Vintage Things That Will NOT Disappear In Your Lifetime

[ChiTownScion]

We had propane in our Northwoods cabin when we first bought it. Nasty, overpriced petroleum by product. The gauging by the local service got so bad that we and a few of the other property owners paid to have the town's natural gas main extended to our common area. The cash layout paid for itself in less than two years.

I won't say that natural gas usage is foolproof. From what I've seen and read, it certainly isn't idiot- proof.

 

[Fifty150]

propane

Nasty, overpriced petroleum by product.

It wasn't that long ago, that "environmentalist" demanded propane vehicles. Then they quickly discovered that they had no place to refuel. That mindset switched to compressed natural gas, and E85. The same conundrum. At least with the ethanol vehicles, you could fill it unleaded gasoline......which defeated the purpose of spending extra money to buy an E85 vehicle.

Turkey fryers. BBQs. Recreational vehicles use propane. Outdoor heaters. I bought a stove which came with a propane adapter kit. But I personally don't power anything with propane. No need to. My home has a gas line.

Where my sister lives, the natural gas line exploded. Then a fire burned an entire neighborhood. The fireball in the sky was visible for miles. But that's a rare occurrence. And the same thing could have happened if a propane storage tank exploded.

 

[Hats Matter]

I just came across this thread this morning and I wanted to contribute something to the discussion. I have not read every post so this may have aleady been mentioned but here goes. I was shaving this morning with a razor (not vintage and I do have a beard) and I cut myself. I used a styptic pencil to stop the flow of blood. I do not see this tool disappearing in my lifetime.

 

[tonyb]

^^^^^
Yeah, but I doubt most people under age 60 could tell you what a styptic pencil is.

I might well be wrong about that. But more modern shaving implements greatly reduce the likelihood of seriously cutting oneself. I give myself a little nick every now and then, but the bleeding is usually minimal and of short duration. And I’m on a blood thinner.

 

[Zombie_61]

^^^^^
Yeah, but I doubt most people under age 60 could tell you what a styptic pencil is...

Many years ago I mentioned a styptic pencil to a few guys who were a decade or two older than I was, and they didn't even know what a styptic pencil was. I can't say I've used mine regularly, but often enough to truly appreciate what a wonderful thing it is.

 

[Fifty150]

You can still buy them.

 

[Zombie_61]

^ "Nick Stick".

 

[Turnip]

Since those (safety) razors came more and more out of fashion there’s less need for first aid in matutinal bathroom carnages.

 

[Hats Matter]

Yesterday's incident with the razor cut and the use of a styptic pencil was an anomoly for me. It occurs perhaps a couple of times a year. I use one of those Gillette multi-blade razors when I shave.

 

[tonyb]

I wouldn’t be surprised to find at the bottom of a cardboard box or plastic bin in my linen closet a crumbling styptic pencil. Last one I remember having was in a plastic tube.

 

[tonyb]

Yesterday's incident with the razor cut and the use of a styptic pencil was an anomoly for me. It occurs perhaps a couple of times a year. I use one of those Gillette multi-blade razors when I shave.

I’d been on the habit of buying the cheap store brand twin-blade razors, the blue plastic ones that come in the 8-pack on the bottom shelf, by the Barbasol.

But then I made the mistake of buying the three-blade ones and now I’m pretty well ruined for the low-cost option. The triples really are superior. They cost quite a bit more, but not so much that I can’t find room in the budget for them.

 

[Trenchfriend]

Yesterday's incident with the razor cut and the use of a styptic pencil was an anomoly for me. It occurs perhaps a couple of times a year. I use one of those Gillette multi-blade razors when I shave.

2, 3, 4 or 5 blades?

Real talk:
I love the Gillette Blue II disposable, but I still love my Wilkinson Protector 3, too! The Protector 3 blades are so much better than the classic Protector blades. So much more gentle!

 

[Turnip]

I use Gilette Mach3 heads on a Mühle base, almost never cut myself.

