# What things were quantifiably better in the past? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 4, 2012, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-things-were-quantifiably-better-in-the-past/617846 "2012-04-04T19:58:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a587f6/32.png) [@Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freddy_the_Pig)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2012, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-things-were-quantifiably-better-in-the-past/617846/21 "2012-04-04T21:25:32Z")
> [@Procrustus](#): > > Baseball used to have double headers. You could watch two games for the price of one. For a price, even after adjusting for inflation, about one-fourth of what you pay today. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Darryl\_Lict](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7cd45c/32.png) [@Darryl\_Lict](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darryl_Lict)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2012, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-things-were-quantifiably-better-in-the-past/617846/22 "2012-04-04T22:11:28Z")
The amount and size of lobsters and abalone you could pull out of the ocean. Of course, that’s true for fisheries in general. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2012, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-things-were-quantifiably-better-in-the-past/617846/23 "2012-04-04T22:13:34Z")
Memory. Before general literacy and especially before writing was invented at all, people trained their memories to a much higher degree. These days, we’d just write it down. Light pollution; the farther back you go the more visible the stars were. Corningware and nylons were both once much more durable; they were both deliberately changed to be far more fragile so they would break and have to be replaced. “Planned obsolescence” in action. ---
**Author:** ![Manduck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/manduck/32/256_2.png) [@Manduck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Manduck)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2012, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-things-were-quantifiably-better-in-the-past/617846/24 "2012-04-04T22:19:17Z")
There used to be a regulation that TV stations could only show a certain amount of advertising per hour, regardless of the time of day. That regulation was lifted for late-night programming, so where we used to have old movies we now have infomercials. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Arky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/87869e/32.png) [@An\_Arky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Arky)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2012, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-things-were-quantifiably-better-in-the-past/617846/25 "2012-04-04T22:27:23Z")
> [@Polerius](#): > > This is not quantifiable 🙂 > > i.e. you can’t quantify how much better it was. > > I’m asking for opinions for things that can be quantified, e.g. how much faster or more expensive something is, to which you can assign a specific non-subjective value (e.g. 3 seconds faster, 10% more expensive) > > ETA: To clarify, I’m not asking you guys to actually quantify the change, just report on things what have gotten worse in a quantifiable, non-subjective, way, That narrows it down to like, nothing. (sorry for the lack of a mathematical proof demonstrating that). ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2012, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-things-were-quantifiably-better-in-the-past/617846/26 "2012-04-04T22:57:19Z")
Buying a replacement headlight for your car, back when there were only two sizes. ---
**Author:** ![kirk1168](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/45deac/32.png) [@kirk1168](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kirk1168)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2012, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-things-were-quantifiably-better-in-the-past/617846/27 "2012-04-05T01:45:27Z")
> [@belladonna](#): > > Playgrounds, god I miss the playgrounds. In the '70s/early '80s playgrounds had: > > Tall metal slides that actually let you build up speed. Take wax paper with you and it was even better. > > Monkey bars shaped like rocket ships. > > Merry-go-rounds that spun like mad. > > Eagles’ Nests a good story and a half off the ground. > > Teeter-totters without the bumpers to slow them down. > > There’s more, but you get the idea. Playgrounds are pretty lame anymore. That exactly describes the three playgrounds as they exist _today_ in my town. That’s why my kids get so confused when people say how great playgrounds used to be.😛 ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2012, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-things-were-quantifiably-better-in-the-past/617846/28 "2012-04-05T01:54:50Z")
> [@Ethilrist](#): > > Buying a replacement headlight for your car, back when there were only two sizes. In general it was easier to do repairs on your own car. Also better in the past, my sex life. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2012, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-things-were-quantifiably-better-in-the-past/617846/29 "2012-04-05T01:57:25Z")
Telephones, or specifically, the ones you had hooked up to your landline. Fifty years ago they were made out of Bakelite and you could actually drive a nail with the handset. Then they switched to a very heavy plastic case, but even with Touch-Tone phones the innards were still hand-wired and soldered. Then other companies started manufacturing lightweight phones and the quality went to hell. ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2012, 7:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-things-were-quantifiably-better-in-the-past/617846/30 "2012-04-05T07:24:42Z")
It’s just about impossible to find a modern basic sewing machine that’s well made. If you go to WalMart or Target, you can find some flimsy plastic machines that sell for less than $200, but they’re gonna break as soon as you ask them to sew anything more substantial than gauze. Or you can drop a thousand or more bucks and get a quality machine with a gazillion bells and whistles on it, but it’s gonna be electronic. It won’t break so easily, but if it DOES break, you are almost certainly not going to be able to disassemble it, clean it, lube it, and put it back together by yourself. You are going to have to take it in to a repair shop, and pay an arm and a leg. Actually, that goes for cars, too, except for the price details. It used to be that a handy person could disassemble the family ride in the garage or backyard, fix just about anything, and put it back together. Today, if something breaks down on a car, you have to hook it up to a computer to just DIAGNOSE the problem, unless it’s something like a flat tire. ---
