# Ubiquitous items from relatively recently youngsters may not recognise **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 19, 2023, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ubiquitous-items-from-relatively-recently-youngsters-may-not-recognise/981362 "2023-03-19T15:27:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 12
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2023, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ubiquitous-items-from-relatively-recently-youngsters-may-not-recognise/981362/221 "2023-03-21T18:15:40Z")
> [@kferr](#): > > How about microfiche? In my first job as a programmer not everyone had their own terminal so if you needed to look at your code it was on a microfiche reader. I had one on my desk at my job starting in 1997, kept it for maybe ten years. We needed it for reading old patent documents. Abstracts and titles were searchable online, but if you wanted the full text, this was all they had. Eventually it was all digitized, so now they’re history. ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2023, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ubiquitous-items-from-relatively-recently-youngsters-may-not-recognise/981362/222 "2023-03-21T18:18:55Z")
> [@kferr](#): > > When I started the tapes were reel-to-reel and had to be manually mounted by operators, or as we referred to them, “tape apes”. At the insurance company I was at the actuary master file spanned 80 reels of tape. Then cartridges that looked similar to 8-track tapes replaced reel-to-reel, but still had to be manually mounted. I did that job for the Canadian government one summer during University. Half reel-to-reel tapes, half the newer cassette type. The cassettes were nice because they’d often request several at once, and we had a feeder that you could stack them in, and they’d feed one at a time as needed. Much less labor! ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2023, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ubiquitous-items-from-relatively-recently-youngsters-may-not-recognise/981362/223 "2023-03-21T19:19:46Z")
California used to use those punch cards for elections. They stopped around 2002. ---
**Author:** ![Mikkel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mikkel/32/13151_2.png) [@Mikkel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mikkel)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2023, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ubiquitous-items-from-relatively-recently-youngsters-may-not-recognise/981362/224 "2023-03-22T18:39:39Z")
I, here in Copenhagen, have a set of wheels with summer tires on alloy and a set of snow tires on steel. Not unusual around here. ---
**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 23, 2023, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ubiquitous-items-from-relatively-recently-youngsters-may-not-recognise/981362/225 "2023-03-23T02:06:07Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > Ah, pagers! When I was a 1st year medical resident, I got my first one. Audio pager only, no screen or text messages on it. It only worked within the hospital. Damn thing shrieked at me day and night, “whoop whoop whoop, Dr. M, call the ER, 8175!” Of course half the time the message was incoherent so I couldn’t return the call. I had a pager when I was support for several crucial systems back in my programmer days. At the time, those were all jobs that ran during the day, so if there was an issue, production control just called me at my desk. But once when I’d taken a day off my pager beeped, and I couldn’t for the life of me figure out the message. I called the company operator who just said “Turn on the TV to a local station.” There was a shooting, and I got to see my co-workers being escorted out of the building by the police. > [@Mighty\_Mouse](#): > > But apparently it really was some guy in the data center next door who would go get some kind of tape cartridge with the data on it and load it back onto the mainframe. We actually had automated tape mounting machines. They looked like huge Daleks, except that the tapes were inside the body of the “Dalek.” ---
**Author:** ![Novelty\_Bobble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2023, 7:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ubiquitous-items-from-relatively-recently-youngsters-may-not-recognise/981362/226 "2023-03-23T07:44:47Z")
> [@carrps](#): > > We actually had automated tape mounting machines. They looked like huge Daleks, except that the tapes were inside the body of the “Dalek.” In the early 90’s one part of my daily routine in a Microchip fabrication plant was to mount and run tape backups that dumped all the data from our VAX systems. The tapes kept getting bigger and more numerous but we never invested in an automated system. Luxury! ---
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2023, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ubiquitous-items-from-relatively-recently-youngsters-may-not-recognise/981362/227 "2023-03-23T16:26:22Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > (Or whatever the current fad word for “cool” is.) “Dripping.” > [@Kent\_Clark](#): > > Anyone remember these? Your barber used them. We had one when I was a kid in the 80s, probably from an elderly relative downsizing or something. If you put a child-sized hand between the cylinder and the top of the handpad, the hand get badly pinched. It also got warm from prolonged use but I doubt that was by design. ---
**Author:** ![KentuckyCheese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/dc4da7/32.png) [@KentuckyCheese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KentuckyCheese)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2023, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ubiquitous-items-from-relatively-recently-youngsters-may-not-recognise/981362/228 "2023-03-24T03:25:44Z")
White for Residential. Yellow for Commercial. ---
**Author:** ![sjankis630](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7ea924/32.png) [@sjankis630](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sjankis630)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2023, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ubiquitous-items-from-relatively-recently-youngsters-may-not-recognise/981362/229 "2023-03-24T04:17:53Z")
CB radios is a good one. my late father owned one but I cannot imagine youngsters using them now. Do i remember correctly that you had to take turns talking because only one person could talk at a time? Yeah that would not go over well. ---
**Author:** ![california\_jobcase](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@california\_jobcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/california_jobcase)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2023, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ubiquitous-items-from-relatively-recently-youngsters-may-not-recognise/981362/230 "2023-03-24T04:18:29Z")
> [@Lancia](#): > > I’ve never seen motor oil sold in metal cans. Somebody may have said this previously, but the cans were cardboard with steel ends. ---
