# Obsolete in my lifetime **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [September 13, 2015, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obsolete-in-my-lifetime/731055 "2015-09-13T13:32:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Kenm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bc79bd/32.png) [@Kenm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kenm)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2015, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obsolete-in-my-lifetime/731055/21 "2015-09-14T01:51:52Z")
> [@bizerta](#): > > \>Cars without power steering. If I happen to park my VW on a hill, I sometimes jump start it just for kicks. Before the motor starts, the steering, even while moving, seems a lot harder than pre-power, fifty years ago. That’s because it is. A car, truck or bus built without power steering is much, much easier to steer than one with power steering that’s broken. **Edited to add:** It’s the same with power brakes. At least cars with hydraulic power steering and brakes. I don’t know about the electric versions. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2015, 6:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obsolete-in-my-lifetime/731055/22 "2015-09-14T06:24:06Z")
> [@zoid](#): > > Typewriters are still being manufactured and used today. A friend has an office supply store and repairs and sells quite a few each year. Yeah, there’s a small market for them - people who want a low-tech way to add legible text to an existing printed form, people filling out multi-part NCR forms, and people who want to be Lemony Snicket. ---
**Author:** ![usedtobe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ec9cab/32.png) [@usedtobe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/usedtobe)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2015, 6:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obsolete-in-my-lifetime/731055/23 "2015-09-14T06:41:06Z")
> [@Mikeisskeptical](#): > > Nits are headlice (usually used to referring to the eggs and larvae). Picking them requires meticulous attention to detail and focus, hence the term. And a cigar to **Mike**. Now: Where did the ‘give the man a cigar’ originate? CRT vs LCD. I just replaced my 2008 laptop with a current gen touchscreen - no comparison anymore. I have given up on photo emulsion (and have several hundred pounds of darkroom gear to have hauled to the dump). Only large format can top current 24x36mm sensors, and the Sinar sits in its case - nothing worth shooting (I had 2 shots of SF I desperately regret not taking before the air quality went to Hell - and I have a huge collection of filters and know how to use them). If I’d have to manipulate the image to remove the smog, I might as well do it in digital to begin with. Sigh… ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2015, 8:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obsolete-in-my-lifetime/731055/24 "2015-09-14T08:03:01Z")
> [@TBG](#): > > Digital over the antenna is way too sensitive and drops out for little to no reason, whereas analog would just get a little snowy and keep going. I daresay it depends mostly upon your location. I pick up 21 channels with a pair of rabbit ears. All come in clear and strong and look better than the picture from cable and not one of them gets glitchy or blocky-looking. Not even the one whose transmitter is 45 miles away from me. ---
**Author:** ![Kenm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bc79bd/32.png) [@Kenm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kenm)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2015, 9:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obsolete-in-my-lifetime/731055/25 "2015-09-14T09:17:28Z")
> [@usedtobe](#): > > And a cigar to **Mike**. > > Now: Where did the ‘give the man a cigar’ originate? On midways at the bell-ringing concession, where the sucker using a sledge hammer would hit the pad and a slider would be propelled up a track to hit the bell. If it rang, the magic phrase was uttered by the barker. The pad had settings varying from very responsive to very unresponsive, so winning a cigar was a rare accomplishment. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2015, 10:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obsolete-in-my-lifetime/731055/26 "2015-09-14T10:00:55Z")
> [@bizerta](#): > > Plasma televisions. How about black-and-white television. B&W or otherwise monochrome, sort of. They’re actually regular TVs with the tuning part taken out, connected to an imaging computer with monochrome output. Too often the people purchasing them don’t know this, though, and will pay through the nose as if the “oooh must be made special!” meant adding some super duper special bits rather than taking one out so the techs won’t be able to watch football at work. ---
**Author:** ![Lsura](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7993a0/32.png) [@Lsura](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lsura)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2015, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obsolete-in-my-lifetime/731055/27 "2015-09-14T13:40:44Z")
> [@Baker](#): > > My car is from 2000 and it has manuyal crank windows. It’s a ford Escort. My previous car (an oak tree fell on it and demolished it) was a 2013 Toyota Yaris and it had crank windows. ---
**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:** [September 14, 2015, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obsolete-in-my-lifetime/731055/28 "2015-09-14T14:02:43Z")
Beepers, answering machines and pay phones come to mind. And pretty soon, cash. ---
**Author:** ![stillownedbysetters](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/41988e/32.png) [@stillownedbysetters](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stillownedbysetters)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2015, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obsolete-in-my-lifetime/731055/29 "2015-09-14T17:36:35Z")
I’m nearly 60 and get teased often about it by my younger co-workers. Just for fun - and to show I can laugh at myself - I brought in an abacus, an old-school calculator the size of a console phone, an antique radio that looks like a tiny piece of luggage, and some other elderly tech (all of which still works by the way), and keep it on the credenza in my office. It’s actually turned out to be educational for the youngsters, they often come in and ‘play’ with the old stuff. I miss vent windows that let in that perfect little bit of fresh air into your car on a day when it was too cold to roll down the windows. I miss the emergency 2-gallon gas tank you could access by flipping a switch on the floor in our old VW Beetle. I miss the width-of-the-car front seats you could use to snuggle up to your boyfriend - because, of course, seatbelts weren’t a requirement at that time. And I miss the drive-in theatres that you went to with said boyfriends to snuggle up. I miss the big old towers of audio components that were ungainly, but produced such good sound, along with the massive speakers for which you had to buy 100-ft of wire. I miss the soporific sound of the old movie projectors that showed ancient black and white movies in school. I miss the tv sign on and sign off in the morning and evening - I don’t know why, I found it irritating at the time, but now I miss it. ---
