Obsolete Household Gadgets Younger Generations May Not Recognize
Reddit user motivetodayy asked: 'People born before 1980, What are some obsolete household items or gadgets from your childhood that younger generations may not even recognize?'
Technology has grown by leaps and bounds in the last few decades.
A lot of formerly everyday gadgets are now completely obsolete.
For example, unless you grew up when 8-track cartridges were a common music distribution medium, the very sight of a cartridge might be confusing.
Reddit user motivetodayy asked:
"People born before 1980, What are some obsolete household items or gadgets from your childhood that younger generations may not even recognize?"
TV Tech
"Those GIANT projection TVs the size of a closet that only looked good if you were sat in the EXACT right spot. That one kid whose parents let him hook up his Nintendo to it was king."
"The same family probably had one of those satellite dishes in their back yard that were absolutely massive and made your house look like you were trying to spy on the Russians."
- nailbunny2000
How To Keep In Contact
- fidelkastro
"Wow, you just brought back some memories of me playing with one of these as a kid!"
- ajlm
"I worked for a large, billion dollar company in 2007 and the CEO/founder, 70+, who I had to meet with occasionally, insisted on having that exact phone book. He had a computer on his desk, and an executive assistant, and still HAD to have that mechanical phone book to access his phone numbers. Much to the dismay of the office manager when his old one wore out. By god, she found one. Edit for detail."
- -mopjocky-
"We still use this where I work...."
"And we are the ones supplying the natural gas to your homes and businesses. Till next time"
- braize6
Party Lines
"Phone lines that you share with a few neighbors. It was called a party line. Don't confuse this with the party line of the 90s where people could in a talk with several strangers at one time."
- Cultural_Standard_58
"I remember these! Knowing what series of rings was your phone number, and picking up quietly when the old ladies up the road were gossiping lol"
- cinkiss
GiphyPause So You Don't Get The Commercials
"The VCR recording clicker to pause the recording during commercials."
"Single button with a long cord to the VCR"
- queuedUp
Be Kind, Rewind — With Your Model Car
"VHS rewinder. Ours was shaped like a race car. Be kind, rewind."
- EddieRando21
"Ours was a red sports car!"
- fire_fairy_
"Whoever started the rumor that rewinding videos ruined your VCR made a lot of money in the late 80s."
- Peemster99
"My memory was that it took 10 minutes in the VCR player. Not in the Race Car Rewinder though."
- postmaster15
Home Intercoms
"The house I grew up in had an intercom system."
- Geek_off_the_streets
"Yep, wired intercom systems that could also play AM and FM music to all the rooms were a big fad in 1970s new home construction"
- Xyzzydude
The Origin of CC
"An actual carbon sheet that was placed between two sheets of paper to carbon copy the bottom paper from the top paper."
- tranquilseafinally
"Fun fact, this is where 'cc:' on emails comes from. ('bcc' is blind carbon copy, since the recipient can’t see other recipients.)"
- vandezuma
"And that's how I learned to copy my mother's signature on to bad school stuff."
- MickCollins
Smoking Was Everywhere
"‘Floor model’ ashtrays. Short stands that sat on the floor, and the top was an ashtray. Back in the day when people would just walk into your house and fire up a dart without asking, and nobody thought twice about it."
"The only place you didn’t smoke was in church."
- Joseph_Bloggins
"My Grandparents had ashtrays with places to hold cigarettes, when I asked, my mom said it was normal to provide cigarettes at parties, along with alcohol and food. 1950s and 1960s"
- Jbruce63
"No one in our family smoked, but we had a stash of ashtrays Mom would have us set out for company."
- mustbethedragon
"Remember the ones where you push a button and the floor of it hinges open to dump all the ash and butts into a compartment below?"
- GozerDGozerian
GiphyErgonomics Are Important
"A neck phone holder."
- modshavenopenis
"Those things always drove me nuts, it seemed like they were always made for giant people."
- Rokhnal
"We have these at my work for employees who have to spend a lot of time on the phone - though now that I think of it, maybe everyone's transitioned to headphones. Hmm."
- froglover215
"Grandma had one of these all throughout my childhood. I never "got" it until I hit 40...."
- Glum_Time3479
Milk Doors
"A milk chute built into our house. The milk man would leave the milk in the chute in the morning from the outside and we would pick it up from the inside."
