# Modern device your parents had that you don’t have now **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 28, 2022, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modern-device-your-parents-had-that-you-don-t-have-now/970470 "2022-08-28T14:00:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 8
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2022, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modern-device-your-parents-had-that-you-don-t-have-now/970470/141 "2022-08-30T19:18:51Z")
Child of the 70’s so we had an electric ice crusher. One that broke ice into little pieces, not an ice shaver. Here is [a manual one](https://www.amazon.com/ZHER-LU-Hand-Crank-Crusher-Ice-Maker-Machine/dp/B0B42DWX6X/ref=sr_1_25?crid=2V8X80GT0RMQF&keywords=ice+crusher&qid=1661886951&sprefix=ice+crusher%2Caps%2C119&sr=8-25). [Electric one](https://www.amazon.com/Nightcore-Electric-Crusher-Stainless-Gathering/dp/B07YY25M1R/ref=sr_1_23?crid=2V8X80GT0RMQF&keywords=ice+crusher&qid=1661887069&sprefix=ice+crusher%2Caps%2C119&sr=8-23) but is it worth $130? ---
**Author:** ![ChockFullOfHeadyGoodness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chockfullofheadygoodness/32/511_2.png) [@ChockFullOfHeadyGoodness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ChockFullOfHeadyGoodness)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2022, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modern-device-your-parents-had-that-you-don-t-have-now/970470/142 "2022-08-30T19:26:17Z")
Hair dryer. No, not a hand-held blow dryer. I mean the big clunky box with a hose coming out that attached to a plastic elasticized bonnet you put on your head. There was also a groove along the bottom where hot air came out for drying your nails. It must have broken some time in the 90s. I don’t remember seeing it when I would visit after then. I have a hand-held, but rarely use it. Everyone in the family just air dries. ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2022, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modern-device-your-parents-had-that-you-don-t-have-now/970470/143 "2022-08-30T19:30:50Z")
We had one that had a big plastic arm and hard shell bonnet you placed over your head. Fun times sitting under that thing reading a book. ---
**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:** [August 30, 2022, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modern-device-your-parents-had-that-you-don-t-have-now/970470/144 "2022-08-30T19:34:29Z")
> [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > Child of the 70’s so we had an electric ice crusher. One that broke ice into little pieces, not an ice shaver. > Here is [a manual one](https://www.amazon.com/ZHER-LU-Hand-Crank-Crusher-Ice-Maker-Machine/dp/B0B42DWX6X/ref=sr_1_25?crid=2V8X80GT0RMQF&keywords=ice+crusher&qid=1661886951&sprefix=ice+crusher%2Caps%2C119&sr=8-25). > [Electric one](https://www.amazon.com/Nightcore-Electric-Crusher-Stainless-Gathering/dp/B07YY25M1R/ref=sr_1_23?crid=2V8X80GT0RMQF&keywords=ice+crusher&qid=1661887069&sprefix=ice+crusher%2Caps%2C119&sr=8-23) but is it worth $130? The ice dispenser in the door of most modern fridge/freezer units has that built in. So many/most of us still have the same capability, just not the separate device. ---
**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:** [August 30, 2022, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modern-device-your-parents-had-that-you-don-t-have-now/970470/145 "2022-08-30T19:38:00Z")
> [@dolphinboy](#): > > That counts, but cell phones replaced car phones… unless you don’t own a cell phone. I believe that a car phone _is_ a cell phone. It’s just one that you leave in the car. ---
**Author:** ![griffin1977](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/977dab/32.png) [@griffin1977](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/griffin1977)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2022, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modern-device-your-parents-had-that-you-don-t-have-now/970470/146 "2022-08-30T19:38:20Z")
My grandparents had an electric “bellows”, basically a free standing fan that looked a little like a leaf blower on a tripod. It was super effective at getting the wood fire in the fireplace going. I’ve tried to find one for our fireplace and totally failed, the nearest thing is a flimsy little plastic battery powered thing (that is meant for camp fires), which does work OK, but nothing like as well as theirs did. ---
**Author:** ![Galactus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/galactus/32/3581_2.png) [@Galactus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Galactus)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2022, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modern-device-your-parents-had-that-you-don-t-have-now/970470/147 "2022-08-30T19:42:56Z")
Does a Fondue Pot count as a device? We would have fondue night for dinner a couple of times a month when I was a kid. Do people still fondue? ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2022, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modern-device-your-parents-had-that-you-don-t-have-now/970470/148 "2022-08-30T19:45:44Z")
> [@Galactus](#): > > Do people still fondue? Yes, we do. Though a lot less often than we use to. Probably down to twice a year. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2022, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modern-device-your-parents-had-that-you-don-t-have-now/970470/149 "2022-08-30T19:51:20Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > Yes, we do. Though a lot less often than we use to. > > Probably down to twice a year. We have a fondue pot (I think it was a wedding present); we probably are in the once-or-twice-a-year camp with it, too. ---
