# 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:** 35
**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:** [August 31, 2026, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-became-ubiquitous-then-went-away-in-your-lifetime/1029180/681 "2026-08-31T22:04:47Z")
> [@fedman1](#): > > what became common in 60-70’s were Hari Krishnas soliciting at airports, outdoor concerts, but now almost never; in fact, I don’t see them anywhere in a long time I agree that they’re nowhere near as common as they once were, but you do still see Hari Krishnas in the New York subways, at least as of the last time I was there. In fact the last time I was in New York my hotel was right across the street from the Hari Krishna temple. ---
**Author:** ![ricepad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b38774/32.png) [@ricepad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ricepad)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2026, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-became-ubiquitous-then-went-away-in-your-lifetime/1029180/682 "2026-08-31T22:08:18Z")
The pedant in me compels me to point out it’s “Hare Krishna”, not “Hari Krishna”. ---
**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:** [August 31, 2026, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-became-ubiquitous-then-went-away-in-your-lifetime/1029180/683 "2026-08-31T22:26:09Z")
I admit I just blindly copy/pasted from the post I quoted and didn’t bother checking the spelling. ---
**Author:** ![fedman1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e495f1/32.png) [@fedman1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fedman1)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2026, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-became-ubiquitous-then-went-away-in-your-lifetime/1029180/684 "2026-08-31T22:28:41Z")
and what’s even stranger, there’s a HK temple 4 blocks away, but I never see them on the street! Back in the day, they even used to have free meals on Sundays (after talk/chanting of course) ---
**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:** [August 31, 2026, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-became-ubiquitous-then-went-away-in-your-lifetime/1029180/685 "2026-08-31T22:32:06Z")
I’ve seen Hare Krishnas set up outside the Chick-Fil-A in downtown Silver Spring, MD fairly recently. ---
**Author:** ![ricepad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b38774/32.png) [@ricepad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ricepad)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2026, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-became-ubiquitous-then-went-away-in-your-lifetime/1029180/686 "2026-08-31T22:32:41Z")
> [@fedman1](#): > > Back in the day, they even used to have free meals on Sundays When I was a freshman at UCSD, the Krishnas came out in force the first few weeks of the new school year, handing out leaflets and emphasizing the free meals. A couple of friends went, but their report convinced me it wasn’t worth staying through the chanting/praying/proselytizing: No meat! Screw that. Even the cafeteria served Mystery Meat! ---
**Author:** ![fedman1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e495f1/32.png) [@fedman1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fedman1)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2026, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-became-ubiquitous-then-went-away-in-your-lifetime/1029180/687 "2026-08-31T23:32:38Z")
not to mention bland/no seasonings, but the food did tend to be on sweet side ---
**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:** [September 1, 2026, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-became-ubiquitous-then-went-away-in-your-lifetime/1029180/688 "2026-09-01T00:16:59Z")
Also known as Jackrabbit Krishnas. ---
**Author:** ![fedman1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e495f1/32.png) [@fedman1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fedman1)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2026, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-became-ubiquitous-then-went-away-in-your-lifetime/1029180/689 "2026-09-01T17:17:31Z")
my bad, I guess my old boss’s name came up from the past to confuse me ---
**Author:** ![pirviii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pirviii/32/3233_2.png) [@pirviii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pirviii)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2026, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-became-ubiquitous-then-went-away-in-your-lifetime/1029180/690 "2026-09-03T04:57:06Z")
> [@Wallaby](#): > > Not sure if these have competely gone away - but car alarms. The wife had a Pilot that had a very sensitive alarm. There was a motorcycle down the street that would set it off when it drove by, plus heavy rain, thunder and high winds. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2026, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-became-ubiquitous-then-went-away-in-your-lifetime/1029180/691 "2026-09-03T17:51:09Z")
I thought of another one, although it’s pretty minor: Long distance calling cards. I suppose that prepaid cell plan cards are their direct descendant, but AFAIK, nobody buys cards specifically for making long distance calls from any phone, like we used to in the early 90s. ---
