# 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:** 8
**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 12, 2026, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-became-ubiquitous-then-went-away-in-your-lifetime/1029180/141 "2026-04-12T01:34:57Z")
I might be off by half a decade — console stereos/console TVs. My Dad used to repair them; he fixed a hi-fi that was eight feet long, made of some beautiful blonde wood. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2026, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-became-ubiquitous-then-went-away-in-your-lifetime/1029180/142 "2026-04-12T01:38:20Z")
Whipped Cream & Other Delights. ---
**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 12, 2026, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-became-ubiquitous-then-went-away-in-your-lifetime/1029180/143 "2026-04-12T01:39:32Z")
Herb Alpert and the TJB **RULE**! ---
**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 12, 2026, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-became-ubiquitous-then-went-away-in-your-lifetime/1029180/144 "2026-04-12T01:48:44Z")
Just FYI, the first indoor shopping mall opened in 1958; I was born in 1960, so I feel that’s close enough to register as “my lifetime.” BTW, it was just down the road from our house — Harundale Mall, built by James Rouse, who would go on to build Columbia Mall and Harborplace (which is a dead mall). ---
**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 12, 2026, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-became-ubiquitous-then-went-away-in-your-lifetime/1029180/145 "2026-04-12T01:54:58Z")
Regarding the death of shopping malls, my impression is that the ones aimed at middle-class shoppers are failing but not the ones aimed at people with money. So the mall with a Nordstrom or Bloomingdales, a Tiffany store and a Louis Vuitton shop is doing fine but not the one that had the Macy’s and the Gap stores. ---
**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 12, 2026, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-became-ubiquitous-then-went-away-in-your-lifetime/1029180/146 "2026-04-12T01:59:26Z")
> [@F.U.Shakespeare](#): > > Other antennas (Yagi, etc.) were around long before I was. I always heard of satellite dishes called that rather than “outdoor antennas”. I assumed the poster was talking about the metal things. There are a range of ages here, so the rise of some things will be within lifetime of some of the posters but not others. Then there were Palm Pilots and other PDA (personal digital assistant). I got one with a new job in 1999 and it became a casualty of smart phones. Although most people wouldn’t have used this, for a number of years after smartphones took over, you could rent a portable wifi hotspot when you travelled abroad. They got replaced by cheaper SIMs and now eSIMs as well as cheaper data roaming fees. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2026, 10:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-became-ubiquitous-then-went-away-in-your-lifetime/1029180/147 "2026-04-12T10:32:47Z")
976-xxxx phone numbers. ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2026, 11:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-became-ubiquitous-then-went-away-in-your-lifetime/1029180/148 "2026-04-12T11:35:05Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > Regarding the death of shopping malls, my impression is that the ones aimed at middle-class shoppers are failing but not the ones aimed at people with money. Haven’t they been replaced by outdoor “town center” malls? ---
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2026, 11:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-became-ubiquitous-then-went-away-in-your-lifetime/1029180/149 "2026-04-12T11:52:09Z")
iPods. Seemed to come and go in roughly a 10-year period. I thought they were here to stay, spent some effort buying, curating, and collecting content. I loved having all my stuff on a 200GB device that didn’t even need a computer or streaming service to use, just dial up the playlist, plug it into a speaker, and done. No subscriptions required, no touch screens, sturdy and reliable, so of course Apple had no choice but to kill it. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2026, 11:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-became-ubiquitous-then-went-away-in-your-lifetime/1029180/150 "2026-04-12T11:53:23Z")
> [@John\_DiFool](#): > > Haven’t they been replaced by outdoor “town center” malls? What constitutes a ‘town center’ outdoor mall? IOW, how is one different from, say, the local shopping centers I remember from the late 1950s (many of which are still in existence today) or the ‘big box’ shopping centers that came along later (1990s?)? ---
**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 12, 2026, 11:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-became-ubiquitous-then-went-away-in-your-lifetime/1029180/151 "2026-04-12T11:57:29Z")
There were a couple of upscale malls near here that defied gravity for a while, but even they are starting to lose traffic and tenants at a terrifying rate in the last two years. The more middle class malls started dying 20 years ago and are all either demolished or mostly converted to other uses by now. I went to one a month ago that was doing reasonably well until a few years ago and most of the stores are local stores, nail places, massage places, cell phone accessories, etc. Two major anchors spots are vacant (Bloomingdale’s and Nordstrom). The busiest places are the Target and Cheesecake Factory which do not require you to go into the mall. Unfortunately there have been a number of high profile crimes in the mall itself or the parking lot, including a couple of gang related shootings. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2026, 12:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-became-ubiquitous-then-went-away-in-your-lifetime/1029180/152 "2026-04-12T12:01:01Z")
