient-stuff-in-a-high-tech-world/64670/21 "2001-05-09T13:05:01Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Zette \* > \*\*Safety posters from the 60’s. Based on the clothing, I’d say these are from about 40 years ago. They depict messages like “Don’t booze- think of your children!” and “Watch your step!” and such. > \*\* At my workplace, a town hall of a very small Florida municipality, there’s a voter registration book – with spaces to indicate “WHITE” and “COLORED.” Fortunately, it’s not used. I’ve see a _lot_ of dry cleaning establishments with posters from the 1950s – for instance, Technicolor-like photos of men with fedoras, reading “HATS MARTINIZED SHARP AND SNAPPY” or something like that. The artwork and lettering seems reminiscent of WWII propaganda posters. Even at a dry cleaner located in a strip mall built in the late '90s, you’ll see these ancient posters, and they’re not there for sheer nostalgic or kitsch value either. ---
**Author:** ![galen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ecc23a/32.png) [@galen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/galen)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2001, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-old-can-you-go-ancient-stuff-in-a-high-tech-world/64670/22 "2001-05-09T14:20:52Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Tedster \* > \*\*Well, for ancient equipment one only has to spend a little time in the US military. Yes, we had some of the latest high tech gear to be found anywhere, thank god. > > But we were issued a lovely piece of gear called a Shelter Half. Consisting of canvas and 3 wooden poles and metal stakes, this was combined with your buddies half to make a pup tent. These same items were issued in World War I, or earlier. No floor and not much room. Thankfully I think it’s being phased out sometime this century… \*\* Can you be serious? My father, a WWI vet, carried those things around France in 1918. ---
**Author:** ![BoBettie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4af34b/32.png) [@BoBettie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BoBettie)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2001, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-old-can-you-go-ancient-stuff-in-a-high-tech-world/64670/23 "2001-05-09T14:35:11Z")
> [@](#): > > Um, Zette, in exchange for the “Don’t booze - think of your children!” poster I will provide you with whatever wordly good you require. > > Name your price! Well, it could be tricky- it’s hung in a pretty conspicuous spot in the plant. We are likely moving our company to another location soon, though and I’ll keep you in mind if it “disappears!” Zette ---
**Author:** ![1kBR\_Kid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/1/dc4da7/32.png) [@1kBR\_Kid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/1kBR_Kid)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2001, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-old-can-you-go-ancient-stuff-in-a-high-tech-world/64670/24 "2001-05-09T14:54:30Z")
Tedster and Galen- I was an M1A1 Tanker from 4-96/9-2000. When I got to my duty station; Rose Barracks (Vilseck) Germany in September 96, I was issued a Shelter Half. Other soldiers who got there after me were not issued one. I don’t know if that was a sign of phasing them out or if they were just running low on them. Some of the old tech is better, depending on the circumstances. I love the old fabric and down sleeping bags we were issued. During the Kosovo trainup in 1998 we were issued Gore-Tex sleeping bags. I hated that thing. I would NOT take it to the field. See, the M1 has a turbine engine that makes a WHOLE LOT of really hot exhaust. We tankers would just stand behind the tank and dry anything that got rained on. That would melt the synthetic one. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2001, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-old-can-you-go-ancient-stuff-in-a-high-tech-world/64670/25 "2001-05-10T01:16:17Z")
At the photo lab where I work, we have a _manuel_ contact printer. The technology is WW1 vintage, the actual date of manufacture is early WW2. It’s still on the inventory , & still works. ---
**Author:** ![Balance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ccd318/32.png) [@Balance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balance)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2001, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-old-can-you-go-ancient-stuff-in-a-high-tech-world/64670/26 "2001-05-10T02:20:21Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Tedster \* > Well, for ancient equipment one only has to spend a little time in the US military. Heh. The antique phone equipment I mentioned was going into (as required by customer specs) military comm equipment. ---
**Author:** ![Chas.E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e99b99/32.png) [@Chas.E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chas.E)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2001, 10:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-old-can-you-go-ancient-stuff-in-a-high-tech-world/64670/27 "2001-05-10T10:12:26Z")
I used a safety pin the other day when I lost a button. The safety pin goes back to about 2000BC. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2001, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-old-can-you-go-ancient-stuff-in-a-high-tech-world/64670/28 "2001-05-10T17:25:21Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by LouisB \* > \*\* > > > [@](#): > > > > \*Originally posted by delphica \* > > **Ok, we don’t _use_ them, but one of the buildings where I work has pneumatic tubes. Did I spell that right? Is that even what they’re called? The tubes that shoot canisters (in which you have put pieces of paper) from floor to floor, via magic or air pressure or something.\** > > My wife’s employer (a MAJOR Federal Government agency) actually uses these things, at least in the building where Marcie works. > > \*\* They use these at the hospital I work in association with. Every once in awhile there will be a memo mentioning how the tubes need to be securely closed when sending samples to Pathology. Yikes. ---
