What is extinct or so close to extinction the Fat Lady is singing?

’‘waits for the inevitable answers that will mention things like common sense and manners’’

^ Rare as those might get at times, they never actually go away completely or forever.

Add flip phones. Though one was sighted at recently at a Denny’s restaurant.

@Cruiser I had a working flip phone, but I lost it. :(

Also, arcade machines.

Cassette audio tapes, VCR’s, phone booths, rotary dial phones, and the religious freedom to deny freedom to others!

I happen to own a corded mouse and a corded telephone. The phone because I was required to have a corded phone for a work at home job. I hate that phone.

The mouse is probably just because I’ve been too lazy to go buy a new one. The cord on the mouse doesn’t bother me, though – it’s not like it’s intrusive or anything.

@Cruiser Wow I remember when everyone wanted the flip phone. And I’m a pretty young guy.
My sociology professor keeps mentioning cassettes and Blockbuster and keeps correcting himself on how dated his references are. I object to calculators, though. I use my calculator almost every day. It’s a Ti-85 from 1991—older than me.

I miss flip phones; there was a certain quiddity about them

I hesitate to say it but I’m afraid book shops might be nearing extinction – as in the ones on the high street not those online jobbies that you can’t browse around and that don’t have that particular smell about them… that don’t allow books to literally jump off the shelf at you or have random fellow book lovers to squeeze past, quietly whispering, ‘scuse me, sorry… with nice subtle yet effective lighting, the odd sofa here or there and always pleasant unintrusive yet effective music in the background… and the comforting knowledge that you are connected with other people that still believe in the power of… the book…. <tear trickles down face>

Are there still video stores around anymore? I have a flip phone that is a burner phone I use only when I am visiting in the US so it is cheaper for my family to call. And my lovely boyfriend just bought me a cordless mouse this week because my corded one died. I have two tube radios in my home as well and I know at least one of them still works. I also have spare tubes. I also am on my first android touch screen telephone. I’ve had it for over 2 years but it wasn’t new when my friend gave it to me. It is one of the first htc’s that came out.

Basically, I’m a dinosaur. Thanks guys. :P

DXS I have a Ti-85 from 1989 still works flawlessly. Only wish I knew what all the buttons do

Those old console TV’s. Ok, I still have one in my basement and it still works. <Hangs head in shame>

Everyone in my “hood has one corded phone for the times when the power goes out. They are our lifelines.

As a corollary, we have lousy cell tower coverage also so I keep a two-year old flip phone in my purse for the occasional crisis in the car, usually weather-related too. Car gets a flat tire due to sharp rocks the town highway supervisor uses for potholes in the 57 miles of dirt roads surrounding my house. Car slides into ditch when skidding on black ice due to road crew being busy on the other 56 miles of terrible roads.

I love my phone. $25 a month for 60 minutes and the ability to do nothing much other than make phone calls.

I treasure my slide rule, a gift from my father when I decided to take AP calculus in high school. Hard to imagine actually using it however.

I still use a Sony Walkman to listen to audio books during bouts of insomnia. The library has hundreds of books on CDs. I buy them on-line, three at a time, in fear of the day when they disappear.

I still have a flip phone for work. It was the free offering they gave the company… I have it for two weeks at a time.

I also have a corded mouse, but my mouse goes for about $70 and has something like 17 buttons.

I just thought of this the other day. Flash Cubes are almost extinct. Now they are just really expensive. But I believe the one hour photo huts are truly extinct. I am not talking about the service, but the little huts themselves.

I still have a Casio Gzone Ravine that is practically indestructible. It’s waterproof, shockproof, works under water, works in cold temps and has internal smarts so it does not need to access the internet or even the network to give you position info. I know it’s days are numbered but I sure will miss it.

@keobooks , I used to work at one of those FotoMat kiosks when I was a teenager. It was awesome. No supervision whatsoever.

35mm film and the cameras which utilize it.

word processors

Payphones.

@nebule , I’m with you on this one. There’s nothing I love quite the way I love being able to just wander aimlessly around a bookstore for what seems like hours. I lose all track of time because there’s always something to read that you haven’t discovered yet. If you have a great little neighborhood bookstore that’s warm and cozy, and has soft couches and chairs to kick back in, you’ve hit a jackpot. Bonus points if they have a coffee/pastry bar.

