# Which outdated customs should go?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**Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 5, 2021, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-outdated-customs-should-go/951958 "2021-10-05T23:22:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Frodo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frodo/32/302_2.png) [@Frodo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frodo)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2021, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-outdated-customs-should-go/951958/61 "2021-10-06T20:26:40Z")
I understand you could use them as napkin originally. ---
**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**Post date:** [October 6, 2021, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-outdated-customs-should-go/951958/62 "2021-10-06T20:29:30Z")
> [@CookingWithGas](#): > > I could never figure out why anyone wore them in the first place. Here’s a case about a lawyer held in contempt for failing to wear a necktie The dissenting opinion is good too. [https://bf.ahcuah.com/cases/fried1.htm](https://bf.ahcuah.com/cases/fried1.htm) ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2021, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-outdated-customs-should-go/951958/63 "2021-10-06T20:35:20Z")
> [@CookingWithGas](#): > > I could never figure out why anyone wore them in the first place. Fashion, from what I can tell by reading the “Necktie” article on Wikipedia. > **[Necktie](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Necktie)** > > A necktie, or simply a tie, is a piece of cloth worn for decorative purposes around the neck, resting under the shirt collar and knotted at the throat, and often draped down the chest. > Variants include the ascot, bow, bolo, zipper tie, cravat, and knit. The modern necktie, ascot, and bow tie are descended from the cravat. Neckties are generally unsized but may be available in a longer size. In some cultures, men and boys wear neckties as part of office attire or formal wear. Women wear them le... ---
**Author:** ![Briny\_Deep](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/briny_deep/32/17188_2.png) [@Briny\_Deep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Briny_Deep)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2021, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-outdated-customs-should-go/951958/64 "2021-10-06T20:37:14Z")
Yeah, I know, but it was the perfect car, at the perfect price, and I had spent a great deal of trouble locating it myself at a dealership 75 miles away. I’m sure they knew that, too. ---
**Author:** ![Keeve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f07891/32.png) [@Keeve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Keeve)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2021, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-outdated-customs-should-go/951958/65 "2021-10-06T20:44:59Z")
> [@CookingWithGas](#): > > I could never figure out why anyone wore them in the first place. I support **kenobi\_65** ’s response of “Fashion”. I think that some of the wonderment about neckties stems from a presumption that they must have had some utilitarian function, a long time ago in a place far away. But it is equally reasonable to presume that they are simply an adornment, no different from jewelry except that it is not metallic. Which reminds me about handkerchiefs. Or, as they are known nowadays, pocket squares. ---
**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, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-outdated-customs-should-go/951958/66 "2021-10-06T20:46:11Z")
> [@CookingWithGas](#): > > I could never figure out why anyone wore them in the first place. I’d say the same about high heels. ---
**Author:** ![Briny\_Deep](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/briny_deep/32/17188_2.png) [@Briny\_Deep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Briny_Deep)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2021, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-outdated-customs-should-go/951958/67 "2021-10-06T20:49:20Z")
> **[What is, or was, the purpose of men’s neckties?](https://www.straightdope.com/21341618/what-is-or-was-the-purpose-of-men-s-neckties)** ---
**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:** [October 6, 2021, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-outdated-customs-should-go/951958/68 "2021-10-06T20:58:19Z")
I used to own hundreds of ties. I had one with viagra tablets in an art deco type pattern. A dozen or so years ago I took them all to GoodWill, along with my three suits. I decided I wasn’t going to wear a suit/tie ever again. I’ve been lucky. I don’t go to funerals, so there’s that. My son got married on the beach in Florida. I wore my regular summer clothes. My daughter eloped (thanks, COVID-19!). I plan to be cremated, no viewing. ---
**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, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-outdated-customs-should-go/951958/69 "2021-10-06T21:00:41Z")
There are times I want to wear a tie, and more times that I don’t. I do not think people should generally be forced to wear ties or anything uncomfortable. But I also do not think not wearing one means you are a relaxed and laid back person - especially if you feel the need to dictate what others do. They gave there place, but you do you. ---
