radio

As the great Billy Joel said, the good old days weren’t always good and tomorrow’s not as bad as it seems.

In 1955, 38,000 people in the country had polio — now there are less than 300 cases in the entire world. In 1960, 30% of Americans lived under the poverty line and that number is now below 10%. And in 1950, almost half of all American homes didn’t have a telephone. Today there are roughly six internet connected devices per household.

So yes, we’ve come a long way. But still, there are some areas, some products and services, that have suffered from the modern march of advancement. Which means that there are a certain number of areas where the older versions are much better than the new ones.

 

 

9. FANS

The vintage fans of the 1940’s and 50’s were amazing. They had metal blades, huge motors, moved air around like a jet engines and lasted forever. Modern versions are basically disposable with tiny motors, plastic cages and thin plastic blades.

 

 

 

 

 

8. SILLY PUTTY

The old Silly Putty was this amazing stuff that bounced, floated, stretched and held any image that you put it to. It fit back in its egg shaped container and unless it got covered in gunk from the floor, could be used for months. The newer version is less pliable, doesn’t bounce and worse yet, does not pick up any image that you press against it. And is this strange purple color now.

 

 

 

 

 

 

7. FISHING REELS

In the 1980’s many spinning reel manufacturers went through a process to remove cost from their products. Metal housing and gears were replaced with plastic ones and mechanisms were simplified and redesigned. The result of this was a reel of far less quality. In fact, in 1994 I gave my brother-in-law my old Mitchell 300 reel when I got my new Mitchell. He still uses my old one and I’ve been through four replacement reels since.

 

 

6. CROCK POTS

About five years ago, the great crockpot cartel got together and decided — for whatever reason — to increase the low cooking temperature on new crockpots. I have no idea why, but the result is a crockpot that cooks higher. So now slow cookers, cook faster. And if you’re not careful it is so much easier to overcook meat in a new crockpot than it was in an old one.

 

 

   

5. LINCOLN LOGS

Lincoln logs are great. They were these logs that were etched out at the end so you could build cabins, forts and outbuildings. And of course because they were logs they were made of wood. New ones are not. They are made of — plastic. How can you have a plastic log cabin?

 

 

 

 

4. UMBRELLAS

And umbrella was once a well-crafted, solid, piece of adornment. It had a thick wooden handle, solid metal bracings and heavy canvas to protect you from the rain — in fact umbrellas were coveted by thieves because there was always a market for them. Modern equivalents are made to be replaceable and disposable and in fact you can buy umbrellas from The Dollar Tree.

 

 

 

 

                                                                                    

 3. PAPER ROLL CAPS

Cap guns came out in the 1950’s and were these guns that shot paper caps that exploded and smoked like real guns. The caps hid large dimples filled with black powder that created this exciting bang. Modern equivalents are completely flat and contain very little powder and make a soft pop — about as load as bubble wrap popping.

 

 

 

2. CRACKER JACK PRIZES

The prizes in Cracker Jacks used to be amazing — small pinball games, cars, charms, plastic guns, everything. In fact, that was part of the charm of Cracker Jack was getting to that prize. The prizes of today are not even worth mentioning — usually a piece of paper — and is the equivalent of getting socks for Christmas.

 

 

                                                                                                                                                                         

1. AIR TRAVEL

Even before 911 air travel had lost its glamour. Gone are the days of warm towels, full meals and a cheery attendant that is only a button push away. Air travel is now no frills, sit down, shut up and keep quiet.

 

BY:

evdemorier@aol.com

Everett De Morier has appeared on CNN, Fox News Network, NPR, ABC, as well as in The New York Times and The London Times. He is the author of Crib Notes for the First Year of Marriage: A...


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