Things you miss that don't exist anymore?

[MichaelNadal]

As an 80's baby a lot has changed in the past 20 years. What are some things you miss that have either been discontinued, antiquated, or just don't exist anymore?

I miss being able to get these with my KFC

 

[Gary Duane]

Labels in the back of things! You used to instantly know which was was back and which was was front from labels in the back. But now they are everywhere, and half the time I put things on the wrong way by guessing and have to strip them off and reverse!

 

[Larry Duff]

White tennis balls

 

[Gary Duane]

As an 80's baby a lot has changed in the past 20 years. What are some things you miss that have either been discontinued, antiquated, or just don't exist anymore?

I miss being able to get these with my KFC

We should also start a thread about the most amazing inventions that don't get enough credit.

"Crap" is a light cuss word, when in fact it comes from Thomas Crapper, one of two men still competing for the invention of the throne.

Then there is "undo". How many times do all of us use this? I must use it 100s of time each day. In fact, even spellcheckers are a kind of undo.

Which leads me to the red lines that tell me when I'm misspelled something - again. I don't think anyone misses white out or tape corrections for typos.

 

[Rudiiii]

tennis?

 

[smboogie]

-Sort of an 80's baby but in general -
People guarding their sense of privacy.
If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all
Be respectful even if you don't agree..hell just being respectful.

80's music - before 'sampling' was a thing.
The Ice Cream man during summer. As a kid if you heard the jingle, you dropped everything and start 'bookin' it towards him
I still do this - I wave to everyone in my neighborhood, b/c I was taught to be nice to everyone, even if I don't know them. Usually I get a smile/wave back, sometimes I get a 'look of disgust'.

 

[Mongolmike]

Neighborliness. The sense of community with your neighbors is gone.

Respect for others opinions. Gone.

V-8 engines, burn outs, and learning to drive a stick...soon to be gone.

 

[MichaelNadal]

-Sort of an 80's baby but in general -
People guarding their sense of privacy.
If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all
Be respectful even if you don't agree..hell just being respectful.

80's music - before 'sampling' was a thing.
The Ice Cream man during summer. As a kid if you heard the jingle, you dropped everything and start 'bookin' it towards him
I still do this - I wave to everyone in my neighborhood, b/c I was taught to be nice to everyone, even if I don't know them. Usually I get a smile/wave back, sometimes I get a 'look of disgust'.

Neighborliness. The sense of community with your neighbors is gone.

Respect for others opinions. Gone.

V-8 engines, burn outs, and learning to drive a stick...soon to be gone.

Facts. Social media, and the mass media have both contributed to this with ridiculous politicization of almost every issue imaginable.

 

[SystemicAnomaly]

Went MIA in the early 1990s after 3 decades of morning consumption -- from Nabisco.

 

[MichaelNadal]

Went MIA in the early 1990s after 3 decades of morning consumption -- from Nabisco.

Remember when Hardees had fried chicken?

 

[SystemicAnomaly]

Remember when Hardees had fried chicken?

Never had Hardee's on this side of the continent AFAIK. But their "star" logo appears to be the same as the logo used for Carl's Jr. over here. They may have joined forces, or come under the same umbrella, back in the 90s as some point. Rarely ever ate at Carl's Jr so I don't recall if they ever had fried chicken there. From what I've read, the 2 chains have started to diverge in the past two or three years

 

[NonP]

I just knew the OP would have something to do with food when I saw @MichaelNadal started this thread, LOL.

As to the Q, this kind of pining for the good ol' days is really alien to me. Of course I have my moments of nostalgia (as some of you might have noticed in the VG soundtrack thread), but I just don't feel too strongly about anything of yore to wish for it to return. For all our current challenges I do think we're living in the most civilized, peaceful era ever, and while the breakneck pace of our technological developments hasn't always worked to our benefit I say the real challenge lies in how we use this technology, not its very existence.

Never for once did I wish to go back even during the Trump years, and I feel the same way now in the face of this exhausting pandemic that seems unlikely to be contained for years to come. If that means waiting to resume my cultural activities full-time, so be it.

