"Remember when?" game -- ch-ch-changes

[Blarg]

Saw this on another forum and thought I'd bring it over here for a try. A guy on grippermania said he hired an 18 year old girl to do some work for him. She couldn't figure out how to put paper in a typewriter because she had only worked on computers. What do you remember that used to be common or cool or important that isn't even around anymore or has dropped off the cool charts today?

I've got some:

stuff: phones with dials on them
food: fizzies candies
social: women's lib
entertainment: drive-in movies
martial arts: almost all weapons were legal, almost none are now, in many places
fiction: people by and large liked the good guys, not the bad guys

[uw_madtown]

[ QUOTE ]
fiction: people by and large liked the good guys, not the bad guys

[/ QUOTE ]

I blame Stone Cold Steve Austin.

[Blarg]

He's long gone too.

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
fiction: people by and large liked the good guys, not the bad guys

[/ QUOTE ]

I blame Stone Cold Steve Austin.

[/ QUOTE ]

1972
The Getaway
Steve McQueen
Ali MacGraw

First time, I believe, for a movie to depict the bad guy "getting away with it."

Cars: raising the hood and making simple repairs yourself with parts you got at Sears

[Skipbidder]

[ QUOTE ]
I've got some:

phones with dials on them

[/ QUOTE ]
Phones with cords

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fizzies candies

[/ QUOTE ]
Fozzie Bear

[ QUOTE ]
drive-in movies

[/ QUOTE ]
Drive-in restaurants

and...

Pong on black and white TV

[Dave G.]

Walkmans. I still have mine somewhere around here actually. Related are cassette tapes for taping your favourite songs so you can listen to them.

Movies. Back in the day, movies like Star Wars and Alien dazzled us with their incredible special effects - I mean lightsabres were just WOW, how DO they pull that off? These days though, there are a lot of movies that are just a huge conglomeration of special effects. They aren't really that 'special' anymore, they're so commonplace. There's no WOW factor.

Similar theme - Computer games. Some truly awesome, revolutionary games were created a decade ago or so. Lucasarts with its X-Wing / TIE Fighter and adventure games, Sierra with their adventure games, Microprose with their simulation games, iD software with their FPS games, to name just a few. If you look around at the games that are available today, none of them really have that WOW factor, at least for me. None of them seem to have anywhere near as much immersion as the old games, despite having much better graphics (which should actually make immersion easier). Doom is a great example. Doom was just mindblowingly awesome. Doom 3 was more of a 'meh, it's okay, done it all before though'.

Ahh, the good old days...

[[censored]]

Fast food: ordering burger, fries, soft drink or applicable items separately

[ QUOTE ]
Fast food: ordering burger, fries, soft drink or applicable items separately

[/ QUOTE ]

[censored], when was the last time you went to a fast food emporium? If recently, may I politely (don't wanna get banned! /images/graemlins/smile.gif) suggest you look beyond the "meal deals" or whatever the planned assortment is called. I do, and I usually make my own assortment. The choices, in some places, is extensive.

But, when straying into these "independent thinker's waters," take heed. You are going to be subjected to the ubiqutous "You want fries with that?"

/images/graemlins/grin.gif

[Bluffoon]

Gapping your points.

[gorie]

when you had to get up turn on the tv, or change the channel.

[drewjustdrew]

One on One: Dr. J vs. Larry Bird
Burger Chef
Benson
UHF
BMX with mags
Coming home when the street lights came on

[Klepton]

freeze pops.

[DukeSucks]

[ QUOTE ]
when you had to get up turn on the tv, or change the channel.

[/ QUOTE ]

When we only had three channels to choose from.

[[censored]]

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[ QUOTE ]
Fast food: ordering burger, fries, soft drink or applicable items separately

[/ QUOTE ]

[censored], when was the last time you went to a fast food emporium? If recently, may I politely (don't wanna get banned! /images/graemlins/smile.gif) suggest you look beyond the "meal deals" or whatever the planned assortment is called. I do, and I usually make my own assortment. The choices, in some places, is extensive.

But, when straying into these "independent thinker's waters," take heed. You are going to be subjected to the ubiqutous "You want fries with that?"