**Author:** ![CairoCarol](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cairocarol/32/3825_2.png) [@CairoCarol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairoCarol)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2022, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modern-device-your-parents-had-that-you-don-t-have-now/970470/150 "2022-08-30T19:51:47Z")
> [@teelabrown](#): > > My mom didn’t have much in the way of electrical appliances, but she did have one thing: a plug-in electric “skillet”. Oh yeah, another vote for “I forgot that one.” While I don’t need one at this stage of my life, I do see its value. The one my parents had had a larger cooking area than even a large skillet for the stovetop. My mom used to use hers all the time to pan-fry thin slices of squash dipped in flour, salt and pepper - with the big square electric skillet she could cook it all in 1-2 batches. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2022, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modern-device-your-parents-had-that-you-don-t-have-now/970470/151 "2022-08-30T19:57:44Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > I believe that a car phone _is_ a cell phone. It’s just one that you leave in the car. Prior to the advent of cellular phone technology, there _were_ car phones, which were not cellular phones, as far back as the 1940s and 1950s. They used a different sort of radio frequency and system than was later developed for cellular phones, and once cell phones started becoming widely available, by the end of the 1980s, a “car phone” was likely a cell phone. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2022, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modern-device-your-parents-had-that-you-don-t-have-now/970470/152 "2022-08-30T20:41:16Z")
> [@Galactus](#): > > Do people still fondue? We go to The Melting Pot, get several different styles of fondue plus enjoy their extensive wine list. They do the cleanup as well. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2022, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modern-device-your-parents-had-that-you-don-t-have-now/970470/153 "2022-08-30T20:44:04Z")
Fondue is fun, but the prep and cleanup is a lot. ---
**Author:** ![dolphinboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dolphinboy/32/330_2.png) [@dolphinboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dolphinboy)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2022, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modern-device-your-parents-had-that-you-don-t-have-now/970470/154 "2022-08-30T20:45:20Z")
True enough, and it reminds me a lot of the 1970s for some reason. ---
**Author:** ![E-DUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/e-dub/32/403_2.png) [@E-DUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-DUB)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2022, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modern-device-your-parents-had-that-you-don-t-have-now/970470/155 "2022-08-30T20:45:39Z")
Most cans these days have pull tabs anyway. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2022, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modern-device-your-parents-had-that-you-don-t-have-now/970470/156 "2022-08-30T21:04:27Z")
Darn it. Now I want fondue. We used to have a pot. I’m sure I can wing it. Also have a bread maker that I use about every other month. That sounds like a real good pairing. Winter is around the corner. I will surprise my wife. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2022, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modern-device-your-parents-had-that-you-don-t-have-now/970470/157 "2022-08-30T21:07:58Z")
It is a good pairing. A fresh loaf of bread is very good with fondue. ---
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2022, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modern-device-your-parents-had-that-you-don-t-have-now/970470/158 "2022-08-30T21:50:21Z")
> [@ChockFullOfHeadyGoodness](#): > > Hair dryer. Oh, I forgot that one, too. By which I mean I don’t have a hand held hair dryer. I just air dry. Going for a drive in my convertible after a shower helps it dry faster, too. 🙂 And thinking of bathroom items reminded me, I don’t have a bathroom scale, either. If I want to know how much I weigh, I have to go to the doctor. Or gym, I suppose. But really, I’ve never really needed to know exactly how much I weigh outside of doctor visits. ---
**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:** [August 30, 2022, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modern-device-your-parents-had-that-you-don-t-have-now/970470/159 "2022-08-30T22:38:04Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > > [@Acsenray](#): > > > > I believe that a car phone _is_ a cell phone. It’s just one that you leave in the car. > > Prior to the advent of cellular phone technology, there _were_ car phones, which were not cellular phones, as far back as the 1940s and 1950s. They used a different sort of radio frequency and system than was later developed for cellular phones, and once cell phones started becoming widely available, by the end of the 1980s, a “car phone” was likely a cell phone. Decent potted history of the pre-cellular mobile phones in cars & other moving vehicles: > **[Car phone](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Car_phone)** > > A car phone is a mobile radio telephone specifically designed for and fitted into an automobile. > This service originated with the Bell System and was first used in St. Louis, Missouri, United States on June 17, 1946. > The original equipment weighed 80 pounds (36 kg), and there were initially only 3 channels for all the users in the metropolitan area. Later, more licenses were added, bringing the total to 32 channels across 3 bands (See IMTS frequencies). This service was used at least into the ... ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2022, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modern-device-your-parents-had-that-you-don-t-have-now/970470/160 "2022-08-31T02:45:37Z")
> [@pullin](#): > > One thing my folks had that I wish for, is double ovens (over/under installation). Until we moved to this house, that was our situation - very few newer houses are built with double wall ovens, and/or separate cooktops. I will admit, I use that second oven about 3 times a year, but when I need it, it’s grand. Mom’s kitchen also had a much wider-than-usual cooktop (36 inches versus 30, or something) and in the back / middle, there was a large griddle area, useful for pancakes etc. and covered with a stainless steel cover the rest of the time. I’ve never felt the need for one of those. [A slit in the back of the medicine cabinet](https://www.apartmenttherapy.com/razor-blade-slots-in-homes-36923000). It’s hard to imagine ANYONE ever thinking that was a good idea. But the one in our bathroom (the one we kids used) had such a slot, though none of us knew what it was at the time. I have no clue whether there was such a slot in the cabinet in my parents’ bathroom. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modern-device-your-parents-had-that-you-don-t-have-now/970470.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modern-device-your-parents-had-that-you-don-t-have-now/970470.md?page=9)