# 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:** 32
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2026, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-became-ubiquitous-then-went-away-in-your-lifetime/1029180/621 "2026-07-30T00:32:35Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > 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. By 1980, laser printers (and other computer-driven expensive machines), [and even TeX!] _existed_, but, yeah, especially pre-1980, I can see just typing it as a viable alternative. (And a nice Selectric has the golf balls and the white-out and half-spacing and all that stuff). Now that you mention it, I did get some cash for typing a few dissertations, even in the computer age! Not everybody masters typing, or English, for that matter. Actually, today the official submission has to be a (archival-type) PDF, so if you _did_ have a physically typed version you would need to scan it in! PDFs have become ubiquitous, but have not gone away yet. ---
**Author:** ![F.U.Shakespeare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aca169/32.png) [@F.U.Shakespeare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/F.U.Shakespeare)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2026, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-became-ubiquitous-then-went-away-in-your-lifetime/1029180/622 "2026-07-30T01:07:03Z")
In the mid-late 1960s, my mother typed papers for students on her IBM Selectric. 35 cents a page, 50 cents a page for tables. The Selectric cost $590. It had two ‘golf balls’ (fonts), Pica and Elite. The longest paper she ever typed was almost 400 pages. ---
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2026, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-became-ubiquitous-then-went-away-in-your-lifetime/1029180/623 "2026-07-30T15:07:03Z")
> [@commasense](#): > > 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 I was just a grade school kid during their tail end in the 80s but I do remember ditto and mimeo being used interchangeably. I don’t even remember (and wouldn’t have known, anyhow) which technology was used, I think the ink was purple? ---
**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 30, 2026, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-became-ubiquitous-then-went-away-in-your-lifetime/1029180/624 "2026-07-30T17:27:51Z")
Purple = ditto. ---
**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 30, 2026, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-became-ubiquitous-then-went-away-in-your-lifetime/1029180/625 "2026-07-30T17:43:18Z")
> [@DPRK](#): > > By 1980, laser printers (and other computer-driven expensive machines), [and even TeX!] _existed_, but, yeah, especially pre-1980, I can see just typing it as a viable alternative. (And a nice Selectric has the golf balls and the white-out and half-spacing and all that stuff). Now that you mention it, I did get some cash for typing a few dissertations, even in the computer age! Not everybody masters typing, or English, for that matter. Laser printers did exist in 1980, but they were gigantic machines for data centers. The desktop printer was introduced by HP in 1984. We didn’t have one until about them at Bell Labs. Papers were done on Selectrics, usually in narrow column format, which you literally cut and pasted onto the camera-ready form to be turned into the journal or conference. I did my dissertation using stone knives and bear skins. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2026, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-became-ubiquitous-then-went-away-in-your-lifetime/1029180/626 "2026-07-30T17:44:41Z")
Yes, we have gone over this already, but, to reiterate, aniline purple was used with spirit duplicators, and Ditto was a brand of spirit duplicator, not a mimeograph. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2026, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-became-ubiquitous-then-went-away-in-your-lifetime/1029180/627 "2026-07-30T17:51:55Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > > [@DPRK](#): > > > > Laser printers did exist in 1980, but they were gigantic machines for data centers. Back in the stone age, you would submit your print job, probably a line printer job, then go to the data center to pick it up… Now Knuth must have had access to a phototypesetter pre-1980 for his TeX (for his books), but I do not know which one. Come to think of it, that type of phototypesetter must be very obsoleted by current digital press technology. So are Monotype machines, but I doubt many here are old enough to have witnessed their rise. ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2026, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-became-ubiquitous-then-went-away-in-your-lifetime/1029180/628 "2026-07-30T17:56:46Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#): > > History, social sciences, religion, all had a number of books you were expected to buy and read, but none o them were _textbooks_ in the sense of a book that the lectures basically followed. Didn’t take a lot of undergraduate upper-division biology I assume? I can stare across at a bookcase that still has my old copies of [Foundations of Parasitology](https://www.amazon.com/Foundations-Parasitology-8th-Larry-Roberts/dp/0073028274?crid=6V2O2AC38IUC&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.