Vintage Things That Have Disappeared In Your Lifetime?

[jamespowers]

My youngest son, who is 12 is still being taught elements of it now. They change the name, but it is the same BS and the teachers still don't understand how to teach it any better now than they did when I was in school. It is maddening. I have talked to his teachers about why they don't teach the kids how to add, subtract, multiply and divide and they look at me like I am insane and say we are teaching the strategies that are in the book. So we teach it at home instead. Math is much easier for him now that he understands the point of doing it.

Ah yes, the stupidity of the teachers who just go along and fail students because they can't figure it out themselves. When my son was going to government school, I had to teach him how to do everything myself after he wasted hours learning nothing at school. I have no credentials or any such thing but they make the parents teach instead while they get paid to do what?!

 

[jamespowers]

And that's part of the controversy over the whole global warming/climate change theory--even the so-called experts can't agree because they're analyzing the same data but drawing different conclusions. Sometimes I think meteorology is nothing more than a "dog and pony" show; if I had their "correct-to-incorrect" ratio when I was working, I wouldn't have been working long.

So does a movie called Idiocracy. It's not a particularly good movie, admittedly, but it seems to be sadly prophetic.

I understand when you say your local weather patterns used to be predictable. In this part of southern California, 30-40 years ago it would start to warm up in June, stay hot until mid-October, then cool down with the occasional rainstorm until May, and start all over again. Granted, we never had the extreme temperature changes from season to season that much of the U.S. experiences (i.e., it hasn't snowed here in my lifetime), but we have our own version of "winter/summer wear" (one that most of the country would find laughable by comparison), and high humidity was a rarity. But over the years the temperatures during the summer months have gotten higher, the temperatures during the winter months have gotten lower, and the humidity during the summer months has rivaled that of the midwest. Until this past week, this summer has been ridiculously mild with temperatures in the mid- to upper-80s (°F) during the day. Then, overnight, we're hitting temperatures over 100°F and humidity in the 80-90% range. And, most unusual, we've had rain every month--only enough to dirty the windshields, but still extremely unusual for this area. Anyway, in this area the pendulum is swinging wider these days; hotter in the summer, colder in the winter. It's been a slow, gradual change to be sure, but noticeable.

Idiocracy isn't a movie. It is the near future with our schools being the way they are. We are just a generation away from the Education Secretary in that movie. Every body is drinking the Brawndo already.

http://www.kqzyfj.com/p979uoxuowBEKJJGEHBDCFHIFDL?url=http://www.thinkgeek.com/caffeine/drinks/9cce/

 

[AtomicEraTom]

But does it have electrolytes?

 

[jamespowers]

But does it have electrolytes?

It says right on it: "It's got Electrolytes." It is what plants crave.

 

[AtomicEraTom]

I just want some water.

You mean like, from the toilet?

It says right on it: "It's got Electrolytes." It is what plants crave.

 

[jamespowers]

I just want some water.

You mean like, from the toilet?

Yes, from the toilet.

Test: If you have 1 bucket with 2 gallons and 1 bucket with 4 gallons, how many buckets you got?

 

[Gregg Axley]

Yes, from the toilet.

Test: If you have 1 bucket with 2 gallons and 1 bucket with 4 gallons, how many buckets you got?

Standard or metric bucket? That makes a difference you know...

 

[AtomicEraTom]

[video=youtube_share;d9aYB2Waa8o]http://youtu.be/d9aYB2Waa8o[/video]

 

[jamespowers]

Standard or metric bucket? That makes a difference you know...

lol lol lol Sounds like New Math.

 

[dhermann1]

This just occurred to me as I heard the twanging of rubber bands when I took them off the container my lunch is in. Anyone ever make a banjo out of a cigar box and rubber bands? Old fashioned wood cigar boxes are long gone, replaced by similar looking, but not similar sounding cardboard boxes. You could make a fun little kid's banjo with a cigar box and rubber bands.

 

[McPeppers]

This just occurred to me as I heard the twanging of rubber bands when I took them off the container my lunch is in. Anyone ever make a banjo out of a cigar box and rubber bands? Old fashioned wood cigar boxes are long gone, replaced by similar looking, but not similar sounding cardboard boxes. You could make a fun little kid's banjo with a cigar box and rubber bands.

Never a banjo, I used my rubber bands for slingshots and self propelled airplanes mostly


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[McPeppers]

Yes, from the toilet.

