# In the dustbin of our cultural history **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 10, 2020, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-dustbin-of-our-cultural-history/927703 "2020-12-10T00:57:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 31
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2021, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-dustbin-of-our-cultural-history/927703/602 "2021-01-31T17:21:48Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > A case in point was the Panama Railroad across the isthmus. I used to use it all the time, and it ran like clockwork. By the late 1980s service was very erratic, and stopped entirely a few years later. In 1998 it was purchased by the Kansas City Southern and rehabilitated, but is far more expensive than it once was. A round trip is now $25; in 1979 it was about $1.50. $2.00 when I was there. And always an adventure. As you probably recall, the motto painted on all the rolling stock was “Ferrocarril Panama - El Commercio en Marche” The switching yard just east of Balboa was full of equipment that never moved. In our pidgin Spanish we called it “El Commercio en Oxido”. That seemed much more apt. Pre-COVID I was getting down there about one night every couple of months and had enough off-time time to rent a car and go sightseeing in my old haunts or just explore the newly built areas of the city. A tremendous amount of course has changed in not quite 40 years. But, as expected, a lot of the old Zonian and military base infrastructure has not been well-maintained and has not aged all that well. Though as you say the railroad seems to be a major exception. As is the functional part of the canal itself. Then again, it’s important to judge these now private and commercial facilities by Panamanian standards of middle class wealth, not US Government standards. Definitely not falling apart; just that jauntily raucous level of raggedy that characterizes so much of Latin America. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2021, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-dustbin-of-our-cultural-history/927703/603 "2021-01-31T17:30:19Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > As you probably recall, the motto painted on all the rolling stock was “Ferrocarril Panama - El Commercio en Marche” The switching yard just east of Balboa was full of equipment that never moved. In our pidgin Spanish we called it “El Commercio en Oxido”. That seemed much more apt. By the time I came back in the late 1980s much of the rolling stock had small trees and grass growing on the roofs. I really wish I had gotten a photo of one of the cars like that with “World Commerce on the Move” on the side. The best conversion of a base that Panama made was changing the former Fort Clayton into the [Ciudad de Saber/City of Knowledge](https://ciudaddelsaber.org/en/what-is-city-of-knowledge/), basically an “industrial park” type development but for international and national non-governmental organizations, scientific and cultural organizations, and tech companies. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2021, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-dustbin-of-our-cultural-history/927703/604 "2021-01-31T17:30:55Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > That sounds like [onionskin paper](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Onionskin). Yeah, that must’ve been it. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2021, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-dustbin-of-our-cultural-history/927703/605 "2021-01-31T17:34:18Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > And those writing to relatives or friends overseas often used something called an [aerogram](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aerogram), a thin sheet of (blue, as I remember) paper with gummed tabs. After writing the letter, you folded along the lines and sealed the tabs to make it into a one-sheet letter/envelope. Postage was prepaid when you bought the aerogram at the post office I think I’ve still got a few of those around. We used them to write my (now late) uncle in Italy. I don’t know whether the post office still takes them; these days my out-of-country communications are generally by email. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2021, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-dustbin-of-our-cultural-history/927703/606 "2021-01-31T19:06:55Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > World Commerce on the Move” on the side. “El Commercio _Mundial_ en Marche”! How could I have forgotten the Mundial! Thanks for the memories. ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2021, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-dustbin-of-our-cultural-history/927703/607 "2021-01-31T21:08:21Z")
Mid 60s ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2021, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-dustbin-of-our-cultural-history/927703/608 "2021-01-31T21:41:15Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > That sounds like [onionskin paper](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Onionskin). Not quite. It was slightly thicker than onionskin and more opaque. And the edges were imprinted with thick red dashes. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2021, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-dustbin-of-our-cultural-history/927703/609 "2021-01-31T21:44:41Z")
