# Things that you just don't see anymore. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [February 12, 2005, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-you-just-dont-see-anymore/289705 "2005-02-12T04:01:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2005, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-you-just-dont-see-anymore/289705/21 "2005-02-12T16:47:59Z")
Door to door salesmen (commercial, not political or religious). Campers on pick ups. Not the shells, I mean the little houses that had a piece of them overhaging the cab. Local camera stores. Used to be about a dozen here. Now, one. Darkroom rentals. Big Wheels™ Mens hats that aren’t baseball caps. Sunday morning dress up to go to church and then a little picnis right after while still in your church clothes. Console TVs. Sidewalks. Working shutters on houses. Kids playing outside. Millions of birds flying way overhead in V formations. Fishing with a bobber. Tamales $3 a dozen sold out of a pick up with a camper on the side of the road I took going to work. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2005, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-you-just-dont-see-anymore/289705/22 "2005-02-12T16:51:21Z")
Soda vending machines that dispense glass bottles. Remember those with the little glass door and you had to “pull” the bottle out. 4 wheel (non-inline) roller skates Large downtown shopping areas in medium to med-small cities and towns (all malls now). Bottles that dispensed “Sucaryl” (saccarhine) drops. TAB soda (very rare) Dot Matrix printers. They were everywhere once! Now they’re mostly for older POS (point of sale) retail systems or in back rooms for institutional multi-part forms. Waist length mink coats ---
**Author:** ![IrreverentTone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@IrreverentTone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IrreverentTone)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2005, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-you-just-dont-see-anymore/289705/23 "2005-02-12T16:52:46Z")
Those cool, fuzzy, black and red electric shoe shine machines. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2005, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-you-just-dont-see-anymore/289705/24 "2005-02-12T18:07:05Z")
My dad _owns_ one of those hotel red and black shoe shine things - got it from the Sharper Image. He loves it. I was just thinking about it last night - you know, you never hear about Elvis sightings anymore? They used to be what tabloids fell back on when the royals and Michael Landon hadn’t done anything lately. ---
**Author:** ![Ignatz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/3be4f8/32.png) [@Ignatz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ignatz)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2005, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-you-just-dont-see-anymore/289705/25 "2005-02-12T18:32:48Z")
> [@El Zagna](#): > > [Slide rules](http://www.sliderule.ca/). I still have my K&E (Kuefell and Esser) log log duplex decitrig model with leather sheaf that looped onto my belt. ---
**Author:** ![RandomLetters](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8edcca/32.png) [@RandomLetters](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RandomLetters)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2005, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-you-just-dont-see-anymore/289705/26 "2005-02-12T19:01:11Z")
> [@ralph124c](#): > > It seems that SAMSUNG has come up with a WEB-Capable toaster! You can surf the net whilst waiting for your toast to brown. What a stupid idea! Actually, that could be a good idea - if they used a Prescott core Pentium 4 for the CPU, you could use the waste heat to make the toast, no need for a separate heating element. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2005, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-you-just-dont-see-anymore/289705/27 "2005-02-12T19:11:19Z")
I have several $2 bills in my wallet right now. They still make them but the demand isn’t very high. John Travolota has a very cool tricked out Boeing 707. Dot Matrix printers are still used in the corporate and manufacturing worlds that I work in. They are the only ones that can produce multiple-part copies. I have a new glass blender that I made margaritas in last night. My nomination: Cherry Bombs ---
