Vintage Things That Have Disappeared In Your Lifetime?

[Nikki]

Yeah, I understand what you meant by pranks. When I was a kid, some of my friends would call up people and ask if they "were TP." (Either not toilet trained or a pregnant teenager.) Which was annoying, but otherwise harmless. Nobody I knew ever even "harassed" anyone- it was always random numbers pulled out of the phone book, not calling the same individual repeatedly on end. And still, everybody got in serious trouble for even doing the random thing.

This other thing isn't a prank, it's just cruel. No one I ever knew of would have called the authorities and tried to prank them about anything (even the TP joke). We grew up in a time when there was one emergency number and we all knew that tying it up for anything but an emergency was a big no-no. This was like a prank phone call on mega-steroids- it's bad enough to fake call an emergency number even with senseless jokes, but five times worse to pretend to be a missing child. It makes me really sad. I think booking those kids and letting them spend a little time at the police station was totally appropriate, although not nearly far enough (they should have to apologize to the family of the missing girl, in both writing and personally, as well as do some major volunteering preferably at a place that searches for missing children). It was totally heartless and I'm a bit disheartened to see anyone in the media say it is a prank and put it in a same category as calling a stranger and asking if their fridge was running. The 11-year old should have known better.

Seeing that story makes me add common decency to the list of vintage things that have disappeared in my lifetime. When my mother caught the Prince Albert prank we were punished immediately. None of the kids who pulled the pranks I was involved in would have thought to do something so malicious. Even at those young ages we would have known what was funny and what was just plain wrong. Should I also add a sense of right and wrong to the list of vintage things that disappeared in my lifetime? I sincerely hope not.

 

[V.C. Brunswick]

The Jerky Boys
Suddenly the Jerky Boys (Johnny Brennan and Kamal) with their voices and characters come to mind.

Pizza Lawyer
[video=youtube;wCKtwR5IYLY]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wCKtwR5IYLY[/video]

Cremation Services (Warning: Strong Language)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0fN0RSpCByU

Roofing (Warning: Strong Language)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SVjFGOUPzF8

 

[sheeplady]

Seeing that story makes me add common decency to the list of vintage things that have disappeared in my lifetime. When my mother caught the Prince Albert prank we were punished immediately. None of the kids who pulled the pranks I was involved in would have thought to do something so malicious. Even at those young ages we would have known what was funny and what was just plain wrong. Should I also add a sense of right and wrong to the list of vintage things that disappeared in my lifetime? I sincerely hope not.

I think I'd have to move if those were my kids. I'm kind of afraid what I would actually do to the kids after I died of embarrassment.

When they first put 911 service into my parent's home, I think I was in college. Their number was auto-dialing the 911 number or something. It looked like the number was calling, but the police could tell that the call wasn't actually coming from our number. It looked to the 911 operators like someone from our number was trying to call, even though they got a dial tone when they answered it because it wasn't a real call. They thought at first "prank" but then got concerned that there was someone at the other end that needed help and informed the police because it kept happening several days in a row- perhaps someone was in trouble and had the time to dial but then couldn't talk or stay on the line. Apparently there was something wrong someplace with the telephone company where the electronics were screwed up- there was a call connection being made between someplace in the lines and 911 that read with that number. But the police came to the house while I happened to be home and asked if everything was ok and then explained the situation.

That was embarrassing enough: nobody at the number even did anything and the police officers were very reassuring that they knew that no one was making a prank call at the house. I can't imagine how much worse it would be if the officers thought we were pranking them by calling and hanging up, yet alone pretending to be in trouble.


ETA: One would think that with all the press that kidnappings get those kids would have known better. When I was in middle school, a local girl a year older than me was kidnapped and murdered in a nearby village several school districts over. I can remember they instituted self-defense in gym classes after that although they didn't tie the things together when they started the self-defense unit. Lots of the kids (myself included) were joking around with the tactics they showed us with the foam hurdles we were using as dummies- tossing around the hurdle and plenty of the boys were making dirty jokes. Then the gym teacher sternly reminded us it was very serious and that a girl had been murdered and that these moves could save our lives. The room just got silent and everybody put their heads down. I don't think anybody in the room had even associated the lesson with that poor girl. I can't see any of those kids (and some of them are in jail for serious crimes) making light of a kidnapping by prank calling.

 

[LizzieMaine]

When I was a kid, there was a boy in our neighborhood who loved to pull really vicious pranks like the ones mentioned. One day he came running up to my mother and told her to get help, because my sister had accidentally hung herself from a pine tree where she'd been playing. Ma ran down there, saw my sister sitting on the ground oblivious to the excitement, ran back up to the house, and hauled back and belted the kid one right in the mouth. Laid him right out on the ground, he got up and ran off screaming. She felt guilty, went in and got on the phone and called his mother to apologize. "I just hit your kid," she said. His mother didn't even miss a beat with her reply: "Good. Hit him again!"

