# 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:** 21
**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:** [June 25, 2023, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ubiquitous-items-from-relatively-recently-youngsters-may-not-recognise/981362/401 "2023-06-25T19:00:48Z")
Hijack but are those beer bottles in Austria recycled after you return them or cleaned and refilled? Because in the US at least, glass bottles are only really recycled. ---
**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:** [June 25, 2023, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ubiquitous-items-from-relatively-recently-youngsters-may-not-recognise/981362/402 "2023-06-25T19:01:51Z")
> [@Novelty\_Bobble](#): > > When we holiday in Austria we often get a case of beer and we pay a specific “pfand” when purchasing. Taking the plastic crate and empty bottles back to the shop you can pop it in an autoamtic recycling machine that scans it all and gives you a deposit voucher that you can spend in the shop. That’s the same system as in Germany. But that’s not a recycling process, but the beer bottles are actually cleaned and refilled. It’s a cycle system. ETA: and involuntary, I also answered @Dewey_Finn’s question. There are also some plastic bottles that are reused and a special category of plastic bottles that are not reused, but you can also recycle in a machine and get “pfand” (money) for. ---
**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:** [June 25, 2023, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ubiquitous-items-from-relatively-recently-youngsters-may-not-recognise/981362/403 "2023-06-25T19:46:11Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > Hijack but are those beer bottles in Austria recycled after you return them or cleaned and refilled? Because in the US at least, glass bottles are only really recycled. yes, my terminology might not be perfect but, as Einsteinhund says it is _re-use_ and _refill_ rather than recycling I suppose. There’s a distinction in wording there that isn’t too familiar to me (I’m from the UK so it isn’t often done here). When you see the filled bottles in the shop it is clear from the circular scuffing that they are being washed and refilled many times. Seems like a good system to me. ---
**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:** [June 25, 2023, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ubiquitous-items-from-relatively-recently-youngsters-may-not-recognise/981362/404 "2023-06-25T21:00:12Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > [https://brannock.com/](https://brannock.com/) Not as expensive as I expected. I wonder if they’re still as heavy as they used to be. ---
**Author:** ![zbuzz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e19b73/32.png) [@zbuzz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zbuzz)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2023, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ubiquitous-items-from-relatively-recently-youngsters-may-not-recognise/981362/405 "2023-06-26T01:40:55Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > So…his first encounter with the Brannock Device? > [@JKellyMap](#): > > Yes! He said “it looks smaller than I expected.” Interesting. At least it was just a Brannock Device and not a [shoe-fitting fluoroscope](https://www.orau.org/health-physics-museum/collection/shoe-fitting-fluoroscope/index.html). It’s a wonder more people didn’t come out of the 1950s with green Hulk feet. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2023, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ubiquitous-items-from-relatively-recently-youngsters-may-not-recognise/981362/406 "2023-06-26T02:14:11Z")
> [@carrps](#): > > I wonder if they’re still as heavy as they used to be. Last one I dealt with “live” was at an Allen Edmonds shop and was pretty substantial. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2023, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ubiquitous-items-from-relatively-recently-youngsters-may-not-recognise/981362/407 "2023-06-26T03:54:03Z")
You can download printable brannock “devices”. [Here’s an app](https://www.feetmeter.pro/) that’s supposed to do the same measurements, but I haven’t tried it. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2023, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ubiquitous-items-from-relatively-recently-youngsters-may-not-recognise/981362/408 "2023-06-26T13:27:48Z")
The Master speaks: > **[Were those old shoe store fluoroscopes a health hazard?](https://www.straightdope.com/21341775/were-those-old-shoe-store-fluoroscopes-a-health-hazard)** ---
**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:** [June 26, 2023, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ubiquitous-items-from-relatively-recently-youngsters-may-not-recognise/981362/409 "2023-06-26T14:46:12Z")
They may not recognize answering machines. Those are the little boxes that answered and took a message from one of those funny looking phones that were attached to the wall. The young folks may not realize in the old days before the answering machine was invented people just answered the phone without knowing who was calling. ---
**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:** [June 26, 2023, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ubiquitous-items-from-relatively-recently-youngsters-may-not-recognise/981362/410 "2023-06-26T15:40:24Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > We also had a selection of gas station maps in the glove compartment, none of which were ever properly folded up once opened. Why did road maps ever get a reputation for being hard to fold, anyway? ---
**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:** [June 26, 2023, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ubiquitous-items-from-relatively-recently-youngsters-may-not-recognise/981362/411 "2023-06-26T16:06:50Z")
Because people would try to refold them in a cramped car with the windows down and the wind blowing. I’ve never had any problem with them, but then I look at them before I start the trip and don’t put them away until after I’m home. ---
