# 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:** 18
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2026, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-became-ubiquitous-then-went-away-in-your-lifetime/1029180/341 "2026-04-18T17:08:30Z")
> [@Horatio\_Hellpop](#): > > Kenny Rogers Roasters. That was some good eating in the 80s-90s, especially those chicken dinners! I think the chain still exists in Southeast Asia (I saw one in Manila about 12 years ago), but not in America. I think Steak ‘n’ Ale had a similar trajectory. This reminds me of Dixie Lee Fried Chicken, which despite its name was actually a Canadian chain. It doesn’t fit this thread because I remember them from my childhood. But the chain gradually closed all of its American franchises. The last one in the United States was in Ogdensburgh, NY and I used to stop there when I was in that town. ---
**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 18, 2026, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-became-ubiquitous-then-went-away-in-your-lifetime/1029180/342 "2026-04-18T17:27:29Z")
> [@Horatio\_Hellpop](#): > > Every other popular music format has risen, disappeared, and reappeared thanks to ironic hipsters (and whoever keeps buying 8-track tapes), but not cassettes Cassettes have gone through a minor resurgence lately. Nothing like the boom of vinyl records or even CDs. I think it is due to nostalgia, another FU to the streaming companies, and access to old music that was never available on another format. ---
**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 18, 2026, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-became-ubiquitous-then-went-away-in-your-lifetime/1029180/343 "2026-04-18T17:35:08Z")
> [@echoreply](#): > > I think it is due to nostalgia, another FU to the streaming companies, and access to old music that was never available on another format. I don’t know if it’s really significant, but I’ve heard that also some modern bands have been selling their music on cassettes on their concerts in the last few years. ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2026, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-became-ubiquitous-then-went-away-in-your-lifetime/1029180/344 "2026-04-18T18:02:51Z")
> [@Bullitt](#): > > These days you can put a clear vinyl protectant on your car (I forget what they’re called). I made up a word for it: Fleen. Without knowing whether it actually exists. “Be sure to fleen your car before driving up that dirt road in the rain. Mind you don’t fleen the grille!” ---
**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 18, 2026, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-became-ubiquitous-then-went-away-in-your-lifetime/1029180/345 "2026-04-18T18:05:03Z")
> [@echoreply](#): > > Cassettes have gone through a minor resurgence lately. Nothing like the boom of vinyl records or even CDs. I think it is due to nostalgia, another FU to the streaming companies, and access to old music that was never available on another format. Mix tapes only really worked with cassettes. Sure, you can do a curated streaming list, but it’s not quite the same ---
**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 18, 2026, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-became-ubiquitous-then-went-away-in-your-lifetime/1029180/346 "2026-04-18T18:22:07Z")
> [@Great\_Antibob](#): > > Mix tapes only really worked with cassettes. Sure, you can do a curated streaming list, but it’s not quite the same For a very limited time, ca. between 1995 (the first affordable CD burners) and 2000 (the advent of MP3s and filesharing, Napster & Co.), you did that on CD-Rs, but even that was not the same as mix-tapes on cassettes. Btw., these are two things fitting for the OP that hadn’t been mentioned before IIRC, CD-Rs and DVD-Rs. Probably USB thumb drives will be next. ---
**Author:** ![Galactus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/galactus/32/3581_2.png) [@Galactus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Galactus)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2026, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-became-ubiquitous-then-went-away-in-your-lifetime/1029180/347 "2026-04-18T18:29:24Z")
Have radar detectors been mentioned yet? Seems like every other guy had one in the 90s’. ---
**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 18, 2026, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-became-ubiquitous-then-went-away-in-your-lifetime/1029180/348 "2026-04-18T18:30:59Z")
I think they mostly have been replaced by warning apps, at least here in Germany. Or do people still hang CDs on their rearview mirror to avoid radar controls? 😉 ---
**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 18, 2026, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-became-ubiquitous-then-went-away-in-your-lifetime/1029180/349 "2026-04-18T18:42:03Z")
> [@Galactus](#): > > Have radar detectors been mentioned yet? Seems like every other guy had one in the 90s’. And, for that matter, stand-alone driving navigation devices, like TomTom and Garmin. Really popular for a few years in the early 2000s, then were quickly lapped by built-in dashboard screens with navigation systems and smartphone apps. ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2026, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-became-ubiquitous-then-went-away-in-your-lifetime/1029180/350 "2026-04-18T22:00:09Z")
> [@Great\_Antibob](#): > > Mix tapes only really worked with cassettes. Sure, you can do a curated streaming list, but it’s not quite the same Maybe if there was an app that automatically added a DJ blathering all over the start and end of each song… ---
**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 18, 2026, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-became-ubiquitous-then-went-away-in-your-lifetime/1029180/351 "2026-04-18T22:08:23Z")
> [@Hypno-Toad](#): > > Maybe if there was an app that automatically added a DJ blathering all over the start and end of each song… That’d be the “70s on 7” and “60s Gold” channels on the SiriusXM app. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2026, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-became-ubiquitous-then-went-away-in-your-lifetime/1029180/352 "2026-04-18T22:27:00Z")