 

[scottyrocks]

I didn't make prank phone calls when I was a kid, but my favorite funny one went like this.

I'd look up a real Mr. Whitehead in the phone book, call this person and say, 'Hi, Mr. Blackhead?'

He would say, 'No, this is Mr. Whitehead.'

And I'd say, 'Sorry, wrong pimple,' and hang up.

 

[sheeplady]

When I was a kid, there was a boy in our neighborhood who loved to pull really vicious pranks like the ones mentioned. One day he came running up to my mother and told her to get help, because my sister had accidentally hung herself from a pine tree where she'd been playing. Ma ran down there, saw my sister sitting on the ground oblivious to the excitement, ran back up to the house, and hauled back and belted the kid one right in the mouth. Laid him right out on the ground, he got up and ran off screaming. She felt guilty, went in and got on the phone and called his mother to apologize. "I just hit your kid," she said. His mother didn't even miss a beat with her reply: "Good. Hit him again!"

lol

Did the boy end up a psychopath? I'm convinced that somebody like that is going to end up a psychopath. Or a politician.

 

[AtomicEraTom]

Now what's that supposed to mean?! lol

I would never have thought.

 

[Shangas]

When I was a kid, there was a boy in our neighborhood who loved to pull really vicious pranks like the ones mentioned. One day he came running up to my mother and told her to get help, because my sister had accidentally hung herself from a pine tree where she'd been playing. Ma ran down there, saw my sister sitting on the ground oblivious to the excitement, ran back up to the house, and hauled back and belted the kid one right in the mouth. Laid him right out on the ground, he got up and ran off screaming. She felt guilty, went in and got on the phone and called his mother to apologize. "I just hit your kid," she said. His mother didn't even miss a beat with her reply: "Good. Hit him again!"

I think I like this lady.

 

[LizzieMaine]

The last time I saw that kid, about twenty years or so ago, he had one leg in an enormous cast, the result of reckless motorcycle driving. He hadn't changed a bit. I have no idea where he is or what he's doing now, but I'm absolutely certain that somebody, somewhere wants to punch him in the face for it.

My ma is very much opposed to the passive-aggressive approach to dealing with life's annoyances. She'd much rather be actively aggressive.

 

[Mocheman]

The last time I saw that kid, about twenty years or so ago, he had one leg in an enormous cast, the result of reckless motorcycle driving. He hadn't changed a bit. I have no idea where he is or what he's doing now, but I'm absolutely certain that somebody, somewhere wants to punch him in the face for it.

My ma is very much opposed to the passive-aggressive approach to dealing with life's annoyances. She'd much rather be actively aggressive.

I like your Ma

 

[jamespowers]

Now what's that supposed to mean?! lol

I figured you more for the type who likes tobacco from a certain little forbidden island. :rofl:

 

[jamespowers]

My ma is very much opposed to the passive-aggressive approach to dealing with life's annoyances. She'd much rather be actively aggressive.

That works for me too.

 

[John in Covina]

The last time I saw that kid, about twenty years or so ago, he had one leg in an enormous cast, the result of reckless motorcycle driving. He hadn't changed a bit. I have no idea where he is or what he's doing now, but I'm absolutely certain that somebody, somewhere wants to punch him in the face for it.

Sounds a bit like a cousin of mine. Eventually, I realized that he was one of those people that lacked the ability to sympathize / empathize with anyone else. As such much of his youth was spent using people for his own entertainment. As a adult he became a dentist so he could make a good living getting paid to hurt others.

 

[John in Covina]

It came up in another thread. In the past i had a change jar that I used to save up for trips to Vegas. these days with so many transaction as ATM, debit, or credit cards saving coins just doesn't run up the totals it once did.

 

[Stanley Doble]

If you got tired of calling grocery stores and asking if they had Prince Albert in the can you could ask if they had Robin Hood by the bag or Aunt Jemima by the box.

 

[topango]

Prank calls. I come from a very large family and we would use prank calls to reintiate relationships with loved ones who moved away.

 

[AtomicEraTom]

That would require a lot more cash flow than I have, and I try to live within the confines of the law

I figured you more for the type who likes tobacco from a certain little forbidden island. :rofl:

 

[jamespowers]

That would require a lot more cash flow than I have, and I try to live within the confines of the law

Both of those are easily fixed.

 

[AtomicEraTom]

Maybe in California

Both of those are easily fixed.

 

[jamespowers]

Maybe in California

Easier where you are.