Ugly, one-style black or brown ceramics, yes. Look up the history of telegraph and early power insulators, and you’ll find it was an all-out tech war for the best, wear-proof, rain-proof, slip-proof design, and there were some doozies, in a hundred colors.
We have a collector in the family and while I lack the mania myself, her windows (lined with small shelves) outdo some stained-glass cathedrals winders I’ve seen.
So funny! When I posted that, I was thinking, Amateur Barbarian will know what I mean. I think we’re cronies!
I’ve seen incredibly beautiful displays. My uncle was a lineman (for the county–another reference you’ll get) all his life and he used to bring me gorgeous examples which, of course, I had no idea what to do with at… age 6 or 9 or even 12. I don’t have a single one today. No idea what I did with them. 
I should buy one–just one that really appeals to me–and set it around. I think it would make me happy just to see it.
A couple months ago I saw a VHS tape lying in the middle of the road (in a left turn lane). It had clearly been driven over, as it was all cracked, yet it was also still intact, so no tape all over the road. This left turn lane was the type that runs the entire length of the road, and this was not near an intersection.
Hitchhikers have never been particularly common where I am.
Even Optimus Prime rarely uses that style of truck anymore! 
I do still see them sometimes, but no, they’re not super common anymore.
OTOH, it’s the opposite way round in Europe - for length reasons, as the wikipedia article says. Such that, when a client of ours wanted a ‘US style’ (ie bullnose) truck/trailer combo for a roadshow, it took us about 2 months to find a suitable truck, and about 4 months to find a trailer short enough to stay within the rules.
I don’t remember seeing long military vehicle convoys since I was a kid. Usually saw those going to the beach for family vacation.
I’m not quite that old 
, but I remember when Howard Johnson motel/restaurants were major landmarks along the way. Ten flavors of ice cream!!!
I suspect that the reason for the decline in tire treads found on the road is massive improvements in recapping technology.
Something I haven’t seen in awhile …
An elderly couple driving a large white sedan with the *woman *driving.
When I was a little kid in the early-mid 60s we saw that all the time. It seemed to me like probably 3/4ths of cars with two elderly folks were driven by the woman. And we didn’t live in an area that was particularly retiree-heavy.
Now I live in Miami in retiree heaven. They’re stinkin’ everywhere. And I still see many large domestic white sedans. But very, very rarely do I see a old woman driving with an old man passenger. If it’s a mixed-sex couple, he’s virtually always the one driving.
What changed?
WAG: fewer clutches/more cruise controls?
There’s still a couple of them. Here’s one at Lake George:
I haven’t seen Cars covered in bumper stickers lately. Where the entire bumper is covered with them.
Actually, seeing more than one bumper sticker on a car is pretty rare these days.
Seeing a real BUMPER on a car is pretty rare. I miss chrome.
I was going to say Truck Nuts, but I saw some dangling off a truck today.
Hitchhikers aren’t rare, I saw one guy hitchhiking with 3 large dogs on leashes. Good luck, dude.
Awww, you beat me to it! I haven’t seen them in years and I miss them. Most interesting advertising ever but I never bought Burmashave.
In Illinois I saw a couple of attempts to replicate the Burma Shave experience. One series of signs extolled the virtues of ethanol made from corn; another expressed a pro-gun message (the last sign in the series was “GUNS SAVE LIFE”). Neither of the rhymes was particularly memorable.
I’m sure someone’s already mentioned this…I hope you’ve transferred those to more permanent media. I’d be heartsick if I ever lost something like that.
That’s my local HoJos. It just reopened a few months ago, and we were there the day it opened.
It’s been decades since I’ve seen bumper stickers held on with wire. The kind they would put on all of the cars at an amusement park.
The last hitchhiker I saw was in New Zealand, in 2013, and we picked him up! That was the first time I’d picked a hitchhiker up and the last time I’ve seen one.
Nice bloke too; French, traveling around, we shared a few beers and are still friends on Facebook.