# 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:** 5
**Author:** ![elbravoiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@elbravoiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbravoiv)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2012, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-things-were-quantifiably-better-in-the-past/617846/82 "2012-04-08T01:36:18Z")
> [@johnpost](#): > > spare tires, at least as far as you are restricted in driving while using. i think that’s jsut safety regulations, in practice u can probably drive them just as far or not farther, people just don’t wanna get sued so they’re super conservative ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2012, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-things-were-quantifiably-better-in-the-past/617846/83 "2012-04-08T03:12:52Z")
Skirts were shorter in the 60’s and 70’s. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Ponch8](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponch8/32/9883_2.png) [@Ponch8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponch8)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2012, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-things-were-quantifiably-better-in-the-past/617846/84 "2012-04-08T04:03:51Z")
> [@elbravoiv](#): > > i think that’s jsut safety regulations, in practice u can probably drive them just as far or not farther, people just don’t wanna get sued so they’re super conservative Spare tires used to be just like the other four regular tires. Now they’re just those crappy temporary things. ---
**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 8, 2012, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-things-were-quantifiably-better-in-the-past/617846/85 "2012-04-08T04:17:31Z")
Yeah, today’s spare tires are not made to be driven at high speeds, or for a long distance. They are made to be just good enough to limp to the nearest garage and no further. In this case, it actually makes sense…the tire is supposed to be an emergency measure, not a long term fix. A smaller, lighter tire is easier to change (which is especially important at 2 AM on a dark road), and it’s a hell of a lot cheaper than a full tire. There’s nothing stopping the car owner from buying a real tire and hauling it around, but why bother, unless you’re a bouncer in a rough nightclub? ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2012, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-things-were-quantifiably-better-in-the-past/617846/86 "2012-04-08T04:25:55Z")
There was a piece in [Slate](http://www.slate.com/articles/life/transport/2009/05/stop_this_train.html) a couple of years ago about how, in the US, passenger trains have declined not only in luxury but in speed. The author checked vintage timetables from the 1920s-1950s and found that many trips took less time then than they would today. ---
**Author:** ![sinjin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ebca7d/32.png) [@sinjin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sinjin)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2012, 5:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-things-were-quantifiably-better-in-the-past/617846/87 "2012-04-08T05:46:44Z")
> [@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. I have that one, got it as a wedding present. Still works, I think I could grind up a cow in it if the zombie apocalypse occurs. Or a zombie but I think they wouldn’t be as tastey. ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2012, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-things-were-quantifiably-better-in-the-past/617846/88 "2012-04-08T12:52:03Z")
> [@BMalion](#): > > Skirts were shorter in the 60’s and 70’s. > ☹ I’m sorry, I meant: 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Dahnlor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dahnlor/32/533_2.png) [@Dahnlor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dahnlor)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2012, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-things-were-quantifiably-better-in-the-past/617846/89 "2012-04-08T15:09:34Z")
Less space junk. ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2012, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-things-were-quantifiably-better-in-the-past/617846/90 "2012-04-08T17:54:07Z")
More Space Ghost ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2012, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-things-were-quantifiably-better-in-the-past/617846/91 "2012-04-08T18:21:41Z")
Watching “The Ten Commandments” again this weekend, I see that Technicolor was pretty damned great. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Lasciel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e79b87/32.png) [@Lasciel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lasciel)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2012, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-things-were-quantifiably-better-in-the-past/617846/92 "2012-04-08T20:08:50Z")
