Terms Which Have Disappeared

[tonyb]

My ‘65 Econoline would go circular on any slippery surface. I often had disturbing dreams of not being able to control that thing back when I owned it. I never crashed it, but that was in no small part due to my always being mindful of just how squirrelly that thing was.

 

[2jakes]

My ‘65 Econoline would go circular on any slippery surface. I often had disturbing dreams of not being able to control that thing back when I owned it. I never crashed it, but that was in no small part due to my always being mindful of just how squirrelly that thing was.

Sounds like “hydroplaning”.
When water separates the tires from the ground and causes it
to lose traction.

This scary experience happened when driving on the road one
rainy morning my News vehicle.

A nearby small-town had snow fallen the previous night.
Considering that temperatures average in the 40 to 50 degrees in
the winter, this was big news for us.

We had to pull over when the vehicle started going all over the
freeway.
Called the station, told them the situation and added that to
continue meant that the News vehicle and gear would've been
damaged in case of an accident.
That worked.

Telling them about our safety would have fallen on deaf ears.

Finally made it around noon time.
Managed to get some footage before the sun melted the snow away.

 

[Inkstainedwretch]

Does anyone "do a Brodie" anymore?

When I was a boy, "doing a brodie" referred to any insanely dangerous stunt, Evel Knievel-style. It also meant committing suicide by jumping off a bridge. As a boy in Pasadena, CA in the '50s it was common to hear some kid say "I heard someone did a brodie off Suicide Bridge last night.") And, yes, there really was a "Suicide Bridge" in Pasadena, around which many urban legends circulated.

 

[LizzieMaine]

Named of course for Steve Brodie, a real-life Bowery barfly who claimed to have jumped off the Brooklyn Bridge in 1886. Whether he actually did or not is still up for debate, but the story was enough to turn him into a genuine pop-folklore character for years thereafter.

He was even taller before he jumped.

 

[2jakes]

"Riding the rods”
On freight trains beneath slow moving cars, we’d hang on to the rods.
Pretty dumb and dangerous, but at the time it was fun or so I thought.

“Riding the rails”.
Riding my Bonneville on the edge of the railroad tracks with my buddy Rick
back in ’64.
I have done so many stupid things in my life,
I'm darn lucky to be alive.

 

[Zombie_61]

Named of course for Steve Brodie, a real-life Bowery barfly who claimed to have jumped off the Brooklyn Bridge in 1886. Whether he actually did or not is still up for debate, but the story was enough to turn him into a genuine pop-folklore character for years thereafter...

Not that I ever lost any sleep over it--it never even occurred to me to just look it up--but I have on occasion over the years wondered where/how the term originated. Thank you!

...“Riding the rails”. Riding my Bonneville on the edge of the railroad tracks with my buddy Rick back in ’64. I have done so many stupid things in my life, I'm darn lucky to be alive.

I've never heard the term used in that context; to me it always meant riding (illegally) a freight train to get from one location to another.

The more you know...

 

[ChiTownScion]

"Riding the rods”
On freight trains beneath slow moving cars, we’d hang on to the rods.
Pretty dumb and dangerous, but at the time it was fun or so I thought.

The term actually dates to the truss rods underneath older railcars made of wood and wrought iron. They were pretty much dying out by the late 1930's as steel framed cars became the norm.

Remember that when the old time hoboes spoke of riding the rods, most freights ran at slower speeds and for shorter distances: the iron horse needed its water and had to stop quite often for it. "Riding the rods" back in the day was suicidal enough, but if there were a way to, say, ride a dedicated priority intermodal such as a BNSF Z train, via rods beneath the cars, it'd be signing your own death warrant.

 

[3fingers]

Some years ago I was waiting at a crossing when two fellows were riding on the platform beneath the ends of an airflow hopper car. I can still remember their cheerful wave as they passed by. There were never a couple of guys with less of a care in the world than those two appeared to have.

 

[LizzieMaine]

My then-teenage brother once got the idea he was going hop a freight train to Arizona and get a job as an extra in a movie. He actually got as far as our local rail yard before he discovered that the only freight trains passing thru our town were on their way to Aroostook County.

 

[2jakes]

“BOYS FROM MARKETING"


Oh brother !..

According to this ad, the vitamin pills will even give the happy housewife
enough energy to keep on cleaning, even after her husband gets home
from his 9-to-5 job.
On top of that, the pills will even make her prettier!
It sounds far-fetched, but the ad states that a husband’s number one
desire was to have a cute, hard-working cleaning-machine for a wife
who was happy to comply.


I’m thinking of “Stepford Wives”.
Also...I cannot picture women sitting in on the marketing conference room
discussing this ad as a great idea.

 

[Zombie_61]

 

[2jakes]

“Hanging up the phone”

I miss being able to slam the phone down when I hang up
on somebody that ticked me off.

Violently pressing “END CALL”.....
just doesn't do it for me!

 

[ChiTownScion]

Some years ago I was waiting at a crossing when two fellows were riding on the platform beneath the ends of an airflow hopper car. I can still remember their cheerful wave as they passed by. There were never a couple of guys with less of a care in the world than those two appeared to have.

