# 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:** 31
**Author:** ![Surfing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5fc32e/32.png) [@Surfing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Surfing)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2026, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-became-ubiquitous-then-went-away-in-your-lifetime/1029180/601 "2026-07-28T21:25:08Z")
Agree that very few people use fax machines but that doesn’t mean that they have gone away. I work in healthcare I.T. and during the October 2025 AWS outage, many US healthcare EMRs were offline (still usable in the clinic or hospital but not able to connect to outside sources). In the US almost all e-prescribing goes through a company called Surescripts that routes the electronic messages back and forth from healthcare organizations to pharmacies. They maintain a database of US pharmacies that include their fax numbers, and healthcare organizations download that database into their EMRs. During the outage, providers would create prescriptions in their EMRs and those EMRs would try to send them electronically, fail, then failover to fax. This happened seamlessly for most healthcare organizations without end users even knowing they were faxing prescriptions to pharmacies rather than sending them “electronically”. Of course as more and more fax services become cloud based, a major internet outage will stop faxing as well. Just an interesting tidbit of one industry that has automatic failover to a really old technology. 🙂 ---
**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:** [July 28, 2026, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-became-ubiquitous-then-went-away-in-your-lifetime/1029180/602 "2026-07-28T21:35:34Z")
Electric typewriters! I used my dad’s old manual typewriter from grade school through my undergraduate days. In graduate school I used an electric typewriter. In the 1990s, to write something, I first had to learn DOS commands, and it just cyberized up from there. Nowadays I would not even know where to find a typewriter. ---
**Author:** ![fedman1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e495f1/32.png) [@fedman1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fedman1)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2026, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-became-ubiquitous-then-went-away-in-your-lifetime/1029180/603 "2026-07-28T21:44:36Z")
mimeograph machines in every business/church/political campaign in the 50’s ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2026, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-became-ubiquitous-then-went-away-in-your-lifetime/1029180/604 "2026-07-28T21:48:21Z")
I know someone who typed his doctoral dissertation on an electric typewriter (do not ask me why; it is not like computer terminals were hard to find in universities at the time period in question). So he had the manuscript in his backpack. Then his backpack got stolen… > [@Johanna](#): > > Nowadays I would not even know where to find a typewriter. _Some_ people kept those sweet IBM Selectrics, and I am sure you could buy one for $1,500 or so. > **[1980's IBM Selectric II or III Vintage Electric Typewriter For Sale, Serviced...](https://www.classictypewriter.com/typewriter-shop/ibm-correcting-selectric-typewriter-electric-for-sale)** > > Welcome to one of history’s finest typewriters, lovingly restored for your writing pleasure. Order now. In about 3 weeks, you’ll get a stunning, authentic, lovingly-restored specimen of this model in the condition selected. \*\*\* These are the... Hmm, $1,700 and up, depending on condition. I actually wanted to hoard some typewriters and teletypes at the time people were just throwing them out, but did not have the space to store them… ---
**Author:** ![P-man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/p-man/32/3606_2.png) [@P-man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/P-man)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2026, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-became-ubiquitous-then-went-away-in-your-lifetime/1029180/605 "2026-07-28T23:50:46Z")
> [@DPRK](#): > > Hmm, $1,700 and up, depending on condition. > > I actually wanted to hoard some typewriters and teletypes at the time people were just throwing them out, but did not have the space to store them… I bet a lot of school systems have tons of those suckers tucked away in a warehouse. ---
**Author:** ![ricepad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b38774/32.png) [@ricepad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ricepad)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2026, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-became-ubiquitous-then-went-away-in-your-lifetime/1029180/606 "2026-07-29T00:06:36Z")
The vast majority of them with blank keys (cays? quays?)! ---
**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:** [July 29, 2026, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-became-ubiquitous-then-went-away-in-your-lifetime/1029180/607 "2026-07-29T00:40:52Z")
> [@fedman1](#): > > mimeograph machines in every business/church/political campaign in the 50’s This thread is looking for things that were not there when you were a child, but became ubiquitous and then went away. My mother is 91 so this was be true for her, but not me as I was born in the early 60s. ---
**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:** [July 29, 2026, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-became-ubiquitous-then-went-away-in-your-lifetime/1029180/608 "2026-07-29T01:12:58Z")
In Japan, standalone word processors became quite popular from the 80s and into the 90s. The word processers (waa puro in Japanesee) solved the problem of how to handle kanji. Japanese manual typewriters had from hundreds to a couple thousand kanji, as well as hiragana and katakana, the syllabaries. Most people didn’t learn to type and never actually used a typewriter. Once the word processors became popular, they allowed ordinary people to type for the first time. Then PCs and Macs killed the market. ---
**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:** [July 29, 2026, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-became-ubiquitous-then-went-away-in-your-lifetime/1029180/609 "2026-07-29T01:28:28Z")
ISWYDT! ---
**Author:** ![fedman1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e495f1/32.png) [@fedman1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fedman1)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2026, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-became-ubiquitous-then-went-away-in-your-lifetime/1029180/610 "2026-07-29T02:50:26Z")
well, since I was born in the 40’s, to me they became ubiquitous at that time, unless you know exactly when they became popular ---
**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:** [July 29, 2026, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-became-ubiquitous-then-went-away-in-your-lifetime/1029180/611 "2026-07-29T03:18:01Z")
What I think of when I think of a “mimeograph machine” is, I think, technically a “[spirit duplicator](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spirit_duplicator)” (a.k.a. “ditto machine”). Those were invented in 1923, and as far as I can tell, were _probably_ already widespread by the time you were born. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2026, 11:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-became-ubiquitous-then-went-away-in-your-lifetime/1029180/612 "2026-07-29T11:35:03Z")