-ty_QfrJ2IVc-j3AQ6tb4zQPlifyWqVDfwg2Ko7G2yMZXLJtp2F-0362ILbMkMunytdeU_T5p0FZWecyBtLWOSZjdDgC1_ibiAuo4ixd41u0agaKpH-I5GmXQtW5WQcPLm9xQ31YPsP48f9KsTUROc-ULjvp90WJTj7YsRvhltXsRtHAGE51ViEGq6x5DDZsCagkLMgAoSkaoGKs9X3X6FckpXLwVO9CKnW5QwDr_e8.kco1-tHwgtGsehGQpHHh9QkCrJH7dWQHUlSZ5n3Hh9s&dib_tag=se&keywords=foundations+of+parasitology&qid=1785433478&s=books&sprefix=fundations+of+parasitionolgy%2Cstripbooks%2C256&sr=1-1), [Functional Anatomy of the Vertebrates](https://www.amazon.com/Functional-Anatomy-Vertebrates-Evolutionary-Perspective/dp/0030223695?crid=12C38CJBVXXUX&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.HvpKPzCRHWctHsOoRwYjdA4g6x15p1-IpRAT004Va9dwvLLniQvSlbQRq5kqQFtq6csPM7UCCCge1K6AwHWOiv4Qiwi8g5oJB_pwyG7EXdJ5Ujv1uA2ypj83h6deIyfwOROm_H2_6JaXNxayEEaxfMrIzjEJwh-In1WF-ifs-eTO1-zw4AgUh8GT5C9Nq3tdbA5HKj_eUvaifnMdSVDCd9haTytLWhumq4zEvH0wbbw.ofVDeD14jv9iGXAFryLaO7AOw6MHHyukPl8je825SpM&dib_tag=se&keywords=functional+anatomy+of+the+vertebrates&qid=1785433598&s=books&sprefix=functional+nanatomy+of+the+vertrbrate%2Cstripbooks%2C269&sr=1-1), and [Invertebrate Zoology](https://www.amazon.com/Invertebrate-Zoology-Edward-Ruppert/dp/0030266688?crid=16P8CSZFM1UZU&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.Y9dS3mZ6pXoi9D_pTXIfcPYCV8Q6qH6K94Wy_S63Cyrike_kOSsDYICfxUg58RZiEj1H56Byzqb5h51cYvKQ0lzoBGSuMS7oFf7FN_imWKpo4keMktlQT3hEYn9SidMK8PIYaU0R0efR2uY5NWBtX7JBA40U_1vrLdubJgHO1uxVahIYJ5r-KUz2AtTnkJj-cAfylyCekXi1luIHJWvmp7dXkmyq8XgUO9_ORV7n0oA.WHLk-gD1E7ovkDa_q39298KmX4jQkRPZrVsBqhioW6g&dib_tag=se&keywords=invertebrate+zoology+robert+barnes&qid=1785433786&s=books&sprefix=invertebrate+zoology+robert+barnes%2Cstripbooks%2C173&sr=1-1) among many others. They weren’t books from which the lectures directly derived, but rather “required” supplemental reading. But they were certainly textbooks by most definitions - certainly expensive, very bulky and required. By contrast a history course might require and half-dozen or more books covering different subjects (and were expensive in aggregate). Biology grad courses were often covered by various scientific papers. But undergrad biology was dominated by those massive hardbound 700 page volumes you could use to bludgeon someone to death. ---
**Author:** ![Filbert](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/filbert/32/3433_2.png) [@Filbert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Filbert)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2026, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-became-ubiquitous-then-went-away-in-your-lifetime/1029180/629 "2026-07-30T18:04:58Z")
> [@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… You know, I’m actually in the middle of writing mine up at the moment, and while checking my university regulations (which I assume have not been updated in some time) it turns out there is nothing stopping me from handing in a copy produced on a typewriter except sanity. And the graphs, I suppose. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2026, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-became-ubiquitous-then-went-away-in-your-lifetime/1029180/630 "2026-07-30T18:14:27Z")
The only thing that will have changed since the stone age is that a lot of universities now require you to submit a PDF, not a paper copy, so, if that applies to you, you would need to scan your typewritten document. ---
**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 30, 2026, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-became-ubiquitous-then-went-away-in-your-lifetime/1029180/631 "2026-07-30T18:44:30Z")
> [@DPRK](#): > > Back in the stone age, you would submit your print job, probably a line printer job, then go to the data center to pick it up… Now Knuth must have had access to a phototypesetter pre-1980 for his TeX (for his books), but I do not know which one. Around 1970 the MIT Computer Center had a standalone line printer which was hooked up to a standalone card reader. It had a plug board control, which I was smart enough to never touch. The Pinkdex, which was a list of books in the MIT Science Fiction Society library, was runoff twice a year by running the cards which made it off through the card reader and into the line printer. I had to do that several times as librarian. Never my favorite job. ---
**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:** [July 30, 2026, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-became-ubiquitous-then-went-away-in-your-lifetime/1029180/632 "2026-07-30T19:51:25Z")
> [@minor7flat5](#): > > > [@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. Overall, the nuclear qualification was harder. You had so many hurdles to get through, from the final exam at nuke school, the 100% exam at prototype, the final watch evaluation at prototype, then you got to start over with quals in the fleet. During training, it was also more high-stakes, because it was so easy to wash out. I went to a pretty hard university for my undergraduate education in chemical engineering. I used to say it was like trying to drink from a fire hydrant. Whereas at nuclear power school it was like getting a fire hose attached to the hydrant and shoved down your throat. 😉 It wasn’t as intellectually difficult as my undergrad program, but it consisted of a tremendous amount of material that you had to know cold, including a lot of memorization. Getting a P.E. license was easier than both of these. For me, the harder exam was passing the FE (Fundamentals of Engineering) exam, mainly because it had been so long since I had taken some of the subjects (like calculus). However, this was mitigated by the fact that I had recently taught chemistry and physics, both of which were also on the exam. The subsequent Principles and Practice of Engineering exam wasn’t nearly as hard. Also, the second exam was open-book when I took it. (Nowadays they give you specific references on a computer during the exam.) For both of these exams, I studied for about a week (i.e. 14-16 hours per day for a week) and passed them both on my first attempt. ---