Grainers ("single barrels" and "double barrels")are more or less the preferred ride among train hoppers today, from what I've read and heard. Boxcars are becoming rarer, and they're usually sealed. If a fella is really fortunate, the "Cadillac ride" is an unlocked DPU, a diesel power unit running on remote control in the middle or end of the train.

Getting caught, of course, is still a major concern, but the bulls now days are most likely to simply arrest and prosecute rather than shoot or throw a 'bo from a moving train.

I am learning all of this vicariously: I'm too damn old to try any train- hopping stunts myself. I'll pay the fare and ride in a roomette or a business class seat, sipping my cola in peace. Yeah, Woody Guthrie: I'm as bourgeoisie as they come at my age.

 

[Inkstainedwretch]

An expression I haven't heard in a while; "This is where we came in." When I was a boy, you could buy a movie ticket and stay in the theater all day if you wanted to. They didn't herd you out at the end of the credits. We'd come in any time, even if it was the middle of the movie, watch it until the end, then watch the previews, short subjects, cartoon and so forth, the second attraction if there was one, the newsreel, then the main feature until we reached "where we came in," then we'd leave. Continuity doesn't mean anything to a kid. As long as we'd seen the whole movie it was fine. Couldn't do that now. Well, they wouldn't let me now, anyway.

 

[2jakes]

An expression I haven't heard in a while; "This is where we came in." When I was a boy, you could buy a movie ticket and stay in the theater all day if you wanted to. They didn't herd you out at the end of the credits. We'd come in any time, even if it was the middle of the movie, watch it until the end, then watch the previews, short subjects, cartoon and so forth, the second attraction if there was one, the newsreel, then the main feature until we reached "where we came in," then we'd leave. Continuity doesn't mean anything to a kid. As long as we'd seen the whole movie it was fine. Couldn't do that now. Well, they wouldn't let me now, anyway.

When I went with my folks to the theater, I recall that sometimes
we would wait in the lobby because the movie was near the end.
Also recall the usher was equipped with a flashlight to show us
to our seats. It was pitch-black & took time for our eyes to adjust.

My favorite was a weekly serial where a guy with a bullet-shaped
helmet would jump into air and started flying.
I was about three but remember the name, "Cmdr. Cody”.

Thanks to YouTube I found a trailer.

I never noticed the strings, cardboard props, comical outfits or
or bad acting.
As a kid, the flash-exploding-action was super cool at the time.

 

[Fading Fast]

An expression I haven't heard in a while; "This is where we came in." When I was a boy, you could buy a movie ticket and stay in the theater all day if you wanted to. They didn't herd you out at the end of the credits. We'd come in any time, even if it was the middle of the movie, watch it until the end, then watch the previews, short subjects, cartoon and so forth, the second attraction if there was one, the newsreel, then the main feature until we reached "where we came in," then we'd leave. Continuity doesn't mean anything to a kid. As long as we'd seen the whole movie it was fine. Couldn't do that now. Well, they wouldn't let me now, anyway.

My grandmother and father were the same way. For the few movie theaters left in the '70s that still operated on a "come and go anytime you wanted" basis, my grandmother or dad would show up anytime and just go in and start watching a movie in the middle, sit through the break and then watch 'till the movie got to the point where they came in and then they'd leave. It seems crazy, but it was quite common behavior in the Era.

 

[Doctor Strange]

Hey 2Jakes, I watched those Commando Cody serials a little later, on afternoon kiddie shows on NYC local stations in the early sixties. I even made myself a rocket suit helmet out of a Clorox bottle. Here's a great site on 'em:

http://colemanzone.com/Cody's_Commandos/

Trivia tidbit: The seventies western swing/country rock bandleader and pianist Commander Cody (George Frayne) took his inspiration from these serials, specifically the chest control plate of the rocket suit. He thought the controls perfectly encapsulated the era's hedonistic drinking/drugging approach: just two buttons - UP/DOWN and SLOW/FAST.

 

[Trenchfriend]

"Sauerkraut plates"

https://www.bing.com/images/search?q=sauerkrautplatten&FORM=AWIR

 

[LizzieMaine]

My grandmother and father were the same way. For the few movie theaters left in the '70s that still operated on a "come and go anytime you wanted" basis, my grandmother or dad would show up anytime and just go in and start watching a movie in the middle, sit through the break and then watch 'till the movie got to the point where they came in and then they'd leave. It seems crazy, but it was quite common behavior in the Era.

A lot of unemployed and/or homeless people used this type of arrangement as a form of shelter from the cold -- if they could scrape up a quarter for a ticket, or could find a sympathetic box office person to wave them in, they could get out of the weather for several hours. Many neighborhood theatres were open from 11 AM to midnight during the Era, and during the war years after-midnight shows were popular for shift workers trying to wind down.

 

[Fading Fast]

A lot of unemployed and/or homeless people used this type of arrangement as a form of shelter from the cold -- if they could scrape up a quarter for a ticket, or could find a sympathetic box office person to wave them in, they could get out of the weather for several hours. Many neighborhood theatres were open from 11 AM to midnight during the Era, and during the war years after-midnight shows were popular for shift workers trying to wind down.

Makes sense. While I can't name them, I've seen that come up in movies of the era and in period movies based on the era. And we know that many in less-dire situations used movies for their air-conditioning when, in the '30s-'40s, they were one of the few air-conditioned places the public could "hang out" in.