Doesn’t “spirit duplicator” sound like a machine for cloning ghosts? There’s a story i that, I think. ---
**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:** [July 29, 2026, 12:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-became-ubiquitous-then-went-away-in-your-lifetime/1029180/613 "2026-07-29T12:24:30Z")
Tell him about the Twinkie. ---
**Author:** ![minor7flat5](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/minor7flat5/32/258_2.png) [@minor7flat5](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/minor7flat5)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2026, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-became-ubiquitous-then-went-away-in-your-lifetime/1029180/614 "2026-07-29T13:37:01Z")
> [@robby](#): > > 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. Just out of curiosity, how did that process compare to your navy nuclear qualifications (e.g. nuke school + prototype + qualification in the fleet) I ask this because that is my calibration point for “crazy busy studying and hard work” that beat university by a country mile. It made standard college courses trivial in comparison. ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2026, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-became-ubiquitous-then-went-away-in-your-lifetime/1029180/615 "2026-07-29T15:24:05Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > 2001: A Space Odyssey was released in Cinerama in 1968. That’s how I saw it the first two times. _2001_ and several other titles were “presented in Cinerama” but filmed in SuperPanavision 70, not the original three-strip “true” Cinerama. The three-strip process was so expensive and cumbersome that it was soon replaced by single-strip 70mm formats. But since the Cinerama brand had become famous, the company stuck the name onto these newer formats. [Cite](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cinerama#Single-film_%22Cinerama%22). I’ve seen at least three or four of the three-strip films (_This is Cinerama, Windjammer, How the West Was Won_, and maybe one or two others) on several occasions at the New Neon Theater in Dayton, OH, and at the Pictureville Cinema in Bradford, UK. The experience was impressive, but inherently flawed by the seams between the images, which were a constant distraction. The single-strip formats were much better. ETA: A interesting detail I just remembered: the three-strip process was filmed and projected at 26 fps, instead of the standard 24, I think as a way to prevent later unauthorized repurposing of the footage. Each strip also used a non-standard 6-perf-tall frame, instead of 4-perf, to increase the overall frame size, and hence overall resolution. ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2026, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-became-ubiquitous-then-went-away-in-your-lifetime/1029180/616 "2026-07-29T15:44:22Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > Even fewer movies – _Oklahoma_ and _Around the World in 80 Days_ Picking film format nits again. Those two were the only ones shot in 30 fps Todd-AO. About 16 others were shot at the standard 24 fps rate, because shooting at 30 meant you had to either reshoot or simul-shoot at 24 for the standard wide release. [Cite](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Todd-AO#Todd-AO_process). I saw _Oklahoma!_ in 30 fps Todd-AO at the Motion Picture Academy back in the 1990s. It was magnificent. ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2026, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-became-ubiquitous-then-went-away-in-your-lifetime/1029180/617 "2026-07-29T15:57:56Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > What I think of when I think of a “mimeograph machine” is, I think, technically a “[spirit duplicator](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spirit_duplicator)” (a.k.a. “ditto machine”). Here I go again. This is a common misunderstanding. Mimeograph used a stencil, created with a typewriter or a photo process, through which ink was passed onto the paper as it ran through the press. In ditto, the stencil itself, created with a typewriter or pen, held the ink. As the paper passed through the machine, it was sprayed with alcohol, which dissolved a little of the ink onto the sheet. The number of copies you could make with a ditto was much more limited than a mimeograph. But ditto had that distinctive smell everyone remembers and loves. (Mimeo just smelled like ink.) Both kinds of machine were common in schools and offices in the 1950s through 70s, and many people didn’t understand the technical differences, so the two terms were often used interchangeably. ---
**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:** [July 29, 2026, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-became-ubiquitous-then-went-away-in-your-lifetime/1029180/618 "2026-07-29T17:27:08Z")
> [@DPRK](#): > > I know someone who typed his doctoral dissertation on an electric typewriter (do not ask me why; it is not like computer terminals were hard to find in universities at the time period in question). So he had the manuscript in his backpack. Then his backpack got stolen… When I did my dissertation, in 1980, typewritten dissertations were common. Being a computer science major I did mine on Multics. There were a lot of people who made money by typing dissertations. Back then there were no laser printers easily available, or available at all, so it was hard to do anything complicated. A new professor in my department whose dissertation was highly mathematical had to run the entire thing through the IBM Selectric terminals twice to get superscipts and subscripts. I designed mine so it could be done using what was available on our line printers. ---
**Author:** ![ricepad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b38774/32.png) [@ricepad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ricepad)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2026, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-became-ubiquitous-then-went-away-in-your-lifetime/1029180/619 "2026-07-29T17:31:09Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > typewritten dissertations were common. Being a computer science major I did mine on Multics. There were a lot of people who made money by typing dissertations. Yeah, I remember there were a LOT of ads in the school newspapers for typing services, placed mostly by students who could type really well and really fast looking for a way to make some coin on their own schedule. IIRC, the going rate was about a buck per page, with discounts for more pages. Hell, do universities even have newspapers now?? ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2026, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-became-ubiquitous-then-went-away-in-your-lifetime/1029180/620 "2026-07-30T00:19:12Z")
> [@commasense](#): > > Both kinds of machine were common in schools and offices in the 1950s through 70s, and many people didn’t understand the technical differences, so the two terms were often used interchangeably. We didn’t use either name in my school. We called it a Gestetner, its prominently displayed brand name. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-became-ubiquitous-then-went-away-in-your-lifetime/1029180.md?page=30) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-became-ubiquitous-then-went-away-in-your-lifetime/1029180.md?page=32)