# What became ubiquitous then went away in your lifetime? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 10, 2026, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-became-ubiquitous-then-went-away-in-your-lifetime/1029180 "2026-04-10T22:01:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 14
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2026, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-became-ubiquitous-then-went-away-in-your-lifetime/1029180/261 "2026-04-15T18:31:14Z")
> [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](#): > > Couple more automotive type things: I believe it was mostly late 70s and 80s. American makers decided to enhance the beauty of their products by spraying on a vinyl top. Supposed to suggest a leather top on a carriage maybe. Sometimes it was the whole roof, and sometimes it was just the back half with a decorative band separating them That “feature” actually had a name: the landau roof. And, yes, it was meant to evoke the look of a convertible roof, and/or a fancy carriage. The first car I owned – a 1981 Plymouth Reliant – had the half-landau. > **[What Is a ‘Landau Roof’ and Why Is it Called That?](https://www.motorbiscuit.com/what-landau-roof-why-called-that/)** > > You have probably seen a car with a landau roof at least once in your life. But what exactly is a "landau roof" and why is it called that? ---
**Author:** ![Great\_Antibob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2026, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-became-ubiquitous-then-went-away-in-your-lifetime/1029180/262 "2026-04-15T18:35:04Z")
> [@WildaBeast](#): > > Pocket calculators. Pocket calculators, for the most part, but not entirely. The College Board does not allow calculators with advanced algebra systems to be used for the SAT and other tests. So, many legacy scientific and graphing calculators are still around, mainly used by students. I would hazard a guess at least a portion of the younger generation of working engineers out there probably still have and occasionally use their old TIs and HPs as well. ---
**Author:** ![robby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robby/32/11048_2.png) [@robby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robby)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2026, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-became-ubiquitous-then-went-away-in-your-lifetime/1029180/263 "2026-04-15T18:41:49Z")
> [@WolfpackJeep](#): > > > [@RTFirefly](#): > > > > > [@WolfpackJeep](#): > > > > > > that all-important P.E. exam. > > > > Jumping jacks, push-ups, sit-ups? > > 😆 That’s the Principles and Practice of Engineering exam. **Tabco’s** explanation is very good. For anybody who is curious, you take the 8-hour Principles and Practice of Engineering exam as the last step in getting your Professional Engineer (P.E.) license. For short, people frequently refer to this as the P.E. exam. An earlier step is taking the 8-hour Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) exam, which gets you an Engineer-in-Training (EIT) license. > [@WolfpackJeep](#): > > I took it once back when it was open book; there were people lined up with Rubbermaid totes crammed full of books on dollies. I don’t know how they had time to make use of all that stuff. I took it about 20 years ago when it was open book, and brought two boxes of textbooks and reference material. I had it all tabbed for quick reference. I even printed out separately the index of my main reference to reduce time in searching for things. And my son took it (and passed) a couple of months ago! 😊 His experience was the closed-book supplied-reference computer-based exam that @Tabco described. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2026, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-became-ubiquitous-then-went-away-in-your-lifetime/1029180/264 "2026-04-15T18:46:55Z")
> [@TokyoBayer](#): > > Another invention was telephone cards in Japan. Pay phones only took coins until the mid 80s, when they introduced prepaid telephone cards. Suddenly, they had to replace tens (hundreds?) of thousands of pay phones with ones that could read the cards. I have no idea if they still have phone cards now. This reminded me of something I used a lot when I was traveling for business in the late '80s, into the '90s: a card (issued by AT&T or another carrier, and given to me by my employer) which had a toll-free number and a code number. One would call the toll-free number, and enter your code when the automated system answered the call; once you had “logged in,” you could then enter a phone number, and make a call (especially a long-distance call), which would be billed directly to whoever owned the account (in this case, my employer). It let you make calls without having to pay for the call on the spot; I used the card at pay phones at airports, and at hotel rooms, to do things like check my work voicemail, call colleagues or clients, and call home to talk to my wife. When cellphones with unlimited minutes (and no extra fee for long distance) became ubiquitous, such cards became obsolete. ---