/images/graemlins/grin.gif

[/ QUOTE ]


I rarely get the value meals because I have been making an effort to get away from drinking soda pop and eating fries. I usually try and order the main dish and like a side salad to go.

[gorie]

[ QUOTE ]
freeze pops.

[/ QUOTE ]
you mean like mr. freeze ? that's hilarious, i thought of those too for some reason. but i figured they might still be around. this thread just makes me think of stuff from when i was a kid. esp cuz the 80s ruled.

[Blarg]

Someone mentioned marathons in another thread, so that reminded me that when I was a kid, marathons used to be thought of as fairly superhuman.

[dcasper70]

leaded gasoline
Jarts
antennas on the tv (moving them around to find the picture)
transistor radios

[Dynasty]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
freeze pops.

[/ QUOTE ]
you mean like mr. freeze ? that's hilarious, i thought of those too for some reason. but i figured they might still be around. this thread just makes me think of stuff from when i was a kid. esp cuz the 80s ruled.

[/ QUOTE ]

I've got some in my freezer.

[Los Feliz Slim]

A modem that you actually jammed the telephone into in order to communicate

I'll think of more later

[drewjustdrew]

[ QUOTE ]
A modem that you actually jammed the telephone into in order to communicate

I'll think of more later

[/ QUOTE ]

How about tape drives?

[TimM]

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antennas on the tv (moving them around to find the picture)

[/ QUOTE ]

TVs with tubes. Repairmen who would actually come to your house to fix them.

[x2ski]

Flip Clocks:

http://img402.imageshack.us/img402/9656/c31b1gl.jpg

[daryn]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Fast food: ordering burger, fries, soft drink or applicable items separately

[/ QUOTE ]

[censored], when was the last time you went to a fast food emporium? If recently, may I politely (don't wanna get banned! /images/graemlins/smile.gif) suggest you look beyond the "meal deals" or whatever the planned assortment is called. I do, and I usually make my own assortment. The choices, in some places, is extensive.

But, when straying into these "independent thinker's waters," take heed. You are going to be subjected to the ubiqutous "You want fries with that?"

/images/graemlins/grin.gif

[/ QUOTE ]

you should be banned just for being overly polite

[gorie]

[ QUOTE ]
Flip Clocks:

http://img402.imageshack.us/img402/9656/c31b1gl.jpg

[/ QUOTE ]
the clock on my parents stove is like this, but it's been 3:59 for like 10 years now.

[daryn]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
antennas on the tv (moving them around to find the picture)

[/ QUOTE ]

TVs with tubes. Repairmen who would actually come to your house to fix them.

[/ QUOTE ]

i assume you mean vacuum tubes? most tv's still have tubes.

[TimM]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
antennas on the tv (moving them around to find the picture)

[/ QUOTE ]

TVs with tubes. Repairmen who would actually come to your house to fix them.

[/ QUOTE ]

i assume you mean vacuum tubes? most tv's still have tubes.

[/ QUOTE ]

Yes, exactly. I was trying to think of a way to modify tubes so someone wouldn't say this, but couldn't think of the right word. We never did any work with vacuum tubes in my EE classes.

[dizong]

Arcades - people lining up to play Street Fighter 2, no one could beat me as Guile

BBSes - looking for the latest warez releases

GatorGum - these still around?

Transformers

dizong

[JihadOnTheRiver]

I remember when....

Anal sex was a conquest. Now it seems to be a prerequisite to marraige...

-JIHAD

PS. SIIHP

[Dave G.]

[ QUOTE ]
Arcades - people lining up to play Street Fighter 2, no one could beat me as Guile

[/ QUOTE ]

We still have SF2 arcade machines at our uni. We have the the original (hyper fighting), Zero 2 Alpha and SFEX2+. We spend way too much time there.

[tworooks]

pogs

[MonkeeMan]

slide rules
8-tracks
shifters on the column
green stamps
air raid drills
d.a. hair style
white wall tires
hidden gas caps
$.50 shot and beer

[IggyWH]

[ QUOTE ]
Cars: raising the hood and making simple repairs yourself with parts you got at Sears

[/ QUOTE ]

How about changing your own oil?