**Author:** ![Bashorian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bashorian/32/3546_2.png) [@Bashorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bashorian)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2023, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ubiquitous-items-from-relatively-recently-youngsters-may-not-recognise/981362/412 "2023-06-26T16:25:21Z")
It’s not intuitive. Many times the fold lines are hard to tell whether you fold inward or outword. And there are times when you fold the map open to where you are and where you’re going with the rest of the map out of view. And what silenis said. Who really takes the time or even cares when you just want to get somewhere. ---
**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:** [June 26, 2023, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ubiquitous-items-from-relatively-recently-youngsters-may-not-recognise/981362/413 "2023-06-26T16:30:20Z")
What could be more intuitive than an accordion fold? Which is also the fold that makes it easiest to unfold just a section of it. ---
**Author:** ![alovem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@alovem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alovem)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2023, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ubiquitous-items-from-relatively-recently-youngsters-may-not-recognise/981362/414 "2023-06-26T19:07:32Z")
The vertical folds that give maps the accordion-like quality aren’t the problem. Things can get messy when maps **also have** three or even just two horizontal folds. More of a perfectionist’s annoyance than a problem. ---
**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:** [June 26, 2023, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ubiquitous-items-from-relatively-recently-youngsters-may-not-recognise/981362/415 "2023-06-26T20:08:24Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > They may not recognize answering machines. Those are the little boxes that answered and took a message from one of those funny looking phones that were attached to the wall. I remember during the period, when a movie showed an answering machine it would have been modified to have a big, red blinking light the size of your thumb to indicate it had recorded a message rather than the tiny, flush with the surface light they really had. ---
**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:** [June 26, 2023, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ubiquitous-items-from-relatively-recently-youngsters-may-not-recognise/981362/416 "2023-06-26T20:13:05Z")
The Rockford Files opening would have an answering machine in Jim’s trailer taking a message. I don’t know if kids these days watch the Rockford Files, they should, but probably not. ---
**Author:** ![Pardel-Lux](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pardel-lux/32/20182_2.png) [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2023, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ubiquitous-items-from-relatively-recently-youngsters-may-not-recognise/981362/417 "2023-06-26T20:15:41Z")
Much longer than that: say the last 40 to 50 years. And they were never ubiquitous as they seems to be in the US, the line “the check is in the mail” has never made sense over here. I, 58 yr old, have never written a check. What I guess kids would probably not understand is a pager. And they would probably wonder what to do if they had one and it went off. If they knew how it is called at all (probably not, I guess) they would ask ChatGPT, I suppose. And it would hallucinate an answer, because ChatGPT is young and ignorant in those things too. ---
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2023, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ubiquitous-items-from-relatively-recently-youngsters-may-not-recognise/981362/418 "2023-06-27T01:45:49Z")
“Lift handle and select grade.” What handle? ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2023, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ubiquitous-items-from-relatively-recently-youngsters-may-not-recognise/981362/419 "2023-06-27T01:57:21Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > Hijack but are those beer bottles in Austria recycled after you return them or cleaned and refilled? Because in the US at least, glass bottles are only really recycled. There’s one small dairy here in Washington that sells milk in glass bottles that you pay a $2 deposit on at the grocery store. When you’re done with it, you rinse the bottle, bring it back to the store, and they give you your $2 and it gets sent back to the dairy to be sterilized and refilled. It’s quite expensive (close to $8 for a half-gallon), but it’s unhomogenized with a layer of cream on top which I’ve personally never seen in my life aside from this one brand, and they also make amazing chocolate/strawberry milk, and eggnog at Christmastime. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2023, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ubiquitous-items-from-relatively-recently-youngsters-may-not-recognise/981362/420 "2023-06-27T02:48:01Z")
> [@alovem](#): > > The vertical folds that give maps the accordion-like quality aren’t the problem. Things can get messy when maps **also have** three or even just two horizontal folds. More of a perfectionist’s annoyance than a problem And there was _always_ at least one horizontal fold in an unexpected place - usually the first fold was horizontal, sometimes the second. I’ve got some old maps here folded up that still take an effort to follow the original folds. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ubiquitous-items-from-relatively-recently-youngsters-may-not-recognise/981362.md?page=20) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ubiquitous-items-from-relatively-recently-youngsters-may-not-recognise/981362.md?page=22)