# 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:** 19
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2023, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ubiquitous-items-from-relatively-recently-youngsters-may-not-recognise/981362/361 "2023-04-10T17:40:38Z")
> [@doreen](#): > > because I thought **silenus** was saying if I bought decent beer it would come in a refillable bottle. Which I was. _Technically_ crown cap bottles can be sterilized and refilled\*, it’s just that nobody much does so anymore. - - This is done mainly by home brewers these days. Those that haven’t shifted to completely draft systems. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2023, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ubiquitous-items-from-relatively-recently-youngsters-may-not-recognise/981362/362 "2023-04-10T17:55:36Z")
I used punch cards in high school math classes, back in 1974-75, and even wrote quite a few Fortran programs with them. It was sort of fun pounding them out on the keypunch machine, trying to not inhale stray card dust or chads. I saw my first green screens in med school, early 1980’s. by the end of that decade, they were gone. ---
**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:** [April 10, 2023, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ubiquitous-items-from-relatively-recently-youngsters-may-not-recognise/981362/363 "2023-04-10T23:31:48Z")
Are you familiar with a machine called a Flex-o-Writer? ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2023, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ubiquitous-items-from-relatively-recently-youngsters-may-not-recognise/981362/364 "2023-04-11T00:46:31Z")
I got plastic beer bottles at The Beer Store. I don’t recall the brand, but it wasn’t bad. I went specifically seeking plastic, because both cans and glass bottles are prohibited in Algonquin Provincial Park, and camping requires beer in my book. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2023, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ubiquitous-items-from-relatively-recently-youngsters-may-not-recognise/981362/365 "2023-04-11T00:50:53Z")
> [@Balthisar](#): > > because both cans and glass bottles are prohibited in Algonquin Provincial Park Why? Because of littering concerns? Because plastic is much more problematic as litter than glass or cans. Why not make it obligatory to bring back any litter and recycle it? ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2023, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ubiquitous-items-from-relatively-recently-youngsters-may-not-recognise/981362/366 "2023-04-11T00:58:10Z")
The prohibition makes no sense to me, because the other rule is pack out all of your garbage. I don’t think there’s a requirement that you recycle it; as long as you bring it out, you can dispose of it in normal rubbish. ---
**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:** [April 11, 2023, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ubiquitous-items-from-relatively-recently-youngsters-may-not-recognise/981362/367 "2023-04-11T01:17:50Z")
I kind of wonder if refillable bottles might make a comeback in the future, with younger generations becoming more environmentally conscious. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2023, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ubiquitous-items-from-relatively-recently-youngsters-may-not-recognise/981362/368 "2023-04-11T01:24:32Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > Another form of punched card that people who saw them often don’t realize what they were, the perforated little cardboard tags that would be pinned or stapled to department store clothes. Those things were actually punched cards that some poor sucker had to feed into a reader facing numerous jam ups. They were often in terrible condition after being pulled off by a clerk who may have had no idea what they were used for. I think Alexander’s Department Stores had those. The cashier would tear off a portion and feed it into a machine. I assume these were later used for inventory control. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2023, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ubiquitous-items-from-relatively-recently-youngsters-may-not-recognise/981362/369 "2023-04-11T01:36:16Z")
And surprisingly enough, Wikipedia has a [photo](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7f/KimballTagPinnedToGarmentPackage.jpg) of an Alexander’s price tag. ---
**Author:** ![Die\_Capacitrix](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/die_capacitrix/32/9_2.png) [@Die\_Capacitrix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Die_Capacitrix)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2023, 9:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ubiquitous-items-from-relatively-recently-youngsters-may-not-recognise/981362/370 "2023-04-11T09:14:06Z")
> [@EinsteinsHund](#): > > Refillable (mostly plastic) bottles are also the norm for most sodas and water. At least in Switzerland it’s also possible to get water and soda in refillable glass bottles as well, especially Swiss water and craft soda. ---
**Author:** ![fedman1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e495f1/32.png) [@fedman1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fedman1)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2023, 9:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ubiquitous-items-from-relatively-recently-youngsters-may-not-recognise/981362/371 "2023-04-11T09:42:34Z")
actually, this was common in 50s and 60s in st louis.kids would go through trash and collect them ---
**Author:** ![nightshadea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7ba0ec/32.png) [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2023, 9:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ubiquitous-items-from-relatively-recently-youngsters-may-not-recognise/981362/372 "2023-04-11T09:58:57Z")
I remember a friend of my dad had one of those… it was expensive as hell here but he had to keep track of various stock markets … ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2023, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ubiquitous-items-from-relatively-recently-youngsters-may-not-recognise/981362/373 "2023-04-11T13:14:39Z")
