# What's with the Millennial/Zoomer fascination with old crap? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 12, 2021, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-the-millennial-zoomer-fascination-with-old-crap/930344 "2021-01-12T17:22:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 11
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2021, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-the-millennial-zoomer-fascination-with-old-crap/930344/201 "2021-01-25T21:13:50Z")
> [@Cheesesteak](#): > > Seriously, the OP asks “why do people buy records” and when told “this is why people buy records” we’re getting a bunch of clap back as if we are fools or liars for answering the question. See Also almost any SDMB thread on “Why do people \_\_\_\_\_” ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2021, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-the-millennial-zoomer-fascination-with-old-crap/930344/202 "2021-02-08T22:15:18Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > This is probably nothing, but throwing it out there just in case: how many different players have you tested them in? Is it possible that the problem is with the player(s) (e.g. a dusty laser lens) rather than with the CDs themselves? Pretty sure it’s not the players. When we had a car stereo installed, the CDs still wouldn’t play. ---
**Author:** ![Mesquite-oh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a183cd/32.png) [@Mesquite-oh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mesquite-oh)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2021, 6:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-the-millennial-zoomer-fascination-with-old-crap/930344/203 "2021-02-09T06:40:57Z")
Sometimes it is fun to use old stuff, sometimes it is fun to use new stuff. Sometimes it is fun to drive an old car. Sometimes it is fun to drive a new car. Sometimes it is fun to read an old book. Sometimes it is fun to read a new book. Sometimes it is fun to buy an old piece of furniture, sometimes it is fun to buy new furniture. Sometimes it is fun to listen to an old album, sometimes it is fun to listen to listen to my Alexa pull random songs off the internet. Sometimes it is fun to … ---
**Author:** ![nightshadea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7ba0ec/32.png) [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2021, 11:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-the-millennial-zoomer-fascination-with-old-crap/930344/204 "2021-02-14T11:02:21Z")
i always find it highly amusing that the first or second thing techies do with a 3-500 new game system is figure out how to modify it so they can play all the 4/8/16/32/64 bit and handheld home stuff along with the arcade games on it like sonys first handheld system the psp it was always considered a mediocre ps2 and not really hard to find …you could get one in a pawn shop for about 25 bucks used …a few years ago someone cracked the security wrote a few emulators for it and now there impossible to find in their normal state for under 125 or more … ---
**Author:** ![Kropotkin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kropotkin/32/18045_2.png) [@Kropotkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kropotkin)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2021, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-the-millennial-zoomer-fascination-with-old-crap/930344/205 "2021-02-14T20:56:21Z")
Mid-range baby boomer (1956) here. I’ve started typing letters on a manual typewriter and enjoying it. I like the feel and noise of it, using nice paper, even fiddling with carbons and onion skin paper to make copies. I like having to think about hyphenating—some of my correspondents are sticklers—and the fact that there is no pressure for either side to respond instantly. It’s a hobby, as others have said about other pursuits above, and the fun is in the details. I also spend a lot of time on email, Zoom, and Twitter, and appreciate their advantages, but there is just something satisfying about screwing paper into the Olympia, banging on the keys, and popping a letter into the mailbox. ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2021, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-the-millennial-zoomer-fascination-with-old-crap/930344/206 "2021-02-15T03:07:57Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > Funny people don’t want rotary dial phones, I just watched a house tour on youtube, and the older couple had a rotary phone/landline. When one of the guys tried to demonstrate how to make a call, there was no response to any of his dialing – just a continuous dial tone. Apparently, the phone company had simply dropped support for rotary dialing without telling any of its customers. ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2021, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-the-millennial-zoomer-fascination-with-old-crap/930344/207 "2021-02-15T03:37:12Z")
> [@Yllaria](#): > > The sterling silver tape measure is also mind boggling. Welcome to Tiffany Everyday Objects. I’ll admit that sterling silver mini folding chair with the Tiffany blue enamel underseat is weirdly compelling to me. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2021, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-the-millennial-zoomer-fascination-with-old-crap/930344/208 "2021-02-15T04:18:27Z")