 

[MichaelNadal]

I just knew the OP would have something to do with food when I saw @MichaelNadal started this thread, LOL.

As to the Q, this kind of pining for the good ol' days is really alien to me. Of course I have my moments of nostalgia (as some of you might have noticed in the VG soundtrack thread), but I just don't feel too strongly about anything of yore to wish for it to return. For all our current challenges I do think we're living in the most civilized, peaceful era ever, and while the breakneck pace of our technological developments hasn't always worked to our benefit I say the real challenge lies in how we use this technology, not its very existence.

Never for once did I wish to go back even during the Trump years, and I feel the same way now in the face of this exhausting pandemic that seems unlikely to be contained for years to come. If that means waiting to resume my cultural activities full-time, so be it.

Hmm, how old are you btw

 

[Gary Duane]

Not worrying about locking doors. We went everywhere on bikes. No locks. No one stole these things. Mostly did not lock our doors in our house.

Freedom to go places without parents worrying about us every second. Our parents didn't even know where we were most of the time. They just didn't worry. Once we got out of school we were almost totally free.

I think this still exists in highly rural places in the US. But long gone in South Florida.

 

[Standaa]

I miss the 2000s. Those two 00s in the middle of each year looked awesome. shame it had to end.

 

[BlueB]

Yugoslavia.

The stalemate between USA and USSR.

 

[Mike Bulgakov]

Tower Records

..................

 

[Turbo-87]

I miss dialing into a BBS with a 1200 baud modem. It would take an hour to download a jpg with Kermit or Xmodem, but those were the days. I was the neighborhood David Lightman.
atdt 8675309

 

[Poisoned Slice]

Yeah, I hadn't had a packet in a while then you know how it is. You think of something. I headed to the shop to buy some and they were not there. The other flavor was not there either so then I started to wonder. This shop sold them both for years.

Then I read this.

24 Sept 2020 — Discontinued. A nation is mourning the loss of the old-time crisp brand Brannigans, a mainstay of pub bar shelves and a corner shop staple.

 

[socallefty]

I miss the good weather we used to have near the coast in Southern California. Now, it’s much hotter and way more humid for many months of the year. Also, we used to get enough rain to not have droughts every year - now, we get almost no rain, but much higher humidity for many months. The weather is still better than most other places, but it is not what it used to be and with the lack of rain, wildfires are a much bigger problem in more neighborhoods.

 

[BarNotchky]

Then there is "undo". How many times do all of us use this? I must use it 100s of time each day. In fact, even spellcheckers are a kind of undo.

My nephew asked me why my car has an undo button.

 

[BlueB]

My nephew asked me why my car has an undo button.

That would be great!
Accident? Undo.

 

[Mongolmike]

I miss dialing into a BBS with a 1200 baud modem. It would take an hour to download a jpg with Kermit or Xmodem, but those were the days. I was the neighborhood David Lightman.
atdt 8675309

Are you forgetting the phone charges for going "on line"?
Back in the '80s one of my friends regularly ran up $400/month phone charges for being connected. 400 bucks was a lot of money for average Joe (Steve actually) in the '80s.

I think we all had Commodore 64s.

 

[SystemicAnomaly]

Tower Records

..................

And Blockbuster Video stores (except for the last one standing in Bend, Oregon)

 

[SystemicAnomaly]

@BarNotchky

That would be great!
Accident? Undo.

It could also come in handy if you get stopped for speeding.

 

[Sudacafan]

Pre covid era.

 

[SystemicAnomaly]

I miss the 2000s. Those two 00s in the middle of each year looked awesome. shame it had to end.

Yeah, the 00 in the middle also made for some cool glasses for New Years

But it also worked for 99 in the '90s

​

 

[Rosstour]

Facts. Social media, and the mass media have both contributed to this with ridiculous politicization of almost every issue imaginable.

Eh I think this is a bit overblown. I get to know my neighbors pretty well wherever I live.

Politicization, yes. But it's inevitable. The dominant ideology has become a minority and it is lashing out with everything it has. It's seized the power back; we will see for how long.

