# Old-fashioned things you'd like to see revived **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 13, 2023, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-fashioned-things-youd-like-to-see-revived/978167 "2023-01-13T14:14:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 11
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2023, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-fashioned-things-youd-like-to-see-revived/978167/201 "2023-03-10T01:27:25Z")
I think maybe the books are old fashioned - I haven’t seen them in a long time. ---
**Author:** ![LurkMeister](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3da27b/32.png) [@LurkMeister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LurkMeister)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2023, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-fashioned-things-youd-like-to-see-revived/978167/202 "2023-03-10T01:55:40Z")
I love crostics. I buy books of them on Amazon (in fact, I’m due to buy some more this weekend.) ---
**Author:** ![EnolaStraight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/41988e/32.png) [@EnolaStraight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EnolaStraight)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2023, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-fashioned-things-youd-like-to-see-revived/978167/203 "2023-03-10T02:58:12Z")
Looking over this thread I have seen mention of fountain pens, fedoras, even a monocle. So, I chime in with cigarette holders: [R.b63dc778448d4f27c0452064b517cdeb (600×764) (bing.com)](https://th.bing.com/th/id/R.b63dc778448d4f27c0452064b517cdeb?rik=NSbcMrk9tmIhHg&riu=http%3a%2f%2fcdn.shopify.com%2fs%2ffiles%2f1%2f0895%2f0864%2fproducts%2f42-32405403_600x.jpeg%3fv%3d1451991865&ehk=MXz76rlyvzCMYHPr0FFD0pDTkYkgh%2b5phy24VV4SCh4%3d&risl=&pid=ImgRaw&r=0) As more and more crimes are solved with DNA evidence, I’d figure Femme Fatales and other villains would utilize an accessory that would eliminate DNA from being deposited on a cigarette butt. ---
**Author:** ![rowrrbazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rowrrbazzle/32/414_2.png) [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2023, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-fashioned-things-youd-like-to-see-revived/978167/204 "2023-03-10T04:30:27Z")
> **[Did General Motors destroy the LA mass transit system?](https://www.straightdope.com/21341716/did-general-motors-destroy-the-la-mass-transit-system)** > But most authorities agree that trolleys bit the dust in LA and elsewhere not because of a conspiracy but because they were slow and inconvenient compared to autos, and in the long run just couldn’t compete. ---
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2023, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-fashioned-things-youd-like-to-see-revived/978167/205 "2023-03-10T04:36:13Z")
> [@BwanaBob](#): > > Likewise, I’d lime to see fast food restaurants go back to having fresh sandwiches ready in the warmer ready for immediate sale with the possibility that they may have made a few too many in advance and that they might have to actually toss some due to them aging out, I don’t like micromanaging bottom lines at the customer’s inconvenience. Food costs are through the roof as it is; this would bankrupt small places. You’re _advocating_ for wasting food? ---
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2023, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-fashioned-things-youd-like-to-see-revived/978167/206 "2023-03-10T04:38:15Z")
> [@BwanaBob](#): > > And thirdly, I’d love to see treating customers who come inside a business to take precedence over the drive thru. I’ve experienced instances where I noted a vehicle at the end of the drive thru line as I walked in, came inside to find it relatively empty, and seeing that car get their food ahead of me. Where I work, this situation would mean that the drive-thru customer _had called in their order ahead_ and their stuff was already good to go, while you stand there staring at the menu going, “Um … lemme get the … uh, hang on …” ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2023, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-fashioned-things-youd-like-to-see-revived/978167/207 "2023-03-10T05:03:13Z")
> [@enipla](#): > > I cut my teeth drafting with rapidograph pens. Koh-I-Noor mostly. We where constantly looking for the best ink that would not clog a 0000 nib. Did a LOT of lettering with a scribe set. K&E Think. Tiny, tiny text on maps. Aah, yes, it was the same for geological mapping on the mines. I think we settled on Rotring for pens and ink, though. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2023, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-fashioned-things-youd-like-to-see-revived/978167/208 "2023-03-10T14:54:17Z")
> [@suranyi](#): > > I do the newspaper crossword puzzle every single day. Do you have to wait until the following day for the solutions? Because that would drive me nuts. ---
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2023, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-fashioned-things-youd-like-to-see-revived/978167/209 "2023-03-10T15:04:25Z")
> [@Spice\_Weasel](#): > > Do you have to wait until the following day for the solutions? Because that would drive me nuts. The NYT has the solutions for a square, word, or the whole puzzle at a click. ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2023, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-fashioned-things-youd-like-to-see-revived/978167/210 "2023-03-10T20:26:55Z")
I don’t need the solution. I can’t remember the last time I failed to solve the whole puzzle. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2023, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-fashioned-things-youd-like-to-see-revived/978167/211 "2023-03-10T21:38:14Z")
> [@Spice\_Weasel](#): > > Are crossword puzzles old fashioned? I only remember them from the Penny Dell books when I was a kid. I know they are still around, but have they fallen out of favor? Or have they only ever been something mostly old people do? The other night I was watching an episode of [Poker Face](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt14269590/) and noticed that the main character, Charlie, was working a crossword puzzle. Puzzle _magazines_ may be somewhat old-fashioned, but I don’t think crossword puzzles themselves are. In addition to the traditional sources, [indie crosswords](https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/indie-crossword-puzzlers-are-shaking-up-a-very-square-world/) are alive and well; and there has been a push lately for more diversity and inclusiveness in crosswords published in places like the New York Times. ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2023, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-fashioned-things-youd-like-to-see-revived/978167/212 "2023-03-10T22:13:11Z")
> [@Spice\_Weasel](#): > > Are crossword puzzles old fashioned? I only remember them from the Penny Dell books when I was a kid. I know they are still around, but have they fallen out of favor? My sister still gets her Dell books using subscribe-and-save from Amazon. On edit: one Christmas, I made my Christmas “card” an acrostic where the first letters spelled out my name. I didn’t sign the card. One of my friends said he never solved the puzzle, but he knew exactly who it was from. ---
