The times are a-changing, and because of that, there are a ton of things that used to be essential in people’s homes. Now? Most people wouldn’t even recognize them or vaguely remember seeing them.
If you showed these photos to anyone under the age of 20, I’m sure they wouldn’t know what they were looking at.
How many do you recognize?
VHS Tapes
Long before blu-ray and DVDs, we had to use these bulky bricks to watch movies and shows at home. Does anyone else remember how really long movies had to be split up over two tapes? Don’t forget to rewind!
Sanitary belt
Before the widespread use of disposable pads and tampons, women used these contraptions during their time of the month. Surely I can’t be the only woman who is happy times have changed for this object. This looks terrifying.
Rotary telephones
I used to love playing with my grandparent’s rotary phone. I’m kind of sad that kids today won’t really know what these are or how to use them.
Church Key
We had one of these in our utensil drawer growing up, but I didn’t actually know what it was for. These were used to open cans and bottles back in the day. That makes a lot more sense.
Floppy Disk
I might be one of the last people of my generation who used a floppy disk to save homework on. Now people just use USB drives. I wonder what happened to all those floppy disks that we once used.
Joysticks
Kids are used to Playstations and Xboxes these days. They would probably laugh at you if you told them we used to use these to play video games with back in the day.
Phonebook
My parents still have a phone book and I don’t have the heart to tell them that they really don’t need it anymore. Guys, just Google it.
Cassette tape
The most important thing to remember about these is how we used to rewind them with a pencil. It was also devastating when the tape broke or when it got caught on something and pulled out.
Pagers
We’re so used to getting updates on our phones now that we almost forgot what it was like to use one of these. All the cool kids at school had one and I was super jealous.
Palm pilot
When my brother got a palm pilot, I thought it we had reached the height of technology. In some ways, I think our smartphones were based on these devices.
Blockbuster
Was there a better feeling than going to Blockbuster on a Friday night and picking a movie to rent for the weekend? Also, don’t forget the crushing blow of finding out the movie you wanted was all gone.
Overhead projector
I’m sure there are still some teachers that use these, but most of them have upgraded. It’s crazy to think that this was how we used to display things in school.
AOL CD
Remember receiving one of these in the mail? It seemed like a big deal when your parents finally gave in and signed up for the internet for the first time.
Snake on a cell phone
If your flip or Nokia phone came with this then you were set. I used to play it on my mom’s first cell phone all the time. I like to think I was the snake champion.
Record adapter
I have never, ever seen one of these in my life. I guess they were before my time. They were used to play different sized records on a record player. Huh. That’s pretty cool.
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Needle Threader
You’ve probably seen these silver objects a hundred times, most likely at your grandma’s house. They are used to help thread needles! You place the loop through the eye of the needle, and it makes it easier to string the thread through. Smart, right?
Library card catalog
If you wanted to find a specific book in the library before you could just look it up on their computers, you had to use the card catalog. I have to admit I don’t really miss this one.
The Discman
Before mp3 players and before iPods, we had the Discman. It was a portable CD player that changed our world. I vividly remember hanging onto these in the back of a long car ride, praying we wouldn’t go over any bumpy roads so my CD wouldn’t skip.
Film canisters
Back when we had cameras that needed film, that film came in these canisters. These little tubes were fantastic storage for tons of stuff, too — I’ve still got one rolling around in my cupboard filled with toothpicks!
Rear door ashtrays
Back when smoking in your car was not only encouraged but expected, the rear doors used to have built in ashtrays. As a kid, it was incredibly fun to play with. As long as there was no ash in it, obviously.
Overhead projectors and transparent sheets
In school, before HDMI cords and big screens let us look at slideshows, we had these projectors to learn on. They came with little transparent sheets that you could write on in marker, and the pressure was always wrong to get it right when it was your turn.
Doodle bears
No, these aren’t SoundCloud rapper inspired. These bears came with a washable marker, so you could draw all over them, throw them in the wash, and then start fresh all over again.
Two part ‘Titanic’
When you had a movie that was as long as Titanic , you had to watch it on two separate VHS tapes, because it was just too much for one to handle.
The dreaded grade book
Kids in school used to have to check our grades on the physical sheet of paper the teachers had. I was always constantly paranoid that the other kids were spying on my grades.
Wormlights
Nowadays, most game consoles (or any handheld screen) is backlit, so they generate their own light. We didn’t have that luxury as kids, so we had to buy little lights that plugged into our Gameboys and shined a light down on our screens.
