Things in living memory which seem very anachronistic now

[Mcr Warrior]

Mentioning creosote... I have a vague recollection that the playing field in my junior school (so early 80s) had the lines marked out by creosote.

You are quite right. Definitely no longer in use for sports pitch line marking these days due to its toxicity. Lime isn't used either.

 

[SargeNpton]

When your car owner's manual was encapsulated within around 30 pages and did not resemble the complete edition of "War and Peace".

My current car's manual runs to around 220 pages, and mentions every bit of kit/feature that may be fitted to all specifications of that model - just that it doesn't say which spec any particular kit/feature is used in.

I spent ages looking for a USB socket shown in the manual that wasn't fitted to my car's spec!

 

[ChiefPlanner]

Plastic milk tokens - 1/2 or I pint if I recall from the CO-OP , presumably to thwart theft of coins etc off doorways - not sure if there was a discount for buying them in advance -

Cigarette coupons in fag packets - save about a million or so and you could buy a wide range of items from a catalogue. Bad news was you had to send your collected coupons in a secure box or envelope to (eventually) receive your gift. Assuming the coupons were not nicked enroute.

 

[AM9]

Cigarette coupons in fag packets - save about a million or so and you could buy a wide range of items from a catalogue.

Joke of those days was that there should be an Iron Lung* in the catalogue, - for a suitably high number of coupons.

* For those much younger, an Iron Lung was a cylindrical chamber that a person with breathing difficulties (mainly as a result of polio infection) laid in with their head outside. The pressure inside was reduced below atmospheric allowing the patient to expand their lungs easier. They were the atmospheric pressure opposite of a modern-day ventilator which applied positive pressure directly into the lungs via normal airways.

 

[Pete_uk]

That’s something the manufacturer’s have really cut down on (pun intended), the length of the mains lead

I brought air blower to clean my PC out with about a decade ago from an American company and usefully it has a lead about 2 meters long!

 

[mac]

Oh yes, creosote. My shed must have at least ten coats of that. Plus whatever I’ve given it since…

But has the creosote protected it? I still use it on my fence

 

[dangie]

But has the creosote protected it? I still use it on my fence

I think so. However ‘proper’ creosote I believe is no longer available to the general public, so now I use Ronseal [whatever it’s called] and that seems ok. I actually did it yesterday. Bought a 9 litre tub from Home Bargains for £8.99. Will probably give it another coat today for luck.

 

[GordonT]

Toasters without a lift function and thus stabbing the side of a piece of toast to fish it out.

Or the kind which propelled your toast three feet in the air when it decided your toast was "done" Can't remember ever toasting bread at an open fire but I did once have a friend in student days who had a "toasting fork". Worked on an old-fashioned gas fire.

 

[Sun Chariot]

The MiniPops.

Whilst I don't thnk it was child exploitation, I rather think that dressing pre-teens in oversized sunglasses, wigs and cutesy outfits and parading them on music TV shows, wouldn't pass muster these days.

 

[GordonT]

When a spare tyre was an expected feature of a new car rather than a can of weird foam.

 

[Acey]

When a spare tyre was an expected feature of a new car rather than a can of weird foam.

Oh is that what it's for ? I thought it was shaving cream ! Thought my face felt a bit iffy after I used it !

 

[Towers]

Oh is that what it's for ? I thought it was shaving cream ! Thought my face felt a bit iffy after I used it !

Be careful where you attach the air compressor!

 

[OhNoAPacer]

Manually tuning in channels on a television using a tuning dial.

 

[D6130]

Manually tuning in channels on a television using a tuning dial.

....and on a wireless set (radio)!

 

[Killingworth]

....and on a wireless set (radio)!

Finding short wave stations in Australia, very faintly.

 

[bleeder4]

Joke of those days was that there should be an Iron Lung* in the catalogue, - for a suitably high number of coupons.

* For those much younger, an Iron Lung was a cylindrical chamber that a person with breathing difficulties (mainly as a result of polio infection) laid in with their head outside. The pressure inside was reduced below atmospheric allowing the patient to expand their lungs easier. They were the atmospheric pressure opposite of a modern-day ventilator which applied positive pressure directly into the lungs via normal airways.

Iron lungs were in the news quite recently, when one of the few people still using one died at the age of 78, after spending more than 7 decades living inside an iron lung.

The man in the iron lung: How Paul Alexander lived life to the full

He spent 72 years using an iron lung machine to breathe after surviving polio as a child.

www.bbc.co.uk

 

[GordonT]

Mary Quant fashion products.

 

[Trackman]

My current car's manual runs to around 220 pages, and mentions every bit of kit/feature that may be fitted to all specifications of that model - just that it doesn't say which spec any particular kit/feature is used in.