**Author:** ![dead0man](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/edb3f5/32.png) [@dead0man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dead0man)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2015, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obsolete-in-my-lifetime/731055/30 "2015-09-14T18:53:54Z")
I was shocked to find manual crank windows on a rental car a couple of summers ago. I think it was a Kia. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2015, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obsolete-in-my-lifetime/731055/31 "2015-09-14T22:40:35Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > Beepers, answering machines and pay phones come to mind. And pretty soon, cash. I was in hospital last week and the doctor I was talking to had two pagers. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2015, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obsolete-in-my-lifetime/731055/32 "2015-09-14T23:25:51Z")
> [@zwede](#): > > CRT TVs and computer monitors (thankfully. Those sons-of-bitches were **heavy** ) I bet you are talking about those new fangled color CRT monitors. I used the black and white (more often green or orange and black) ones. And that was a step up from TTYs or TI silent 700s. More arcane is the use of plastic strips to lay out printed circuit boards. When I designed a board for my bachelor’s thesis in 1973 I did it on paper with lines and templates for where you would drill the holes. Think Colorforms (also obsolete?) on paper. Schematic capture tools are for wimps. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2015, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obsolete-in-my-lifetime/731055/33 "2015-09-15T00:30:05Z")
> [@Baker](#): > > My car is from 2000 and it has manuyal crank windows. It’s a ford Escort. > [@What\_Exit](#): > > My daughters car has crank windows for the record. 2005 Honda. > [@LH75](#): > > My 2011 Jeep Wrangler has manual windows > [@Lsura](#): > > My previous car (an oak tree fell on it and demolished it) was a 2013 Toyota Yaris and it had crank windows. Are we one-upping each other? SO has a 2013 (I think) Versa with manual locks and windows. That car is of course positioned against the Yaris. Also seen in a slightly older Mazda 3 or 6, forget which. In my line of work, LCDs are unsuitable for many purposes, and CRTs are hoarded. You can still buy a “fancy” one from one supplier for… £1250 (US$1928). > [@An\_Gadai](#): > > I was in hospital last week and the doctor I was talking to had two pagers. Often people who work in sensitive areas (HIPAA etc.) aren’t allowed to carry cell phones. ---
**Author:** ![Wallaby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/dc4da7/32.png) [@Wallaby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wallaby)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2015, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obsolete-in-my-lifetime/731055/34 "2015-09-15T04:41:58Z")
Beer can openers - the ones that punched a triangular hole in the top. Some are still made - but only as part of the whole bottle opener device where they haven’t changed the basic pattern yet. ---
**Author:** ![usedtobe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ec9cab/32.png) [@usedtobe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/usedtobe)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2015, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obsolete-in-my-lifetime/731055/35 "2015-09-15T05:31:12Z")
> [@Kenm](#): > > On midways at the bell-ringing concession, where the sucker using a sledge hammer would hit the pad and a slider would be propelled up a track to hit the bell. If it rang, the magic phrase was uttered by the barker. > > The pad had settings varying from very responsive to very unresponsive, so winning a cigar was a rare accomplishment. Very good! You get a gold star next to your name - the Whole Week! ---
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2015, 6:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obsolete-in-my-lifetime/731055/36 "2015-09-15T06:55:17Z")
[QUOTE=Kenm] On midways at the bell-ringing concession, where the sucker using a sledge hammer would hit the pad and a slider would be propelled up a track to hit the bell. If it rang, the magic phrase was uttered by the barker. The pad had settings varying from very responsive to very unresponsive, so winning a cigar was a rare accomplishment. [/QUOTE] Even if a high-striker hasn’t been gimmicked or rigged, it’s easy to hit them wrong. To get the best levels on it, hit the very edge of the pad. Most people try to hit the center of the pad and lose the advantage. I must be a big walking anachronism. I know about high-strikers, I’ve got “church keys” with pointed ends, rotary dial telephones that are screwed to the wall and I work with mainframes. ---
**Author:** ![Kenm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bc79bd/32.png) [@Kenm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kenm)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2015, 8:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obsolete-in-my-lifetime/731055/37 "2015-09-15T08:13:24Z")
> [@usedtobe](#): > > You get a gold star next to your name - the Whole Week! Thank you! Try the veal! > [@gotpasswords](#): > > To get the best levels on it, hit the very edge of the pad. Most people try to hit the center of the pad and lose the advantage… I didn’t know that. Bluto, move over! ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2015, 11:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obsolete-in-my-lifetime/731055/38 "2015-09-15T11:10:44Z")
Newspapers. ---
**Author:** ![Marion\_Wormer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d07c76/32.png) [@Marion\_Wormer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marion_Wormer)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2015, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obsolete-in-my-lifetime/731055/39 "2015-09-15T22:30:56Z")
Mailboxes. I used to have one a block away. It disappeared 10 years ago. Now I have to drive down to the main post office. Even ten years ago the post office said it was only getting 3 or four pieces of mail in the mailbox a day. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2015, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obsolete-in-my-lifetime/731055/40 "2015-09-15T22:44:31Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > Beepers, Beepers are allowed in places mobile phones are not, so they’ll stick around for a while. ETA: ninjaed by **TheLurkingHorror** [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obsolete-in-my-lifetime/731055.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obsolete-in-my-lifetime/731055.md?page=3)