"What's the perfect example of 'they don't make them like they used to?'"
From Riches To Rags...
"Levis."
"I had a pair for years as a teenager."
'Bought a pair in 2020 and within 6 months they had fraying and then holes in the seams."
"Clothes in general seem like they're getting sh*tter no matter how much you pay for them."- LordyIHopeThereIsPie·
Oh, Honey...
"Honeycomb cereal."
"The pieces were big, puffy and delicious, with the occasional flat, overly crunchy, sad piece."
"Now every piece is the sad piece."- Bumpass
Can The Even Still Call It Pinesol?
"Pinesol changed its formula in 2014, knocking out the key ingredient, pine oil."
"Sigh."- Greg_Strine
camping bart simpson GIFGiphyStill Better Than Today's Happy Meals...
"McDonald's hot apple pies."- MartyFreeze
You Wonder How They Can Keep Their Name...
"I can swear when i was young Magnum ice cream were twice the size of today."- Ancient_Patient_6105
No Fat, No Sugar... NO GOOD!
"Planters Cheeze Balls."
"I was so excited when I saw them at the store a few years ago, but they are not even close to the same."
"I was told that the difference is trans-fat-elimination."- mkicon
bath nbd GIF by Guava JuiceGiphyBetter Check That Warranty
"Pretty much every single consumer good is now built to break instead of last."- Dizzy-Elk4110
Blame It On The Music?
"Band t-shirts, and I mean they don't make them like they did 4 years ago."- Groovyrick
You Name It...
"Probably everything."
"The consumer landscape completely changed over a short period, due to aim towards maximum profit over functionality/quality, as well as the lowest possible costs."
"We can't even buy a software anymore."
"It's all services and subscriptions or passes."
"We can't have anything simple anymore."- Shimamon
"Everything."
"Planned obsolescence."
"If you can imagine a way a company is f*cking you, it's likely happening."- Dat_Harass
There's A Reason Some Toys Are Classics...
"Children's toys."
"When my daughter was little, I was floored by the flimsy cheap plastic parts, compared to my solid and sturdy toys (many still in great condition) from the late 80's/early 90's."- YourMothersButtox
Sometimes, It's A Good Thing
"I guess to be more optimistic, at least gasoline doesn't have lead in it anymore."- colonelsmoothie
Who Wants To Share A Candy Bar?!?!
"Candy bars, the king size was actually a big hunk of chocolate, now it's a share size and smaller than it used to be and costs twice as much."- teethalarm
Chocolate Choco GIF by Ritter SportGiphyAnd Why Do Freezer's Continue To Get Smaller?
"Up to 1981, my great-grandmother had a refrigerator that they had gotten when home fridges were new."
"It had that big round compressor on top, and it worked for god knows how long."
"I just had to replace mine in a home that was built for us 7 years ago."- Leftstrat
The Advertising Gets Better, The Games On The Other Hand...
"Mobile games."
“'99.99% WILL FAIL!! CAN YOU SOLVE THIS QUIZ??!!??'"- RechehSec
The sign of a good product isn't its sleek appearance or technological abilities, but rather durability.
Making one rather appreciate the fact that we almost never had to replace our landline phones, yet have to replace our cell phones almost every two years.
Not to mention the fact that one of the least frequent things people ever do on their phones anymore is make calls.
Is that progress?
"What was invented by accident?"
Romy And Michelle Were On To Something...
"Post-its."
"They were looking for a strong glue and produced a weak one, but the secretaries of the inventors pointed out that that it was ideal for making removable notes."- amerkanische_Frosch
Miracle Cure?
"Penicillin?"
"But it wasn’t invented just discovered by accident."- Tigydavid135
Cheesy Goodness!
"Velveeta cheese was a byproduct that was considered waste."
"Someone noticed that factory workers were dipping bread into that vat of byproduct during lunchtime."
"From there, Velveeta was born."
"Also, margarine was originally developed as supplemental chicken feed, but various recipes kept killing chickens."
"So, it was repurposed for human consumption."- Drlmichele88
"Probably cheese."
"My dads go-to small talk line for like 5 years in the 90s was, 'I wonder who the first person to eat cheese was'."
"'Must have been pretty hungry'.”- RabbiVolesBassSolo
nacho cheese GIFGiphyMaking The Best Of A Sticky Situation
"Superglue was invented during WW2 by accident."
"The inventor was trying to make clear gun scopes."- BootProfessional8335
Some Things Just Don't Need Fixing...
"I love how the video game character 'Kirby' was created and how he became his own series."
"Originally, Kirby was created to be sort of a 'test dummy' that would get a more detailed design later on, but the designers ended up falling in love with him as is and kept him as he was."
"The franchise reached its 30th anniversary this year and it’s one of Nintendo’s strongest properties to this day."- KipsyCakes
...But What It's Purpose?...