For those who travel on commercial airlines, Skymall Magazine (founded in 1990). No longer being published, although the parent company still operates. [Here’s](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=gHtxwa3eV30&list=RDgHtxwa3eV30&start_radio=1&pp=ygUYc2t5bWFsbCBqb25hdGhhbiBjb3VsdG9uoAcB) a pleasant little song praising it, from Mr. Jonathan Coulton. ---
**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 12, 2026, 12:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-became-ubiquitous-then-went-away-in-your-lifetime/1029180/153 "2026-04-12T12:06:23Z")
They have private roads and that try to replicate the look of a tony downtown. The parking is broken up so that it’s not some huge parking area several hundred yards across. Here is an early one (built 25 years ago) [https://maps.app.goo.gl/ydw2MoDAuyrf1H8M7?g\_st=ic](https://maps.app.goo.gl/ydw2MoDAuyrf1H8M7?g_st=ic) Another of a more recent [vintage:](https://maps.app.goo.gl/4jugqgpqap8hQd8bA?g_st=ic) ---
**Author:** ![Jaycat.again](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jaycat.again/32/11525_2.png) [@Jaycat.again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jaycat.again)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2026, 12:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-became-ubiquitous-then-went-away-in-your-lifetime/1029180/154 "2026-04-12T12:11:10Z")
> [@HMS\_Irruncible](#): > > iPods. Seemed to come and go in roughly a 10-year period. I thought they were here to stay, spent some effort buying, curating, and collecting content. > > I loved having all my stuff on a 200GB device that didn’t even need a computer or streaming service to use, just dial up the playlist, plug it into a speaker, and done. No subscriptions required, no touch screens, sturdy and reliable, so of course Apple had no choice but to kill it. I still use mine everyday. It works fine and so does ITunes on my computer. In fact I am listening to Sonny Rollins right now, courtesy of ITunes. ---
**Author:** ![Moriarty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moriarty/32/49_2.png) [@Moriarty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moriarty)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2026, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-became-ubiquitous-then-went-away-in-your-lifetime/1029180/155 "2026-04-12T13:46:42Z")
I’m thinking names. I think it’s amusing that the names Kermit and Grover used to be perfectly cromulent, but now you never see them. Now, that applies to people far older than me, but I think I can say that Buffy was during my era. And, going forward, perhaps Karen. ---
**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:** [April 12, 2026, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-became-ubiquitous-then-went-away-in-your-lifetime/1029180/156 "2026-04-12T14:25:22Z")
> [@Moriarty](#): > > I think it’s amusing that the names Kermit and Grover used to be perfectly cromulent, but now you never see them. I think Kermit the Frog played a big role in that. I’m not sure why Grover would be avoided. My first association upon hearing it is Grover Washington Jr. (I’m in my mid-60s). ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/958977/32.png) [@salinqmind1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind1)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2026, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-became-ubiquitous-then-went-away-in-your-lifetime/1029180/157 "2026-04-12T14:35:45Z")
I can’t speak for the whole US. There is probably ballroom dancing, salsa dancing, and line dancing in different cities, and maybe places like casino resorts have bars with dance floors. Where I live, there just isn’t any place like the clubs in days of old, huge crowds drinking watered down beer and fruity wine coolers, dancing to fast or slow disco music. ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/958977/32.png) [@salinqmind1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind1)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2026, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-became-ubiquitous-then-went-away-in-your-lifetime/1029180/158 "2026-04-12T14:37:03Z")
Grover is almost as recognizable a Muppet as Kermit. ---
**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:** [April 12, 2026, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-became-ubiquitous-then-went-away-in-your-lifetime/1029180/159 "2026-04-12T14:44:20Z")
I didn’t know that. I just remember Kermit. ---
**Author:** ![stopnonstop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5f9b8f/32.png) [@stopnonstop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stopnonstop)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2026, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-became-ubiquitous-then-went-away-in-your-lifetime/1029180/160 "2026-04-12T14:50:28Z")
Plastic bags at the supermarket. When I was a kid, it was all paper bags. Then it was plastic for a few decades. Now, most people bring their own bags, or if they purchase from the supermarket, they have reverted to paper bags. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-became-ubiquitous-then-went-away-in-your-lifetime/1029180.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-became-ubiquitous-then-went-away-in-your-lifetime/1029180.md?page=9)