# \*\*\*NSF Old people\*\*\* **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 5, 2017, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nsf-old-people/785906 "2017-05-05T13:09:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2017, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nsf-old-people/785906/61 "2017-05-09T13:29:28Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > And how many of us used a calculator like [this one](https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/89/5f/1e/895f1ed38535c12766dbc61bd5774c8f.jpg)? I practically wore mine out. Damn, I’d totally forgotten those. That black wire handle at the top pulled up to clear the thing. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2017, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nsf-old-people/785906/62 "2017-05-09T14:32:27Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > I have not seen _any_ Superman movies – certainly not the more recent ones – but there is one meme I am familiar with: can anyone tell me where Clark Kent goes to change into his flight suit these days? > > . Don’t know if it’s addressed these day, but the meme of him changing in a phone booth seems to come from the 1940s Fleischer cartoons – in a couple of them he changes in a booth – which has “frosted” glass, so you can’t see who’s changing. Much more often in those cartoons he’d duck into a supply closet or around a corner. That’s also what he did in the 1950s George Reeves TV show. to the best of my knowledge he never did in the comic books or strips but my knowledge isn’t absolute. Of course, they made fun of this in the very first Christopher Reeve movie, where he runs up to a telephone kiosk and realizes it won’t offer any concealment at all, so he changes in a revolving door. _That’s_ much more the kinda thing he’d have done in the Fleischer cartoons. In these decadent cell phone days, when public phones are very few and far between, and booths even less common, I’m sure he’s found a better accommodation. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2017, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nsf-old-people/785906/63 "2017-05-09T14:40:29Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > Don’t know if it’s addressed these day, but the meme of him changing in a phone booth seems to come from the 1940s Fleischer cartoons – in a couple of them he changes in a booth – which has “frosted” glass, so you can’t see who’s changing. Much more often in those cartoons he’d duck into a supply closet or around a corner. That’s also what he did in the 1950s George Reeves TV show. to the best of my knowledge he never did in the comic books or strips but my knowledge isn’t absolute. > > Of course, they made fun of this in the very first Christopher Reeve movie, where he runs up to a telephone kiosk and realizes it won’t offer any concealment at all, so he changes in a revolving door. _That’s_ much more the kinda thing he’d have done in the Fleischer cartoons. > > In these decadent cell phone days, when public phones are very few and far between, and booths even less common, I’m sure he’s found a better accommodation. If he can fly as fast as he’s shown, he should be [able to change clothes](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yipSklgYJKw) too fast for the human eye to see. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2017, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nsf-old-people/785906/64 "2017-05-09T21:53:08Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > I’ve never seen a calculator like that before. We seemed to go straight from the slide rule (before my time) right to [this](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas_Instruments#/media/File:Texas_Instruments_TI-30_electronic_calculator.JPG) calculator. I have one of those and it still works. The original rechargeable battery and wall wart are long dead, but put in a 9V battery and it’s good to go. (Unlike several of my more recent calculators.) A few months ago I looked up the purchase price and did an inflation calculation. Wow! That’s a lot of do-re-mi for a grad student. Real slide rules are made of bamboo. Not just any “wood”. Metal expands and contracts and plastic is just crap. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2017, 11:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nsf-old-people/785906/65 "2017-05-10T11:45:04Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > If he can fly as fast as he’s shown, he should be [able to change clothes](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yipSklgYJKw) too fast for the human eye to see. Of course, but back when they made the Fleischer cartoons he wasn’t shown moving that fast. Plus, changing clothes in an Art Deco frosted-glass phone booth looks cool. [https://www.google.com/search?q=Superman+Fleischer+cartoon+phone+booth&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiykfHGnuXTAhXFKiYKHUNsAr4QsAQIJA&biw=1440&bih=703#imgrc=Qfo-tcwLNRGHVM:&spf=262](https://www.google.com/search?q=Superman+Fleischer+cartoon+phone+booth&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiykfHGnuXTAhXFKiYKHUNsAr4QsAQIJA&biw=1440&bih=703#imgrc=Qfo-tcwLNRGHVM:&spf=262) Looking over those images, you can se that the comics sometimes did show him changing in a phone booth – but it was usually for comic effect, and well after the trope had been established. An exception was the cover of Action comics #355 (from 1967!), where it’s meant to be dramatic, rather than comic. > **[Action Comics Vol 1 355](https://dc.fandom.com/wiki/Action_Comics_Vol_1_355)** > > "Superman: "The Mighty Annihilator!"": Carl Keller, a prisoner in an Iron Curtain camp, blames Superman for his plight. He discovers explosive chemicals from Krypton in a crashed rocket, gives himself superhuman power by ingesting them, and comes to... Notice, though, that even though it’s a clear glass-sided booth, you STILL can’t see who’s changing in there. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nsf-old-people/785906.md?page=3)