I was replying to a post by @EinsteinsHund, who said that onionskin paper might have been what he was describing. What are you saying was different? ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2021, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-dustbin-of-our-cultural-history/927703/610 "2021-01-31T22:09:06Z")
> [@Bonum\_Legatum](#): > > There used to be a way of tuning to a certain channel and adjusting the TV so that a lightning storm would show up as flashes of light on the screen, and if a tornado was getting too close he screen would go completely white. I think that Popular Science or Popular Mechanics magazine did an article about this. [So did the Straight Dope back in 1976](https://www.straightdope.com/21341329/how-to-detect-tornados-using-your-tv) ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2021, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-dustbin-of-our-cultural-history/927703/611 "2021-01-31T22:10:53Z")
> [@themapleleaf](#): > > The first time around, she would send her parents regular letters as long-distance phone calls were considered too expensive. One day, however, there was a postal strike. She was very concerned about her parents knowing she was safe. But rather than exceptionally make a long-distance call, she and her husband got into the car and drove to the USA to mail a letter from there, where there was no strike! I don’t know if that really saved them money over a long-distance call or if they just perceived things that way. They drove from Toronto/Mississauga all the way to Buffalo NY just to mail a letter. From what I recall of international phone calls in the early 1980’s (that’s when I went to France) and the rough distance between Toronto and Buffalo… yeah, they might have actually saved money. Especially if it was a long letter/phone call. ---
**Author:** ![maljunulo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecccb3/32.png) [@maljunulo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/maljunulo)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2021, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-dustbin-of-our-cultural-history/927703/612 "2021-02-01T00:33:37Z")
Back in the late 60’s we had an exchange student from Peru living with us for a few weeks. He asked to send a telegram to tell his parents that he arrived and my father offered to telephone. And the above is exactly what happened. My father had to call the operator, then ask for the international operator. He gave the country and phone number, hung up, and the operator called back in a few minutes and made the connection. Getting or making a long-distance phone call was expensive and IMPORTANT. If you called someone long-distance and the said “please hold” you would say “no, I’m calling long-distance”. You didn’t want to wait on hold and rack up the $$$. If your parent made an international call it was exciting and was something you told your friends about in school the next day 🙂 A few years ago I was on a job site in Tennessee and with a cell phone was speaking to another engineer about the job and he was in a car travelling from Poland to Romania. It was only afterwards that I was gobsmacked about being able to do this. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2021, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-dustbin-of-our-cultural-history/927703/614 "2021-02-01T01:37:35Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > > [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > > > That sounds like [onionskin paper](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Onionskin). > > Not quite. It was slightly thicker than onionskin and more opaque. And the edges were imprinted with thick red dashes. Those are airmail paper and envelopes. [https://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Airmail-Air-Mail-Envelopes-Scrapbook-Supplies-5pk-new-/274640110059](https://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Airmail-Air-Mail-Envelopes-Scrapbook-Supplies-5pk-new-/274640110059) ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2021, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-dustbin-of-our-cultural-history/927703/615 "2021-02-01T02:31:42Z")
> [@BippityBoppityBoo](#): > > That’s 70 or so miles. Even at only .25 a mile operating cost, that’s still close to 20 dollars. Interesting. Of course I have no idea what a long distance phone call would have cost then [Average Cost of Owning and Operating an Automobile | Bureau of Transportation Statistics (bts.gov)](https://www.bts.gov/content/average-cost-owning-and-operating-automobile) At a running cost of 15c per mile, it was close to $10. Disregarding ownership cost, it was close to $5. Sometime during the mid 80’s, I realized that I could call interstate and talk to my brother for the cost of a Big Mac. I wasn’t in Canada in the 1970’s, but I don’t think they could have got much of an international call for $20, let alone $5. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2021, 7:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-dustbin-of-our-cultural-history/927703/616 "2021-02-01T07:29:20Z")
> [@74westy](#): > > Does your new TV have horizontal and vertical hold adjustments? Does your new TV also have a fashionable round screen? [![](https://i.pinimg.com/originals/56/0d/c8/560dc877c55eaf8b5a5d3a8b5c6e82ec.jpg) ](https://i.pinimg.com/originals/56/0d/c8/560dc877c55eaf8b5a5d3a8b5c6e82ec.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2021, 8:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-dustbin-of-our-cultural-history/927703/617 "2021-02-01T08:13:25Z")