> [@ZosterSandstorm](#): > > The idea that any given person is the special exception that can hear something on a CD or a vinyl record (!) that isn’t on an MP3 is scientifically ridiculous, and I don’t know that most people who use old media actually subscribe to that nonsense. You can most certainly hear the difference between MP3, CD, and vinyl. The signal going into a record has to be compressed to fit within the groove width so the dynamic range is muted. I’ve got some CD’s that warn the user NOT to crank up their amps before they’ve listened to it to avoid damage. They weren’t kidding. MP3’s have their own issues. It matters which software you use to create them and even then I’ve got some songs that for whatever reason get butchered in the conversion. But the advantage of MP3’s is that you can store a ridiculous amount of songs on one chip and leave it plugged into your car stereo. They are superior to cassettes and do not deteriorate over time. When I was a kid I spent a great deal of time queuing up a record and a cassette to record it. it was very labor intensive to create a couple of hours of music. A person can put thousands of dollars worth of CD’s on a single USB stick so there’s really nothing to steal. Digital cameras are just starting to come into their own because of megapixel size and software improvements. My early digital DSL was expensive and the pictures it took were less than spectacular. I’m not sure what the technical term is but they had a very limited bandwidth between under and over exposed. The lighting needed to be perfect. Today’s digital cameras really step up to the plate with their ability to deal with a broad range of exposures. I just got a new phone and pictures off the camera are amazing given the price of the phone. the color saturation in poor lighting was so far beyond my expensive antique digital camera it was scary. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2021, 8:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-the-millennial-zoomer-fascination-with-old-crap/930344/209 "2021-02-15T08:54:57Z")
> [@carrps](#): > > > [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > > > Funny people don’t want rotary dial phones, > > I just watched a house tour on youtube, and the older couple had a rotary phone/landline. When one of the guys tried to demonstrate how to make a call, there was no response to any of his dialing – just a continuous dial tone. Apparently, the phone company had simply dropped support for rotary dialing without telling any of its customers. Years and years ago, in fact - that’s when I finally got rid of my old rotary (I tend to keep using machines that are still working, hence my 110 year old sewing machine, as an example). You might be able to receive a call on one, but I don’t think you can make a call anymore because the system is listening for “touch tone” sounds and not using the rotary system anymore. ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2021, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-the-millennial-zoomer-fascination-with-old-crap/930344/210 "2021-02-15T16:40:36Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > Years and years ago, in fact - that’s when I finally got rid of my old rotary (I tend to keep using machines that are still working, hence my 110 year old sewing machine, as an example). You might be able to receive a call on one, but I don’t think you can make a call anymore because the system is listening for “touch tone” sounds and not using the rotary system anymore. It was interesting because this vid was made just last year, and the homeowners said the phone worked for calling out just weeks before. This was in DC, so maybe they just got around to it there? ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2021, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-the-millennial-zoomer-fascination-with-old-crap/930344/211 "2021-02-15T16:42:21Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > You might be able to receive a call on one, but I don’t think you can make a call anymore because the system is listening for “touch tone” sounds and not using the rotary system anymore. > [@carrps](#): > > When one of the guys tried to demonstrate how to make a call, there was no response to any of his dialing – just a continuous dial tone. Apparently, the phone company had simply dropped support for rotary dialing without telling any of its customers. I just went and checked - rotary dialing still works here. (Mesa, AZ). Even with my rotary-dialed payphone being a bit sticky from lack of use, it went through. ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2021, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-the-millennial-zoomer-fascination-with-old-crap/930344/212 "2021-02-15T19:11:33Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > I just went and checked - rotary dialing still works here. (Mesa, AZ). Even with my rotary-dialed payphone being a bit sticky from lack of use, it went through. Must depend on the “jurisdiction” then. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2021, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-the-millennial-zoomer-fascination-with-old-crap/930344/213 "2021-02-15T21:04:28Z")
> [@carrps](#): > > Must depend on the “jurisdiction” then. I’d always heard there were cities, even in the 70s, where only TT worked. I’ve never lived in one, though, so I couldn’t prove it. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-the-millennial-zoomer-fascination-with-old-crap/930344.md?page=10)