# Which outdated customs should go? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 5, 2021, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-outdated-customs-should-go/951958 "2021-10-05T23:22:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2021, 12:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-outdated-customs-should-go/951958/21 "2021-10-06T12:05:48Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > I never liked shaking hands. I’m pretty sure I haven’t shaken a hand since the first mention of Wuhan in the news. I’ll bump your fist if I must, but really? - There’s always the [no contact high five](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_QTHfrXHo9M) from _Demolition Man_. ---
**Author:** ![Mallard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Mallard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mallard)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2021, 12:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-outdated-customs-should-go/951958/22 "2021-10-06T12:16:49Z")
> [@dalej42](#): > > Blue laws. What are “Blue Laws”? ---
**Author:** ![Mallard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Mallard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mallard)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2021, 12:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-outdated-customs-should-go/951958/23 "2021-10-06T12:23:59Z")
OK. The concept of the “common rest day” because it’s based on religion. That was ruled unconstitutional in Canada back in 1985 because big businesses didn’t like it. ---
**Author:** ![Bonum\_Legatum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bonum_legatum/32/6183_2.png) [@Bonum\_Legatum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bonum_Legatum)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2021, 12:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-outdated-customs-should-go/951958/24 "2021-10-06T12:27:28Z")
> **[Blue law](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_law)** > > Pages for logged out editors learn more > > > Blue laws, also known as Sunday laws, Sunday trade laws and Sunday closing laws, are laws restricting or banning certain activities on specified days, usually Sundays in the western world. The laws were adopted originally for religious reasons, specifically to promote the observance of the Christian day of worship, but since then have come to serve secular purposes as well. > Blue laws commonly ban certain business and recreational activities on ... ---
**Author:** ![Bonum\_Legatum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bonum_legatum/32/6183_2.png) [@Bonum\_Legatum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bonum_Legatum)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2021, 12:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-outdated-customs-should-go/951958/25 "2021-10-06T12:31:28Z")
Sending of Christmas cards as a card in an envelope. If you just want to send a nice holiday picture and a holiday greeting, and must use snail mail, a postcard will do just fine. Waste less paper! ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2021, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-outdated-customs-should-go/951958/26 "2021-10-06T13:34:11Z")
> [@FairyChatMom](#): > > I’d love to do this, but my spousal unit would have kittens. It’s a constant fight with him about bringing in topsoil and reseeding the whole yard. I figure if it’s green-ish and doesn’t sting, prick, or give me a rash, if I can mow it, it’s fine. But I would prefer a field of wildflowers. My parents paved their front yard and turned their back yard into a wild-looking orchard with a dozen different types of fruit trees, flowering bushes and cacti. Who needs grass? ---
**Author:** ![Keith1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/6de8d8/32.png) [@Keith1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Keith1)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2021, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-outdated-customs-should-go/951958/27 "2021-10-06T13:43:06Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > I never liked shaking hands. I’m pretty sure I haven’t shaken a hand since the first mention of Wuhan in the news. I’ll bump your fist if I must, but really? Huggers are worse. And the New Years kissers that otherwise wouldn’t give you the time of day. ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2021, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-outdated-customs-should-go/951958/28 "2021-10-06T13:48:18Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > Business suits, period. Still around but they’ve been on the way out for quite some time. It was a bellwether when IBM went from dark suites/starched white shirts to business-casual. ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2021, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-outdated-customs-should-go/951958/29 "2021-10-06T13:49:47Z")
> [@Mallard](#): > > What are “Blue Laws”? Laws that restrict doing business on Sundays. It has its roots in performative religion. I remember when I was a kid in Maryland you couldn’t buy alcohol on Sundays, and businesses with more than 5 employees (or something like that) were not allowed to open on Sundays. Even the word “sundae” has an alternate spelling because it was mildly blasphemous to use the the name of the Lord’s day to name an ice cream treat. ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2021, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-outdated-customs-should-go/951958/30 "2021-10-06T13:55:08Z")
Engagement rings. The whole concept is a brilliantly manipulative marketing scam that has persisted from the 1930s. “If you love her, you’ll spend 25% of your annual salary on something that has no utility and will have virtually no resale value, despite what the industry will try to tell you.” This also harks back to the idea of betrothal as a statement of ownership. Save your money and put a down payment on a house. ---