> [@Die\_Capacitrix](#): > > At least in Switzerland it’s also possible to get water and soda in refillable glass bottles as well, especially Swiss water and craft soda. In Germany too, but the big brands like Coca-Cola and Pepsi have long switched to plastic. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2023, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ubiquitous-items-from-relatively-recently-youngsters-may-not-recognise/981362/374 "2023-04-11T13:21:59Z")
> [@GaryM](#): > > Are you familiar with a machine called a Flex-o-Writer? The name was sounded familiar but I had to look it up. I have never seen one of the various models. I had assumed the typewriter versions were alternatives to teletypes but apparently some of them were just typewriters that could read paper tape. I didn’t realize some of these were early computing machines. Not what we would call a computer today, but advanced adding machines, and maybe like a few others later on which were cash registers. [Flexowriter](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friden_Flexowriter) > [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > And surprisingly enough, Wikipedia has a [photo](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7f/KimballTagPinnedToGarmentPackage.jpg) of an Alexander’s price tag. Thanks for finding that. I couldn’t find a picture online, the younger folks may never have seen such a thing. ---
**Author:** ![SCAdian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scadian/32/3292_2.png) [@SCAdian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCAdian)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2023, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ubiquitous-items-from-relatively-recently-youngsters-may-not-recognise/981362/375 "2023-04-11T21:40:45Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > decent beer An interesting concept, but I’ve never seen it in action. ---
**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:** [April 11, 2023, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ubiquitous-items-from-relatively-recently-youngsters-may-not-recognise/981362/376 "2023-04-11T22:57:54Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > some of them were just typewriters that could read paper tape we had large format multipart forms that were constantly revised. This was for logistics purposes. The printed forms would by marked up in green ballpoint and the Flex operators would run the old tape, stop for changes, than finish the job and create a new tape at the same time. Three folks working full time on the flexowriters. ---
**Author:** ![NinthAcolyte](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ninthacolyte/32/13676_2.png) [@NinthAcolyte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinthAcolyte)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2023, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ubiquitous-items-from-relatively-recently-youngsters-may-not-recognise/981362/377 "2023-04-13T17:28:15Z")
I think the worry behind glass bottles at the beach/campsites is the possibility for _broken_ glass, which can cause injury/damage that plastic can’t. If a glass bottle should break, even a diligent and conscientious camper might miss some shards. ---
**Author:** ![Shalmanese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shalmanese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shalmanese)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2023, 6:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ubiquitous-items-from-relatively-recently-youngsters-may-not-recognise/981362/378 "2023-05-04T06:42:04Z")
I thought of another one. Until relatively recently, most cars used to have the big book of maps that you would use when navigating to an unfamiliar part of the city or for on road trips. Often they were stuffed with little post-it notes on the side marking a route and were extensively highlighted. I used to ask for it in the backseat on long car rides when I forgot to bring reading material, exploring distant towns or trying to find roads that would extend long distances. Ubiquitous smartphone navigation only really became a thing in the 2010s so the big book’o’maps is less than a decade in the rear view mirror and yet it’s not something I ever see really being brought up. ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2023, 7:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ubiquitous-items-from-relatively-recently-youngsters-may-not-recognise/981362/379 "2023-05-04T07:12:57Z")
I always used to have a Thomas Guide book for wherever I lived. Unsurprisingly, it seems they don’t make them anymore. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2023, 11:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ubiquitous-items-from-relatively-recently-youngsters-may-not-recognise/981362/380 "2023-05-04T11:40:45Z")
> [@Shalmanese](#): > > Until relatively recently, most cars used to have the big book of maps that you would use when navigating to an unfamiliar part of the city or for on road trips. My family always used the Rand McNally road Atlas on summer vacation road trips across the country. When I was a kid in the '80s, I sometimes passed the time in these road trips by trying to match our exact location (based on mile markers, curves in the highway, etc.) with what I saw on the maps. Kind of a human GPS. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ubiquitous-items-from-relatively-recently-youngsters-may-not-recognise/981362.md?page=18) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ubiquitous-items-from-relatively-recently-youngsters-may-not-recognise/981362.md?page=20)