Things you won't find anymore...

Grampa Don said:
California. I have a vague memory of going to Venice Pier when I was really young.
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You're probably remembering Lick Pier, the site of the famous Aragon Ballroom. It was referred to as being in Ocean Park, Santa Monica, but it was really located in Venice. It was built in 1922 (had to look that up). But the ballroom became know as the Aragon Ballroom in 1942, which had dances 7 nights a week.

Later it became a concert venue for such acts as Spade Cooley and Bob Wills. Lawrence Welk took over the joint in 1951 to 1955 where he started his famous show for TV. It re-opened in 1967 as the Cheetah Club, a rock joint. The band I was in played there twice in 1968. The venue could hold 13, 000!

Sadly it was burned down in 1970, and never re-built. I loved that place!!
 
Fyrefox said:
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When smoking declined, so did the presence and ready availability of matchbooks. I don’t smoke, but I do sometimes like a candle burning. Limited availability of matchbooks has forced me to buy those little butane lighters to fire up my candle wicks… 🕯️

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You can still buy matchbooks in a package. Remember when the striker was on the same side as the matchbook opening? Then they had to add, "close cover before striking". Then they finally put the striker on the back...:sneaky:
 

ChiroDoc said:
You're probably remembering Lick Pier, the site of the famous Aragon Ballroom. It was referred to as being in Ocean Park, Santa Monica, but it was really located in Venice. It was built in 1922 (had to look that up). But the ballroom became know as the Aragon Ballroom in 1942, which had dances 7 nights a week.

Later it became a concert venue for such acts as Spade Cooley and Bob Wills. Lawrence Welk took over the joint in 1951 to 1955 where he started his famous show for TV. It re-opened in 1967 as the Cheetah Club, a rock joint. The band I was in played there twice in 1968. The venue could hold 13, 000!

Sadly it was burned down in 1970, and never re-built. I loved that place!!
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Would you believe I danced to Lawrence Welk in the Aragon Ballroom? It's a long story involving a buddy, two sisters and their parents.
 
Fyrefox said:
Here’s a vanishing bit of low technology…it’s a strawberry huller! You used to be able to buy these cheaply, and they were great for grabbing and pulling the leaves and stem off fresh strawberries. Not much to them, but they worked! It’s harder to find now, and considerably more expensive to buy even if you can…
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I use a large carving knife to whack off the stem, then rinse and dry. Its fast, clean, and I’m sure much less messy than a strawberry huller.
 
JeeperDon said:
Remember when they showed a few cartoons before the Saturday matinee at the cinema?
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....and a newsreel and the occasional short "serial" episode. They were once showing the episodes of a serial that dealt with the Russians attempted occupation of California in the early 1800's. It was a black-and-white silent series with the American Hero in the requisite white hat being victorious over the Evil Russian Cossack Baddies dressed all in black. Of course, there was the kidnapping of Hero's lady love by the Cossack. Gotta have that!
 
Fyrefox said:
Does anyone remember full-service shoe stores where fluoroscopes were present? You'd stick your feet into the device, and it would X-ray them to determine if your toes had enough room inside a shoe you were considering buying. Yes folks, get a free X-ray dosage just for coming in!

What other things once commonplace won't you see today?

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oh yeah. My feet have been a problem all my life.
 
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My 17yr-old grandson asked me "What's a Rolodex?"

I asked him "What do you think it is?" and he said "A watch?"

Predictable.

To tell someone what a Rolodex is, you can't just say it's a type of address book, you have to describe it. He understood its function, but the description baffled him; addresses and phone numbers on cards arranged alphabetically on a wheel with an alphabetical knob that you turn to flip the cards to the address you want.....

None of it made sense to him. He couldn't picture it.

I finally had him pull up an image on his phone.

His next question was a totally bewildered "Why?"
 
Jackie23 said:
I remember watching my mom inserting pants stretchers into just washed pants and hanging them on the clothesline, this was supposed to avoid ironing.
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And to preserve the crease.

My grandfather owned a tailor shop and had several of those hanging in the back room for trousers and slacks that were brought in for a mend or a new hem. After fixing the trousers, he'd slip a pair of stretchers into the legs and hang them in a steaming cabinet.
 
rbtvgo said:
oh yeah. My feet have been a problem all my life.
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For the very brief time that your feet were in the fluroscope machine, your exposure was minimal, at best. I don't think anybody was spending hours getting their feet x rayed . How many times in a year did some one buy a new pair of shoes , back then. On the other hand, smoking unfiltered Camels for years, was a health risk, as was drinking alcohol.
 
jimintoronto said:
For the very brief time that your feet were in the fluroscope machine, your exposure was minimal, at best. I don't think anybody was spending hours getting their feet x rayed . How many times in a year did some one buy a new pair of shoes , back then. On the other hand, smoking unfiltered Camels for years, was a health risk, as was drinking alcohol.
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Your comment made sense to me, but an article on a website called The Straight Dope says:

"The nation’s 10,000 shoe store fluoroscopes were notoriously poorly regulated during their heyday in the 40s and 50s. The U.S. Public Health Service said the average device emitted between 7 and 14 roentgens per dose, but one study found that some machines emitted as much as 116 roentgens. (For comparison, a person standing within 1500 meters of ground zero at Hiroshima got hit with more than 300 roentgens–admittedly throughout their entire bodies, not just their feet.) There is a predictable relationship between X ray exposure and excess cancer deaths. So we can safely say that some people died ahead of their time due to what was basically a sales gimmick."

The machines themselves; not really a problem. Shoe salesmen using them was a problem.
 
Murrmurr said:
Your comment made sense to me, but an article on a website called The Straight Dope says:

"The nation’s 10,000 shoe store fluoroscopes were notoriously poorly regulated during their heyday in the 40s and 50s. The U.S. Public Health Service said the average device emitted between 7 and 14 roentgens per dose, but one study found that some machines emitted as much as 116 roentgens. (For comparison, a person standing within 1500 meters of ground zero at Hiroshima got hit with more than 300 roentgens–admittedly throughout their entire bodies, not just their feet.) There is a predictable relationship between X ray exposure and excess cancer deaths. So we can safely say that some people died ahead of their time due to what was basically a sales gimmick."

The machines themselves; not really a problem. Shoe salesmen using them was a problem.
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OK so did shoe sales people get cancer at elevated rates, due to being around that foot X ray machine on a daily basis, in the shoe store back then? I bet that would be impossible to confirm, or deny . On the other hand, I think we can say with certainty that many smokers did get lung cancer, didn't they ? And that many drinkers ended up with liver disease, right ? JIM.
 
jimintoronto said:
OK so did shoe sales people get cancer at elevated rates, due to being around that foot X ray machine on a daily basis, in the shoe store back then? I bet that would be impossible to confirm, or deny . On the other hand, I think we can say with certainty that many smokers did get lung cancer, didn't they ? And that many drinkers ended up with liver disease, right ? JIM.
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Yes, we can say that, but this thread is about things you won't find anymore. ;)
 
Murrmurr said:
My 17yr-old grandson asked me "What's a Rolodex?"

I asked him "What do you think it is?" and he said "A watch?"

Predictable.

To tell someone what a Rolodex is, you can't just say it's a type of address book, you have to describe it. He understood its function, but the description baffled him; addresses and phone numbers on cards arranged alphabetically on a wheel with an alphabetical knob that you turn to flip the cards to the address you want.....

None of it made sense to him. He couldn't picture it.

I finally had him pull up an image on his phone.

His next question was a totally bewildered "Why?"
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I'm looking at my mother's right now! It's on my computer desk.
Numbers in there go all the way back to the 1960s. Still comes in handy.
 
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