Vintage Things That Will NOT Disappear In Your Lifetime

[tonyb]

The smooth sole assists in the removal of the boot from the stirrup in an unexpected get-off, instead of the removal of the ankle from the leg if the boot got caught in the stirrup.

Might that smooth sole have the added benefit of facilitating the removal of whatever the horseman might have stepped in?

Horse doo-doo isn't unique to the halls of Congress, after all.

 

[Inkstainedwretch]

Note that throughout the heyday of the cowboy boot, the cavalry wore high-topped but round-toed and low-heeled boots, and those guys lived their entire lives in the saddle. They wore nubbed instead of rowel spurs, too.

 

[2jakes]

As for the weathered look of leather shoes/boots and jackets, I agree completely. I'll wash mud or other "stuff" off of 'em, but otherwise I've never polished a pair of leather shoes or boots. The gent who owned and operated a local shoe store years ago once told me that almost every man who ever purchased a pair of boots from him wore them out of the store and immediately went to the curb and started kicking it to scuff up his new boots a bit and get the weathering process started. I've never done that myself because I prefer to allow my shoes/boots to attain their scars naturally, but I understand why someone would want to.

Not sure if this is myth or not.
I read somewhere that Amelia Earhart
would wear her new leather jacket to
bed to promote the worn look.

I tried it once but was awaken in the night by Polo who was scratching on
the leather.

 

[UnknownSuspect]

High cut swimming briefs or "budgie smugglers".

 

[Trenchfriend]

STOREBRAND-SNICKERS!! Always wanted!!

 

[sheeplady]

Cowboy boots, if so equipped with steel toes, are the best protection from a horse, cow, or other large animal stepping on you.

I rode horses for awhile, and as a beginner mostly did bareback (no saddle) with no reins. Cowboy boots will fall off with no stirrup if you're not careful. So one day I wore shoes. Boy was I ever sorry when that horse stood on me while I was cleaning her hooves.

Claw foot tubs. Convertibles. Salt shakers. Canning jars.

 

[LizzieMaine]

Salt shakers.

There's a story that, when filming a "Star Trek" episode where a salt shaker was shown as a key part of a scene, the prop master went out and got a selection of the most futuristic-looking salt shakers he could find. The director rejected them, pointing out that they were so outre, no viewer would recognize them as salt shakers. And then he sent the prop master down to the studio commissary to grab a salt shaker off one of the tables. So we know, for a fact, that in the 23rd Century, a salt shaker will look just like the ones you find in any lunch room.

 

[2jakes]

K-Swiss knife.

 

[Zombie_61]

There's a story that, when filming a "Star Trek" episode where a salt shaker was shown as a key part of a scene, the prop master went out and got a selection of the most futuristic-looking salt shakers he could find. The director rejected them, pointing out that they were so outre, no viewer would recognize them as salt shakers. And then he sent the prop master down to the studio commissary to grab a salt shaker off one of the tables. So we know, for a fact, that in the 23rd Century, a salt shaker will look just like the ones you find in any lunch room.

Another example of underestimating their audience. I mean, if someone in a television show or movie is holding a smallish item and shaking it over a plate of food, I think most people would recognize the gesture and realize it's a salt or pepper shaker no matter what it looks like. The prop master did, however, keep those salt shakers and some of them were used by Dr. McCoy (DeForest Kelley) as futuristic medical instruments.

 

[tonyb]

... The prop master did, however, keep those salt shakers and some of them were used by Dr. McCoy (DeForest Kelley) as futuristic medical instruments.

Cardiologist recommended.

 

[LizzieMaine]

The gent who owned and operated a local shoe store years ago once told me that almost every man who ever purchased a pair of boots from him wore them out of the store and immediately went to the curb and started kicking it to scuff up his new boots a bit and get the weathering process started.

The modern equivalent of this is the guy who buys a giant hulking pickup truck or land-rover type of thing, puts giant hulking off-road tires on it, and then carefully daubs the entire body with mud so that he'll look real rugged when he drives it to the Shop-n-Save to buy the skim milk.