**Author:** ![sparky\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/77aa72/32.png) [@sparky\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sparky_1)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2012, 8:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-things-were-quantifiably-better-in-the-past/617846/31 "2012-04-05T08:26:05Z")
> [@Shakes](#): > > I found a 1970’s blender in my Mom’s attic. My whole adult life I’ve been through a handful of cheap’o blenders from Walmart. > > The old 70’s model I currently have in my kitchen right now could kick the snot out of any one of them out there today. > > And get this: The pitcher is made out of this strange material, I believe it’s called… glass! > > I know, I know, it sounds crazy. Username/post win! I’ll take a vanilla milk shake please. ---
**Author:** ![Jim\_s\_Son](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19adc/32.png) [@Jim\_s\_Son](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_s_Son)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2012, 8:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-things-were-quantifiably-better-in-the-past/617846/32 "2012-04-05T08:29:04Z")
One of my high school teachers said the durability of women’s stockings was much better during World War II. She said that she and her girlfriends remarked at the time, that once the war was over, the quality would go down and it did. Besides the price, you could go to a ball game and not have loud music and scoreboard displays try to pump enthusiasm into you every time there is a break in the action. ---
**Author:** ![Heracles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heracles/32/487_2.png) [@Heracles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Heracles)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2012, 8:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-things-were-quantifiably-better-in-the-past/617846/33 "2012-04-05T08:44:02Z")
On the planned obsolescence front, there’s light bulbs. But the decline (10000-hour life) occurred in the 1940s or so, so I’m not sure if it counts. In this house we have a fridge, a cooktop and a microwave oven that are all 31 years old. The cooking oven was the same age, but died 2 years ago. I doubt I could buy a microwave oven today that would last over 15 years. Oh, on another front, [humans who have walked on another world](http://xkcd.com/893). ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2012, 9:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-things-were-quantifiably-better-in-the-past/617846/34 "2012-04-05T09:28:56Z")
Sure, it’s harder to repair automobiles these days. But let’s not forget that automobiles today are far more reliable than they were in the past and need to be repaired less often. We expect new cars today to go 100,000 miles without any major problems. ---
**Author:** ![iamnotbatman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/858c86/32.png) [@iamnotbatman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamnotbatman)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2012, 10:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-things-were-quantifiably-better-in-the-past/617846/35 "2012-04-05T10:32:09Z")
Gros Michel bananas are no longer commercially available (they were wiped out by disease in the first half of the 20th century). ---
**Author:** ![pullin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c57346/32.png) [@pullin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pullin)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2012, 10:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-things-were-quantifiably-better-in-the-past/617846/36 "2012-04-05T10:51:23Z")
Going to the lake. In particular, waterskiing. The number of boats out on the lake today make it very difficult to find a smooth, empty stretch of lake to ski on. I suspect the rise in popularity of wakeboarding may be due to this. It can be enjoyed on rougher water, and takes place at a much slower speed. A youngster once asked me if I felt cheated since I missed out on the fancy wakeboard boats as a youth, and only had “primitive” ones without good stereos.:rolleyes: I told him I’d done things on the lake in the 60’s and 70’s that he would never, ever get to do. “Like what?” I told him he’d never get to say: “Oh look! It’s good to see another boat out here. Let’s drive over and wish them a happy 4th of July!”. ---
**Author:** ![Athena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/35a633/32.png) [@Athena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Athena)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2012, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-things-were-quantifiably-better-in-the-past/617846/37 "2012-04-05T13:20:48Z")
Phones used to be full-duplex, and if one person was talking, someone else could break in and you could hear them. Nowadays with cell phones, at least in my area, they’re all half-duplex, and if you’re talking to a chatter, you might as well hang up if you need to get their attention. ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2012, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-things-were-quantifiably-better-in-the-past/617846/38 "2012-04-05T13:33:45Z")
Offices used to be bigger and more private. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2012, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-things-were-quantifiably-better-in-the-past/617846/39 "2012-04-05T13:36:22Z")
The future. I’m so old that I can remember when “the future” was discussed with optimism. ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2012, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-things-were-quantifiably-better-in-the-past/617846/40 "2012-04-05T13:39:41Z")
> [@kunilou](#): > > Telephones, or specifically, the ones you had hooked up to your landline. My two landlines are a 1930s Bakelite phone (in my bedroom) and a 1919 brass candlestick phone (in my office). Both strong and sturdy and they don’t go dead as often as my damn cellphone does. The quality of clothing was much better pre-WWI. Mind you, no one today would want to wear “those old-fashioned styles,” but I used to work in a costume history museum, and the quality of the fabric and the workmanship was astonishing. Made by seamstresses in sweatshops or as piece-work under hideous conditions no doubt, but after 100 or even 200 years, the quality holds up. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-things-were-quantifiably-better-in-the-past/617846.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-things-were-quantifiably-better-in-the-past/617846.md?page=3)