'Silly putty."
'It was a failed attempt at making synthetic rubber I believe or maybe glue I don't remember which."- SwimmerSea3163
GiphyWhere Would Transportation Be Today?
"Vulcanized rubber."
"Charles Goodyear came up with it by accident."
"Without it we don't have tires, gaskets, seals, soles of shoes, hoses, shock absorbers and hell of a lot more."
"Pretty much changed the whole world."- TriplePube
POW!
"Believe it or not, gun powder."
"Some Chinese scientists were trying to create fire bombs and made this powder type substance that just exploded in their face instead."- Reddit
Action!
"Special effects."
"For a while, it was assumed you had to keep the camera rolling thru a whole scene, also easier to splice the movie together."
"A director, forgot his name, was filming a bus when his camera jammed, by the time he fixed it, the bus had left and there was a bench right behind it."
"When they looked at the film during editing, it looked like the bus had magically turned into a bench."- stealthkoopa
fake martin scorsese GIFGiphyNext time you use baking powder instead of baking soda when baking a cake, don't be too dismayed by the flat cake you see before you.
However unsuccessful it may have been as a cake, it might have been the perfect formula for brownies.
Resulting in one happy, and delicious, accident.
"What's a relatively unknown technological invention that will have a huge impact on the future?"
The End Of Back Aches As We Know It!
"I was talking with my spine surgeon and he said in 30 years they will be able to regenerate the gel in your spine, practically giving you a new back."
"I’ve herniated the same two disc in my lower back twice by the time I was 30."
"My doctor told me that by the time I’m 50 I’ll most likely need back surgery but it shouldn’t be a big deal since they can replace the gel, not sure technical name, that’s been impacted by the slip discs."- MBerg09
Infections Be Gone!
"Research into bacteriophages, bacteria targeting viruses, could cure antibiotic resistant bacterium such as MRSA."- Tlctr1999
Will We Even Need Doctors?
"Gene therapy is no longer science fiction."
"My girlfriend got 'Luxturna' surgery and the results have been amazing."
"She used to be unable to see at all at night and now she can guide herself without a cane."
"More treatments like that are going to keep coming and be standard before we realize it."- forkd1
Animation Dna GIF by The Explainer StudioGiphyDon't Always Believe What You See
"Deepfake is still in its infancy and it terrifies me."
"We already live in a time when people take irrefutable video evidence and somehow find ways to rationalize away what they are seeing."
"People don't listen to science anymore, truth has become frighteningly subjective."
"Think of all the videos of police shootings/political scandals/whistleblowers/assassinations/and more."
"Now, add in a technology that has the potential to create doubt about the validity of what we are seeing."
"It's the perfect excuse, and all people will need, to kill that last little bit of logical thought deep in their brain."
"It is a perfect tool to create chaos and discord."
"Politicians will use it to create confusion and doubt."
"To sow fear, create false narrative and de-legitimize their opponents."
"Or to cast doubt on crimes and acts they have committed."
"Something that was once impossible to rationalize away will become yet another misinformation tool and and engine to sow doubt."- King_Prawn_shrimp
No More Tripping Over Plugs!
"Wireless ekg machines."- Depression_nap19
Security Heartbeat GIF by Sandia National LabsGiphyA Newfound Energy
"Realistically, the use of carbon grids to reproduce the catalytic effects of Rhodium metal, commonly used in catalytic converters."
"Rhodium metal is currently trading at $13,000/oz after a huge spike due to worldwide emissions restrictions that took effect in 2020."
"Long story short there is only 2 places on Earth to effectively find the stuff and it is going to run out, well before fossil fuels and other important building materials do."
"Replacing Rhodium with Carbon in catalytic purposes would save global manufacturers hundreds of billions a year and make many consumer goods much more affordable."
"In theory with the affordable part."- PlentyLettuce
No More Need For Double A's...
"Lithium Sulfur batteries are in development right now that could make battery storage much cheaper than current lithium ion, and lithium polymer batteries."
"Lower cost batteries mean more people can afford to use them, and that's more internal combustion engines, replaced with electric motors."
"While I'm at it, battery recycling."
"Every element in a battery can be extracted, and recycled into new batteries, especially the lithium."
"A former founding member of Tesla has actually already opened a plant to do just that."- Fragraham
Skin And Organs At The Ready!
"Printed human skin and organs."- RandomRavenclaw87
drug testing video GIFGiphyMake Our Garden Grow
"Low-pressure solar-powered drip irrigation systems."- SerMercutio
It can be unsettling when we see how much we can rely on technology with each passing year.
Not always for the better
However, everything has its downsides, and if technology can safely help us live longer, healthier, and hopefully happier lives, then the best thing we can do is embrace change.
Scary as it often seems.