**Author:** ![El\_DeLuxo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_deluxo/32/9043_2.png) [@El\_DeLuxo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_DeLuxo)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2023, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-fashioned-things-youd-like-to-see-revived/978167/213 "2023-03-12T23:08:52Z")
As someone who sometimes makes use of a cigarette holder I like this idea, and wish they’d start selling nice looking cigarette holders in smoke shops. ---
**Author:** ![Cumberdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8c91f0/32.png) [@Cumberdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cumberdale)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2023, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-fashioned-things-youd-like-to-see-revived/978167/214 "2023-03-13T00:51:39Z")
What are “most authorities”? It has been pretty well established that many pro automotive companies bought up rail lines only to remove them and pull up the rails so that only cars and buses could be used. [General Motors streetcar conspiracy - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Motors_streetcar_conspiracy) It sounds to me like they conspired to remove any other mode of transportation. ---
**Author:** ![Tzigone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/839c29/32.png) [@Tzigone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tzigone)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2023, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-fashioned-things-youd-like-to-see-revived/978167/215 "2023-03-13T01:04:00Z")
> [@Cumberdale](#): > > It has been pretty well established that many pro automotive companies bought up rail lines only to remove them and pull up the rails so that only cars and buses could be used. [General Motors streetcar conspiracy - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Motors_streetcar_conspiracy) It sounds to me like they conspired to remove any other mode of transportation. I would not call that well-established - indeed, the historians I have read have said that is not at all what happened in most cases with rail lines. Indeed, your own link to Wikipedia calls it an urban legend and says (as I’ve read on history sources) " Many electric lines—especially in the West—were tied into other real estate or transportation enterprises. The [Pacific Electric](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pacific_Electric) and the [Los Angeles Railway](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Los_Angeles_Railway) were especially so, in essence [loss leaders](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loss_leader) for property development and long haul shipping" And it covers various financial pressures that existed that had nothing to do with auto companies. The article even says “Quinby and Snell held that the destruction of streetcar systems was integral to a larger strategy to push the United States into [automobile dependency](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Automobile_dependency). Most transit scholars disagree, suggesting that transit system changes were brought about by other factors; economic, social, and political factors” I understand if you stand with the ones who believe the auto companies did that for purpose, but when the majority of transit historians disagree, it can hardly be called “well-established.” ---
**Author:** ![PhillyGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@PhillyGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhillyGuy)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2023, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-fashioned-things-youd-like-to-see-revived/978167/216 "2023-03-13T01:19:58Z")
> [@Cumberdale](#): > > It sounds to me like they conspired to remove any other mode of transportation. Maybe. But as a long time rider on public transit in a city that still has trolleys, I have to point out that they do have disadvantages when not on dedicated rail lines. The slightest track obstruction stops the whole line. And trolley delays due to overhead wire problems are more common than bus breakdowns. I do remember being on a broken bus about two years ago where, as luck had it, we were at a corner allowing an easy transfer to a working trolley going to the same place. But that’s rare. ---
**Author:** ![PhillyGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@PhillyGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhillyGuy)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2023, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-fashioned-things-youd-like-to-see-revived/978167/217 "2023-03-13T01:30:37Z")
We just moved about 30 miles from Philadelphia and are being frustrated at our cord-cutting attempts because an indoor TV antenna has difficulty making that range, especially if the signal is low-band VHF (in our case, WPVI). So I’d like for analog TV to be revived. This range was no problem before the digital television transition. Oh, and another one is land line telephones. After all these years, cell phone voice quality and consistency still cannot match a land line (although I admit cell phones are, very slowly, getting better at what I would think is their core function). ---
**Author:** ![TRC4941](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trc4941/32/6792_2.png) [@TRC4941](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TRC4941)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2023, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-fashioned-things-youd-like-to-see-revived/978167/218 "2023-03-13T14:48:52Z")
> [@Spice\_Weasel](#): > > Are crossword puzzles old fashioned? Our newspaper has a small daily crossword (answers are the next day) and on Sundays it has 2 large crosswords one of them being the NYT (answers are on another page of the same newspaper). I do them all the time. I use a pen and am always able to solve them. I tear out the big Sunday puzzles and save them for when I can sit outside on my deck in the sun (I can’t wait!). Walmart has numerous crossword and other puzzle books as does Family Dollar, Barnes & Noble, the grocery store, etc. Although for me it’s hard to find a good crossword puzzle book. Most are pretty easy and I like a challenge. ---
**Author:** ![EnolaStraight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/41988e/32.png) [@EnolaStraight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EnolaStraight)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2023, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-fashioned-things-youd-like-to-see-revived/978167/219 "2023-03-15T01:04:25Z")
“As someone who sometimes makes use of a cigarette holder” One of those Hunter Thompson filter holders…or one of the more fancy ones, like from the 1920s? ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2023, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-fashioned-things-youd-like-to-see-revived/978167/220 "2023-03-15T03:07:31Z")
> [@Tzigone](#): > > Many electric lines—especially in the West—were tied into other real estate or transportation enterprises That is, a subdivision would be developed miles from LA, with a trolley running down it and on to downtown. The development would have no house more than six blocks from the trolley line, because that was as far as new house buyers wanted to walk. This was fine when the development was new and miles away from LA. Once LA had grown and encircled the trolley line development, the trolley was of much less use. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-fashioned-things-youd-like-to-see-revived/978167.md?page=10) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-fashioned-things-youd-like-to-see-revived/978167.md?page=12)