# On things that are not as good as they used to be. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [September 25, 2009, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-things-that-are-not-as-good-as-they-used-to-be/511484 "2009-09-25T04:43:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Unintentionally\_Blank](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unintentionally_blank/32/5418_2.png) [@Unintentionally\_Blank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unintentionally_Blank)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2009, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-things-that-are-not-as-good-as-they-used-to-be/511484/21 "2009-09-27T23:42:30Z")
> [@Lynn\_Bodoni](#): > > THEY (you know the people I’m talking about) come up with a great idea, they make a great product, and people buy it. Then THEY decide that maybe they can make things a little cheaper FWIW, I think the first THEY is not the same group of people as the second THEY. ---
**Author:** ![Countrypolitan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/858c86/32.png) [@Countrypolitan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Countrypolitan)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2009, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-things-that-are-not-as-good-as-they-used-to-be/511484/22 "2009-09-28T03:30:12Z")
The LL Bean Boat & Tote is still the best reusable bag. Heavy canvas, multiple styles and sizes, with optional LONG handles on the smaller sizes. ---
**Author:** ![LurkMeister](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3da27b/32.png) [@LurkMeister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LurkMeister)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2009, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-things-that-are-not-as-good-as-they-used-to-be/511484/23 "2009-09-28T14:35:54Z")
> [@Countrypolitan](#): > > The LL Bean Boat & Tote is still the best reusable bag. Heavy canvas, multiple styles and sizes, with optional LONG handles on the smaller sizes. I have one of these which I got as a giveaway from a book publisher years ago. It’s one of the larger ones, and I use it with a luggage cart for grocery shopping. It’s great because it holds just about as much stuff as I can lift onto the bus (even when I’m picking up a 14 lb container of cat litter) and I don’t have yo mess with a bunch of smaller bags. It does need to be cleaned, and I haven’t been able to find out whether I can toss it in the washer or not. I don’t want to take a chance on damaging it. ---
**Author:** ![Electric\_Warrior](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@Electric\_Warrior](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Electric_Warrior)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2009, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-things-that-are-not-as-good-as-they-used-to-be/511484/24 "2009-09-28T14:51:15Z")
The Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago seems to have been gradually dumbing down its exhibits throughout the past ten or fifteen years; possibly more, but I’d be too young to know. ---
**Author:** ![Labrador\_Deceiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Labrador\_Deceiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labrador_Deceiver)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2009, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-things-that-are-not-as-good-as-they-used-to-be/511484/25 "2009-09-28T15:44:54Z")
> [@Countrypolitan](#): > > The LL Bean Boat & Tote is still the best reusable bag. Heavy canvas, multiple styles and sizes, with optional LONG handles on the smaller sizes. They have long handles on all sizes, I believe. We give about a dozen of these things away each year as gifts. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2009, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-things-that-are-not-as-good-as-they-used-to-be/511484/26 "2009-09-29T18:06:05Z")
> [@Electric\_Warrior](#): > > The Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago seems to have been gradually dumbing down its exhibits throughout the past ten or fifteen years; possibly more, but I’d be too young to know. The Sunday New York Times Magazine Crossword Puzzle has been dumbed down as well. ---
**Author:** ![teela\_brown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d9b06d/32.png) [@teela\_brown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teela_brown)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2009, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-things-that-are-not-as-good-as-they-used-to-be/511484/27 "2009-09-29T18:25:59Z")
Virtually all “niche” cable channels. They start out with a good idea and good programming, then start dumbing it down and broadening their base. Translation: make it appeal to the lowest common denominator, because God knows that’s a huge demographic. I miss the old Learning Channel and Food Network. ---
**Author:** ![SlowMindThinking](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dc4da7/32.png) [@SlowMindThinking](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlowMindThinking)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2009, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-things-that-are-not-as-good-as-they-used-to-be/511484/28 "2009-09-29T19:23:44Z")
Nostalgia just isn’t what it used to be. ---
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2009, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-things-that-are-not-as-good-as-they-used-to-be/511484/29 "2009-09-29T19:33:40Z")
[QUOTE=LurkMeister] (An LL Bean tote) It does need to be cleaned, and I haven’t been able to find out whether I can toss it in the washer or not. I don’t want to take a chance on damaging it. [/QUOTE] I can’t imagine LL Bean would sell something so apparently rugged but is allergic to the washing machine. Chuck it in the wash and if anything does happen, call 'em up and they’ll more than likely ask you to send it in so they can send you a new one. AFAIK, Bean’s return policy is every bit as good as it ever was. My latest “Not as good as they used to be” has to do with door locks. When we bought the house four years ago, we bought new Kwikset locks. Two out of a total of five cylinders have broken - a five-cent internal part snaps and the cylinder plug comes out of the lock which results in all of the little pins and springs escaping. The first one broke a couple of months ago. I took it to the hardware store to be fixed and the guy said “That shouldn’t happen!” and charged me twelve bucks to rebuild it. Happened again this past weekend on a different door. Back to the hardware store. Told the guy about the previous identical failure. “That \*really \*shouldn’t be happening!” was the response and the price had gone up to $12.50. At least small independent hardware stores are still as good as they used to be. (Shout out to Cole Fox Hardware in San Francisco!) ---