"I am beginning to believe that this is a good idea again, albeit with a good sturdy lock on the inside door, so packages and food deliveries can be left out of sight but available to the homeowner from the inside. If I were building a house now, I would add that in to the plans."
- aeraen
"I would love to just have the whole fresh milk delivery thing again."
- dblshot99
"Growing up, our house had a milk chute. Never had milk deliveries, but we had cats."
"The milk chute became the cat door, which they learned and taught each other to open. Came in handy for when I'd lock myself out of the house."
- residentialnemesis
"I could contort my upper body through ours since I’d forget my keys a lot and could open the back door. Ah the latchkey days I remember them so fondly."
- raylab810
GiphySo Many Antennae
"My six year old daughter and I were walking through the parking lot of Auto Zone and she started laughing pointing at this like early 90s truck that had an old, aerial antenna sticking three feet out of the car hood and started laughing:"
'"Daddy that car has a whisker! It has a kitty whisker!'"
"She'd never seen an old antenna like that before."
- SeaTie
"My dad had a Mercedes back in the day and when you started the car, the antenna would extend up."
- lzwzli
"Now there’s no where for an antenna ball. Makes me sad."
- jburton24
Video Games Were Very Different
"Computer games that were loaded on cassette tapes"
- PrincessTusi
"Even before the cassette tape, they’d publish the games’ code in a magazine and you’d have to type it all in without any mistakes. No editor. No debugger."
- sapientia-maxima
"R…U.…N Enter. And pray to god you didn’t miss a colon somewhere"
- LadyGreyNoJoy
Mr. Yuck
"Mr. Yuck"
- Bmc00
"Child safety: Should we lock up these absolutely lethal chemicals? Nah, let's just put this green sticker on them!"
"This is also why the number for poison control was always on the first page of a telephone book, and often written as one of the emergency numbers on your telephone."
- MrHyde_Is_Awake
"As of a few years ago, you could still contact your local poison control office and request a sheet of these."
- ThatsABunchOfCraft
Analog Doorbell
"A doorbell that uses pipes to make sound. Most contemporary doorbells are just a box on your wall, a buzzer, or an app. That's if you even have a doorbell."
- Sigseg
"We would switch the pipes around at my friend’s house. It would drive his mum mad when the doorbell would ring and the time was all wrong."
- badpuffthaikitty
What now-obsolete technology did you grow up with that you think the young people around you would be confused by?
Believe it or not, many household items can be hazardous. Some household products, like oven cleaner, contain hazardous chemicals that could really harm you–or even kill you–if used incorrectly.
Oven cleaners often have a high pH, making them alkaline corrosives.
Oven cleaner can cause burns or irritation of any exposed tissue, whether that is the mouth, skin, eyes, or airway. And if swallowed, as the National Capital Poison Center points out, "oven cleaners can cause vomiting and burns to the lips, mouth, throat, and further down in the digestive tract, like the food pipe and stomach."
That will make you think twice, huh?
But oven cleaners are far from the only potentially hazardous objects in your home.
People told us more when Redditor Cool_Kid_Lit_Fam asked the online community:
"What household object do most people not realize, that if used incorrectly, could easily kill them?"
"The two most common types of accidental death in the home are falls in bathtubs and from ladders."
Leftrightthere
Are you telling me that I should stop showering on top of a ladder?
"Dryers when..."
"Dryers when you don’t clean the lint trap."
Anti-charizard
Dryer lint is great for starting campfires! Throw some wads in your kindling and you've got an easy fire... which should be a big clue!
"If it falls..."
"Car jack. If it fails and you didn't use jack stands, and you can't bench press a couple thousand pounds..... you gonna die."
racerx21
To say the least!
Safety is cool, friends. Don't take it for granted.
"I feel like..."
"I feel like it’s surprising that most people don’t know that you can’t put out a grease fire with water."
[deleted]
Many fires start this way – and get worse because people don't know what they should do.
"When my dad was a kid..."
"When my dad was a kid, one of his good friends died by inhaling Pam cooking spray. The boy was a good, smart kid and just thought inhaling Pam would get you a little high, like sniffing a Sharpie or whatever."