> [@Great\_Antibob](#): > > Mix tapes only really worked with cassettes. Sure, you can do a curated streaming list, but it’s not quite the same > [@EinsteinsHund](#): > > For a very limited time, ca. between 1995 (the first affordable CD burners) and 2000 (the advent of MP3s and filesharing, Napster & Co.), you did that on CD-Rs, but even that was not the same as mix-tapes on cassettes. They had advantages and disadvantages. The advantage of tapes: - Dubbing something onto a cassette is simpler because it only has one step, versus the ripping then burning of the CD. - Long playing tapes hold more songs than CDs - Better physical durability and form factor. In other words, if the mixtape is for listening to in a car, then when you’re done, you can just throw it in the back seat and not care about even putting it in a case, plus the same goes for storing it, the passenger’s seat will do if you’re alone, rather than having to make sure it’s in a case and also having to take it out of a case when first playing it, (sometimes while driving). Advantages of CDs _when making a mixtape_ are only apparent when you’re giving it to someone: - It’s easier for them to rip it in turn, and - If you are planning on listening to it with them when you’re both online, CDs always run at the same speed, whereas cassettes can be _ever so_ different speedwise, so you’re not always in synch with which part you’re both listening to. Normally, I’d _also_ say that an advantage of cassettes is that they sound _different_ from digital, just like vinyl. Not necessarily _better_, but CDs by definition are redundant with other digital media, from a sound perspective. Except that the only cassette I’ve bought in the recent revival wasn’t mixed for an old school boombox like I still have. The bass was way too high no matter how I changed the settings on my player. I suspect that they mixed it to sound good on really tiny cassette players, like the ones that were primarily meant to record audio memos. I’m not sure if most other cassettes these days are engineered like that or are more normally mixed. (I am still satisfied with my purchase, however, because it came with a download code, so I can still play it on my PC.) ---
**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 18, 2026, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-became-ubiquitous-then-went-away-in-your-lifetime/1029180/353 "2026-04-18T22:43:42Z")
> [@Galactus](#): > > Have radar detectors been mentioned yet? Seems like every other guy had one in the 90s’ 🤔 The 1980’s were the golden age of RD’s. But there are still several companies making them and it’s a half billion dollar a year industry. They haven’t gone anywhere. I routinely pull over people who were unaware the laser detection feature is useless. ---
**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 18, 2026, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-became-ubiquitous-then-went-away-in-your-lifetime/1029180/354 "2026-04-18T22:49:40Z")
> [@pkbites](#): > > The 1980’s were the golden age of RD’s. But there are still several companies making them and it’s a half billion dollar a year industry. They haven’t gone anywhere. Have they ever been legal in the US (yes, I know laws differ from state to state)? Because they and all other devices or apps for averting speed traps never were legal in Germany. You can get heavily fined for that here. ---
**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 18, 2026, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-became-ubiquitous-then-went-away-in-your-lifetime/1029180/355 "2026-04-18T22:55:08Z")
> [@EinsteinsHund](#): > > Have they ever been legal in the US Yes. Except Virginia and D.C. And in Commercial vehicles. All they are is a radio receiver. ---
**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 18, 2026, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-became-ubiquitous-then-went-away-in-your-lifetime/1029180/356 "2026-04-18T23:24:06Z")
Make sure you take it to Fonebone Motors and ask for Mr. Martin. ---
**Author:** ![XOldiesJock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/ec9cab/32.png) [@XOldiesJock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XOldiesJock)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2026, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-became-ubiquitous-then-went-away-in-your-lifetime/1029180/357 "2026-04-18T23:26:53Z")
Citizens Band radio. The FCC made it an official way of communication in 1958 (within my lifetime). It slowly gained momentum in the 1960s, became ridiculously popular in the 1970s, and then sort of fizzled out with most people other than truckers. Of course, you can still buy CB radios, but they hardly sell in the quantity that people were buying them in their heyday. I wonder how many are gathering dust in garages nowadays, not having been turned on in 45 or 50 years… ---
**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 18, 2026, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-became-ubiquitous-then-went-away-in-your-lifetime/1029180/358 "2026-04-18T23:33:15Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > > [@Railer13](#): > > > > The only cans I recall that had this design were Coors beer. And it was quite short-lived, IIRC. > > I got them on Coca Cola cans in New England. Don’t remember what brand(s), but we had them on pop cans in the midwest, too. > [@CalMeacham](#): > > really small mini-arcades obviously aimed at small children in shopping malls. Used to see mini-arcades for teens in WalMarts. ---
**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 19, 2026, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-became-ubiquitous-then-went-away-in-your-lifetime/1029180/359 "2026-04-19T00:08:30Z")
> [@XOldiesJock](#): > > I wonder how many are gathering dust in garages nowadays, not having been turned on in 45 or 50 years… There is, in fact, a CB radio on a shelf in our garage. Though, that radio was still used, at least occasionally, into the mid '90s. We’d go on road trips with friends, and take 2 or more cars; in those days before widespread cell phones, it was a good way to be able to communicate between our vehicles. ---
**Author:** ![batsto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b2d939/32.png) [@batsto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/batsto)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2026, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-became-ubiquitous-then-went-away-in-your-lifetime/1029180/360 "2026-04-20T15:38:11Z")
> [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](#): > > Huh? Not sure what you mean here. I think I can only remember one flight I’ve been on within the past 15 years that did not have in flight seatback entertainment screens. I was on two this week. The screens were there, but they didn’t work. If I wanted to, I had to use the United App on my phone to watch anything. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-became-ubiquitous-then-went-away-in-your-lifetime/1029180.md?page=17) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-became-ubiquitous-then-went-away-in-your-lifetime/1029180.md?page=19)