**Author:** ![MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MPB_in_Salt_Lake)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2009, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-things-that-are-not-as-good-as-they-used-to-be/511484/30 "2009-09-29T19:46:24Z")
> [@Rysto](#): > > Quizno’s has cut the price on some of their subs, and the quality is now awful. Management has evidently forgotten that they were successful in the first place because they had higher quality(and prices) then their competitors. I have certainly noticed the new lower prices, but at the location we go to, food is as good as ever----The staff does know us by now, and they may be going the extra mile for regular customers, (though in general they are polite, but not especially friendly) butl I have been really happy that they decided to become more affordable, (they were actually about the same price as a mid-level sit down restaurant before, I feel they wanted way too much for thier food) and we end up eating there much more often as a result. ---
**Author:** ![Surly\_Chick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ec9cab/32.png) [@Surly\_Chick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Surly_Chick)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2009, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-things-that-are-not-as-good-as-they-used-to-be/511484/31 "2009-09-29T20:44:26Z")
> [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](#): > > The disposable plastic bags from the market also aren’t as good as they used to be, but that’s probably a good thing. Not if one is using them to pick up dog poo. Nothing is more disgusting than discovering your disposable grocery bag has a previously unnoticed hole in it… ---
**Author:** ![myriad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9de0a6/32.png) [@myriad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/myriad)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2009, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-things-that-are-not-as-good-as-they-used-to-be/511484/32 "2009-09-29T21:14:01Z")
…commercials at the movies! :mad: ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2009, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-things-that-are-not-as-good-as-they-used-to-be/511484/33 "2009-09-29T23:24:10Z")
> [@teela\_brown](#): > > Virtually all “niche” cable channels. They start out with a good idea and good programming, then start dumbing it down and broadening their base. Translation: make it appeal to the lowest common denominator, because God knows that’s a huge demographic. > > I miss the old Learning Channel and Food Network. I remember when MTV actually played music videos. And I, too, miss the old Learning Channel (we went through a period of no cable, and I gather that I missed the very best bits of the Food Channel). I am particularly aggrieved at all the “history” shows which purport to tell the story of various Biblical characters. That’s not history, that’s mythology! Some of these shows are actually fairly interesting and informative, but I don’t consider them history because they rely on one source, which is biased. ---
**Author:** ![cainxinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7bcc69/32.png) [@cainxinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cainxinth)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2009, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-things-that-are-not-as-good-as-they-used-to-be/511484/34 "2009-09-30T03:43:33Z")
> [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](#): > > Why on earth does every. damn. thing. they come up with start out great and then slide into a condition that is not quite adequate? Eventually everything in the universe is going to be the same temperature. Step one is holes in the tote bags. ---
**Author:** ![Spud](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spud/32/347_2.png) [@Spud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spud)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2009, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-things-that-are-not-as-good-as-they-used-to-be/511484/35 "2009-09-30T04:17:34Z")
> [@gigi](#): > > Don’t get me started on what’s happened to KFC gravy. I thought I was the only one who remembered the gravy of the gods. ---
**Author:** ![trupa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/aeb1de/32.png) [@trupa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/trupa)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2009, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-things-that-are-not-as-good-as-they-used-to-be/511484/36 "2009-09-30T22:43:22Z")
> [@teela\_brown](#): > > I miss the old Learning Channel and Food Network. [David Banner] Do NOT get me started on that vile, despicable, sucking the wet fart from the dead dog abomination into which the Learning Channel has been corrupted. [/David Banner] ---
**Author:** ![Wheelz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wheelz/32/5718_2.png) [@Wheelz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wheelz)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2009, 12:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-things-that-are-not-as-good-as-they-used-to-be/511484/37 "2009-10-01T12:22:01Z")
> [@janeslogin](#): > > I drive a 1988 Chevrolet truck. None of these manufacturers could long survive making stuff of this quality. Yet, GM is now circling the drain after years of putting out an inferior product… I guess the key is finding just the right balance of usefulness and obsolescence. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2009, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-things-that-are-not-as-good-as-they-used-to-be/511484/38 "2009-10-01T13:59:20Z")
> [@Spud](#): > > I thought I was the only one who remembered the gravy of the gods. My parents recently travelled in Canada and apparently they could still get it there. ---
**Author:** ![Serenata67](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/serenata67/32/10646_2.png) [@Serenata67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Serenata67)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2009, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-things-that-are-not-as-good-as-they-used-to-be/511484/39 "2009-10-01T14:26:21Z")
> [@Paintcharge](#): > > Wow, I read that too fast and was wondering what custom gear he could possibly be making for cadavers. > > Makes more sense your way. teehee! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![ThirdOne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/53a042/32.png) [@ThirdOne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThirdOne)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2009, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-things-that-are-not-as-good-as-they-used-to-be/511484/40 "2009-10-01T19:39:29Z")
Ah yes, I remember when cable was new and cable channels had NO commercials. Coffee pots? I used to use a drip maker… then I visited my sister who uses an old fashioned percolator. Oh man, now THAT makes a good cuppa coffee. I have since bought myself a percolator, and remember why my dad would leave a little coffee at the bottom of his cup. No matter what, you get sediment. But, I refuse to go back to drip makers. Percolator all the way. There was once a gas-powered refrigerator. They quit making them because they never. ever. wore. out. Once upon a time, household appliances were repaired, because it cost less to repair than replace. That changed, and now, it’s less costly to throw it out and replace it. Sad, really. The quality has deteriorated badly! Damn, I’m getting old. I could go on, but would no doubt bore you. Carry on. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-things-that-are-not-as-good-as-they-used-to-be/511484.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-things-that-are-not-as-good-as-they-used-to-be/511484.md?page=3)