Modern day antiques to gauge how old you really are.

I found this cool list of modern day antiques that a lot of probably remember from when we were younger but, will leave the next generation scratching their heads.

How many of these things do you remember:

11 “Modern Antiques” Today’s Kids Have Probably Never Seen

1. 45 rpm Record Adapter

Seven-inch singles produced in the US had a large half-dollar size hole in the center, unlike the tiny hole punched in LPs that fit conveniently onto a turntable spindle. This large hole tradition was originally instituted in order to accommodate the mechanism inside a jukebox. Rather than making a separate version for home use, the simple solution was to sell adapters that popped into the center of a 45, making it playable on a standard record player. These gadgets were usually found in a bin near the checkout at every record store, a dozen or so for a dollar.

2. Skate Key

Those good ol’ fashioned metal roller skates that strapped onto your shoes were useless if you didn’t have a skate key on hand to adjust them. The hexagonal loop on top was used to turn the bolt that adjusted the length of the skate and the tubular end fit on the pin that tightened the toe grips.

3. Church Key

Many a barbecue and tailgate party was ruined in the pre-pop top days when it was discovered that no one had remembered to bring a church key to the proceedings. The pointy end punctured beer (and soda pop) cans open – one hole for pouring, one for a vent. The rounded end was used to remove bottle caps – twist-off crown caps weren’t invented until the 1960s, and even then it took some years for breweries to start using them on their products.

4. Self-Service Tube Tester

Since a good percentage of the TV malfunctions back then were due to malfunctioning vacuum tubes, DIY Dads started diagnosing and replacing the tubes on their own, saving both time and money. Almost every drugstore, hardware store, and even grocery store had a self-service tube testing machine stashed among the gumball and cigarette machines. Dad (or Mom or whoever) simply brought whichever tubes he thought suspect and tested them on the machine to see whether they were functional. If the tube in question was kaput, there was a wide selection of brand new tubes stocked in the cabinet underneath the machine available for purchase.

5. Pull Tabs

In between cans requiring a church key and today’s pop tops there were pull tab soda and beer cans. The convenience of not requiring an opener was revolutionary, but the innovation came with a downfall: a new type of litter. Instead of disposing of their pull tabs responsibly, many folks simply discarded them on the ground before chugging away. Walking barefoot on the beach in the 1960s and ’70s was often something of an obstacle course

6. Fotomat Booth

7. Motel Room Wall-Mounted Bottle Opener

8. Milk Chute

9. No-Draft Window

10. Green Stamps

11. Typewriter Eraser

Mental Floss


The only ones I don't remember are the skate key, the milk chute, green stamps and the tube tester. I remember seeing typewriter erasers all over the place when I was young but, never knew what they were used for. I still have a church key magnet on my refrigerator but, can't remember the last time I used it. I still see bottle openers in some hotels even today (makes you wonder how long they've been there).

I don't think that i would ever want to use the wall mounted bottle opener in the restroom lol

I didn't remember the tube tester or the milk chute.
I guess I am old.
I remember making necklaces out of pull tabs!

Originally posted by chiefsmom
I remember making necklaces out of pull tabs!

I remember that to.

When I was over in the Middle East for Desert Storm, a lot of the local soda cans still used them. Supposedly, there were places that would donate to charity for each one you sent in back then and my family asked me to save some for them. I think I collected a few but, never got around to mailing them back.

Boy, that sure took me back! I remember all of those things, except the milk chute, which is probably in much older houses. Never saw those in California.

I have a nice old "church key" that says "Coors" on it, that is probably from the early 70s. I still use it to pop open cans of liquid items.

Those pop tops were bad, though....growing up in southern California, we went to the beach a lot. There were many times when I was frolicking in the sand and got sliced on the foot by one of those nasty little metal tops. It was a great day when they developed the modern drink can.

Thanks for the memories, and for reminding me just how old I really am!

I remember them all.

However, the milk chute was not being used anymore when I was growing up. But it was still on some houses. The other items were all in use. The tube tester was handy if you were a do-it-yourselfer.

Just a little addition t the theme here:

My son, when given my old pull string toy telephone, complete with a rotary dial and wired handset, and told it was a telephone, would not believe it.

I guess a rotary style wired handset toy phone is an antique now in the world of iPhones and bluetooth headsets,,,

Holy Mackerel!!!!

I remember my dad used to make me run down to Thrifty's (in SoCal) to check the old tubes.
I still have our old church key too --- and I think raver kids wear those 45 adapters as pendants.

Thanks for the flashback!

reply to post by youdidntseeme


Ha ha, funny story!

When we moved out to the middle of nowhere, our cell phones wouldn't work out here, so we had to get a land line. My mother-in-law (who will be 87 years old in June) gave us an old rotary dial phone circa 1970 that she had in her attic. It is grossly heavy, and an ugly tan color, but it still works like a charm.

My 19 year old daughter freaked out when she saw it. She had no idea how to use it to make a phone call. I had to show her how to work the rotary dial. LOL.

When I seen the picture of the mounted bottle opener, I seen the toilet paper first and thought you were going to say, "Remember when toilet paper reached the other side of the holder?"

My grandma keeps saying that.

Here's how I bet this article makes a lot of us feel:

reply to post by FortAnthem


I still have a church key opener. It's the smallest and easiest to carry one I have, even smaller than my swiss army knife. And since I tend to drink a lot of Stella Artios, which is NOT in a twist off, I have it always. Right now, it's in the little tiny change pocket inside the pocket of my jeans!

How about this , did you know it even existed ?

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