Overcompensation is another thing that will not disappear in my lifetime.

 

[2jakes]

Pets.

 

[tonyb]

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Somewhere around here I got a couple double-edge safety razors. But I haven't felt the need to locate them.

Such were standard issue in my early adolescence. Nature, cruel mistress that she is, gave us pimples and whiskers at the same time. My brothers -- one 15 months my senior, and the other 11 months older than him -- and I gave up a whole lot of blood back then.

These days I buy the cheap blue plastic disposables. And Barbasol. And if I run out of Barbasol, a bit of soap suds does the trick. I spend so little on shaving paraphernalia that it hardly merits calculating.

Remember the slots in medicine cabinets for the disposal of used razor blades? Anyone here ever opened up a wall and found a cache of rusty razor blades?

 

[vitanola]

My understanding is that you can build a Model T entirely from new parts readily available from multiple suppliers. I'd imagine that some of those parts are truer to the originals than others.

Same with certain other "collectible" (and more or less affordable) cars -- Model As, early Mustangs, Camaros, MGBs. Et cetera.

Pretty nearly

Rear Axle housings, hogsheads (the transmission cover with the pedals sticking out) engine pans, differential carriers, drive shaft housings, and front axle forgings are the only components which are not CURRENTLY (DYAC) available in new production. It matters not, since all of these parts are easily found in useable condition (save perhaps the engine pans, which are now often found out of true or with cracked mounting brackets).

 

[2jakes]

All-Bran cereal.
Alka-Seltzer.
Cottage cheese.
Baloney & salami sandwiches.
Cream of Wheat.
Macaroni & cheese.
Tea.
Clothes line drying.
Head scarf.
Saddle shoes.
1941 Plodge.
Cussin'.
And last but not least...
LizzieMaine!

 

[Edward]

The gasoline internal combustion engine? It is quite efficient and does not require a special plug to refuel from the tap from the power plant. The heater works better, it has a longer range of travel at any time of the day, can be had in a tiny car or a huge truck or gas-guzzling road hog painted van, lasts a long time and is generally reliable.

That was one of my first thoughts. Its days are numbered, I believe, but it'll be a long time before it disappears completely. Busses here in London are increasingly hybrid, many newer ones mostly running on electric in inner London, and there is a plan for the whole trasnport network to be "emission-free" by 2050, which I may or may not live to see. In Beijing, a surprisingly high proportion of traffic is not only two-wheeled, but electric powered. Of course, I'm sured it helps there how little regulated that is - I don't think you even have to have any form of insurance to ride an electric scooter on the public road. That would bring big changes to London.

Pocketknives, mechanical watches, handkerchiefs, and leather-bound King James Version Bibles.

Pocketknives aren't very common here, though I do carry one myself on occasion. I just wish our standard-carry laws permitted a locking blade. I know why they don't (and certainly, knife-crime is a problem in parts of the UK), but I don't relish having a folding knife accidently close on my finger.

Good old fashioned rock n' roll. A nice vintage sound started in the 50s, and still around today though the sounds of my generation seem a bit less popular than they did in the 60s, 70s, and 80s. And speaking of my generation, vinyl records won't be going anywhere soon if my generation has anything to say about it. Nothing quite like the crispness and that snap, crackle and pop of a needle on plastic.

Anything which develops a cult following like rock and roll is unlikely ever to die out completely. I do hope it never becomes as sadly sterile as much of today's appreciation of classical music is, though. Vinyl is in rude health here in the UK, and further afield: Panasonic have even seen fit to reissue the venerable Technics 1210 for the first time sicne original production ceased in 2010. I read in the paper that Amazon sold more vinyl than Mp3 last year. I think that as the casual consumer of music who has no interest in music has embraced the convenience of digital, real music fans have come to demand ever better sound quality, and are returning to vinyl as the source thereof. There's also just something about the ritual of putting a record on that CDs, grand as they are, just can't match.