**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:** [September 3, 2026, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-became-ubiquitous-then-went-away-in-your-lifetime/1029180/692 "2026-09-03T18:01:51Z")
> [@bump](#): > > I thought of another one, although it’s pretty minor: Long distance calling cards. Mentioned upthread by a few folks, including myself, though it was back in April. ---
**Author:** ![icon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c6cbf5/32.png) [@icon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/icon)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2026, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-became-ubiquitous-then-went-away-in-your-lifetime/1029180/693 "2026-09-03T18:52:50Z")
Kind of related to **Long Distance** Calling cards, but telephone cards for using a public telephone have mostly gone away in Japan. Public telephones in Japan take coins and also cards, but now most people have a cell phone, or buy a pre-paid sim if they are tourists. Also, regarding long distance cards there is a spoken line from the song by Projecto Uno Al Otro lado del mar (From the other side of the sea) that reads like (translating): “I’m going to buy a card and call you” which these days probably would not make sense to a lot of people. `//i\\` ---
**Author:** ![Swords\_to\_Plowshares](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b38774/32.png) [@Swords\_to\_Plowshares](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Swords_to_Plowshares)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2026, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-became-ubiquitous-then-went-away-in-your-lifetime/1029180/694 "2026-09-03T19:09:58Z")
They’re still around, although less common. A Hari Krishna tried to shove a book in my hand outside the Atlanta airport a couple years ago. I wonder if they aren’t allowed in to solicit in the building any more. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2026, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-became-ubiquitous-then-went-away-in-your-lifetime/1029180/695 "2026-09-03T21:36:14Z")
Ashtrays. Not just in autos, but in homes. And when I was in college, classrooms had aluminum foil ashtrays on the desks. ---
**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:** [September 3, 2026, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-became-ubiquitous-then-went-away-in-your-lifetime/1029180/696 "2026-09-03T21:40:41Z")
Unless you’re more than 125 years old, I don’t think this meets the first criterion of the OP: became ubiquitous in your lifetime. ---
**Author:** ![Common\_Tater](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/common_tater/32/13846_2.png) [@Common\_Tater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Common_Tater)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2026, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-became-ubiquitous-then-went-away-in-your-lifetime/1029180/697 "2026-09-03T21:42:25Z")
Related to that, book Matches. They were everywhere, mostly advertising for businesses, restaurants, everything. Nobody actually bought matches, I don’t believe. Not very often. Now they are almost extinct. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2026, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-became-ubiquitous-then-went-away-in-your-lifetime/1029180/698 "2026-09-03T21:50:04Z")
> [@ricepad](#): > > Can you still get a Trunk Monkey? Very best small local company commercials. Yes, some big national companies have spent millions to make a great ad, but Trunk Monkey is the best any local company has done. ---
**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:** [September 3, 2026, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-became-ubiquitous-then-went-away-in-your-lifetime/1029180/699 "2026-09-03T22:14:48Z")
> [@Common\_Tater](#): > > Related to that, book Matches. As noted just above your post, we are looking for things that became ubiquitous in your lifetime. > [@icon](#): > > Kind of related to **Long Distance** Calling cards, but telephone cards for using a public telephone have mostly gone away in Japan. Actually mentioned in the OP itself. ---
**Author:** ![Common\_Tater](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/common_tater/32/13846_2.png) [@Common\_Tater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Common_Tater)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2026, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-became-ubiquitous-then-went-away-in-your-lifetime/1029180/700 "2026-09-03T22:23:21Z")
> [@TokyoBayer](#): > > As noted just above your post, we are looking for things that became ubiquitous in your lifetime. Grumble grumble… yeah, OK point taken. I’m old, I’m not _that_ old. How about Butane lighters? Those big weighted ornate things were seemingly on every Coffee table. Disposables, like the BIC debuted in 1972 but show no sign of going away anytime soon. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-became-ubiquitous-then-went-away-in-your-lifetime/1029180.md?page=34) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-became-ubiquitous-then-went-away-in-your-lifetime/1029180.md?page=36)