Do you remember? A generational perspective ...

[ARCOgraphite]

I remember going to the Lafayette or ALLIED store to use their tube tester
to see what was wrong with the console radio or electric organ or TV tubes.

 

[John Galt]

I remember going to the Lafayette or ALLIED store to use their tube tester
to see what was wrong with the console radio or electric organ or TV tubes.


View attachment 232588

My town deli corner store had one of these. Replacement tubes were in the cabinet below the tester. I used to pull the tubes from our RCA black and white set about once a year and test them and change out the weak or failing tubes. My dad had been using a tv repair guy but refused to call him in once the average bill got to be $20. He was a product of the depression and refused to pay the guy but he also was not handy. I was only 7 when I began to do this and I rode my bike a mile to the deli. I used my paper route earnings. Now days, most seven year olds are not allowed out of the house alone. Times definitely were different then.

 

[DirectRejection]

pHisoHex, with Hexachloraphene.

It was for your skin, not your engine.

Circa 1960s.
Banned early 1970s.

 

[andrewg]

I remember when people didn't stare at their phones and instead carried on decent conversation with one another.

 

[rekit]

I remember in 1971 when we first walked into San Jacinto College (close to Houston) there were ashtrays built into the walls in the hall. And we **** sure used em.

 

[Opelman]

One day in science class, the teacher showed us a little vial of Mercury, and she spilled out a few droplets of it and let us take turns breaking it into smaller drops and then putting them back together. Our only precautions were that we all had to wash our hands afterward. Nowadays, if that happened the entire school would be evacuated, and they'd probably have to tear down the school and haul away all the debris and everything else in it to a special hazardous-waste dump.

Heck, we made mercury in 7th grade science class. 1979-1980.

 

[Pablo]

Heck, we made mercury in 7th grade science class. 1979-1980.

Do tell. You mean refined?

 

[Sumboodie]

Party line phones. I don’t think we had a private line until 1980.

Sometime in the early 70’s we went on a trip to West Virginia to visit some of my dad’s relatives. I remember scraping the muffler of his 67 Impala on the rutted gravel road driving way up into some holler to stop at a small wooden home where his elderly uncle lived. He drew his water from a bucket in a hand dug well and still had ceiling mounted gas lights. I don’t recall if he had electricity, but I doubt it.

I wonder how many, if any, homes in the US still use gas mantles for domestic lighting? It can’t be many because it was very unusual even back then.

My grandparents had a party line until mid-late 90s. Phone company did a huge update, our house had to be switched from rotary phones as well.

 

[ARCOgraphite]

I remember my mother mopping the kitchen floor then waxing and buffing it with one of these gizmos -

 

[ARCOgraphite]

I remember playing with this big machine at Grandma's house in early Sixties. It was in the hall closet.

 

[SwampSurvivor]

My grandparents had a party line until mid-late 90s. Phone company did a huge update, our house had to be switched from rotary phones as well.

I cam remember my grandmother having a party line when I was a kid. Early 90s.
What ever the phone company moved to after was fun. If I picked up the phone and hung it up, it would start ringing. I loved doing that and playing a prank on my grandmother.

 

[Kira]

If I may go back a few posts?
Weren't the amp gauges in car dashboards garbage?
In Mopars, all I can remember was the weak needle simply leaning a little to one side of "12 o'clock".

 

[John105]

I can relate to all of these.
https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/older-people-recalling-once-normal-201602657.html

I can relate to all except the change, and the milkman. There was a very very brief time when milk was dropped off into a silver container—I think it was a revival of the milk delivery theme. My mom tried it.

Now I’m going to say something risqué. A guy asked a 20 yo girl in the office, how a concert venue was. She goes, it was awesome. People there aren’t up your ***. I was thinking, wasn’t that how all concerts were in the 80’s?!

 

[andrew_j]

Sitting around for 5 mins or hours waiting for someone to show up especially picking up. Absolutely miserable.

Texting with flip phones and now smartphones is amazing!

 

[John105]

Sitting around for 5 mins or hours waiting for someone to show up especially picking up. Absolutely miserable.

Texting with flip phones and now smartphones is amazing!

I had an amazing date with a dental hygienist. As many were, she was drop dead gorgeous. I still had braces at 20, and I asked her if she would like to go to a show at Madison Square Garden. She said yes, and was 23!!!! I was on cloud 9.

We drove from CT to NYC. I actually paid to park (can’t be driving all over with a date looking for a spot on the street). We went for drinks at the Marriott Marquis which was literally almost brand new at the time. Just looked it up it was 2 years old.

Dropped her off—this date was probably 9 hours. She kissed me on the cheek!

Made another date and got stood up. My world came crashing down, my life was over. How could you do this to me, Charlene?

My dad’s awesome advice. It’s her loss and there are plenty of fish in the sea. Yep, no cells back then well yes there were but often hard wired in a car. Man hard lessons in life lol

P.s I had to have been 21 as I bought the drinks. Logically I couldn’t have had any appointments left or it would have been awkward.

 

[Sumboodie]

I cam remember my grandmother having a party line when I was a kid. Early 90s.
What ever the phone company moved to after was fun. If I picked up the phone and hung it up, it would start ringing. I loved doing that and playing a prank on my grandmother.

The old system we had, you could dial (literally dial) the 4 digit phone number and it would ring still, but a different ring pattern.. I think (been 30+ years)

Sometimes my Mom would do that to get my Dad who was out in the garage.
I remember people upset when the new touch tone system eliminated that feature.

 

[Wrenchturner44]

The old system we had, you could dial (literally dial) the 4 digit phone number and it would ring still, but a different ring pattern.. I think (been 30+ years)

Sometimes my Mom would do that to get my Dad who was out in the garage.
I remember people upset when the new touch tone system eliminated that feature.

In my suburban community SWB is closing or has closed several "central office" locations that were the switch hubs for the wired line network. Many of these buildings are of masonary construction and built like fortresses and some even had to undergo earthquake retrofits.

 

[Opelman]

Do tell. You mean refined?

If I remember we took a reddish powder, heated it in a test tube over a bunsen and it turned into Mercury. Mecuric oxide perhaps?

 

[Chris142]

In elementary school I rode in a Crown school bus with a manual transmission,It also had a 2 stroke Detroit Diesel . I will never forget that sound.

 

[k1xv]

I remember going to a shoe store where you put your shod feet into an X-Ray machine to see the bones in your feet, to determine if the shoes fit you properly.