Common Things That Are No Longer Common

I just saw a picture that made a question pop in my head that I could not answer. I asked my Mother, she laughed, and said, "I don't know."

The question was, "When did people stop polishing their shoes?"

When I was growing up, there were a couple of things I did every night before school. I had to polish my shoes, and lay out the clothes that I was going to wear the next day.

I have not laid out my clothes for decades, and I don't remember polishing my shoes in forever. So it got me to thinking about all those common things that I used to do, that just died. The majority of them, I don't even know when or where they die. We just don't do them any more.

Bringing this question to ATS. A break from the serious. Just a little general chit chat.

Does anyone even have an iron in their house anymore? A washboard? What things that were so common, you didn't even give them a thought, so when they died, we didn't even realize they were gone?

a reply to: NightSkyeB4Dawn

We have turned into a disposable society.
It’s cheaper to buy a new whatever than to repair one.

Unfortunately that means polishing shoes is a thing of the past.

a reply to: NightSkyeB4Dawn

My wife and I iron clothes still. I also still shine certain shoes and boots. I think most shoes people buy today do not need shined and are meant to be disposable.

Photo albums, cassettes, analog clocks, watching live broadcasts, newspapers, handwritten letters, phone booths, getting film developed, movie rental stores, paper maps, vcr's, fax machines, are some of the things that were common during my childhood that are now rare.

I 'd have to say pay phone booths were very common in my youth. But now even in this country where I'm at, they are disappearing. Train stations always have pay phones but now I don't see them at all.

a reply to: NightSkyeB4Dawn

Well, common sense certainly is no longer common....

originally posted by: tamusan
a reply to: NightSkyeB4Dawn

My wife and I iron clothes still. I also still shine certain shoes and boots. I think most shoes people buy today do not need shined and are meant to be disposable.

Photo albums, cassettes, analog clocks, watching live broadcasts, newspapers, handwritten letters, phone booths, getting film developed, movie rental stores, paper maps, vcr's, fax machines, are some of the things that were common during my childhood that are now rare.

I have a friend that installed a phone booth in his man cave. It is really neat looking. You can answer incoming call from it, but you can't make out going calls on it. Not sure why that is.

I love paper maps, but they are becoming harder to find. I have so many DVDs I could probably open up a rental store of my own. And since must children today can't read or write in cursive, handwritten letters are bound to be history. The regular Post Office, may follow suit.

I have not been in trouble with the law for over twenty years. One thing I am sure of is that wearing your best shoes and polishing them, for court, with care might get Gods attention and grace.

I still have the pillow case full of Kiwi and brushes that my dad gave me. I love the smell of it.

It's a spiritual thing that will sadly pass.

originally posted by: M5xaz
a reply to: NightSkyeB4Dawn

Well, common sense certainly is no longer common....

I don't think commonsense was ever common, but it surely seems to be dying.

Good manners/respect for elders.

Common sense!

Interacting with other humans in public instead of wall to wall phone zombies everywhere!

Funny comedians.

Scurvy.

Wooden teeth.

originally posted by: REDMORGAN
I have not been in trouble with the law for over twenty years. One thing I am sure of is that wearing your best shoes and polishing them, for court, with care might get Gods attention and grace.

I still have the pillow case full of Kiwi and brushes that my dad gave me. I love the smell of it.

It's a spiritual thing that will sadly pass.

Polishing your shoes did seem to have a bit of a spiritual quality to it. I remember when they came out with the liquid polish that did not require buffing. I hated it.

originally posted by: Silcone Synapse
Good manners/respect for elders.

Common sense!

Interacting with other humans in public instead of wall to wall phone zombies everywhere!

Funny comedians.

Scurvy.

Wooden teeth.

Good manners and respect, have joined commonsense in death. So many have no respect for themselves, so you can forget about them having respect for the elderly or anyone else.

CD players in cars.
I remember the first car I owned with a CD player, I thought it was pretty neat compared to cassette players.

Video stores.
They were on every corner.

Bakeries and corner grocers.

Pharmacies with soda fountains.

Telephone directory assistance.

Interest on savings accounts. You know, like 4%!

a reply to: NightSkyeB4Dawn

Going out front for the morning paper.

These may not be exactly what you're talking about, but they are things that once were, but are no more.

The times when I would stumble upon a movie and start watching it without having any clue what the title was, or how long it had been on. I liked not knowing whether or not it was nearing the end. Sometimes the end would sneak up on me, and other times I would think that it was nearing it's end, but it was actually only halfway through.