**Author:** ![FrostySonofThunder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/dfb087/32.png) [@FrostySonofThunder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FrostySonofThunder)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2005, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-you-just-dont-see-anymore/289705/28 "2005-02-12T20:46:44Z")
> [@Shirley Ujest](#): > > Metal ice cube trays. Are you talking about the ones with a handle/lever on the dividers that you lift up to break up the cubes? Those are great. You may lose skin to the metal, but at least you can get the damn ice cubes out of the tray. My mother has a couple of those that she got with the Fridgidaire dad got for her when I was a baby. That refrigerator is in their garage and still works. Comes in handy around the holidays. Back to the OP: Studebakers, DeSotos, or Ramblers…no big loss on the Ramblers though:) Home delivery of milk. (For a while, ours was delivered daily right from the cow. (un)Fortunately, she died before I got the hang of milking her by hand.) Those cans of compressed air that were sold to unclog drains. I forget what they were called, but the ramifications of not using them correctly probably led to them being yanked off the market for legal reasons. I imagine that quite a few people used them to get rid of a clog in one sink, went to another sink in the house, and went “How the hell did this muck get all over the place?” Fizzies. Wood burning kits…no, no, no, not that kind…The ones that had a tool that looked like a big soldering iron you were supposed to use to char designs on pieces of wood. Can’t imagine why **that** isn’t sold any longer;) Erector sets ---
**Author:** ![mambocrow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc348/32.png) [@mambocrow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mambocrow)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2005, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-you-just-dont-see-anymore/289705/29 "2005-02-12T21:01:17Z")
Powdered eggs. (Not egg substitute in liquid form). Mo-Peds. ---
**Author:** ![Ephemera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8baadc/32.png) [@Ephemera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ephemera)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2005, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-you-just-dont-see-anymore/289705/30 "2005-02-12T21:06:33Z")
> [@Eats\_Crayons](#): > > Weeping willows. I used to see them all the time as a kid and my friend had an enormous one on his front lawn that servec uas well for all sorts of games. THey used to be all over town – I haven’t seen a single one in _years_. Even more or less regionally, it’s rare for me to see them. I love those trees! I know I’ve seen some recently but hell if I can remember where. They’re my favorite trees. ---
**Author:** ![Rufus\_Xavier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/eada6e/32.png) [@Rufus\_Xavier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rufus_Xavier)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2005, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-you-just-dont-see-anymore/289705/31 "2005-02-12T21:14:29Z")
When I was a kid, every weekend you could hear the ice cream truck making its rounds. Now that I think of it, I haven’t seen or heard an ice cream truck in years. ---
**Author:** ![Jayn\_Newell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Jayn\_Newell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jayn_Newell)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2005, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-you-just-dont-see-anymore/289705/32 "2005-02-12T21:21:01Z")
> [@Shagnasty](#): > > I have several $2 bills in my wallet right now. They still make them but the demand isn’t very high. I’m Canadian, ours got replaced with toonies a few years ago. I got a wood burning kit a few years ago as a Christmas present. I never did much with it though–Dad has it now. I was half expecting someone to post ‘sea monkeys,’ partly just so I could say that I actually have seen them just today. There’s a store downtown that sells them. And my parents still get home delivered milk, in some areas it’s a practice that’s still alive and well. We had a thread on it not too long ago. Another addition–you used to be able to get really small bottles of pop. Haven’t seen them in years, but now they’re bringing it back in can form. Which of course begs the questions, ‘why’d you stop in the first place?’ ---
**Author:** ![RancidYakButterTeaParty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/53a042/32.png) [@RancidYakButterTeaParty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RancidYakButterTeaParty)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2005, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-you-just-dont-see-anymore/289705/33 "2005-02-12T21:32:40Z")
Non-digital clocks are getting harder and harder to find, many of the students in my classes can’t tell time! Videos on MTV VCR’s are still around, but are definitely an endangered species. Lemonade stands. Socks with colored stripes. Teens without cell phones ---