"But Pam coats your lungs and very quickly suffocates you if you breathe it in. He had no idea how dangerous it was and he was dead in minutes. It was absolutely devastating for everyone who knew him."
greenoctopusink
Very important. A tragedy for everyone involved. Sorry for your dad's loss.
"Bleach..."
"Bleach and other cleaners accidentally mixed together."
Luder09
This is a big one. Never mix – the consequences can be deadly.
"Had a friend of the family..."
"Oven cleaner. Had a friend of the family use it on a warm oven and breathed it in. Messed up her lungs and died in hospital."
queensofthemeeps
That's a genuinely useful piece of information. This sounds like something I'd have done without even considering it...
"Unsecured..."
"Unsecured free-standing shelves are pretty dangerous, especially for kids who might try to climb on them."
MedChemist464
Kids get hurt or die in accidents involving free-standing shelves all the time. You don't want your child to be one of them.
"My brother's..."
"My brother's father in law died falling off a ladder. He wasn’t even high up, just fell badly. His wife (a nurse) tried CPR, but he didn’t make it. He had no other health problems."
estherloveseevie
Condolences. This is so tragic. A warning to us all.
"Anything that can..."
"Wet floors, usually bathrooms. Anything that can make hitting your head easier can kill."
Flowy_Aerie_777
Falling in the bathroom is a big fear of mine. Thanks for the reminder.
You're probably going to be much more careful now than you were before, aren't you?
Good – now get out there and warn all your friends. You can't be too careful.
Have some suggestions of your own? Feel free to tell us more in the comments below!
Y'all nasty.
Don't believe me? Just keep reading. (and yes, established readers, I *am* going to keep writing articles about it. Go clean something!)
Reddit user "Foxmachine" asked:
What common household item is rarely if ever cleaned, although it should be?
Remember that I tried to warn you. There's just ... so much dirt and grime and gross.
Because Of Maggots
load dishwasher GIF by beko Giphy"The dishwasher."
"Clean the filter, and clean the spray arms regularly." - rubaduck
"Once a month it gets the full treatment in our house. Family members are plumbers."
"Fun fact: most dishwasher pumps fail because of maggots. Clean your f*cking catcher and rinse off the chunks, people."
"Maggot eggs are eeeeverywheeeerre. You can also get mold mites, drain flies, cockroaches… it's a humid, dark environment with food scraps." - Taleya
"Hire somebody to do it the first time, because you do not want to know about the maggots." - ProudHedgehog6767
Slow Clap For This Pun
Super Troopers Good Job GIF by Searchlight Pictures Giphy"The bottom of my toaster is a graveyard of charcoal crumbs." - CubaGoodingIII
"More than just a graveyard, it's a catacrumbs in there." - superokaycatdad
"Can't decide if I'm angry with you or proud." - Eveystuff
Pets Deserve Clean, Too
Giphy"I used to work at a dog boarding facility and I could not believe the state of some of the food bowls people would bring in with their dog. Disgusting." - TheHowlingWool
"Agreed. My 2 cats have several bowls between them, and every meal is a fresh bowl."
"Growing up we never washed our pet's bowls. It just wasn't something the parents said needed to be done."
"I can't imagine making them eat off manky bowls now." - LtnSkyRockets
"I feel guilty that I used to never wash my cats' food bowls. Now I wash before every meal. My precious cats. The only real companions I've got." - MoxEmerald
Not Just The Cases
pillow GIF Giphy"Actual pillows, not just pillow cases. You can wash pillows in a washing machine. The amount of dirt that comes out is horrendous." - JadenGlow
"You absolutely can machine wash them, but in my opinion you will LOVE the results of washing them in the bath tub with scalding hot water, a ton of oxyclean, and let them soak for a few hours."
"It really gets in there."
"Then pop them in the washing machine to spin the water out. Just did this recently with our couch covers as well... It was fantastic" - PlopPlopPlopsy
The Water Is Always Brown
Drinking Coffee GIF by 60 Second Docs Giphy"SOFA! Maybe because it's so hard to clean?"