**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 31, 2026, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-became-ubiquitous-then-went-away-in-your-lifetime/1029180/633 "2026-07-31T00:13:02Z")
Cool. I always knew it was tough, and that there was something special about having become a qualified nuke, but I had never gone through the other kinds of programs you mentioned and have wondered whether I was just making a big deal of Naval Nuclear Power when other things are much more difficult. Thank you for taking the time to explain the nuances between your different experiences. For me Navy Nuclear Power is the gold standard of “busyness” when people claim to be too busy in their lives to follow through on commitments. I have yet to find someone who can justify flaky behavior by true workload. ---
**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:** [July 31, 2026, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-became-ubiquitous-then-went-away-in-your-lifetime/1029180/634 "2026-07-31T02:54:18Z")
You should be justifiably proud for getting through the Navy Nuclear Power program. I thought it was the hardest thing I did in my life. I remember once in Nuclear Prototype deciding I was sick of takeout, and trying to cook a casserole in my apartment during my off-hours (while doing 12-hour shifts of under-instruction watches and studying). I woke up to the sound of a smoke alarm because I had passed out due to exhaustion. That’s the last time I tried to cook anything during my training. ---
**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 31, 2026, 5:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-became-ubiquitous-then-went-away-in-your-lifetime/1029180/635 "2026-07-31T05:47:36Z")
My mother was a nurse and one of her colleagues did a masters degree while working. She brought in her type-written thesis and let people read it, and it disappeared. This would have been in the late 70s so it was before Kinkos was popular. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2026, 11:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-became-ubiquitous-then-went-away-in-your-lifetime/1029180/636 "2026-07-31T11:18:34Z")
> [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](#): > > Speaking of bygone ball games, tetherball has pretty much disappeared from playgrounds and schoolyards. I don’t know how old you are, but AFAICT tetherball started getting popular back in the 1920s. You’re right that its injury potential has led to a steep decline in its popularity nowadays. Though I wouldn’t say it’s “disappeared”, apparently some playgrounds still have it. But I don’t think any new playground installations are including it. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2026, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-became-ubiquitous-then-went-away-in-your-lifetime/1029180/637 "2026-07-31T23:06:17Z")
> [@DPRK](#): > > Back in the stone age, you would submit your print job, probably a line printer job, then go to the data center to pick it up… Punch cards. once you get them all in order and oriantated, take a knife and slice diagonally through the edge at the top or bottom of them. That way if, god help you, you dropped them, you might be able to put them back in order. Inferred communication between the computer lab and the data center would not work if it was snowing. It disrupted the light. Boulder Colorado 1980. ---
**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:** [August 3, 2026, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-became-ubiquitous-then-went-away-in-your-lifetime/1029180/638 "2026-08-03T16:30:40Z")
> [@enipla](#): > > Inferred communication between the computer lab and the data center would not work if it was snowing. It disrupted the light. I assume that this is an autocorrect for infrared? Though I can imagine writing a paper about inferred communication. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2026, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-became-ubiquitous-then-went-away-in-your-lifetime/1029180/639 "2026-08-03T18:46:22Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > I assume that this is an autocorrect for infrared? Though I can imagine writing a paper about inferred communication. Well we where in the lab trying to cut code on punch cards, and if it snowed you couldn’t test it. The main frame to read stuff was in a different building. ---
**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:** [August 4, 2026, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-became-ubiquitous-then-went-away-in-your-lifetime/1029180/640 "2026-08-04T22:40:58Z")
> [@enipla](#): > > Well we where in the lab trying to cut code on punch cards, and if it snowed you couldn’t test it. The main frame to read stuff was in a different building. Hah! When I was a lad we carried our punchcards through 2 feet of snow. It was so cold the holes froze shut and we had to put the deck over the radiator to free them up. Kids today have it so easy. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-became-ubiquitous-then-went-away-in-your-lifetime/1029180.md?page=31) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-became-ubiquitous-then-went-away-in-your-lifetime/1029180.md?page=33)