Vintage Things That Have Disappeared In Your Lifetime?

[Forgotten Man]

************
Maybe it was found to be too difficult for today's youth and therefor bad for their self esteem.

Well, I think maybe today's youth have gone SOFT and need to grow a sack and learn to WRITE!

I struggled with it when I was being taught... but, heck I picked it up and now I'm so glad that I did! Most people's print I can't read... it's sloppy! Script is a little easier to make out on paper.

(Insert whinny voice) Oh, teacher, it's too hard... I can't do it!

Well, then lets make everything EASY so you wouldn't have to be challenged at SCHOOL! Please!

 

[Kassia]

There's a sizable group of film enthusiasts here, some of whom use cameras that predate SLRs - which aren't all that old.

In terms of Polariods, the expense of film was always pretty high. I'm happy to see digital replace them for purposes of instant gratification.

I agree totatlly.. All the pictures taken on the cruise ships are digital and printed out that day... It's not as instant as a polaroid but it is still pretty quick... For the home amatuer photog it's as good as it gets with out having to have an entire dark room..

Digital is also more environmentaly friendly.. No more chemicals and silver nitrate going down the drain.. That goes for digital xrays too!!!

 

[Joie DeVive]

Miss Neecerie- Good to know. I thought it was all gone. I would be interesting to know what's in it now.

John in Covina- And the Merthiolate really did work too. I once had an infected ingrown toenail that I couldn't get to heal. Boy did that clear it up!!

Bingles I had heard no more handwriting was coming, but Holy Cow!! How are these kids gonna sign their names??? Print it?? With an X?? And gee, who needs fine motor skills anyway?? :eusa_doh:

 

[Lefty]

fftopic: Digital might be better for the environment, but I'm not sure. For instance, with nearly everyone owning at least one digital camera of some sort these days, I've got to guess that there are plenty more prints being made. That's both paper and whatever the inks are made of now, along with all of the energy it takes to make the prints and charge the batteries.

Then, you've got the fact that digital cameras have much shorter life spans than film cameras. Within 5 years, nearly every digital camera now on earth will be a paperweight. That's a lot of plastic and toxic batteries in the trash. A quality film camera, whether bought in 1900 or today, will last forever if given proper care.

I agree totatlly.. All the pictures taken on the cruise ships are digital and printed out that day... It's not as instant as a polaroid but it is still pretty quick... For the home amatuer photog it's as good as it gets with out having to have an entire dark room..

Digital is also more environmentaly friendly.. No more chemicals and silver nitrate going down the drain.. That goes for digital xrays too!!!

 

[Lefty]

Bingles I had heard no more handwriting was coming, but Holy Cow!! How are these kids gonna sign their names??? Print it?? With an X?? And gee, who needs fine motor skills anyway?? :eusa_doh:

What is there to sign anymore besides greeting cards? Everything is done by email and electronic "signature". I admire anyone who was born within the past 15 years and has nice writing.

 

[Kassia]

fftopic: Digital might be better for the environment, but I'm not sure. For instance, with nearly everyone owning at least one digital camera of some sort these days, I've got to guess that there are plenty more prints being made. That's both paper and whatever the inks are made of now, along with all of the energy it takes to make the prints and charge the batteries.

Then, you've got the fact that digital cameras have much shorter life spans than film cameras. Within 5 years, nearly every digital camera now on earth will be a paperweight. That's a lot of plastic and toxic batteries in the trash. A quality film camera, whether bought in 1900 or today, will last forever if given proper care.

Oh i forget that not everyone recycles paper and batteries...
BTW my digital camera is more than 5 years old and going strong.. I also use recharchagle batteries for everything now.. I have 2 sets and the only thing i buy a batter for now is the smoke detector... Even my cordless mouse has rechargable batteries in it right now...


I think your key work there is "with proper care".. My dh has talked about getting a new digicam and i keep saying why? It still works just fine.. Too many people out there now that get sucked into thinking that if it's new it's better... Everytime the contract for my cell phone comes up for renewal they ask me if i want to upgrade.. No thanks it works fine for me now!!

 

[Kassia]

What is there to sign anymore besides greeting cards? Everything is done by email and electronic "signature". I admire anyone who was born within the past 15 years and has nice writing.

EEEkkkk i must be really out of date then, cause i still send checks in the mail for somethings.... I have a nice collection of writing cards so i can pay things like my retreat fees or my book club orders...
I also still get a money order from the bank when i buy anything on Ebay...
Talk about out of date!!!

 

[Joie DeVive]

What is there to sign anymore besides greeting cards? Everything is done by email and electronic "signature". I admire anyone who was born within the past 15 years and has nice writing.

I'll grant you writing isn't as key now as it once was, but people still sign contracts, licenses, letters, checks and numerous other documents. It's important because for now, we use it as our identification and confirmation of identity. Our signatures even appear on our drivers licenses here.