**Author:** ![Railer13](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/railer13/32/9742_2.png) [@Railer13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Railer13)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2026, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-became-ubiquitous-then-went-away-in-your-lifetime/1029180/265 "2026-04-15T18:50:32Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > a card (issued by AT&T or another carrier, and given to me by my employer) which had a toll-free number and a code number. I had one of those, at around the same period. Kind of a PITA to use, as I recall, but they worked. I hadn’t thought about that for a long, long time. ---
**Author:** ![eburacum45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eburacum45/32/8690_2.png) [@eburacum45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eburacum45)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2026, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-became-ubiquitous-then-went-away-in-your-lifetime/1029180/266 "2026-04-15T18:56:42Z")
> [@](#): > > Nehru jackets (maybe not quite ubiquitous but had a brief run during the late 60s and early 70s) Still popular in India, and among the diaspora from the Indian subcontinent. Here is Narendra Modi, wearing a pinstripe Nehru jacket - apparently his name is woven into the stripes in tiny letters. [![](https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/ace/standard/624/mcs/media/images/80518000/jpg/_80518840_reutersmodi.jpg) ](https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/ace/standard/624/mcs/media/images/80518000/jpg/_80518840_reutersmodi.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2026, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-became-ubiquitous-then-went-away-in-your-lifetime/1029180/267 "2026-04-15T19:00:05Z")
> [@Railer13](#): > > Kind of a PITA to use, as I recall, but they worked. Yup – lots of button-pushing. I’m now remembering standing at the pay-phone banks at airports, my Franklin Planner balanced on the little shelf under the phone, checking voicemail and making notes in my planner. Which, of course, brings up the Franklin Planner, which probably qualifies for this thread (introduced in 1984). I had one, as did nearly everyone at my first job; it was a knock-off of the Day-Timer (which has been around for longer, and predates me, so it doesn’t qualify), and was a combination daily planner/calendar/address book/note-taking tool. It went everywhere with me for the first half of my career, until all of its functions were replaced by computers and/or smartphones. I’m sure that there are some people who still use Franklin Planners, but I suspect that it’s effectively extinct for anyone under the age of 60. [![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0c/FranklinPlanner.png) ](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0c/FranklinPlanner.png) ---
**Author:** ![Al128](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/al128/32/16541_2.png) [@Al128](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Al128)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2026, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-became-ubiquitous-then-went-away-in-your-lifetime/1029180/268 "2026-04-15T20:09:14Z")
Oh yes I completely forgot about those day planners. Every professional and their dog had one in the '90s. There were all kinds of inserts depending on if you wanted a daily planner weekly or monthly or address book . ---
**Author:** ![echoreply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/echoreply/32/3641_2.png) [@echoreply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/echoreply)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2026, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-became-ubiquitous-then-went-away-in-your-lifetime/1029180/269 "2026-04-15T20:22:27Z")
> [@Al128](#): > > yes I completely forgot about those day planners. Every professional and their dog had one in the '90s For a very brief time period I had an electronic version of those planners. I ended up returning it, because at the time my life was not complicated enough to need one. But that reminded me of a similar thing that fits the OP, and also goes in the sub-category of “killed by smart phones”, the PDA (personal digital assistant). Things like Palm Pilots and Windows CE devices. Never even close to the ubiquity smart phones have achieved, but certainly common in their time. ---
**Author:** ![kambuckta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/53a042/32.png) [@kambuckta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kambuckta)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2026, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-became-ubiquitous-then-went-away-in-your-lifetime/1029180/270 "2026-04-15T20:41:42Z")
Certain dog breeds like Old English Sheepdogs and Red/Irish setters were incredibly popular during the 70s and 80s, but you rarely, if ever, see them anymore. ---
**Author:** ![xizor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xizor/32/102_2.png) [@xizor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xizor)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2026, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-became-ubiquitous-then-went-away-in-your-lifetime/1029180/271 "2026-04-15T21:01:58Z")
> [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](#): > > Shoot, a fella could have a pretty good weekend in Vegas with all that stuff Speaking of Vegas, this one may have only been ubiquitous only on the Las Vegas strip - porn slappers. People on every corner handing out little cards advertising escorts and their services (“strippers direct to your room!”). The nickname came from them slapping the cards in their palm to get your attention, then trying to make you take one. They were on every open spot on the strip from the mid 90s until about 2015. Then they all seemed to disappear and get replaced by people dressed in costumes wanting to charge you for taking a picture with them. ---