I spent ages looking for a USB socket shown in the manual that wasn't fitted to my car's spec!

I wanted to find the lane assist on my new car (a few years back) - not that I would use it- and after some investigation it wasn't in my car's spec.
But after the reading the manual in depth, I found out things it could do which I didnt know about!
Never figured out how to change from MPG to KPG though.

 

[Ediswan]

But after the reading the manual in depth, I found out things it could do which I didnt know about!

Likewise, always worth reading the manual.

Never figured out how to change from MPG to KPG though.

Do any vehicles show KPG ? The metric version is usually litres per 100 km.

 

[dangie]

....and on a wireless set (radio)!

Radio Luxembourg for the Top 20 on a Sunday Night, head under the bedclothes so mum & dad wouldn't hear, with the reception coming & going, hearing the start of a record, something in the middle, then hopefully the end. Oh those were the days.....

 

[Trackman]

Do any vehicles show KPG ? The metric version is usually litres per 100 km.

Well the equivalent I meant

 

[greatkingrat]

When people used to pay money to download ringtones / wallpapers onto their phone.

 

[Jimini]

When people used to pay money to download ringtones / wallpapers onto their phone.

Oh absolutely this 25 years ago I paid (via text message) to download a ringtone or two.

Nowadays, if that little rectangle makes a single sound or vibration I’m tempted to lob it out of the window!

(44 year old, for what it’s worth.)

 

[GusB]

When people used to pay money to download ringtones / wallpapers onto their phone.

That is an era that I do not miss. 88888 (Jamba?) used to be advertised on telly quite frequently and people didn't realise that they were actually signing up for a subscription service.

I was working for one of the big networks at the time and dealing with the fallout was a massive headache. We had parents calling up complaining that their kids' prepay credit was being swallowed up or that their bills were enormous.

 

[Indigo Soup]

When a spare tyre was an expected feature of a new car rather than a can of weird foam.

Contrariwise: when car tyres were expected to fail catastrophically with such frequency that it was necessary to lug an extra one around with you all the time, rather than a compact and lightweight puncture repair kit.

When people used to pay money to download ringtones / wallpapers onto their phone.

One can still do this, at least for wallpapers. And as an added benefit, the companies offering the service do so through an app - which I'm sure isn't used to obtain tracking information to be sold to advertisers.

 

[EveningStar]

Likewise, always worth reading the manual.

Actually looks like the good old-fashioned disappear into the house to look up all the gubbins on new car manual is now an anachronism. Mrs ES picked up her new car last week, no manual, just an onscreen widget that is like all FAQ, gives lots of information yet somehow leaves one none the wiser for the actual question one needs to know the answer.

 

[Killingworth]

Actually looks like the good old-fashioned disappear into the house to look up all the gubbins on new car manual is now an anachronism. Mrs ES picked up her new car last week, no manual, just an onscreen widget that is like all FAQ, gives lots of information yet somehow leaves one none the wiser for the actual question one needs to know the answer.

Trying to replace a bulb in head or tail light clusters is beyond a modern handbook to explain even if you might have the right tools. I thought my local Halfords drop in fitting service would help - but after 15 minutes they gave up and referred me to my main dealer. Fortunately my local garage still has enough expertise amongst its staff to cope with such a thing but it seemed quite a struggle for them too - part of both the front grille and wing seemed to have to be loosened!

In my own garage I found I still have a variety of spare bulb packs held for cars going back over 50 years, all with only one or wo used. Seems they can all be binned, along with the kit last used to mould fibre glass wheel arches for my rusty 1971 Austin Max, the half used waxoyi cans and sundry other products tried to keep rust at bay - they mostly didn't for very long

 

[Mcr Warrior]

Trying to replace a bulb in head or tail light clusters is beyond a modern handbook to explain even if you might have the right tools. I thought my local Halfords drop in fitting service would help - but after 15 minutes they gave up and referred me to my main dealer. Fortunately my local garage still has enough expertise amongst its staff to cope with such a thing but it seemed quite a struggle for them too - part of both the front grille and wing seemed to have to be loosened!

Can echo that. Even a simple job like replacing a failed licence plate bulb is no longer all that straightforward. Wasn't too long ago that all you needed was a Phillips screwdriver and a new bulb. Bish, bash, bosh. Job done in less than a couple of minutes!

 

[Indigo Soup]

Trying to replace a bulb in head or tail light clusters is beyond a modern handbook to explain even if you might have the right tools.

There are some modern cars where the correct procedure for replacing the front headlights requires removing the wheel. Not exactly a quick roadside fix!

 

[dgl]

My sisters Micra, however, needs no tools to replace the headlights, the rear numberplate lamp just needs a flat head screwdriver to unclip it.