Vintage Things That Have Disappeared In Your Lifetime?

[LizzieMaine]

And the lack of DDT has brought bedbugs back with a vengeance. Progress giveth, and progress taketh away.

(And yes, I know there's a whole internet full of debate on this question, all of it slanted to one side or the other according to the political views of the debater. That's another thing that's disappeared: science that couldn't be hijacked for the sake of an agenda.)

 

[1961MJS]

And the lack of DDT has brought bedbugs back with a vengeance. Progress giveth, and progress taketh away.

I think Dad said something on the order of "Ask the people with Malaria how they like not having DDT." Besides making Eagle's eggs soft, what exactly was it DDT did that was so bad? According to Wikipedia it's suspected of being a cancer causing substance, but it also says that studies haven't shown that it is. So, DDT caused some birds and shellfish's shells to become thinner or softer.

I haven't even thought about DDT for about 20 years.

Later

 

[LizzieMaine]

As Sheeplady noted above, DDT is still widely used in the Third World, and that's largely because it's the only effective malaria preventative that they can afford.

 

[jamespowers]

DDT was so widely used in the military years ago that you would expect every soldier to be glowing with cancer---especially since they were literally dusted with it to keep them louse free in infested areas. Family friends talked abouot being coated in the stuff. I guess that is why they only lived to 87 instead of 97. :rofl:

 

[vitanola]

Unfortunately, DDT does not appear to be the answer to the bedbug problem, as the current crop that infests the US has apparently descended from
Little beasts who devolped immunity to DDT on the Indian Subcontinent, where DDT is still in common use.

The problem with DDT, as with so many miracle chemicals, was overuse and improper use. DDT is o longer effective against many malaria-bearing
Mosquitos as they have devolped resistance to it. the same is true of many agricultural pests. The wanton and indescriminate use of many pesticides
as with many antibiotics eventually renders them

 

[vitanola]

DDT... isthe only effective malaria preventative....

No longer, I'm afraid.

 

[Shangas]

Y'know, something just occurred to me. I forget if this has been covered here before, it might have been. Or possibly in another thread, but...

When's the last time you saw an usher at your local cinema?

I remember as a child, when i went to see a movie, you had an usher with a flashlight who would rip your ticket in half, and look at your seat-number, then he'd guide you down the aisle to your allocated seat.

I haven't seen anyone do that in years. I think they still do in theaters, but in cinemas, never. At least, not in the past 10-15 years.

My eyesight is not terrible-bad, but it's hardly perfect, either. I can do most things to function in society (apart from drive), and I like going to the cinema to see a big movie every now and then. In fact, I went a couple of weeks back, to see "Skyfall".

I went in and was trying to find my seat. Now it's dark, and the placards on the aisles are tiny and impossible for someone of my eyesight to read (at least, not without getting way down to read them, and backing up the entire crowd!). And it occurred to me then: How nice it would be to have an usher there, in his uniform, with his torchlight. Give him my ticket, and have him show me where I need to sit down.

I'm sure there's a lot of visually-impaired cinema-attendees who feel the same way.

 

[Salty O'Rourke]

And the lack of DDT has brought bedbugs back with a vengeance. Progress giveth, and progress taketh away.

(And yes, I know there's a whole internet full of debate on this question, all of it slanted to one side or the other according to the political views of the debater. That's another thing that's disappeared: science that couldn't be hijacked for the sake of an agenda.)

Lack of DDT brought the Bald Eagle back, too.

 

[LizzieMaine]

Speaking of insecticides, when's the last time anyone saw or used a Flit gun? I still have one for spraying my rosebush, but it wasn't so long ago they were a fixture in any kitchen.

 

[Shangas]

You mean one of these?

I saw one when I was on my holiday in August.

...In a museum.

 

[LizzieMaine]

Next to the flypaper, no doubt.

 

[Shangas]

I have NEVER seen fly-paper outside of old Disney cartoon shorts. Not even in a museum. Can you even buy the stuff anymore? I don't think so...

 

[sheeplady]

One of the major problems with DDT was that it was overused. Whenever you overuse something you're more likely to develop resistance (as opposed to sensible application) because only the strong survive and it leads to quicker spread of mutated genes. I've known people who have mixed pesticides and herbicides and a lot of them say "Heck, if one to ten parts is good, three to ten parts will really knock 'em out." Well, yeah, you might get a few really good seasons but when resistance rears it's ugly head you're going to be facing super bugs. The idea is that if you let some of the "weaker" non-resistant buggers survive, the population will more likely have more "weaker" individuals in it, as chemical resistance often comes with a reproductive cost.

If I remember my Rachel Carson correctly, there were numerous studies and reports (many of them from federal sources) that implicated DDT in wildlife endangerment. There was evidence by the time that public outrage was up about DDT in the U.S. there was already growing resistance and a substantial number of farmers had stopped using it because it was no longer effective. Hence public outcry + growing useless chemical= banning.

If we used DDT in a conservative way (only for health reasons, as opposed to agriculture where it isn't as necessary) it would be much more effective. Kind of like if doctors only gave antibiotics when necessary.

 

[sheeplady]

I have NEVER seen fly-paper outside of old Disney cartoon shorts. Not even in a museum. Can you even buy the stuff anymore? I don't think so...

They gussied it up a bit: http://www.tractorsupply.com/catchmaster-fly-ribbon-pack-of-4-2201563

 

[LizzieMaine]

I have NEVER seen fly-paper outside of old Disney cartoon shorts. Not even in a museum. Can you even buy the stuff anymore? I don't think so...

The year I got out of high school I was working at a little grocery store sorting empty soda and beer bottles in a shed behind the store buildings. In the middle of summer, the stale beer and soda spills attracted flies by the million -- and right in the middle of the shed was the biggest sheet of flypaper I've ever seen. Absolutely hideous to look at, but it worked.

You still see the little flypaper ribbons in cellars and garages around here -- as long as you don't get them tangled up in your hair they're about the least-toxic insecticide you can get.

 

[nice hat dude!]

Yes Shangas you can still get them,at least where I live in Canada we hang them in the barn to try and keep some of the flies away from the horses.

 

[V.C. Brunswick]

They gussied it up a bit: http://www.tractorsupply.com/catchmaster-fly-ribbon-pack-of-4-2201563

And it's scented too. lol

Though I do remember this

 

[jamespowers]

And it's scented too. lol

Though I do remember this

That you can still get as I use them in my bird aviary. Then again, I haven't bought some in a while....

 

[Giftmacher]

I have NEVER seen fly-paper outside of old Disney cartoon shorts. Not even in a museum. Can you even buy the stuff anymore? I don't think so...

Common thing here.

 

[jamespowers]

They gussied it up a bit: http://www.tractorsupply.com/catchmaster-fly-ribbon-pack-of-4-2201563

And they work good too.