**Author:** ![Jumpbass](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jumpbass/32/147_2.png) [@Jumpbass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jumpbass)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2021, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-outdated-customs-should-go/951958/31 "2021-10-06T13:57:17Z")
Around here, the state and local governments will pay you to take out your lawn, but you have to replace it with low water use plants and the landscaping must include at least one tree, new or already there. [Cash For Grass](https://www.google.com/search?q=cash+for+grass&rlz=1C1VDKB_enUS939US939&oq=cash+for+grass&aqs=chrome..69i57j0i512l9.5740j0j15&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8) We had already done our front yard when we heard about the program. We got $150 for the back lawn from the city. I think I messed up the application for the state program, so we didn’t get anything from them. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2021, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-outdated-customs-should-go/951958/32 "2021-10-06T13:58:06Z")
> [@CookingWithGas](#): > > Engagement rings. The whole concept is a brilliantly manipulative marketing scam that has persisted from the 1930s. > > “If you love her, you’ll spend 25% of your annual salary on something that has no utility and will have virtually no resale value, despite what the industry will try to tell you.” > > This also harks back to the idea of betrothal as a statement of ownership. > > Save your money and put a down payment on a house. This ^^^ ---
**Author:** ![Mallard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Mallard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mallard)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2021, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-outdated-customs-should-go/951958/33 "2021-10-06T14:02:48Z")
> [@CookingWithGas](#): > > > [@Mallard](#): > > > > What are “Blue Laws”? > > Laws that restrict doing business on Sundays. It has its roots in performative religion. I remember when I was a kid in Maryland you couldn’t buy alcohol on Sundays, and businesses with more than 5 employees (or something like that) were not allowed to open on Sundays. > > Even the word “sundae” has an alternate spelling because it was mildly blasphemous to use the the name of the Lord’s day to name an ice cream treat. Yes, I see that. I googled the term as I had never heard of it before, but the concept was very clear. The “common pause” rest day was essentially done away with in Canada when the SCC ruled “the lords day act” was unconstitutional in 1985. It was a case by big retail business who wanted Sundays as a work day like any other day. It was the beginning of the end for retail employees having more quality work life with such benefits as Saturday/Sunday off or Sunday/Monday off. The concept of “weekend” which organized labour had fought for, for years was eroding. ---
**Author:** ![wguy123](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wguy123/32/3161_2.png) [@wguy123](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wguy123)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2021, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-outdated-customs-should-go/951958/34 "2021-10-06T14:09:23Z")
Singing the national anthem before sporting events. Phony patriotism that is nothing but political these days. Do away with it and save our ears from the cringe-worthy attempts. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2021, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-outdated-customs-should-go/951958/35 "2021-10-06T14:20:03Z")
> [@wguy123](#): > > Singing the national anthem before sporting events. Phony patriotism that is nothing but political these days Many good suggestions here, but this is my favorite. Regarding business suits, I’m torn. I do think they have a place in courtrooms, for example, to reinforce the importance of the proceeding. Jurors, however, no longer dress up, I’ve noticed. Most judges will insist on minimum standards, but it’s a far cry from even 25 years ago. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2021, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-outdated-customs-should-go/951958/36 "2021-10-06T14:27:50Z")
> [@Procrustus](#): > > I do think they have a place in courtrooms, for example, to reinforce the importance of the proceeding. How about powdered wigs? ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2021, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-outdated-customs-should-go/951958/37 "2021-10-06T14:31:19Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > How about powdered wigs? I don’t associate those with formality, but if I was from the UK, perhaps I would feel the same. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2021, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-outdated-customs-should-go/951958/38 "2021-10-06T14:50:58Z")
It’s certainly possible to make a case for “blue laws” on non-religious grounds. ---
**Author:** ![Icarus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icarus/32/72_2.png) [@Icarus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icarus)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2021, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-outdated-customs-should-go/951958/39 "2021-10-06T14:59:13Z")
> [@CookingWithGas](#): > > Engagement rings. The whole concept is a brilliantly manipulative marketing scam that has persisted from the 1930s. > > “If you love her, you’ll spend 25% of your annual salary on something that has no utility and will have virtually no resale value, despite what the industry will try to tell you.” > > This also harks back to the idea of betrothal as a statement of ownership. > > Save your money and put a down payment on a house. I suppose we could address the whole “expensive fantasy wedding” thing too. And while we’re at it, how about the father “giving away” his daughter? ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2021, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-outdated-customs-should-go/951958/40 "2021-10-06T15:08:52Z")
I get that companies sometimes want employees to follow “scripts” and be pleasant. Forced smiling is worse than the fast food guy going “will you be having our new chicken chunks” before you order or the Genius Bar employee having to say “that’s not recommended!” when some customer throws their phone in the laundry. But I am not sure forced smiling is common. In Canada, it was odd when Walmart arrived and their greeters were especially cheery. Presumably they picked the most positive people for that role rather than dictating expressions. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-outdated-customs-should-go/951958.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-outdated-customs-should-go/951958.md?page=3)