**Author:** ![Great\_Antibob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2026, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-became-ubiquitous-then-went-away-in-your-lifetime/1029180/272 "2026-04-15T21:18:06Z")
Speaking of porn, that’s something else that’s changed due to technology. Are there any hotels that do the premium pay TV channels anymore? I admit I haven’t looked but it seems the ubiquity of hotel wi-fi means guests can just access their own streaming and/or porn from their own devices. ---
**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 15, 2026, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-became-ubiquitous-then-went-away-in-your-lifetime/1029180/273 "2026-04-15T21:29:44Z")
I think some hotels still have HBO as one of the channels (or even multiple HBO channels). Also some hotels have Netflix or other streaming services available, though you need to use your own account credentials. ---
**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 15, 2026, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-became-ubiquitous-then-went-away-in-your-lifetime/1029180/274 "2026-04-15T22:02:17Z")
I assumed @Great_Antibob was talking about the pay-per-view porn that used to be common in hotel rooms. I don’t think I’ve seen that in a while. Granted, I don’t stay in that many hotel rooms. But why would anyone pay an exorbitant fee to the hotel for porn when they can just access PornHub or whatever on their own device? Or pay-per-view movies in general, really. I guess it’s not just limited to porn. But it’s the same idea – who would buy an overpriced movie from the hotel when they have Netflix, etc. on their personal device? One thing I have seen in a few hotels recently is a system that allows you to cast content from your own device to the TV in your room. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2026, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-became-ubiquitous-then-went-away-in-your-lifetime/1029180/275 "2026-04-15T22:41:07Z")
Hey, where’re the opera windows? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Mighty\_Mouse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mighty_mouse/32/7776_2.png) [@Mighty\_Mouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mighty_Mouse)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2026, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-became-ubiquitous-then-went-away-in-your-lifetime/1029180/276 "2026-04-15T23:06:32Z")
I won a trip to Hawaii as part of a team that sold over 10,000 cards to a certain real estate brokerage firm. Or rather a network of brokerages. Whose agents wore ridiculously bright colored jackets, and we printed up the cards in that same color. It blew my mind that there were 10,000 real estate agents in the country, never mind in one company. ---
**Author:** ![Kropotkin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kropotkin/32/18045_2.png) [@Kropotkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kropotkin)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2026, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-became-ubiquitous-then-went-away-in-your-lifetime/1029180/277 "2026-04-15T23:58:34Z")
Smoking areas at high schools. Students pushed to have them created and by the time I graduated high school, most had them. Then, in a puff of smoke, gone. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2026, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-became-ubiquitous-then-went-away-in-your-lifetime/1029180/278 "2026-04-16T03:14:42Z")
> [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](#): > > Shoot, a fella could have a pretty good weekend in Vegas with all that stuff. Fallout shelters? Have you seen one recently? ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2026, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-became-ubiquitous-then-went-away-in-your-lifetime/1029180/279 "2026-04-16T04:57:29Z")
> [@DPRK](#): > > Fallout shelters? Have you seen one recently? Nope. I wonder what they’re doing with them now – or are “survivalists” still much the same? The threat of nuclear war is perhaps diminished since the Soviet era, but society overall has gotten much nuttier! I was a kid at around the peak of the Cold War. I was barely old enough to understand that the Cuban Missile Crisis was Serious Stuff, but understand it I did, in my little childish way. I saw many film clips on TV of families building fallout shelters, so I naturally informed my parents and demanded that they build one. I was pretty despondent when they patiently explained to little me that it was “nonsense”! ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2026, 6:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-became-ubiquitous-then-went-away-in-your-lifetime/1029180/280 "2026-04-16T06:27:17Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > a card (issued by AT&T or another carrier, and given to me by my employer) which had a toll-free number and a code number I still have an AT&T card I bought back in the 90’s! I called the number tonight and it’s still valid! It has over 300 minutes left on it. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-became-ubiquitous-then-went-away-in-your-lifetime/1029180.md?page=13) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-became-ubiquitous-then-went-away-in-your-lifetime/1029180.md?page=15)