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2021, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-outdated-customs-should-go/951958/70 "2021-10-06T21:20:41Z")
And think - car salesman near universally wear neckties, and smile a lot, and the car lots have lot’s of phony patriotism. ---
**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, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-outdated-customs-should-go/951958/71 "2021-10-06T21:29:20Z")
Wearing a tie does not necessarily make you well dressed or look professional. I had a job bagging and delivering groceries and the polyester red tie and striped apron we had to wear was pretty ridiculous. ---
**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, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-outdated-customs-should-go/951958/72 "2021-10-06T21:29:49Z")
> [@Keeve](#): > > I support **kenobi\_65** ’s response of “Fashion”. I think that some of the wonderment about neckties stems from a presumption that they must have had some utilitarian function, a long time ago in a place far away. But it is equally reasonable to presume that they are simply an adornment, no different from jewelry except that it is not metallic. That’s a good comparison. I don’t see how the wearing of neckties makes any more or less sense than the wearing of earrings or necklaces. ---
**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:** [October 6, 2021, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-outdated-customs-should-go/951958/73 "2021-10-06T21:33:22Z")
> [@Dr\_Paprika](#): > > I had a job bagging and delivering groceries and the polyester red tie and striped apron we had to wear was pretty ridiculous. I owned an expensive silk tie that featured a photomicrograph of syphilis. I got raves ever time I wore it. ---
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2021, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-outdated-customs-should-go/951958/74 "2021-10-06T21:39:33Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > I owned an expensive silk tie that featured a photomicrograph of syphilis. I got raves ever time I wore it. Infectious laughter, maybe? ---
**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, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-outdated-customs-should-go/951958/75 "2021-10-06T21:39:59Z")
> [@TRC4941](#): > > Open casket funerals. I think they’re creepy, morbid, scary, and a huge waste of money. I even hate the word “casket”. I don’t need to see a dead person for closure or to truly realize that they are dead. I don’t want the last memory I have of someone to be a dead body. I can get behind most of this (and would add that anything more than the most basic of caskets seems like an enormous waste of money and resources). But I’ve heard people say that they “needed” to see the body of their loved one to help them accept that they were really gone. And I don’t think of viewing the body as “the last memory I have of someone,” because what I’m viewing isn’t that person, it’s just the body they used to use. ---
**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, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-outdated-customs-should-go/951958/76 "2021-10-06T21:44:30Z")
There’s a good chancre that no one would recognize syphilis. Possibly just the crabs? I don’t nose who would, to be candidiasis. ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2021, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-outdated-customs-should-go/951958/77 "2021-10-06T21:45:46Z")
My grandmother spent the last few years of her life in a nursing home, slowly withering. After she died, the mortician made her look a lot better than she had in many years. My mother said she found it comforting. ---
**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:** [October 6, 2021, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-outdated-customs-should-go/951958/78 "2021-10-06T21:47:23Z")
> [@Dr\_Paprika](#): > > There’s a good chancre that no one would recognize syphilis. If you knew Syphilis, like I know Syphilis Oh! Oh! Oh! What a girl There’s none so classy As this fair lassie Oh! Oh! Holy Moses, what a chassis ---
**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, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-outdated-customs-should-go/951958/79 "2021-10-06T21:54:11Z")
Let’s twist again! Like we did loose swimmers? ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2021, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-outdated-customs-should-go/951958/80 "2021-10-06T21:57:16Z")
> [@Procrustus](#): > > I’d say the same about high heels. They apparently had a functional origin (a way to keep one’s feet in the stirrups while riding a horse), but they, too, became purely about fashion, as well as a status symbol. > **[High-heeled shoe](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-heeled_shoe)** > > High-heeled shoes, also known as high heels or pumps, are a type of shoe with an upward-angled sole. The heel in such shoes is raised above the ball of the foot. High heels cause the legs to appear longer, make the wearer appear taller, accentuating the calf muscle. > There are many types of high heels in varying colors, materials, styles, and heights. High heels have been used in various ways to communicate nationality, professional affiliation, gender, and social status. High heels have been a... [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-outdated-customs-should-go/951958.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-outdated-customs-should-go/951958.md?page=5)