I remember (vaguely) aerograms. Not the same as onionskin (as I understand onionskin anyway) – the texture and “feel” is different. But anyway, nearly tissue-thin paper, pre-printed with all the relevant postal air-mail markings, that you folded up and glued shut with a pre-glued tab. Here’s an image search showing what a bunch looked like: [Ya gotta click on this link because the “OneBox” display doesn’t work.](https://duckduckgo.com/?t=ffab&q=aerogram&iax=images&ia=images) Note that some of them have the appropriate air-mail stamp pre-printed on them; others you have to buy the stamp separately and stick it on. Any you weren’t allowed to enclose anything in the folded-up envelope. Or maybe you could but you’d have to pay extra for that. ---
**Author:** ![kitap](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b9e5f3/32.png) [@kitap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kitap)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2021, 12:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-dustbin-of-our-cultural-history/927703/618 "2021-02-01T12:02:11Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > > [@P-man](#): > > > > I’m pretty sure our son doesn’t fully realize how lucky he is that long distance rates are a thing of the past. We’re in the DC area, and his girlfriend is in the Finger Lakes area. Their first year together they were in school except during the summer, when they each spent time at each other’s houses. They were apart a lot more than they wanted once the pandemic hit. Talking every night wouldn’t have happened in the old days. > > For certain. My girlfriend and I talked maybe once a week, but sent each other letters every couple of days. I knew several guys in my dorm whose girlfriends lived elsewhere, and who called them regularly for the first month or so of school – and were then stunned when Wisconsin Telephone sent them $300 phone bills (which, in 1983, was serious money). My freshman year of college was at LaCrosse in '82 and we were asked at some point during orientation or during move in if we wanted our room’s phone turned on. You could receive non-collect calls and maybe make local calls if you said no. We said no. I got quite the concerned call from dad when I sent him a letter letting him know that the EKG and X-Ray charges on the insurance were legit. (It was nothing serious…as far as they could ever figure out) ---
**Author:** ![Mark\_Finn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/34f0e0/32.png) [@Mark\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mark_Finn)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2021, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-dustbin-of-our-cultural-history/927703/619 "2021-02-01T12:58:53Z")
I have a couple of shoeboxes full of “aerogram” letters that my parents-to-be sent to/from each other and to/from their parents during WW2 when they were based in the UK. (the odd one has a “PASSED BY CENSOR” stamp on it). I’m busy typing them into my computer and learning how people lived in London during WW2. My father actually volunteered as a censor for a few months at his Air Force station. In the late 80’s, I spent a few days in Tbilisi (then in Soviet Georgia). Our hotel was near the main Post Office. On Friday night, the plaza outsize the PO was full of people, and we could see it was full inside as well. It turns out that this was a big social event for everyone to gather there on Friday nights to chat - and make their long-distance phone calls. ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2021, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-dustbin-of-our-cultural-history/927703/620 "2021-02-01T23:55:05Z")
A couple of ashtrays-in-cars items: I once had a car that had the ashtray right under the air conditioner vent. If the driver or passenger wasn’t careful about reaching to knock an ash off a cigarette, the ash would get blown into the back seat. My evil dad had a Cadillac. He and his final wife didn’t smoke, so they took out the lighters. Somehow, foil from LifeSavers candy got into the lighter socket, shorting it out. At first, it just drained the battery, but eventually it blew out the car’s computer twice before the mechanics tracked down the problem. ---
**Author:** ![BippityBoppityBoo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bippityboppityboo/32/5745_2.png) [@BippityBoppityBoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BippityBoppityBoo)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2021, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-dustbin-of-our-cultural-history/927703/621 "2021-02-02T00:01:34Z")
Was there a period of time when you bought a lot of Lifesavers? ---
**Author:** ![Newtosite](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/newtosite/32/8623_2.png) [@Newtosite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Newtosite)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2021, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-dustbin-of-our-cultural-history/927703/622 "2021-02-02T00:12:37Z")
Yep. For 5 cents a roll. 🙂 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-dustbin-of-our-cultural-history/927703.md?page=30) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-dustbin-of-our-cultural-history/927703.md?page=32)