15 Obsolete Items That We Couldn’t Have Lived Without | LoveToKnow (2024)

Answering Machines

"Just let it go to the answering machine" isn't a phrase you've called out in a long time. Oh, what a time to be alive where you had to wait all day to come home and check the machine for a blinking light to tell you if someone had called and left a message. If only past you could see you now with your highly connected phones today, they'd be so jealous.

Magazine Baskets

A mid-century home wasn't complete if you didn't have a magazine basket in every room. From sitting on the toilet to taking a break in between chores, magazines were the one-stop-shop to quick entertainment. And you collected them for guests to read, too. You wouldn't be caught dead without a rattan or whicker basket to store your magazines - after all, where else could you possibly put them?

Credit Card Imprinters

Waterbeds

We worked so hard to stop having to travel using boats, and yet, for some reason, went right back to riding the waves in our sleep. For a time, waterbeds were the height of luxury, and rolling into the edge of the bedframe every single night didn't seem to phase us. Never mind waking up to the blistering cold when your heater went out. We'll stick to memory foam, thanks.

Landlines

Until the 2010s, you couldn't step foot into a house without clocking the landline plugged into the wall. From dainty cordless sets to extra-long corded wall hangers, landlines were one of the most important pieces of tech you could have in your house. It was how you contacted the outside world, and just maybe, they'll make a comeback in the next few years.

Pantyhose

Gen Z and Gen Alpha are blessed to not know the pantyhose era. With each decade, we shed more and more of our traditional undergarments. The girdle, the garter, and finally pantyhose. You weren't properly dressed unless you had a pair of hose on underneath your clothes - jeans included. Why we sweated and suffered with that slightly itchy layer for so long, we'll never know.

Rug Beaters

More Details

Rug beaters of old look like miniature tennis rackets with their swirling designs and unique shapes. Before we could send our Roombas off on their carpet cleaning duties, we had to take our decorative rugs out back and beat them. Getting covered in old tv dinner crumbs and pet dander was all in a day's work.

Hand-Crank Pencil Sharpeners

Contact Lens Disinfecting Machines

Living in the late-20^th century with bad eyes wasn't an easy task. If you didn't want co*ke-bottle lenses, then you had to remember to disinfect your contact lenses every night lest you get an eyeball eating infection. You think squirting the wrong solution into your contacts hurts? Think about putting in gritty, dry multi-month-old contacts in the morning because you forgot to disinfect them.

Baby Bottle Sterilizer Holders

More Details

Modern baby brands have turned caring for kids into a science. There are so many fewer steps to take. Tired moms of a few decades ago lament over filling a pot full of water, setting it on the stove to boil, and stacking all the used bottles into the bottle sterilizer holder. If you had a baby in the house, you definitely had one or two of these metal cup holders on steroids laying around.

Timecards

If you need to clock in or request time off, you're doing it through some online or digital tool. You'll be hard pressed to find a business that still uses timecards. These physical cards that accounted for your comings and goings at work was your lifeline to getting a proper paycheck. And losing your timecard was a hassle that you never wanted to go through.

Library Card Catalog

Rolodexes

What was your childhood home phone number, or your best friend's who lived down the street? If you grew up before cell phones, we're sure you can whip those numbers out at the drop of a hat. And if you can't remember, all you'd have to do was consult the family Rolodex. They were a staple for any desk set and there was nothing as pleasant as rolling those cards back and forth.

Car Antennas

Pressed into the front seat of a station wagon, it was hard to take speeding through traffic seriously when you had an antenna screwed to the hood flopping about in the wind. What's the fun in driving around if you can't listen to music or a new radio show? So, while they were necessary evils, the spotty reception and having to take them off before going through a car wash makes us glad they're stuck in the past.

PDAs

Smartphones have killed a lot of tech from the past, but the most vicious murder of all was doled out to the PDA. Every serious businessperson or someone who wanted to look like a serious business person had a personal digital assistant. Basically, they were the clunkier, less effective version of the smartphone that died a fast death thanks to Apple changing the world.

It All Comes Back Around

Everyone has that random thing from their past they'd love to bring back. From landlines to manual pencil sharpeners, there are too many to count. Why leave the magic of the past in the past? Add a little vintage flavor to your everyday life by bringing your favorite obsolete items back from the dead.