CD stores. Flipping through the CDs and rolling the dice by buying something from a band I'd never heard of before. Since I had paid for it, I would try harder to like it, which sometimes required a bit of effort and repeated listening. I sometimes lost that gamble, but there are also bands that I am still a fan of today, all because of that initial investment.

I also sometimes miss the feeling that came along with finding a new album from a band I was a big fan of, but was unaware that they had just recently released a new album, or sometimes even an old album of theirs that I was completely unaware of.


Not knowing where people are. Such as when you called their home phone and they didn't answer. Where are they? They may be gone for the day or they may have just stepped outside for a minute. Who knows? Nobody knows.

Indoor smoking. My first corporate job was for a Japanese company in the 90's. We still had a section of the lunch room for smoking. Imagine enjoying your lunch and a smoke but not being outside in the rain.

During the dotcom bubble, a couple of the startups I worked at had free beer in the kitchen. One finally had to implement a rule of no drinking at your desk before 4:00 PM, the IT guy would stop by your desk at 9:30 AM with his breakfast Guenniss.

a reply to: NightSkyeB4Dawn

It surely is for me. I wear boots so I still shine them once in a great while and I still have the kit dad gave me.

I started using that stuff in about 1970 helping him.

I would say I've bought one new tin of black in my life. Everything else in the bag is older than me but still as good as new.

a reply to: NightSkyeB4Dawn

I believe that polishing shoes went out with the need to wear polished shoes (for men, at least) sometime 8n the later 1980's as the "collegiate-casual" dress norm began sweeping corporate offices in the wake of Apple and Silicon Valley's rise to prominence.

Gym shoes hit the boardrooms and Florshiems hit the highway...never to look back.

originally posted by: DontTreadOnMe
CD players in cars.
I remember the first car I owned with a CD player, I thought it was pretty neat compared to cassette players.

Video stores.
They were on every corner.

Bakeries and corner grocers.

Pharmacies with soda fountains.

Telephone directory assistance.

Interest on savings accounts. You know, like 4%!

Being paid interest on your money that they used to their benefit!

How did I forget about that one!?

originally posted by: DontTreadOnMe
CD players in cars.
I remember the first car I owned with a CD player, I thought it was pretty neat compared to cassette players.

I still have my 1st cd player. I haven't driven that car for a few years now, but the cd player is still there. I've had that thing in&out of several cars.

I vividly remember that 1st night after it was installed. Severe snow storm. Couldn't see very far at all. Me and a friend were cruising around in the country, getting drunk of course. I kept messing around with all the buttons and had no idea there was a curve there. I just drove straight off the road. lol




eta: To be clear, I was driving really slow, and it was a 90° curve, but I still just went straight off of it.lol

originally posted by: BrokenCircles
a reply to: NightSkyeB4Dawn

Going out front for the morning paper.

These may not be exactly what you're talking about, but they are things that once were, but are no more.

The times when I would stumble upon a movie and start watching it without having any clue what the title was, or how long it had been on. I liked not knowing whether or not it was nearing the end. Sometimes the end would sneak up on me, and other times I would think that it was nearing it's end, but it was actually only halfway through.

CD stores. Flipping through the CDs and rolling the dice by buying something from a band I'd never heard of before. Since I had paid for it, I would try harder to like it, which sometimes required a bit of effort and repeated listening. I sometimes lost that gamble, but there are also bands that I am still a fan of today, all because of that initial investment.

I also sometimes miss the feeling that came along with finding a new album from a band I was a big fan of, but was unaware that they had just recently released a new album, or sometimes even an old album of theirs that I was completely unaware of.


Not knowing where people are. Such as when you called their home phone and they didn't answer. Where are they? They may be gone for the day or they may have just stepped outside for a minute. Who knows? Nobody knows.

Going back a little further. Singles. They always had some obscure song on the back, that you liked, because you thought you were getting a bonus song for free.

LPs- the long playing albums, always had some not so great songs, but you listened anyway, because you like the band and you paid for it.

originally posted by: Mantiss2021
a reply to: NightSkyeB4Dawn

I believe that polishing shoes went out with the need to wear polished shoes (for men, at least) sometime 8n the later 1980's as the "collegiate-casual" dress norm began sweeping corporate offices in the wake of Apple and Silicon Valley's rise to prominence.

Gym shoes hit the boardrooms and Florshiems hit the highway...never to look back.

Mother said she thought that tennis shoes caused the death of polished shoes. I think you two are right.