MovieChat Forums > General Discussion > Things you're glad to see gone

Things you're glad to see gone

posted 4 years ago by BullSchmidt (3189)
115 replies | jump to latest

For me, pay toilets.

For those not old enough to remember the 1970s, they were common everywhere, at least here in the US. You had to put a dime into a coin operated lock on the stall door. Then it would unlock, and you could enter, sit down, and take care of business. You were wise to carry a few dimes with you when outside your home. You never knew when you might need them.

Otherwise you could end up having to cheat by sliding under the door. Humiliating, and quite difficult when wearing a fish costume. http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-bCjbCy76S5c/VQzOJTNk8PI/AAAAAAAAALc/ObtZg_hKtkQ/s1600/Fish%2BStory%2BWKRP%2Bpig%2Band%2Bfish.jpg

Women's lib changed that. Their leader called pay toilets sexist. Both genders had to pay to crap. But we dudes could use urinals and so we could pee for free. Women had to pay to do that.

Some men were in favor of women's lib. Those men shouted, "damn right!"

Some men were against women's lib. But they understood that the very existence of pay toilets was now in critical condition. Those men shouted, "damn right!"

And then, no more pay toilets.

What are things you don't miss about the past?

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[–] TrentnQuarantino (9443) 4 years ago

Smoking on airplanes. I remember flying as a kid and the oily smell of the kerosene lighters and the first puffs of tobacco smoke actually smelling kind of good, but seconds later it would be in your nose, in your eyes, a horrible smell and taste that permeated the whole cabin. I don't know why they ever allowed it but I am happy to see it gone.

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[–] AndyKing1967 (39705) 4 years ago

Air Algeria, Cubana and Iran Air still allow smoking. Crazy, right?

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[–] BullSchmidt (3189) 4 years ago

I'm a smoker but I try to not do it around others, except in designated "smoking areas"; either official (labeled) or unofficial (the place outside work where smokers congregate). I'd get a seat in the smoking section on an airplane back when they allowed smoking, but I thought that something about the ventilation inside the airplane pushed the smoke away from the non-smokers. I understand why they don't allow smoking on planes anymore and don't resent it.

But the anti-smoking fervor in general has become ridiculous. At one airport I went to, there was a single smoking lounge in the entire complex. It was a room, about twenty feet square, with absolutely no ventilation. There were far more people than seats, and people were doing the right thing, yielding the seats to senior citizens. The rest of us were standing, and we were all in a thick fog. The smell was oppressive. I really think the airport management wanted to punish us for being smokers.

And it's not just smoking. Airlines don't allow any tobacco products on board anymore. Well, for a routine flight I'm ok. I smoke a little less than a pack per day, and can do without for four or five hours if need be. But when I vacationed in London ten years ago, the Atlanta-to-London flight was nine hours, each way. Nope, I'm not going that long without a fix. I smuggled some snus in and used those. A quick trip to the bathroom, pop one in, and back to the seat. No one was the wiser, and unlike with cigarettes (secondhand smoke), nobody else was being hurt.

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[–] TrentnQuarantino (9443) 4 years ago

> But the anti-smoking fervor in general has become ridiculous.

I disagree with that. As past-smoker with possibly compromised lungs I resent any smoke or air pollution of any kind that is easily regulated. You have no right to introduce poison into something else's life, and to minimize it because you were used to smoking is like complaining about the loss of white privilege.

That this is your addiction speaking and not your brain is shown by the fact that you chose to go into that airports smoking environment even thought it was unpleasant and unhealthy. I have a similar story when I contracted for the aerospace military in a cold climate and they had a small room with electrostatic air cleaners for all the building's smokers to use. It was so disgusting and yet when I smoked I did use it. There was a kind of sick comeradaie of the slow-motion-suicidals going into that place and smoking. I'd never do that today.

It is hard to quit smoking, I know. And sometimes one needs a little help, even though it may foment resentment, but not smoking is right. People should line up their behavior with what is right to the best of their ability. Too bad you have very little ability.

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[–] BullSchmidt (3189) 4 years ago

(Yawn)

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[–] TrentnQuarantino (9443) 4 years ago

Can get enough oxygen to stay awake, eh? ;-)

( only going to get worse )

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[–] BullSchmidt (3189) 4 years ago

> Can get enough oxygen to stay awake, eh? ;-)

No. Sanctimonious, obnoxious people bore me.

> ( only going to get worse )

No it's not, because I'm not pursuing it. Far better to just walk away from crap like this. I'm not even going to look to see what your reply is, should you make one. Say what you like, you'll just be talking to yourself.

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[–] TrentnQuarantino (9443) 4 years ago

> No. Sanctimonious, obnoxious people bore me.

Oh, then you've got a real bad problem, sanctie.

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[–] Matildawormwood (1545) 4 years ago

Pay phones
Rotary phones
My Space

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[–] BullSchmidt (3189) 4 years ago

> My Space

It's still there. So is the Dogpile search engine. I suppose some people still use those, some are into antiques.

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[–] mikethemartian (6983) 4 years ago

I have some rotary phones that my dad left me when he died. I’m not sure what to do with them. I hate just trashing them. I would rather donate them to someone who likes old phones. I also have an old candlestick phone. That phone I will definitely hold on to.

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[–] slimone (7996) 4 years ago

Donald Trump!!!!

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[–] BullSchmidt (3189) 4 years ago

Another thing I'm glad to see gone.

Appalachia has some poor people. And when I was growing up here, circa 1970, it was common to encounter senior citizens on the road who drove far too slowly. Here's a guy who was born around 1900. When Ford sold his first flivvers, his family couldn't afford one. Later, he couldn't afford one because of the Great Depression. He never got behind the wheel until he was past forty, and he had never got used to the technology. He was still afraid of it.

And, Appalachia has a lot of hills. The interstate and other major highways are more or less staight. But the smaller highways, with a single lane each way, can twist in and out of the hills. On those, two hundred consecutive yards of straight and level road can be something of a rarity.

So here's this old bastard driving at about 15 MPH on a road with a 45 MPH speed limit. Because the road is one blind curve after another, there's no way to pass him. You could get stuck in a line of cars in back of someone like that for twenty minutes.

Or maybe it wasn't fear. Maybe, if you'd asked him why he drives that way, he might have responded, "If the good Lord had meant me to move at thirty miles an hour, he'd have given me four hooves and a TAIL!" People around here had some funny beliefs. My grandmother and some of her friends believed the Moon landings were faked because of some obscure Bible verse.

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[–] TimMC (9143) 4 years ago

If you want people pissing all over your property, make the toilets PAY TOILETS.

People are animals when they have to GO.

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[–] Matildawormwood (1545) 4 years ago

Oh I got a good one. The toilet paper doilies with the doll heads that our grandma's use to knit. Sure they were cute, but useless at the same time lol.

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