# 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:** 15
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2026, 7:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-became-ubiquitous-then-went-away-in-your-lifetime/1029180/281 "2026-04-16T07:18:41Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > 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. We went on a road trip recently that took us to lots of motels, and they all seemed to have the standard cable lineup along with the access to streaming services you mentioned - not that I’d want to leave my credentials on their tv. No pay per view. ---
**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 16, 2026, 10:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-became-ubiquitous-then-went-away-in-your-lifetime/1029180/282 "2026-04-16T10:43:23Z")
Car-bras were very popular in the 80-90ies…(in the USA). Don’t see those anymore. @Bullitt posting a Pic of his Fiat 1/9 brought back memories ---
**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 16, 2026, 10:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-became-ubiquitous-then-went-away-in-your-lifetime/1029180/283 "2026-04-16T10:45:41Z")
The message on the in-room TVs in hotels says that your credentials will automatically be wiped when you check out. Or you can logout when you’re leaving the room. ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2026, 11:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-became-ubiquitous-then-went-away-in-your-lifetime/1029180/284 "2026-04-16T11:23:20Z")
Swiping the magnetic stripe on a credit or debit card. When I was a kid, they had the “ka-chunk” machine that made a carbon copy of your credit card. Then they introduced a magnetic stripe on the credit card that would be swiped through a reader. Nowadays, I always insert or tap my card; I haven’t seen the swipe system in years. (Maybe it still exists in the primitive U.S.) ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2026, 11:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-became-ubiquitous-then-went-away-in-your-lifetime/1029180/285 "2026-04-16T11:29:49Z")
> [@hogarth](#): > > When I was a kid, they had the “ka-chunk” machine that made a carbon copy of your credit card. Then they introduced a magnetic stripe on the credit card that would be swiped through a reader. Nowadays, I always insert or tap my card; I haven’t seen the swipe system in years. (Maybe it still exists in the primitive U.S.) It’s still all over the place here in the U.S., AFAICT. The credit card readers I see usually give you all three options: insert, swipe, or tap. ---
**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:** [April 16, 2026, 11:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-became-ubiquitous-then-went-away-in-your-lifetime/1029180/286 "2026-04-16T11:57:56Z")
Re calling cards, I had one of those automatic dialers that looked like a simple calculator and had a small speaker on the back. You programmed it with different phone numbers and sequences so you could hold it up to the phone’s mouthpiece and dial using DTMF (Touch-Tone). For example, I would select program “01” and it would dial the toll-free number, pause, enter my calling card number, pause, and then dial my home phone number. It was a pain to carry it around, but it sure beat dialing over 30 digits by hand. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2026, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-became-ubiquitous-then-went-away-in-your-lifetime/1029180/287 "2026-04-16T13:30:28Z")
> [@Al128](#): > > Car-bras were very popular in the 80-90ies…(in the USA). > > Don’t see those anymore. True, came and went in the 80s-early 2000s. I think it’s because cars get hit with fewer bugs these days. It may be partly due to better aerodynamics but also partly due to fewer bugs in general. I don’t remember the last time I saw a lovebug. When I get bug spatter on the front of my car it looks different from how it looked before when there were lovebugs, since they have a unique pattern: thick and opaque enough to produce coherent black spots rather than a greyish smearing like mosquitos and gnats, but not large enough that I can still see part of the body clearly like dragonflies or wasps. ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2026, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-became-ubiquitous-then-went-away-in-your-lifetime/1029180/288 "2026-04-16T13:44:24Z")
I had one of those as well! ---
**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 16, 2026, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-became-ubiquitous-then-went-away-in-your-lifetime/1029180/289 "2026-04-16T13:48:41Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#): > > It’s still all over the place here in the U.S., AFAICT. The credit card readers I see usually give you all three options: insert, swipe, or tap. Last I looked swipe has fallen to under 10% for us, but it’s going to be a long time before it gets to zero, because the ones who are still using it are either tied to issuers who aren’t updating or people who are afraid of the new methods. On the plus side we have not had a confirmed skimming incident in several years. Considering we still have millions of swipes a year, that’s pretty amazing. ---
**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 16, 2026, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-became-ubiquitous-then-went-away-in-your-lifetime/1029180/290 "2026-04-16T13:54:15Z")
There’s a parking garage near where I live that doesn’t allow for tap-to-pay, including not allowing Apple Pay or Google Pay. I wonder if there’s some reason that cheating is possible using that method. ---