It’ll break my heart if bookstores go away.

the telegram Western Union, Whatever happened to Railway Express?

news stands. shoeshine stands, cigarette machines, cigarette girls.

edible food on airplanes (though I’ve heard rumors about first class)

2 stroke motorcycles.

cars that run on leaded gasoline

the milk man

five and dime stores

@stanleybmanly , here’s one I don’t miss: smoking sections on airplanes. Like the non-smokers could actually go anywhere to get away from it. God, it used to stink, and I was a smoker!

Penny candy

For a second I thought this was a serious question about species extinction in the ongoing Holocene extinction event.

I bought a corded mouse just a month ago.

@laurenkem I forgot how routine smoking was. A great jogging reminder of the extent of the smoking obsession can be realized by watching ANY Mad Man episode. I just love those scenes of booze swilling pregnant wives of executives puffing away in rooms of hazy blue smoke. My reaction is always “Wow that’s right. I remember that”

burlesque shows.

drive in movies

The days of incandescent light bulbs is all but over. Buy em up if you can find them and double your money on E-Bay

Can you still find soap on a rope or Hai Karate aftershave?

bakelite

Cripes. There were so many posts I could have responded to here!

Suffice it to say that if you want “soap on a rope or Hai Karate aftershave”, I’m your go-to guy! Rotary phone. I still use a Razor flip phone, and have a back up!

The most recently dead? Entertainment centers. Poor storage and don’t play well with flat screen.

@Cruiser I have a flip phone. Have had one for a long time now and have no plans of getting a new one. Mine is shock and water proof or as I like to refer to it ‘drunk proof’. It does everything a phone needs to do and it’s reliable as hell.

Many different animal species. And it’s very sad, in my opinion.

points, distributor caps

@rojo I hope you are wrong as I just picked up a ‘66 T Bird last summer and being able to replace the points, distributor cap and spark plug wires and not have to consult a computer manual was a pure joy!

@laurenkem If you want to keep the cozy bookstores in business make sure to buy something. Consider it a way to show your appreciation.

The middle class.

And here in Canada you can still buy a brand new flip phone that actually have a sim card, but don’t know for how much longer.

Here is an article about things going and gone extinct in automobiles.

I can make soap on a rope for anyone who wants it.

@LuckyGuy I support my local book stores as much as possible, even though I admit to owning a Kindle Fire. Sometimes I just need a “real” book, and there are several authors whose books I always purchase in the hard cover edition to add to my collection.

@stanleybmanly 35mm film and the cameras which utilize it.
I was reading a photo mag that posed such a question as to whether digital would wipe out film. So far there are enough truly die-hard photographers that like film and the 35mm camera that they will be around for At Least another 2 or three generations; especially when it comes to making crisp enlargements that are often difficult to do with digital unless you have special programs and/or printing methods.

@filmfann Payphones
There will always be payphones, even if just in jails and airports.

@keobooks cars that run on leaded gasoline
Where can you even fine “leaded gasoline”?

@chyna Penny candy
it is just three cents now.

pre-1971 cars need to have a lead additive put into the gas tanks to run properly. So they still run on leaded gas.

@keobooks I LOVED vent windows. Best thing ever and I’m a bit sad they’re not in cars anymore. It was great way to have your windows still decently opened while it was raining.

I’m also pretty upset about the fact that ash trays aren’t in cars anymore for the most part. All this achieves is more people throw their cigarettes out the window.

@stanleybmanly I have a basement full of film and dark room equipment and a scanner. For sale.

I loved vent windows (or “wings” as we called them) too, @uberbatman & @keobooks.

I think ashtrays are still optional in most cars. My Camry has no ashtray, but does have a little fuzzy-lined ‘change drawer.’. It’s now a $1200 fine for throwing your cig butt out the window in Illinois.

@ibstubro Yea but as an option that usually means one has to pay more for it and of course this is only if you’re buying the car new rather than used, unfortunately even with fines it’s hardly enforced, at least around here.

@uberbatman The IL law took effect Jan. 1st, I think. As did the no hand held device while driving law. They reported yesterday that the grace period is over on cell phones, and tickets are being written. The smoker I know has stopped throwing butts out, having paid a $125 cell-phone-in-construction last year.