> [@Lynn\_Bodoni](#): > > 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. You want a Bernina 1008. They’re beautiful machines, entirely mechanical, and if you get a used one (from before 2008 I believe, but I might have the wrong date) they are entirely made from metal parts. The newer ones are still entirely mechanical, but they have some plastic parts inside, even though the case is still metal. But, yes, you will drop about a grand on one of those, even used. That said, they are like the Le Creuset of sewing = your descendants, should they be so inclined, will be able to use that machine just as easily and well as you do now. Or, you could just go to a flea market, drop $50 to $100 and get an old treadle-footed Singer and refurb it. I use mine all the time (it was my grandmother’s), and it works just as well as the Bernina - I’m just lazy and like not having to treadle-power when I’m trying to sew quickly. I am not electrically inclined, but I do believe there are kits sold that allow you to convert treadle-power machines to be wired. I have a few 1950s electrical Singers (my mom’s machine and some that I picked up in college to use while too broke to buy a new machine) that are pretty good also - metal interiors on those as well, but I find that the tensioners and the motors are less happy in general with those than my Bernina or the older treadle Singer (which obviously doesn’t have a motor). On the actual thread topic in general - Lumber for building is cut smaller now than it used to be (2X4s used to actually BE 2X4, then they were 1.75 X 3.75, now they’re more like 1.5 X 3.5), the quality of the wood is lesser, and it is more expensive. ---
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2012, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-things-were-quantifiably-better-in-the-past/617846/93 "2012-04-08T20:25:59Z")
toasters (and other small basic appliances) women’s clothing (which is fast approaching a use-once-and-toss level of workmanship and cloth quality) my garden (before the wood rats took it over) genetic diversity of domestic plants and animals frogs ---
**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:** [April 8, 2012, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-things-were-quantifiably-better-in-the-past/617846/94 "2012-04-08T21:07:11Z")
> [@BMalion](#): > > Skirts were shorter in the 60’s and 70’s. > ☹ Half true. Hemlines dropped in the year 1970 and continued to drop through the '70s. By 1978 mid-calf was in fashion. Miniskirts reappeared in the 1980s and have been around ever since. Hemlines have been overall somewhat elevated for about 30 years now. Except that ankle-length became fashionable in 1998 and hung around for a few years, but you rarely see long skirts nowadays. At least this is what I observe in the Washington DC area. From what I can see, the prevailing length nowadays varies from knee-length to slightly higher than the knee. ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2012, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-things-were-quantifiably-better-in-the-past/617846/95 "2012-04-08T21:12:18Z")
> [@Johanna](#): > > Except that ankle-length became fashionable in 1998 and hung around for a few years, but you rarely see long skirts nowadays. At least this is what I observe in the Washington DC area. From what I can see, the prevailing length nowadays varies from knee-length to slightly higher than the knee. I work at a university and saw many female students wearing long skirts about 2-3 years ago. It’s not something I remember seeing much of in the past year or so, but there were definitely a lot of girls in maxi skirts around here not that long ago. ---
**Author:** ![Michael63129](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3da27b/32.png) [@Michael63129](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Michael63129)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2012, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-things-were-quantifiably-better-in-the-past/617846/96 "2012-04-08T21:15:47Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > I’ve noticed both of these things - turn on tv, wait, tv finally comes on, wait, change a channel, wait; what the hell? Why is everything I do on my tv taking so long these days? There’s simply no reason why a modern LCD TV needs time to turn on, beyond a number of milliseconds, since there isn’t anything to warm up (as with a CRT, or better yet, vacuum tube TVs, although some of the latter in particular left the tube heaters powered on for quick turn-on); even those with fluorescent backlights use cold-cathode lights which turn on instantly. > [@Ulfreida](#): > > toasters (and other small basic appliances) This is another thing - why does a toaster need electronics when a simple mechanical thermal switch will do, and will be cheaper (I’m sure, just comparing the parts used and assembly) and more reliable (yes, I have seen more than a few like this)? Of course, some things, like CFL/LED bulbs, have more than enough improvement over their predecessors to be worthwhile (and no, the claim upthread that they save energy because they “aren’t as bright” is [utterly false](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luminous_efficacy#Examples_2) (incandescents also get MUCH worse when you dim them, while LEDs actually get better), probably had a bad experience with cheap made in China garbage… which by the way is another problem with today; remember when you could get electronics made in Japan or even the USA?). Not that I am really complaining because the more stuff people throw out, the more parts I get to strip from them. ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2012, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-things-were-quantifiably-better-in-the-past/617846/97 "2012-04-08T22:39:51Z")
> [@Plumbkrazy](#): > > Public education in the United States…When I was in grade school, my parents simply had to pay for enrollment … Your parents had to pay tuition for public school? 😕 > [@Zsofia](#): > > Coke (er, the drink) was way better when it had sugar in it. > > Flying used to be much more expensive but also significantly more pleasant. Flying is still significantly more pleasant if you willing to spend enough. Private plane charters are more common now then ever. Still no commercial airliner yet as provided as much passenger space & comfort as the LZ-129 Hindenburg. ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2012, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-things-were-quantifiably-better-in-the-past/617846/98 "2012-04-08T22:55:33Z")
