So many things we take for granted today didn’t even exist in the not-so-distant past. Smartphones weren’t always smart — there were no onboard cameras or productivity apps, texting was a nightmare if available at all and there was no way to access the internet to check out the (mis-) information of the day. Even before mobile phones existed, landlines were accessed by phones rented from the phone company. One had to have a directory or memorize often-called phone numbers. Touch-tone phones cost extra, long distances cost a lot extra and good luck to a young person today who is trying to figure out a rotary dial phone.
Telephones were everywhere as well. Public phones were a huge business. If you had to call someone on the road, the pay phone was often your only option. If you needed to talk long distance, you had better have a pocketful of coins. When the internet finally showed up, it was accessed by a modem hooked up to that telephone landline. You couldn’t talk on the phone and be online at the same time (unless you had two or more phone lines). Dial-up service for providers like America Online offered speeds of 14-56 kbps (kilobit per second), while today’s providers offer speeds in excess of 1 gbps (gigabit per second). To expand, 1 gbps is equal to 1,000 mbps (megabit per second). And 1 mbps is equal to 1,000 kbps. It’s easy to see how much faster access to the online world has become.
Those speeds have allowed many of us to ditch cable TV and just stream what we want to see when we want to see it. Before all that, TV was limited to three or four broadcast channels, and programs were only on at certain times. If you missed your favorite show, you missed it. Maybe you could catch it in reruns. GPS satellites hadn’t been launched into orbit and couldn’t connect with the map app on your non-existent smartphone. When driving in unfamiliar territory, you had to get directions from someone at a gas station or just break down and buy a paper road map. Good luck trying to fold that map back into its original shape.
Smoking was allowed in most places. Some facilities had no-smoking sections, but smoky restaurants and bars were the norm. The ashtray industry took a huge hit when smoking was prohibited in most public places. The cigarette vending machine took a big hit as well. They were pretty much everywhere and would sell a pack of smokes to anyone with no ID necessary. Airports seemed friendlier in the old days. You used to be able to take someone to the airport, accompany them to the boarding area and watch them get on the plane. And once onboard, smoking was often allowed. Aircraft used to have ashtrays in the seat armrests, and God help you if you were on a long flight next to a chain smoker.
There were a few convenient delivery services in those ancient pre-Amazon years. There used to be this guy called the milkman who dropped off fresh milk and cream at your doorstep in the morning. Charles Chips, a very tasty potato chip, were delivered in large cans from an instantly recognizable Charles Chips truck. You can still order Charles Chips online, and they’ll deliver them in the same old-fashioned tins. People often bought vacuum cleaners from traveling salesmen. And who else remembers the Fuller Brush man? He was another traveling salesman who would keep your family stocked up with hairbrushes. This company still sells brushes and other cleaning products online as well. Now that I’ve looked back, I’m going to order some Charles Chips online and use this awesome modern technology to see the latest internet posts from people who believe that the Earth is flat and the moon landing was a hoax.