"Seriously, deep clean your sofa. It's really gross, it's covered in dirt from the years." - thitgahamtonghop
"I shampoo mine about once a month. The water is always brown. I can't imagine it after years." - Gingerbrew302
"Man, the spots between the seats are so full of crap and dirt, it should get power washed." - Nilyosh
If These Walls Could Talk (They'd Ask To Be Washed)
Khloe Kardashian Fight GIF by Comments By Celebs Giphy"Walls. I went around my place last winter after I lost my job and started washing all my walls. My family was telling me it looked like I painted them." - Smil3yAngel
"I have a steam mop that has a handle that detaches so it's like a wand."
"I steam cleaned my bathroom walls because the previous tenant was a smoker and had that nasty yellow residue on the walls. Biggest pain project, but totally worth it."
"Cleaning my other walls is on my to-do list." - Spitfire07
People Share Dark Secrets From Their Profession The Public Doesn't Know | George Takei’s Oh Myyy
Opening A Can Of Yuck
force GIF Giphy"Can opener. Look at yours and despair." - IAmEggnostic
"I literally never even thought of washing one until I moved in with my wife. Blew my mind when she threw it in the dishwasher" - 1seacow
The Swab Experiment Revealed
Mix Lab GIF by BrownSugarApp Giphy"There was a swab experiment done in a kitchen and the coffee maker water reservoir had the most bacteria (more than the toilet, vom) Dark, wet and warm. The perfect breeding ground for germs." - ellenmc
"Depends on the type I suppose. An Aeropress or a simple filter holder gets rinsed after every use anyways, but that office style fully automatic big machine definitely needs some taking apart and washing out every month or two."
"I have one of those big Siemens EQ6 machines at home, and last year completely disassembled everything and washed it. The amount of stray coffee grinds in the mechanisms and other funky weirdness was unbelievable."
"Even found some mold in the far off corners." - friftar
Down Under
skill cooking GIF Giphy"In your kitchen: The underside of your cabinets (as well as the top of them if you can)."
"All of the food you cook, saute, etc. sends tiny particulates of oil and other parts of your meal into the air. It settles on all surfaces, but you clean most of them regularly."
"The top of your cabinets is usually ignored, but it can develop quite the gunky buildup if you don't do a fairly regular cleaning. Say, once a month or so."
"The underside of cabinets – especially near your cook surface – should be cleaned every week or so. That oil and muck will eventually start to dry and cake on, attracting bugs and rodents and emitting a not-so-fresh smell."
"Get a good degreaser cleaner and give those surfaces a thorough cleaning." - ilikemrrogers
A Mini Time Bomb
dancers laundry GIF Giphy"Your dryer, it's a mini time bomb waiting for a stray spark to burn your house down. Clean it thoroughly every few months and make sure you get the lint hoses serviced as well." - zerbey
"Funny how after I cleaned out the duct, my husband didn't have to do loads twice through to dry all the way...clean your Ducts!" - PsychologicalNews573
Computer Love
Mad The Internet GIF by MOODMAN Giphy"Computer. Intake vents and all over the inside. Unplug it and very gently vacuum. Use snaked bristle brush if you have one or crevice tool. Gently!!!" - Spute2008
"My mouse is clean as it's easy to swab with a qtip… my keyboard… my keyboard is one with the dirt. You can run it through the dishwasher and still have hair stuck."
"I'm honestly not even exaggerating. I've had the same mechanical keyboard for 8 or 9 years and ran it through the dishwasher multiple times, but it's impossible to get completely clean." - ApprehensiveAd3778
This Kitchen Calamity
Animated GIF Giphy"kitchen ventilator" - PhilyVargas
"Kitchen suction hoods. I heard that most fires at homes occur because of fat in suction hoods catches fire" - hetgepeperte
Not So Clean
Giphy"The track the wheels of you shower door run in (assuming you have a door not a curtain) people will clean the glass but never think to do that little track but at the bottom and it can be super gross" - KingBenjamin97
"I Use This Weekly"
japan rice GIF Giphy"This is funny. I just noticed yesterday that I rarely clean the inside-top of my rice cooker. Cleaned it last night and was like 'I use this weekly and have never wiped this part down.' Made me feel gross but yea" - AljamimaSyrup
Now go clean!
Danger lurks all around the home. Common household items aren't as safe as you'd think... like dull knives, ladders, and gummy vitamins.
FalconHoof88 asked: What everyday household items are actually way more dangerous than we give them credit for?
Submissions have been edited for clarity, context, and profanity.