**Author:** ![danceswithcats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9e8a1a/32.png) [@danceswithcats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/danceswithcats)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2005, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-you-just-dont-see-anymore/289705/34 "2005-02-12T22:34:33Z")
Twin-lens cameras Instamatic cameras Flashbulbs/flashcubes Bumper jacks Hand operated water pumps Lawn mowers started with 2 feet of rope with a wood handle Beer cans that required a ‘church key’ to open Rabbit ear TV antennas Digital clocks that had flipper number panels Fender skirts Curb feelers 8mm home movies Manual egg-beaters Motor oil in quart/gallon cans that needed the piercing spout 8 tracks Bosco chocolate syrup (little toy under the extended top) The Fuller Brush man Mimeograph machines (yes, I’d sniff the papers, too) Crystal Bic pens for 19 cents (and their ads, too) John Cameron Swayze pitching Timex watches Cartoons before movies Oil-checking, windshield-washing, headlight-cleaning gas pumpers with free air Charge card imprint machines that took a three part form-manual roller to operate Carbon paper 7-11 stores that were open from 7AM to 11PM-not 24 hour Cigarettes with coupons on the back of the pack Burma Shave signs ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2005, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-you-just-dont-see-anymore/289705/35 "2005-02-12T23:11:08Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > 30 second TV commercials. Umm, what? I work in broadcasting, and I can attest that the majority of our commercials are :30 long. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2005, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-you-just-dont-see-anymore/289705/36 "2005-02-12T23:21:19Z")
Square-toed men’s boots. Fringed leather jackets. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2005, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-you-just-dont-see-anymore/289705/37 "2005-02-12T23:47:30Z")
> [@Sylkyn](#): > > Percolaters. Sure, you can still get them, but hardly anyone uses them anymore. I think the next time I have to get a coffee maker, I’m going back to a percolater. Coffee made with drip-makers just don’t taste as good, IMO. I haven’t seen _anyplace_ that has the old glass percolaters. My mom broke hers, years ago, and couldn’t find one. But they still populate garage sales, so she’s got quite a collection now, from little 4-cuppers up to the big 8-cuppers. I got mine from her, and I agree with you, the coffee from a percolater tastes better than that from a coffee machine. ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2005, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-you-just-dont-see-anymore/289705/38 "2005-02-13T00:04:47Z")
Evening newspapers. Wax lips. I suppose only middle-aged dorks buy 'em now, in a handsomely packed gift box that costs about $4.50 per pair. Silver dollars and 50¢ pieces. Brown high boots for the horsy set. Nowadays they’re only worn in the show ring, where they have to be black. Those kicky low-rise cowboy boot things women wore about 1995. Collect calls. When was the last time you made one? Can you still call collect without dialing some number that begins with ten? Can you still even dial ten? Ice cream sold in cups covered with paper, supplied with a wooden “spoon.” Speaking of ice cream: **Rufus Xavier** mentioned he hadn’t recently seen it sold out of a truck. I can only conclude he lives outside the greater NYC metro area, where Mister Softee is still such a force in the culture that it’s actually hard to find hand dipped ice cream sold by the cone in a parlor. Mr S is less famous for the quality of its product (which all tastes like it’s shot from air guns) than the annoying loudness of its truck-top speaker jingle. I can personally attest that a passing Mister Softee truck once drowned out the 100-ton Riverside Church carillon, the largest such instrument in the world at the time. ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2005, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-you-just-dont-see-anymore/289705/39 "2005-02-13T00:10:46Z")
Checker “Marathon” cabs…plus driver wearing uniforms -phone booths (everybody has cell phones now -tooth powder -recycled motor oil at gas stations (in glass bottles) -chinese laundries -car hops -HEATHKIT “do it yourself” TV kits -garbage collectors -democratic politicians -Communist organizations; the “DALY WORKER” newspaper -Cub Scout uniforms (remember those fetching little beanies?) ---
**Author:** ![Wrenchslinger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/94ad74/32.png) [@Wrenchslinger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wrenchslinger)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2005, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-you-just-dont-see-anymore/289705/40 "2005-02-13T00:24:10Z")
> [@mambocrow](#): > > Powdered eggs. (Not egg substitute in liquid form). > > Mo-Peds. That’s because they were all bought by enterprising food delivery guys here in NYC. Incense sellers, burnouts, and drug dealers along the boarded up theaters of 42nd street all eyeing me as I to the 1/9 after dark. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-you-just-dont-see-anymore/289705.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-you-just-dont-see-anymore/289705.md?page=3)