> [@Ulfreida](#): > > frogs Quantifiably so. ---
**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 8, 2012, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-things-were-quantifiably-better-in-the-past/617846/99 "2012-04-08T22:58:45Z")
> [@Lasciel](#): > > You want a Bernina 1008. They’re beautiful machines, entirely mechanical, and if you get a used one (from before 2008 I believe, but I might have the wrong date) they are entirely made from metal parts. The newer ones are still entirely mechanical, but they have some plastic parts inside, even though the case is still metal. But, yes, you will drop about a grand on one of those, even used. That said, they are like the Le Creuset of sewing = your descendants, should they be so inclined, will be able to use that machine just as easily and well as you do now. > > Or, you could just go to a flea market, drop $50 to $100 and get an old treadle-footed Singer and refurb it. I use mine all the time (it was my grandmother’s), and it works just as well as the Bernina - I’m just lazy and like not having to treadle-power when I’m trying to sew quickly. I am not electrically inclined, but I do believe there are kits sold that allow you to convert treadle-power machines to be wired. > > I have a few 1950s electrical Singers (my mom’s machine and some that I picked up in college to use while too broke to buy a new machine) that are pretty good also - metal interiors on those as well, but I find that the tensioners and the motors are less happy in general with those than my Bernina or the older treadle Singer (which obviously doesn’t have a motor). > On the actual thread topic in general - Lumber for building is cut smaller now than it used to be (2X4s used to actually BE 2X4, then they were 1.75 X 3.75, now they’re more like 1.5 X 3.5), the quality of the wood is lesser, and it is more expensive. I have a Bernette 90e, and I’m VERY happy with it. I had a Brother earlier, but it had what appears to be a common problem with modern Brothers…the speed is either lightning or snail, with nothing in between. I got tired of messing around with it, so after I lost over 100 pounds, I bought myself the Bernette as a reward. And I’m getting an ancient White machine in another month or so (my mother has Alzheimer’s, and really can’t sew any more). It used to be a treadle machine, but my greatgrandfather or greatgreatgrandfather converted it to electric. The White can only sew a straight stitch, if you want to back stitch you have to turn the fabric around. It doesn’t do zigzag, much less anything else. But by Og, if all you need is a straight stitch, that White will sew until it runs out of thread. I remember my grandmother and then my mother using the White to sew straight stitches, and then going to a more modern machine to do buttonholes, because the White just doesn’t make those nasty thread snarls. That machine has had a lot of use, and it’s still going strong. When I get it, I’m going to take it in to get it serviced and treat it kindly…because I expect that I’ll be able to pass it on to my daughter. I wuvs my Bernette, but I don’t expect it to last for over a century. ---
**Author:** ![Killswitch\_Stunner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c2a13f/32.png) [@Killswitch\_Stunner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Killswitch_Stunner)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2012, 8:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-things-were-quantifiably-better-in-the-past/617846/100 "2012-04-09T08:38:02Z")
music, movies, pro wrestling and my hometown’s crime rate. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2012, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-things-were-quantifiably-better-in-the-past/617846/101 "2012-04-09T13:50:19Z")
Chemistry sets of old were actually chemistry sets. You could work with real chemicals and everything. Now, you can’t even buy the chemicals anymore, surely due to environmental regulations which I generallly support except for the unfortunate side effect of choking scientific curiousity of young people. Album cover art is now a lost art. The CDs were a pale shrunken version of album art of old, and now that itunes has taken over music distribution, even that is long gone. Baseball games now have longer breaks between innings to squeeze in more commercials. Short skirts may still be seen, but unfortunately they often reveal legs that should not be seen bare. Hosed legs are an endangered species. Appliances once were more durable and every town had a business that repaired them. Now they build them cheap and you throw them away when they go bad. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-things-were-quantifiably-better-in-the-past/617846.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-things-were-quantifiably-better-in-the-past/617846.md?page=6)