**Author:** ![nineiron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/e56c9b/32.png) [@nineiron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nineiron)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2001, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-old-can-you-go-ancient-stuff-in-a-high-tech-world/64670/29 "2001-05-10T17:44:56Z")
The high school I work at is comprised of several buildings. I’m in the “new” building, built in 1910. The others are 1800’s, and not in a quaint way either–more of a crumbling-to-the-ground sort of way… Anyway, that’s one example of old technology, but the best thing is the “ditto” machine that we still have around here–one of these old kluners with the big ol’ drum that sends copies off at lightning speed and all in purple. We, of course, do have regular copy machines, but some folks still like to use the old dinosaur. I also quite enjoy the 1940’s-era film strip projectors that you can still use. Also, though most of our technology is actually quite recent (new computers very often), there are a few components floating around that are laughably old. The printer I use (with my 2001 computer) is at least 15-20 years old, and takes up half the table. I’m amazed it works–quite well, in fact. OK, 20 years isn’t an eternity, but for computer parts that’s pretty old. ---
**Author:** ![tisiphone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@tisiphone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tisiphone)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2001, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-old-can-you-go-ancient-stuff-in-a-high-tech-world/64670/30 "2001-05-10T21:56:30Z")
I work for a small telco. I was cleaning out our equipment room three or four years ago, and I found the equipment for a cordboard, or manual switch. Ya know, the one where the operators had to plug the connections in? And up until two years ago, we were still using a Gandalf Starmaster to connect our remote locations. I was almost sorry to see it go - the damn thing was waaaay more reliable than anything else we’ve had since. It just wasn’t secure anymore, and the 4800 BPS top dialup speed just did’t cut it. Anybody need any line drivers? Got plenty of them, too. ---
**Author:** ![casdave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c6cbf5/32.png) [@casdave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/casdave)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2001, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-old-can-you-go-ancient-stuff-in-a-high-tech-world/64670/31 "2001-05-10T22:17:02Z")
I can come up with a real good one. I used to work at a plant that made suspension springs for trucks, it’s fairly well known as it is one of the oldest in existance. I was on the night shift doing maintenance as the place was mostly shut down ready for the weekend but I heard someone operating a machine over the far side, it’s a fairly big place. Now it being 10pm and no-one about I went over to look and I saw some old chap heating, tempering and stamping out springs but of a much lighter gauge than the place normally produces. He told me to watch him as I would never ever have the chance to see this again. What he was making were springs for a Rolls Royce Silver Ghost for a classic car collector in the US. He told me that the last time these springs had been made from new was just before WWII and he was one of those doing it, he’d worked there since he was 14 and was then 65, a total of 51 years. What was more he was using exactly the same machines too, except that they had electric motors fitted to them instead of from the belts driven from overhead steam engine driven shafts. He even had the original drawings too. He went on to point out that most of the machines were turn of the century devices and they were still working fine. In the design office they still have the original specifications and drawings for 1700’s horse drawn coaches. ---
**Author:** ![EB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/848f3c/32.png) [@EB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EB)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2001, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-old-can-you-go-ancient-stuff-in-a-high-tech-world/64670/32 "2001-05-11T03:38:58Z")
I work at a university in China. Every month when I go to receive my salary, the woman calculates the total using an abacus. There are computers throughout the office for record keeping (there are also record books, too), but each bookkeeper uses an abacus. Then they hand over my pay in cash. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2001, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-old-can-you-go-ancient-stuff-in-a-high-tech-world/64670/33 "2001-05-11T12:48:51Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by EB \* > \*\*I work at a university in China. Every month when I go to receive my salary, the woman calculates the total using an abacus. There are computers throughout the office for record keeping (there are also record books, too), but each bookkeeper uses an abacus. Then they hand over my pay in cash. \*\* And people think I’m ancient for using Windows 3.11 on my computer! (and an IBM Selection II typewriter). ---
**Author:** ![Chas.E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e99b99/32.png) [@Chas.E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chas.E)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2001, 9:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-old-can-you-go-ancient-stuff-in-a-high-tech-world/64670/34 "2001-05-12T09:01:07Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by nineiron \* > \*\*The high school I work at is comprised of several buildings. I’m in the “new” building, built in 1910. The others are 1800’s, and not in a quaint way either–more of a crumbling-to-the-ground sort of way… \*\* Sounds like the jr high I went to, it was built in probably around 1820. The rooms had acetylene jets… for LIGHTING. In case you never heard of this, they used to have a tank of water up on the roof, every once in a while the janitor was supposed to toss in some calcium carbonate, which when dunked in water would release acetylene gas. This would be piped into all the rooms and little wall-mounted gas jets with valves would be opened up and lit, the flames gave the high-intensity lighting of the era before electricity. I’m astonished it didn’t burn to the ground, acetylene gas fires were quite common in these systems. Of course, the system was long abandoned by the time I went to school. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-old-can-you-go-ancient-stuff-in-a-high-tech-world/64670.md?page=1)