**Author:** ![GaryM](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garym/32/241_2.png) [@GaryM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GaryM)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2023, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ubiquitous-items-from-relatively-recently-youngsters-may-not-recognise/981362/231 "2023-03-24T13:51:00Z")
> [@california\_jobcase](#): > > Somebody may have said this previously, but the cans were cardboard with steel ends If you go back far enough, they were all steel with no cardboard. There are several sites selling [old cans](https://www.etsy.com/listing/679944119/tidewater-long-wearing-1-quart-motor-oil?ga_order=most_relevant&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_search_query=antique+oil+cans&ref=sr_gallery-1-35&organic_search_click=1) that are all steel. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2023, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ubiquitous-items-from-relatively-recently-youngsters-may-not-recognise/981362/232 "2023-03-24T17:43:23Z")
> [@kferr](#): > > How about microfiche? In my first job as a programmer not everyone had their own terminal so if you needed to look at your code it was on a microfiche reader. Aside: In the last year I read a current graphic novel, where the main character needs to find something in century-old newspapers. She enlists the help of a nerdy classmate, who takes her to the microfilm stacks of the library. She’s marveling at the “old-fashioned computers”, and the nerdy kid has to explain microfilm to her. > [@KentuckyCheese](#): > > White for Residential. > Yellow for Commercial. Not quite. The White Pages also had listings for businesses, alphabetically by the name of the business. The Yellow Pages had them sorted by the category of business. ---
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2023, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ubiquitous-items-from-relatively-recently-youngsters-may-not-recognise/981362/233 "2023-03-24T19:49:44Z")
As I was getting ready for bed I noticed the unused phone jack on my bedroom wall, and it made me think of this thread. I guess there are still enough land line phones around that a youngster would recognize one. But on the other hand, most new landlines are VOIP. Would a kid know the difference between an RJ11 phone jack and an Ethernet port? Are they even still installing RJ11 phone jacks in new homes? I’d guess probably not. I predict in the not too distant future phone jacks are going to be thought of as an “old house” feature, like those razor blade slots in medicine cabinets. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2023, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ubiquitous-items-from-relatively-recently-youngsters-may-not-recognise/981362/234 "2023-03-24T21:51:52Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > The Yellow Pages had them sorted by the category of business. And paid for, even the simple text-only listings. Extra if you wanted it bolded. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2023, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ubiquitous-items-from-relatively-recently-youngsters-may-not-recognise/981362/235 "2023-03-25T00:26:07Z")
Blue for Government. ---
**Author:** ![pirviii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pirviii/32/3233_2.png) [@pirviii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pirviii)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2023, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ubiquitous-items-from-relatively-recently-youngsters-may-not-recognise/981362/236 "2023-03-25T02:54:30Z")
> [@DesertDog](#): > > And paid for, even the simple text-only listings. Extra if you wanted it bolded. My wife worked at DEX and input what was printed in the phone book and part of here job was up-selling businesses to enhance their listings, but most of the time she was just making updates. She has a knack for picking obsolete jobs, here next one was managing a newspaper delivery warehouse. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2023, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ubiquitous-items-from-relatively-recently-youngsters-may-not-recognise/981362/237 "2023-03-25T04:20:07Z")
Buggy whip plaiter? ---
**Author:** ![ZonexandScout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zonexandscout/32/544_2.png) [@ZonexandScout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZonexandScout)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2023, 12:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ubiquitous-items-from-relatively-recently-youngsters-may-not-recognise/981362/238 "2023-03-25T12:45:53Z")
I think that an RJ-11 would be recognized, But would a Type 404A plug and jack be recognized? These were the ones with the four “prongs” that allowed you to move/unplug a phone back when most phones were hardwired to the wall. They weren’t “ubiquitous,” but they were certainly commonly recognized by people of all ages at the time (50s, 60s, 70s). I’m too lazy to provide a link to an image. ---
**Author:** ![GaryM](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garym/32/241_2.png) [@GaryM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GaryM)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2023, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ubiquitous-items-from-relatively-recently-youngsters-may-not-recognise/981362/239 "2023-03-25T13:55:04Z")
Had those in my old house, built in '73. ---
**Author:** ![OttoDaFe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ottodafe/32/356_2.png) [@OttoDaFe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OttoDaFe)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2023, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ubiquitous-items-from-relatively-recently-youngsters-may-not-recognise/981362/240 "2023-03-25T14:58:32Z")
> [@ZonexandScout](#): > > I’m too lazy to provide a link to an image. Here you go (about the only one I could find which included both plug and jack): [![](https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fi.ebayimg.com%2Fimages%2Fg%2FDwEAAOSw79VfwW-p%2Fs-l400.jpg&f=1&nofb=1&ipt=f056369e74d611d8282fd035c631e983ca2ae197769c9016340f575835a7c875&ipo=images) ](https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fi.ebayimg.com%2Fimages%2Fg%2FDwEAAOSw79VfwW-p%2Fs-l400.jpg&f=1&nofb=1&ipt=f056369e74d611d8282fd035c631e983ca2ae197769c9016340f575835a7c875&ipo=images) The house I grew up in had these in the kitchen and my parents’ bedroom. I’m not sure whether it had them when it was built (1930s, when it would be more common for the phone to be hardwired), or whether my father had them added so the phone could follow him around (he was a doctor). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ubiquitous-items-from-relatively-recently-youngsters-may-not-recognise/981362.md?page=11) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ubiquitous-items-from-relatively-recently-youngsters-may-not-recognise/981362.md?page=13)