K-Swiss knife.

View attachment 77110

View attachment 77112

Whatever would the Swiss tourism industry do without them?

Remember the slots in medicine cabinets for the disposal of used razor blades? Anyone here ever opened up a wall and found a cache of rusty razor blades?

I wish it was easier to recycle blades as I can't find anywhere that does that, though at least they involve less wastage than cartridge or disposables. I went over to shaving my face with a DE about ten years ago - a vastly superior shave against the cartridge, and just as quick once I was experienced. Also cheaper: with blades at only about 20p each - less than 10% of the cartridges I had previously been using - I quickly saved money. Sadly still have to use a cartridge for my head, but have discovered bulk-buying Mach III cartridges on Amazon... Amusingly, Gilette ran an ad campaign here in the UK a few years ago - maybe nearly a decade ago? - actively encouraging users to dump their Mach III and 'upgrade' to the Nitro system. I assume it must have failed: the ads disappeared, but both types are still widely available.

It's interesting that, at over a century old, DE shaving is still around. Not necessarily the norm, but much bigger than just a hobbyist thing, and being adopted by younger men all the time. If ever I find cheap electrolysis available for over the top, back and sides of my head, I'd only ever need a DE. Tried it once on the top, alas, and gouged myself: need to be able to see to get the angles right!

 

[vitanola]

Good old fashioned rock n' roll. A nice vintage sound started in the 50s, and still around today though the sounds of my generation seem a bit less popular than they did in the 60s, 70s, and 80s.

You say that as if it were a GOOD thing...

And speaking of my generation, vinyl records won't be going anywhere soon if my generation has anything to say about it. Nothing quite like the crispness and that snap, crackle and pop of a needle on plastic.

PLASTIC? BAH! Shellac, Wax, and Celluloid are where it's at!

 

[Trenchfriend]

Donut hole-buttons, because all the brands and storebrands, worldwide, can still always put their names on the folded top-plates of these buttons, like they want it.

 

[2jakes]

You say that as if it were a GOOD thing...


PLASTIC? BAH! Shellac, Was, and Celluloid are where it's at!

 

[BlueTrain]

Alcohol (Alkohol, mein Schatz!) in the form of beer, which I believe may be the oldest form of an alcoholic beverage. Wine is close, though, and I express no preference. Believe it or not, I spent two years in Germany without drinking beer. Distilled spirits apparently are relatively recent inventions.

My father "worked cattle," meaning he was a cowboy, but he called it working cattle. He rode horses, too. That would have been in the 1930s and in Virginia. He said you couldn't make any money doing that. He never told me anything about boots, hats, horses or cattle. I had to figure that stuff out on my own, along with a lot of other stuff. I do know, however, that you can buy boots with Vibram soles, though not the deeply lugged kind. You can also buy overshoes made to be worn with pointy-toed boots, if you are fastidious.

Given as how they have lasted so long for no apparent reason or obvious benefit to the wearer, neckties and any other form of "neckwear." I'm even wearing one right now. It's wool and it's 90 degrees outside. Of course, it's one of my summer neckties. I have some I only wear when it's cold, not that I wear them for warmth. They usually are absent in science fiction movies and shows set in the future but an open neck shirt is rare. Could it be because of the shocking display of chest hair that a man might have when he wears his shirt collar open?

And speaking of hair, which comes and goes in fashion, I was fully expecting my hair to turn grey going on white when I reached the extreme old age of 70, which I am now. But for some reason I was a little shocked to realize that it all turned grey! But on the other hand, as one's hair thins on the top of your head, more of it grows elsewhere, so it pretty much evens out.

I might also note that with lady's and women's swimwear, as the bottoms become briefer and briefer, the exposure of hair is still a serious no-no and I can only include that it isn't the exposure of skin that matters but rather of hair. Yet the most humiliating, embarrassing thing a woman can endure is the loss of her hair, so much so that it can even be a form of punishment when inflicted.