**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 16, 2026, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-became-ubiquitous-then-went-away-in-your-lifetime/1029180/291 "2026-04-16T14:56:29Z")
Probably just using outdated equipment. Which is even more worrying because the old swipe devices are more susceptible to skimming. ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2026, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-became-ubiquitous-then-went-away-in-your-lifetime/1029180/292 "2026-04-16T16:23:03Z")
> [@Al128](#): > > Car-bras were very popular in the 80-90ies…(in the USA). > > Don’t see those anymore. > > @Bullitt posting a Pic of his Fiat 1/9 brought back memories [![](https://i.imgur.com/pTDPFWk.jpg) ](https://i.imgur.com/pTDPFWk.jpg) I still have one on my 63 year old classic car. Car bras are a good way of keeping rock chips from dinging your front end paint. But yeah, you don’t see them any more. These days you can put a clear vinyl protectant on your car (I forget what they’re called). ---
**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 16, 2026, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-became-ubiquitous-then-went-away-in-your-lifetime/1029180/293 "2026-04-16T18:08:22Z")
> [@Bullitt](#): > > These days you can put a clear vinyl protectant on your car (I forget what they’re called). Clear bras. Because creativity is also dead? ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2026, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-became-ubiquitous-then-went-away-in-your-lifetime/1029180/294 "2026-04-16T18:17:36Z")
Likely so. ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2026, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-became-ubiquitous-then-went-away-in-your-lifetime/1029180/295 "2026-04-16T18:37:13Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > There’s a parking garage near where I live that doesn’t allow for tap-to-pay, including not allowing Apple Pay or Google Pay. I wonder if there’s some reason that cheating is possible using that method. The largest retailer in the US, Walmart, still does not use tap-to-pay. It’s annoying that that’s literally like the _only_ place I have to actually pull out a physical card. ---
**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 16, 2026, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-became-ubiquitous-then-went-away-in-your-lifetime/1029180/296 "2026-04-16T18:38:35Z")
And the reason for that is that Walmart prefers that you pay through their dedicated app, so they can track purchases. ---
**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 16, 2026, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-became-ubiquitous-then-went-away-in-your-lifetime/1029180/297 "2026-04-16T18:42:01Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > And the reason for that is that Walmart prefers that you pay through their dedicated app, so they can track purchases ISTM that they could track my purchases via my CC as well. Maybe not quite as easily, but they could still do it. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2026, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-became-ubiquitous-then-went-away-in-your-lifetime/1029180/298 "2026-04-16T18:50:51Z")
> [@Mighty\_Mouse](#): > > Last I looked swipe has fallen to under 10% for us Is that in terms of availability or actual usage? ---
**Author:** ![fedman1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e495f1/32.png) [@fedman1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fedman1)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2026, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-became-ubiquitous-then-went-away-in-your-lifetime/1029180/299 "2026-04-16T20:07:27Z")
are you thinking of the old machines where they laid your credit card down, then placed a carbon copy receipt on top, then ran a roller over them? ---
**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 16, 2026, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-became-ubiquitous-then-went-away-in-your-lifetime/1029180/300 "2026-04-16T20:14:53Z")
> [@fedman1](#): > > the old machines where they laid your credit card down, then placed a carbon copy receipt on top, then ran a roller over them I’ve heard of those referred to as “knuckle busters,” but I don’t know if that was an industry standard term, or just colloquial to where I encountered it which was in the context of “the computers are down, break out the knuckle busters and we’ll have to do credit cards the old way.” Those certainly did become ubiquitous after the introduction of credit cards, and now are completely gone. Many modern cards don’t even have raised numbers. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-became-ubiquitous-then-went-away-in-your-lifetime/1029180.md?page=14) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-became-ubiquitous-then-went-away-in-your-lifetime/1029180.md?page=16)