Things in living memory which seem very anachronistic now

[Killingworth]

When banks were quiet places, with no "piped music"

Whats a bank?

 

[Ediswan]

When dentist's waiting rooms tended to offer old copies of "Reader's Digest" for patients to flick through prior to their appointment.

My 1970s dentist had 'Punch'. The otherwise very basic barber had 'Country Life'.

 

[Killingworth]

My 1970s dentist had 'Punch'. The otherwise very basic barber had 'Country Life'.

My uncle was a doctor. He certainly subscribed to Lilliput that in 1960 merged into Men Only. Not sure if I may be imagining that they got left out in the waiting room

 

[pdq]

Buying a pop chart single on a Saturday morning for 6s 8d (6 shillings & 8 pence).

 

[dangie]

When dentist's waiting rooms tended to offer old copies of "Reader's Digest" for patients to flick through prior to their appointment.

I think most dentists & doctors waiting rooms had the monthly magazines that the newsagents chucked out as nobody bought them. My doctors always had Yachting Monthly which as strange as I live about as far from the sea as you can get in the UK. Unless of course you’d wish to sail on the local ‘cut’.

 

[Tom B]

When banks were quiet places, with no "piped music"

When there was actually a bank to go to!

 

[GordonT]

Former tradition in some communities of houses on a street closing blinds/curtains as a mark of respect on day of funeral of someone from the street.

 

[The exile]

I think most dentists & doctors waiting rooms had the monthly magazines that the newsagents chucked out as nobody bought them. My doctors always had Yachting Monthly which as strange as I live about as far from the sea as you can get in the UK. Unless of course you’d wish to sail on the local ‘cut’.

Always assumed that other than the Readers Digests everything else was just what the receptionist had finished reading. Rare to find anything less than 4 months old.

 

[75A]

Former tradition in some communities of houses on a street closing blinds/curtains as a mark of respect on day of funeral of someone from the street.

That still happens over here.

 

[dangie]

When banks were quiet places, with no "piped music"

When libraries only had the sound of whispered speech.

 

[D6130]

When libraries only had the sound of whispered speech.

I met my wife in the library where she was working at the time. It was the only library that I have ever visited where the customers had to tell the librarian to 'Shhh!'

 

[GordonT]

When libraries only had the sound of whispered speech.

And copious little filed library tickets with tickets from borrowed books inserted one each per person's tickets with borrowers name on each of their own tickets filed by due date (I think).

 

[Cross City]

When libraries only had the sound of whispered speech.

When public libraries existed.

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

When public libraries existed.

We have a local one that is well patronised and you can have a one hour free-of-charge usage on any of the ten computer terminals.

 

[gswindale]

When public libraries existed.

Our local library has better opening hours than the one I had when growing up.

I seem to recall when I was young that it was open until 7pm Monday and Wednesday, 5pm Tuesday and Friday and closed all day Thursday. Can't remember Saturday hours.

Our local one now is open
8am - 8pm Monday - Friday
8am - 6pm Saturday
10am - 6pm Sunday

Interestingly, our little one can also apparently borrow 20 books for up to 3 weeks - when I was his age, I was allowed 6 for a fortnight I think it was...

Also now has the advantage that he gets to work the computer to check his books in/out which he quite enjoys.

 

[nlogax]

Paper tickets for flights. Last one of these I encountered was in 1999 sent from Expedia (owned by Microsoft at the time!)

 

[gg1]

When there was actually a bank to go to!

Having to go into a bank to open an account, apply for credit, change account details etc. All seems very antiquated now.

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

Remembering when no commercial internet existed when we opened our first BT telephone account in 1975 in our brand-new home when we were married and having a two-colour green landline telephone with a dial to use.

 

[Bishopstone]

Having to go into a bank to open an account, apply for credit, change account details etc. All seems very antiquated now.

Wait until you need to register a Power of Attorney.

‘Just make an appointment with your local branch during it’s opening hours between 10.30 and 14.30 on Tuesdays.’

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

When we were in our first house, the local farmer delivered brucellosis-free milk in proper glass bottles in a trailer pulled by his tractor, which had a big sign saying "It's all action in Young Farmers"

 

[PeterC]

Wait until you need to register a Power of Attorney.

‘Just make an appointment with your local branch during it’s opening hours between 10.30 and 14.30 on Tuesdays.’

The bank actually dealing with things like this in branch.

As a bank clerk in the 70s I was expected to be able to sort something like that out in person on the day. Now it all just gets packed off to a central department and takes weeks.

 

[swt_passenger]

The bank actually dealing with things like this conduct branch.

I may be almost an anachronism myself, but I can’t quite understand that sentence…

 

[PeterC]

I may be almost an anachronism myself, but I can’t quite understand that sentence…

Sorry, I retyped a bit and mixed up the versions. Rdited

 

[GordonT]

Anyone remember adult size tricycles? I can just about recall a matronly lady in the town of my childhood getting about on one on the roads.

 

[johnny_t]

One that came to me last night, whilst watching Some Mothers Do Have 'Em, is jumping out of slam door carriages whilst the train is in motion. I used to go to school by train and, a couple of times a month, someone on the platform would get taken out by a swinging door.

 

[Dent]

Most of the things listed here are not in any way anachronistic, just things that were different at some point in the past to how they are now.

 

[3141]

Most of the things listed here are not in any way anachronistic, just things that were different at some point in the past to how they are now.

You are absolutely right. In the past such a thread would not have required somebody to point that out.

 

[Dent]

You are absolutely right. In the past such a thread would not have required somebody to point that out.

Is it anachronistic that more people used to actually know what "anachronistic" means than do now?

 

[GordonT]

Is it anachronistic that more people used to actually know what "anachronistic" means than do now?

It actually has two slightly different meanings according to several sources.

The adjective anachronistic comes from the Greek words ana, or "against", and khronos, or "time." It usually refers to something old-fashioned or antique, but it can also mean anything that blatantly clashes with the time in which it is seen. https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/anachronistic

Whatever the rights or wrongs of the thread title it has generated a reasonable level of contributons.

 

[Dent]

It actually has two slightly different meanings according to several sources.

Whatever the rights or wrongs of the thread title it has generated a reasonable level of contributons.

The first definition is really just a subset of the second one. Being "old-fashioned" means belonging to an earlier period to when it was seen, the second definition encompasses that and more by covering anything belonging to any different period to when it was seen. Neither of those definitions cover things being seen in the period they belong to, which is what most of the things posted in this thread are.