 

[MichaelNadal]

I miss dialing into a BBS with a 1200 baud modem. It would take an hour to download a jpg with Kermit or Xmodem, but those were the days. I was the neighborhood David Lightman.
atdt 8675309

I miss having to leave the computer running overnight to download songs that feeling when you woke up in the am and everything was done

 

[ollinger]

Autopsies. CT and MRI have made most of them unnecessary as you rarely now have to wait until death to find out what was going on inside the body. There was real suspense in waiting three weeks or so until the brain was chemically rendered firm enough to be sliced without falling apart.

 

[SystemicAnomaly]

Dragons:

​

Unicorns:

 

[Sentinel]

Autopsies. CT and MRI have made most of them unnecessary as you rarely now have to wait until death to find out what was going on inside the body. There was real suspense in waiting three weeks or so until the brain was chemically rendered firm enough to be sliced without falling apart.

Hi, Dr. Lecter !

 

[Sentinel]

I miss looking up at the sky at night and seeing stars and the milky way. And naming the constellations and stars.
Since the 80s the pollution has hidden the stars.

 

[MichaelNadal]

I miss looking up at the sky at night and seeing stars and the milky way. And naming the constellations and stars.
Since the 80s the pollution has hidden the stars.

I miss this too. We take the constellations for granted

 

[Midaso240]

How about all you can eat dine-in Pizza Huts? I don't know if they're still around in the US but they haven't been here for possibly 2 decades. That used to be amazing as a kid...

 

[Midaso240]

I miss having to leave the computer running overnight to download songs that feeling when you woke up in the am and everything was done

Or when you spent an hour printing off pictures of Anna Kournikova (or whoever your crush was) when your parents were away to stash in your room and you peered out the curtains while the damn picture was loading looking for signs of your parents the same way a fugitive would be looking out for signs of the police...

 

[Genious at Work]

I miss having to leave the computer running overnight to download songs that feeling when you woke up in the am and everything was done

I miss eMule (or eDonkey). Hence my avatar.

 

[Genious at Work]

Newsgroups were also one of those places where it was fun to look for information.

Yes... information.

 

[TopspintheTerrible]

White tennis balls

Diadem makes white balls…

 

[Rattler]

I miss looking up at the sky at night and seeing stars and the milky way. And naming the constellations and stars.
Since the 80s the pollution has hidden the stars.

I have to drive an hour into ranch land to see the Milky Way band…

 

[Rattler]

Marathon bars

the McD LT

the Michael Jordan burger at McDonald’s

the warm Danish McDonald’s used to serve during breakfast

McDonald-land cookies

 

[Mr.Lob]

Marathon bars

the McD LT

the Michael Jordan burger at McDonald’s

the warm Danish McDonald’s used to serve during breakfast

McDonald-land cookies

Was actually thinking "Marathon Bars" when I saw the thread title.
"Marathon Bars....they last a goood long time ." , was the line from their commercial.

I actually ordered some carmel bars (Cuddle Wuddle...some silly name) from England a few years back. They were suppose to be exactly the same as Marathon Bars. They were pretty good, but not great like the Marathon Bar was.

 

[Rosstour]

EL Fudge chocolate elves with peanut butter filling.

 

[Sudacafan]

Peace of mind.

 

[Mongolmike]

The little triangle shaped windows that could swing open in front seat of cars. They were perfect for smokers, or just for directing a little air onto yourself as you drove.

 

[Mongolmike]

Trust.
For good or for bad, you trusted doctors, police, religious leaders, teachers, your government, the science community, your parents.... now.... yeah, not so much.

 

[Mongolmike]

My Grandparents... in particular, my Grandmother on my Dad's side. She loved me so much, I miss her dearly.

 

[MichaelNadal]

McDonald-land cookies

Classic! lol

 

[MichaelNadal]

When Shoneys was a big deal, and kids clubs at fast food places

 

[Genious at Work]

Brick and mortar computer stores where you could actually go and see the merchandise, play games, etc. Amazon has destroyed all of this. The most recent and heartwrenching loss was Fry's Electronics. This chain had stores which were gigantic, and each store had a theme (one store was based on Mayan temples, another on Ancient Egypt, another one was based on Tesla, and actually built near a high voltage main line to power a huge Tesla coil, etc)