I'm at fault for this anymore since I don't have a driveway and don't want to do it while my car is parked on the road, but 10 years ago I don't remember so many oil changing places being around.

[Soul Daddy]

Glass soda bottles

8-Tracks
PONG
Space Invaders
Marathon candy bars
Iron-on T-shirt transfers
A skinny Ozzy
AM only car radios

[Slow Play Ray]

[ QUOTE ]
freeze pops.

[/ QUOTE ]

I still eat these religiously.

[Slow Play Ray]

[ QUOTE ]
Flip Clocks:

http://img402.imageshack.us/img402/9656/c31b1gl.jpg

[/ QUOTE ]

WOW good one. This thing made Christmas morning unbearable for me (I think I may have had this actual one).

[tek]

[ QUOTE ]
What do you remember that used to be common or cool or important that isn't even around anymore or has dropped off the cool charts today?

I've got some:

phones with dials on them

[/ QUOTE ]

Looks like they are back. I saw some new ones at Gabbert's (a Minneapolis furniture place that sells crap that our grandparents and/or pretentious middle age crisis people seem to enjoy). My wife drags me in there when we occasionally eat at the Galleria /images/graemlins/mad.gif

[Duke]

[ QUOTE ]
freeze pops.

[/ QUOTE ]

There's a brand of them called Otter Pops that are still around and I have a freezer full of them. I haven't seen legit "Freezer Pops" in a long time, but these may actually be the same brand with a new name.

~D

[Duke]

[ QUOTE ]
Arcades - people lining up to play Street Fighter 2, no one could beat me as Guile

[/ QUOTE ]

Nobody could beat any good player using Guile, since the original had not only the re-dizzy combos, but the "phantom throw" or "touch of death" or whatever you want to call it.

[ QUOTE ]

Transformers


[/ QUOTE ]

My niece wanted some transformers, and specifically asked for StarScream and SoundWave. I ended up grabbing her Thundercracker and Red Alert (since I couldn't find StarScream, and don't think they started to remanufacture SoundWave yet).

There was a piece I read on the now-dead Yesterdayland site about the Transformers. The site is totally dead, and I'm not confident in a link through the way back machine, so I'll quote it:

"A lesson in synergy: Robots = Cool. Toy Cars = Cool. Therefore, Robots + Toy Cars = 2x Cool, right? Wrong. Hasbro’s Transformers toy line proved once and for all that the whole can be much, much greater than the sum of its transformable parts. These weren’t just robots and toy cars, nor were they robots in toy cars; no, these robots were toy cars—and trucks, and guns, and boom boxes, and jet planes, and helicopters, and brontosauruses, and… ANDTHEYWEREGREATANDITWASTHECOOLESTTHINGEVER!!!!!!!"

I have to agree with that guy. It's hard to imagine there ever being a physical toy better than the Transformers, especially now that the toy market is dying and being replaced by video games.

~D

[KDawgCometh]

Go-Bots and He-Man(before realizing how strangley [censored] erotic it was, especially when you consider the traget audience)

[tdarko]

[ QUOTE ]
I blame Stone Cold Steve Austin.


[/ QUOTE ]
damn you! don't you ever do that, you watch your mouth /images/graemlins/mad.gif

[Blarg]

Americans used to make great metal toys of high quality, but that changed to cheap plastic stuff a long time ago. The Japanese were also making fantastic metal toys way back when -- realistic fighter planes with spinning propellers, robots, etc., as well as some that were made of metal so cheap it was practically aluminum foil and sometimes rusted even when brand new inside the unopened boxes.

But when they had it together, they turned out really beautiful stuff.

[jakethebake]

Parachute pants

[MonkeeMan]

[ QUOTE ]
Americans used to make great metal toys of high quality, but that changed to cheap plastic stuff a long time ago. The Japanese were also making fantastic metal toys way back when -- realistic fighter planes with spinning propellers, robots, etc., as well as some that were made of metal so cheap it was practically aluminum foil and sometimes rusted even when brand new inside the unopened boxes.

But when they had it together, they turned out really beautiful stuff.

[/ QUOTE ]

When I was a kid, "Made in Japan" was synonymous with "Piece of [censored]".

[Blarg]

Me too. Talk about a major change on an international level.