If I wanted an ashtray for my Camry, I would check aftermarket. Ebay, scrapyards. I guess my point is that I think the potential is still there, it’s just not being filled.

@ibstubro “I think the potential is still there, it’s just not being filled.”

Well yea, that is my point. People are extraordinarily lazy. In a way it’s like the same situation at my school. They removed a ton of the ashtrays to cut down on people smoking. It didn’t. People just throw the butts everywhere now despite there being a $50 fine for doing so. The worst is when you see someone standing literally 3 feet away from an ashtray but they’ll still flick the thing rather than take a couple steps.

I feel like I recently heard a story on NPR where someone is trying to push a bill to ban filtered cigs in California.

In Illinois it is against the law to have an ashtray in a workplace (the auctioneer at my auction house smokes, and yes there have been “Ewwwww! an ashtray!” comments.) and to smoke within 15 foot of any opening in a building open to the public. Many of the local businesses have banned smoking on company property. So, if you have to walk across the street and light up on the curb, where is your butt going to go? I had not thought of that aspect. So, if you can’t flick, and you can’t bring it back on company property, where does it GO?

I smoked for 19 years a quite over 15 years ago. I liked it, but I was too cheap to continue and I didn’t want to smoke until the time I was told, ‘Stop or die’. I’m an avid smoking rights advocate, however, because it I believe that if a smoker owns and pays taxes on a property they should not be constrained for any practice that’s legal. Yeah, I get not smoking in government building where it might not be a choice to enter.

This kind of crap leads to laws were people are allowed to discriminate against other people on the basis of a perceived sexual orientation. If you can garner enough support to make something illegal, so be it. If not, buck up

Crap. I had not planned on soap-boxing today.

So, to the OP I will say, “Smokers rights, and personal rights might soon be on the endangered list.”

No such thing as ‘smokers rights’.

If a smoker has the legal right to smoke, the legal right to own property, and the legal responsibility to pay taxes on that property, they should have the right to decide the use of that property. Businesses that had gone to the expense of installing two, non-connected, entities with separate entrances and separate air handling systems to accommodate both smokers and non-smokers were forced to close the smokers side, possibly going out of business. There’s no one’s “right’ in that…it’s just wrong.

We have drinking and non-drinking establishments. The government sets strict guidelines, and they monitor their compliance.

Thing is… the drinkers pee their waste product and I need not consume it. Smokers pollute the very air we breathe, and there are no ‘safe levels’ of smoking.

There’s no safe level of automobile exhaust. Shall we ban the gasoline engine?

It’s highly more likely that your life will be ended by a drunk driver than by someone smoking at my auction house.
The difference is that in the case of the drunk driver, you have no choice in the matter, you have no warning, and you’re dead.
The difference is that the auction house is wholly and completely owned by two people who do not object to smoking, but cannot allow it because people believe that their right to go anywhere they please and that area be smoke free supersedes the rights of the people who own the building and are required by law to pay taxes on it and maintain it to a reasonable degree. Of course, we could still get a liquor license and you could still be killed by drunk driver.
In fact, if we allowed smoking, it would be your right to not attend, and if enough people stayed away, we might have to exercise our right to ban smoking. That’s how everything else works in America.

Sorry, @cazzie, this whole thing just makes me crazy mad.

@ibstubro Well put, couldn’t agree more.

That reminds me cigarette ads in magazines have gone by way of the T-Rex, and those little candy cigarettes I use to buy as a kid.

@Hypocrisy_Central They still sell those candy cigarettes at my local tobacco store oddly enough, they even have the red tip on the one end :P

Oh… I’m sorry if my right to breath air gets in the way of right to pollute your body and the environment around you. I am allergic to cigarette smoke and end up with acute eczema when exposed, but screw my rights to clean air, ok?

@cazzie ya know, you could just not go to places that allow public smoking. I’m deathly allergic to nuts so I don’t go to Lonestar or any other place that is likely to have a lot of peanuts being consumed. But you’re right, I should push for a ban on nuts.

