Extinction vs. obsolescence, and other randomness

[mellicious]

Things that are obsoleteextinct, per New York magazine:
1. answering machines
2. lickable stamps
3. foldable maps
4. cathode ray tube TVs
5. incandescent light bulbs
6. paid porn
7. smoking in bars
8. fax machines
9. Hydrox cookies
10. cassette tapes
11. French francs
12. floppy disks
13. phone books
14. Polaroid photos
15. bank deposit slips
16. subway tokens
17. Rolodexes
Full title: "A Catalogue of Everyday Stuff That Has Become Extinct"

I really don't think most of this stuff is extinct. Obsolete, yes, and on the way to becoming extinct, yes, for most of that stuff, but actually gone, no. I can't speak to French francs or subway tokens, since I don't live any place with francs or subways, and Hydrox cookies are just not something that is on my radar. I have some opinions on several of these things, but actually I think KarenD already said most of them for me, so I will refrain.


Oh. My. God.
How To Subtly Keep The Christ in Christmas
(The second item is even better than the first one.)
Heh, I was sitting here looking at this and suddenly it was on the TV too - it's like a miracle! (It was the Colbert Report so it must be real, right? I think it really is real, though, in any case.)

Oops, I almost forgot to put this one in:


Pft, apparently if you hotlink you lose the best part, the popup text, so here's the link in case it's not just me.

Comments

[mrissa.livejournal.com]

My epileptic friend most certainly does not think incandescent bulbs are obsolete. They allow her to be in rooms that are not fully naturally lit at that moment without having headaches and seizures triggered. I'm fairly concerned about how this will play out over time. (Also, last I checked they did not let you put compact fluorescents in recessed can lighting in homes, and that's not disappearing very quickly--when we were looking at finishing our basement, the contractor didn't even mention inability to use compact fluorescents as a drawback of recessed lighting. We aren't getting it anyway, but still.)

[karen-d.livejournal.com]

I was watching Maru in a box just last night on my big tv screen. I love technology.

[anjea.livejournal.com]

French francs have been replaced by the Euro.

Hydrox cookies being extinct are not a bad thing - there's a reason that Nabisco's generic Oreo, which was a copycat Hyrdox cookie, became the popular cookie!

I agree that most are still around, but endangered.

[columbina.livejournal.com]

Watch out, anjea, you'll get people in your face about that Hydrox/Oreo thing. Hydrox tasted better once upon a time when Nabisco was still playing the "we won't tell you what fats we're using in these cookies because we want the right to use reconstituted weasel fat if we can get it cheaply enough" game. But that changed in the early nineties and by the time I tasted in 1997 I couldn't tell a difference.

Link to that, and my thoughts on this list (at length), here: http://www.eccentricflower.com/index.php/Eccentric_Flower:200912/Obsolete

[anjea.livejournal.com]

Never have before, and frankly don't care if I do. I have had Hydrox cookies and personally think they taste terrible compared to Oreos. I still stand by my original statement that there's a reason Oreos are more popular and widely misconceived as being the "name brand" cookie, when Hydrox was the original.

[takaal.livejournal.com]

This was fun, but probably not for the reasons the New Yorker thought. My house could be a museum, because in it, right now, are:

1. answering machines (2, one operational)
3. foldable maps (dozens. From AAA, this year.)
4. cathode ray tube TVs (big 'un. Does need a converter box, though.)
5. incandescent light bulbs (I'm stockpiling)
8. fax machines (2, operational)
10. cassette tapes (Lots. Not giving in to digital yet.)
11. French francs (and some Italian lire, etc.)
12. floppy disks (and a computer that still reads them. 5.25"s, yet.)
13. phone books (Another one landed on my lawn last week.)
14. Polaroid photos (Got the camera, stockpiled the film.)
15. bank deposit slips (These only vanished at my credit union last week - along with any receipts for "all non-cash transactions". Which means I won't be depositing any more checks there, ever, since I won't be able to prove I gave them money. WTF? Whose brilliant idea was that?)
16. subway tokens (not everywhere, not yet, darnit!)
17. Rolodexes (My desk laughs at this.)

[mellificent.livejournal.com]

I have yet to use one of those check reader thingamajiggies, actually. I have accounts at several different banks (I'm going to have to do something about that soon) but on the rare occasion I get a check in the mail I've so far just driven through the drive-through and deposited it just like I always have in the past - even at Chase. Maybe it's a little side-benefit of living in the 'burbs.

[mellificent.livejournal.com]

Actually the maps I find myself buying a lot in recent years are those plasticized folding ones - they are good for use in the car because spilling a latte on them is not fatal. They are not usually as detailed but I rarely use the detail part anyway - I seem to mostly use maps to orient myself in unfamiliar cities. Oh ok, I must be going this direction and I should run into this freeway soon, etc. Sooner or later I will probably give in to the lure of the GPS - or get a cell phone which is actually useful for similar purposes - but so far it seems like more trouble than it's worth.

[mellificent.livejournal.com]

Speaking of causing seizures, I think that flashy icon could cause one. Especially when there's more than one of them. Yike.