Beyond the actual signature though, writing is a tool to develop fine motor skills, just like coloring is for youngsters. Both practices are going by the wayside, and personally, I'd really like my future surgeons to have excellent fine motor skills. And as a former teacher, I don't think that video games offer the same range of development of fine motor coordination that these other activities do. But that's just me... [huh]

 

[MsChantillyLace]

My district still implements cursive education. And letters and post cards are still be sent. I don't think it is about to fall off the face of the earth, but it is concerning.

This is a bit off topic for the over all thread, but I thought you all might be interested in the following article regarding this handwriting issue.



Another thing that I haven't seen around are the soap pressers. It's a tool that would press together those itty bitty pieces of soap left over into a larger, more useful piece. I don't think they were called soap pressers. My grandmother had one; she used to make soap from left over animal grease.


Butter churns. We have a vintage one that belonged my great great grandmother Minie Mae. I'm actually glad not to have to churn it myself.






I just had wax lips last Halloween. They're still available in all the supermarkets here and the party stores as well. There's also a few websites that sell novety candies, simply google "wax lips." They sell candy cigarettes as well. I'm thinking of a few other brick-n-morter candy stores that sell things of this nature, there's a great one in Boston and we have one that's here in Roccity as well.

 

[Kassia]

I just had wax lips last Halloween. They're still available in all the supermarkets here and the party stores as well. There's also a few websites that sell novety candies, simply google "wax lips." They sell candy cigarettes as well. I'm thinking of a few other brick-n-morter candy stores that sell things of this nature, there's a great one in Boston and we have one that's here in Roccity as well.

Hahahaaaaa one of the things i buy regurlarity at Costco for my dh is a box of licorice cigars...

 

[jgilbert]

What about paperboys? I have a paper route for 3 yrs. Did it all for my bike. Now it appears all are car routes.

 

[Joie DeVive]

I just thought of one, lye soap. My mother swears that there is nothing better for getting dirty stuff clean. I guess she used one of her last bars (made by her grandmother) cleaning her first apartment after she got married.

 

[Kassia]

I just thought of one, lye soap. My mother swears that there is nothing better for getting dirty stuff clean. I guess she used one of her last bars (made by her grandmother) cleaning her first apartment after she got married.

I have a recipe for lye soap.. It's in a really old, 1939, cook book i got from my Grandmother...

 

[Dr Doran]

I recall an antiseptic called Mercurochrome when I was a child and it had the glass thing. It must be another name for the M___ discussed above.

 

[Miss Neecerie]

I recall an antiseptic called Mercurochrome when I was a child and it had the glass thing. It must be another name for the M___ discussed above.

Yes...its a variation on it....Methiolate is a -trademarked- name.....


We called it mercurochrome too......possible its a region thing....

 

[LizzieMaine]

I had a childhood friend whose mom was a nurse -- who absolutely *sneered* at me whenever I came in their house with iodine daubed on a skinned knee or elbow. "That's just VOODOO!" she'd rant. "VOODOO!! Your mother should be ASHAMED of herself! It doesn't do ANYTHING! It's just VOODOO!"

So naturally, I got into the habit, whenever first aid was needed, of bellowing "Hey Ma -- I need some VOODOO!!!!" And I meant it to sting.

 

[Fletch]

In the upper midwest it was likewise known as mercurochrome. It was tinted a horrible orange-red and was already losing ground when I was a wee sprog in the early '70s to newer preparations such as Bactine. If you got scraped or cut in the presence of an elderly relative, it might still have been treated with iodine (iodoform), which as it turned out really wasn't any great shakes as a germ killer.

 

[Joan]

I liked this skin cleanser called PHISOHEX the stuff worked great. Then they said it was bad for babies and took it off the market.

John, I agree about just putting a warning on it. It's still available, though, but you need a prescription. It's not cheap, of course, but a prescription plan might cover it.

 

[Fletch]

Yes, I remember pHisoHex. My pediatric clinic had a jug in every exam room in the early '70s. Then it turned out hexachlorophene, the disinfectant ingredient, was killing babies in France, where it was used in a talcum powder. Something like 26 died. That was the end of pHisoHex as an OTC product.

 

[FRANKIE]

I also miss danger. Kids are such wimps these days. I left more skin and blood on the ground while doing bike tricks, jumping from monkey bars, and other such nonsense that, even if a kid today could escape his or her "helicopter parents" (yes, I heard it on Oprah), a helmet, gloves, knee/elbow pads, and a call to the insurance agent would be required for any such activity.

I've just now been reading through this thread and I've been tempted to respond to a few posts, but I thought I'd catch up first. I can't wait to respond to this though. It drives me completely crazy how unwilling parents are now to trust their children to survive. Have you heard about the woman who let her child ride the subway home alone in NY? The responses people had to this were unbelievable. New York City is considerably safer now than it was a couple of decades ago, maybe safer than it's ever been, yet parents are terrified! It really frustrates me!