Sure, lets allow smoking in buildings again. While we are at it why don’t we allow other toxins like mold, asbestos and carbon monoxide. If you don’t want to get sick, don’t visit.~

Bubble gum cigars might still be available, as well as the little candy cigs, @uberbatman. I’m glad you had and answer for @Hypocrisy_Central.

@turtlesandbox Asbestos has gone the way of the T-Rex or will soon enough. They may still have lead paint, but not in the industrialized world.

Oh, and I still wear a watch, too. It’s one from when I was much younger that still works.

But mold, asbestos and carbon monoxide are against the law.

If you can garner enough support to pass a law against the sale of tobacco, I might even vote your way. Until then, it should be my right to do as I see legally fit in my building. Alcohol and gambling were both outlawed in the past because they were harmful and addicting, with the result of driving them underground while depriving the government of revenue. Even though I’m in a rural area, bars and a casino are now minutes away, while while the auctioneer will be fined if he fires up in a building we own free and clear.

I support everyone’s right to a smoke free environment. I believe government buildings should be smoke free. I believe there should be a system of identifying a business as Smoke free, Smoking or Mixed Use and there could even be a licensing program to provide uniform markings and compliance inspections. But I don’t believe anyone has the right to demand the absence of a legally available substance from a privately owned business even the nutty @uberbatman.

I wear a watch, too @dxs, yet when I need to know the time I pull out my cell.

@Hypocrisy_Central Even jails are getting rid of them, for prepaid phones.
Don’t you know anyone in the Big House?

Food packed in glass containers. Anything packed in glass containers larger that a quart, maybe two.

Tins opened with an enclosed key, as in coffee and sardines.

Shelf stable food packed in waxed paper, and waxed paper in general. Remember when tater chips came in 2 waxed bags inside a larger waxed bag? The liners in cracker boxes just tore open? Bread in waxed paper was before my time.

CRT monitors.

Tube TV’s.

Typewriters.

Word processors.

Time to outlaw smoking and satisfy the addicted in other ways that don’t sicken the rest of us.

Personal Checks.

I really can’t remember the last time I actually wrote a check to anyone. They’re obviously still used by businesses and such but can anyone recall seeing someone in a grocery store writing out a check?

Yes, often here and for small amounts. I see it regularly in the supermarket line for 15 items or less and the pharmacy for small amounts also. I’d go mad, writing 20 checks for under $12.00.

I have to send my snow plow guy, my lawn mowing guy and the guy who does some gardening and landscaping a check. They are too small to bother with charge cards; they would accept cash but I need a record.

I also pay by check for mowing and landscaping for a bike rest-stop/pocket park in another state. It’s a family memorial and I manage the maintenance. The landscaper will not accept cards.

I write about 5 checks per week. Some for bills and the others for when I shop.

I write about 3–4 checks a year. Maybe. It’s always a struggle to find my checkbook, since traditionally it’s been so long since I used it.

I charge everything that I can and pay the card off every month – it’s pays itself from my checking account and pays me 1% cash back on all charges. Money maker, they pay me $200–400 a year to have my card.

@gailcalled and @turtlesandbox Interesting, most of my supermarkets won’t even accept them.

I think actually I should have said personal checks from people under the age of 40. It just seems most people use a debit/credit card anymore.

@uberbatman There are many rural businesses that still don’t take credit/debit cards. They only accept cash or checks for payment. I’m sure checks will become a thing of the past but I think it will take longer than what you might have in mind. I like to use checks because most of the stores I go to charge a fee to use credit/debit cards. I also don’t have an ATM that belongs to my bank in the town I do most of my shopping in, so I often write a check for $20 extra if I need a little extra cash on hand. The other ATMs would charge me a fee if I want to take out cash. I’d be lost without my check book.

<Raises hand> I still write checks.

When I got a debit card, there was an extra charge for checks. They gave me 3 free ones but after that I’d have to buy a book. I haven’t even used the 3 free ones. I don’t even use my debit card that often anyway.

^ Live long enough you will just have a chip in your wrist, then you won’t even have to worry about the card.

^Then that’s why it’s all cold hard cash with me.

These days, in most major grocery stores, check-writing has become easier. You just sign it, hand it over, the clerk runs it through their little magic machine and it fills it out. It kind of works like a debit card in that it tells the store immediately if the check is good, and the money comes out of your account by the time you get to the parking lot.