Test: If you have 1 bucket with 2 gallons and 1 bucket with 4 gallons, how many buckets you got?

Do I own the buckets or did I "borrow" them. That makes a difference in the number I have. if they are mine I have two.

If not... i have no idea what buckets you are referring to. I have no buckets.


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[John in Covina]

This just occurred to me as I heard the twanging of rubber bands when I took them off the container my lunch is in. Anyone ever make a banjo out of a cigar box and rubber bands? Old fashioned wood cigar boxes are long gone, replaced by similar looking, but not similar sounding cardboard boxes. You could make a fun little kid's banjo with a cigar box and rubber bands.

Wooden Cigar boxes are still made. Go to a real Cigar store and you will find the top shelf brands are still using cedar.

 

[jamespowers]

Wooden Cigar boxes are still made. Go to a real Cigar store and you will find the top shelf brands are still using cedar.

Quite right John. You beat me to the answer. Brands like Perdomo and the like have some really nice cigar boxes. In fact, here is a Perdomo cigar box guitar.

 

[Stanley Doble]

W.C. Fields cigar box concert (Very funny)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BZfHeDpNCEE

And cigar box juggling (amazing skill)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ytgPGr6JhLo

 

[Gregg Axley]

I forgot about these.
The boxes at least in some of his tricks with them, were connected with a string.
Not all mind you, but many.
I got this from a juggling website, which had an interview with him from his early days.
Included was the cigar box trick, and something with tennis balls.
He was still an amazing juggler, especially given his off stage "thirst."
BTW his hat trick in the second one is amazing.

 

[Shangas]

Last night, we had a REALLY BIG, REALLY BAD storm here. It was pouring with rain and howling tree-felling winds for about fourteen hours straight. From dinnertime yesterday, until about 7:30 this morning.

The storm was so bad, it knocked out the power. And that almost never happens. Shows you how bad this storm was!

Anyway, when I woke up this morning, the juice was still out. And when I was cooking my breakfast, it reminded me of something else.

When's the last time you had to light a gas stove by hand, with a box of matches? Until today, when the power went out, and the electric spark-lighter on the stove didn't work, I hadn't had to do this for years. Today, I had to resort to turning the gas on low, striking a match, lighting the gas by hand, and then cranking it up high to cook breakfast.

 

[Gregg Axley]

Last night, we had a REALLY BIG, REALLY BAD storm here. It was pouring with rain and howling tree-felling winds for about fourteen hours straight. From dinnertime yesterday, until about 7:30 this morning.

The storm was so bad, it knocked out the power. And that almost never happens. Shows you how bad this storm was!

Anyway, when I woke up this morning, the juice was still out. And when I was cooking my breakfast, it reminded me of something else.

When's the last time you had to light a gas stove by hand, with a box of matches? Until today, when the power went out, and the electric spark-lighter on the stove didn't work, I hadn't had to do this for years. Today, I had to resort to turning the gas on low, striking a match, lighting the gas by hand, and then cranking it up high to cook breakfast.

Good point Shangas.
My grandmother had a gas stove when I was a kid, with a match holder on the wall behind it.
You would load the holder with matches, similar to loading a toothpick holder.
Then as you grabbed a match, another one would come down to take it's place.
Strike anywhere matches were the ones she used, and I had been my grandfather use his shoe or belt buckle many times to do this.
What was funny, was seeing them light the oven.
They would turn on the gas, light a match, and throw the match in, shutting the door quickly before the oven gave off that WHOOOF sound.
Things seemed to taste better from her gas oven, than they did from our electric one.
I couldn't quite figure that out, same recipes and all.

 

[sheeplady]

When's the last time you had to light a gas stove by hand, with a box of matches? Until today, when the power went out, and the electric spark-lighter on the stove didn't work, I hadn't had to do this for years. Today, I had to resort to turning the gas on low, striking a match, lighting the gas by hand, and then cranking it up high to cook breakfast.

Well, until we replaced it, two of the burners on our old stove didn't ignite... so last year? We looked into replacing the ignition lighters but they would have cost more than the stove was worth (it was a $100 special new I believe) so we replaced it. It was a pretty bad model.

 

[vitanola]

When's the last time you had to light a gas stove by hand, with a box of matches?

Last Thursday, when I was back in Michigan.

Come winter I shall be lighting the kindling in the firebox of that combination wood/coal/gas range.