If though, I always use an aftershave anyway, Chanel or Dior most of the time, that darn any leaks pretty well.

 

[Zombie_61]

I use Gilette Mach3 heads on a Mühle base...

Gilette Mach3 blades on a Gilette Mach3 handle here. Still work as well as they ever did, so I'll keep using 'em until Gilette decides to stop making them in favor of whatever the next big advancement in razor technology is. What're they gonna' do, keep adding blades?

 

[tonyb]

I’ve been anticipating the death of the laundromat for quite some time now, figuring the near ubiquity of in-unit compact washer/dryer combos in apartments these days would render it obsolete.

But nope, here I am at a wash house about a mile from home, one of three within about a mile radius, according to a quick Google search. And it’s doing a pretty good trade at the moment. (I timed it to coincide with the local NFL team’s televised game, figuring the demand would be lower.)

I can’t remember when I was last in a laundromat. Last time I lived without a washer at home was 22 years ago. But I was faced with washing a goose down mattress topper upon which there occurred an “accident” a few days back and the thing just won’t fit in the home-duty machine in the basement utility room.

Cost $8.50 to wash and a buck seventy-five to dry. Seems a lot to me. The lowest-cost washers are $2.50. The others range in price from $4.75 to $7.50.

It’s kinda entertaining, though, what with the people from many lands trying to communicate in what is becoming their common language.

 

[Harp]

2, 3, 4 or 5 blades?

Real talk:
I love the Gillette Blue II disposable...

I've flashed plastic since forever it seems. I absent mindedly grab a Gillette pak every now and then;
sometimes the razor has a swivel head, but not the current blade, a fixed.
Usually shave at night so I don't need to at dawn reveille.

 

[Zombie_61]

...Usually shave at night so I don't need to at dawn reveille.

Decades ago when I was much younger I tried that. Trouble is, in those days I'd develop "5 o'clock shadow" at 10:00 a.m.. One work supervisor (District Manager, who also happened to be the father of my best friend) would call my manager and I into his office almost daily to scold us for not shaving. We'd look at each other knowing we had shaved that morning, and informed said manager of such. He didn't believe it until one day when he brought in a razor and shaving cream for each of us, and insisted we shave. So we did, and three to four hours later we both looked rather unshaven.

Now that I'm older and my beard has more "salt" than "pepper" in it I can get away without shaving for a day or two because the stubble isn't quite as noticeable.

 

[tonyb]

The hair atop my head, what’s left of it, is mostly a dingy gray color, as are my whiskers. I’ve been bearded, but I doubt I ever will be again. My beard is thick, downright luxuriant, but where once there were red and brown whiskers there is now hair the color of wood ashes. And I’m constitutionally averse to dying it.

And David Letterman should lose the beard. Not that my opinion matters.

 

[belfastboy]

I’d been on the habit of buying the cheap store brand twin-blade razors, the blue plastic ones that come in the 8-pack on the bottom shelf, by the Barbasol.

But then I made the mistake of buying the three-blade ones and now I’m pretty well ruined for the low-cost option. The triples really are superior. They cost quite a bit more, but not so much that I can’t find room in the budget for them.

I have a very light beard anyways and since the pandemic/stay home regimen I have lapsed into a weekly shave rather than daily. I use the Kirkland brand multiblade (3 or 5, can't recall) cartridges and now I use about one cartridge per 3-4 months or maybe more....I lose track until it dawns on me that I am getting a shitty shave so I switch out to a new one.

 

[belfastboy]

The hair still my head, what’s left of it, is mostly a dingy gray color, as are my whiskers. I’ve been bearded, but I doubt I ever will be again. My beard is thick, downright luxuriant, but where once there were red and brown whiskers there is now hair the color of wood ashes. And I’m constitutionally averse to dying it.

And David Letterman should lose the beard. Not that my opinion matters.

Was it a Henny Youngman joke about "when I go bald I am planning to grow out my eyebrows and do a real combover."