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Thread: Things we used to have in our houses. Why are they gone!?

  1. #1
    Grand Master thieuster's Avatar
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    Things we used to have in our houses. Why are they gone!?

    This weekend, my son and I stayed in an old & old-fashioned but very clean hotel somewhere in the NW part of The Netherlands for a sailing regatta. In our room, there was something I hadn't seen in ages - and my son spotted it for the first time in his life: a light switch cord above the bed with a small 'glow-in-the-dark' knob at the end to make it easier to find the cord in the dark. He was over the moon! "Oh, that's a nice gimmick! I want one above my bed!"

    I realised that I hadn't seen a cord like this in ages! Modern (Dutch) houses don't have that high-just-under-the-ceiling switches anymore. Hence my question: why are they gone? And secondly: what else do you remember, that's gone now... but certainly worth having in your home?

    Menno

  2. #2
    Grand Master Dave+63's Avatar
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    Not in the home Menno but right up your street (and you probably still see plenty), I nominate the choke lever.

    I remember my now 23 year old daughter asking about “those big, black cd things”!

  3. #3
    Craftsman
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    Wall heaters in the bathroom..

  4. #4
    Grand Master Glamdring's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by thieuster View Post
    This weekend, my son and I stayed in an old & old-fashioned but very clean hotel somewhere in the NW part of The Netherlands for a sailing regatta. In our room, there was something I hadn't seen in ages - and my son spotted it for the first time in his life: a light switch cord above the bed with a small 'glow-in-the-dark' knob at the end to make it easier to find the cord in the dark. He was over the moon! "Oh, that's a nice gimmick! I want one above my bed!"

    I realised that I hadn't seen a cord like this in ages! Modern (Dutch) houses don't have that high-just-under-the-ceiling switches anymore. Hence my question: why are they gone? And secondly: what else do you remember, that's gone now... but certainly worth having in your home?

    Menno
    You used to be able to buy plastic luminous surrounds for light switches. Most of my German relatives had them.

  5. #5
    Serving hatches from the kitchen to the dining room. With open plan living and incorporating the dining room into the kitchen there is no need for it.

  6. #6
    Craftsman
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    Quote Originally Posted by eagletower View Post
    Serving hatches from the kitchen to the dining room. With open plan living and incorporating the dining room into the kitchen there is no need for it.
    Lol - I still have one of those! Haven’t gone open plan quite yet.

    Can’t remember the last time I saw a grapefruit knife though...


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

  7. #7
    Quote Originally Posted by thieuster View Post
    This weekend, my son and I stayed in an old & old-fashioned but very clean hotel somewhere in the NW part of The Netherlands for a sailing regatta. In our room, there was something I hadn't seen in ages - and my son spotted it for the first time in his life: a light switch cord above the bed with a small 'glow-in-the-dark' knob at the end to make it easier to find the cord in the dark. He was over the moon! "Oh, that's a nice gimmick! I want one above my bed!"
    I've got 2 of those

    Quote Originally Posted by Tomaitch View Post
    Wall heaters in the bathroom..
    2 of those too

    Quote Originally Posted by eagletower View Post
    Serving hatches from the kitchen to the dining room. With open plan living and incorporating the dining room into the kitchen there is no need for it.
    And one of those

    Quote Originally Posted by khumzi View Post
    Can’t remember the last time I saw a grapefruit knife though...
    Yep

    ...and my 1950's refrigerator is still working too

  8. #8
    Grand Master Dave+63's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Gyp View Post
    I've got 2 of those



    2 of those too



    And one of those



    Yep

    ...and my 1950's refrigerator is still working too
    No wonder Mrs Gyp is always out on the piss!

  9. #9
    Landline telephone. Haven't had one for a decade at home and don't miss it one bit.

  10. #10
    Master Omegary's Avatar
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    Eye level grill on a cooker.

    In my first house we were left an old New World cooker from the 50's/60's and the eye level grill was just so convenient. Don't know why they seem so unpopular these days.

    Cheers,
    Gary

  11. #11
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    When I bought my previous house, it had louvered windows. Bloody draughty!

    What I miss the most from my childhood home was the joy of getting a warm towel from the airing cupboard. These days with combi-boilers, that has been lost forever.

  12. #12
    Master draftsmann's Avatar
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    Those tea-towel holders that took the form of a little pointy-edged rubber sphincter.

  13. #13
    Master
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    I don’t miss the outside toilet in the winter.

    Nor tin bath in the kitchen.

  14. #14
    Master
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    Quote Originally Posted by draftsmann View Post
    Those tea-towel holders that took the form of a little pointy-edged rubber sphincter.
    Yes!
    Cat's arses.

  15. #15
    Master draftsmann's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Dave O'Sullivan View Post
    Yes!
    Cat's arses.

  16. #16
    Quote Originally Posted by Dave+63 View Post
    No wonder Mrs Gyp is always out on the piss!
    Fair point

  17. #17
    Things that were in houses as I grew up but haven't seen in years:

    Fish jugs
    Geometric string pictures
    Brown horses pulling barrels
    Ash trays
    Aspic
    Soda stream
    Paraffin heaters
    Jack Frost
    Twin Tub washing machines and their associated tongs
    Music systems
    Table cloths
    Electric carving knives
    Knitted toilet roll covers
    Tea cosies
    Fly paper

  18. #18
    Master subseastu's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by thieuster View Post
    a light switch cord above the bed with a small 'glow-in-the-dark' knob at the end to make it easier to find the cord in the dark.
    Menno
    Got one in each bedroom but we live in a Victorian villa and I think it was put in by the previous owner. A great idea until the other half decided she wanted to move the furniture about. So now the cord hangs behind a wardrobe.

    Quote Originally Posted by Dave+63 View Post
    No wonder Mrs Gyp is always out on the piss!
    For some reason that made me proper laugh

  19. #19
    Grand Master Dave+63's Avatar
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    Fluffy mats around the toilet!

  20. #20
    Master
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    Quote Originally Posted by Dave+63 View Post
    Fluffy mats around the toilet!
    Ah, the classic P!ss sponge.

  21. #21
    Master gregory's Avatar
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    Every kitchen when I was a kid used to have a dartboard on the wall. With zillions of holes on the wallpaper around it.

    Stone fireplaces with a hole for the huge VHS / Betamax video to slot into... just below the wooden plinth where the tv went. The epitome of sophistication.

    Formica (in general).

    Wood paneling on walls.

    China Cabinets. EVERY house had one. Some still will... but EVERYONE had them.

    Polished brasses on the wall.

    Toby Jugs.

  22. #22
    Master
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    Teas made

  23. #23
    Quote Originally Posted by gregory View Post
    Every kitchen when I was a kid used to have a dartboard on the wall. With zillions of holes on the wallpaper around it.

    Stone fireplaces with a hole for the huge VHS / Betamax video to slot into... just below the wooden plinth where the tv went. The epitome of sophistication.

    Formica (in general).

    Wood paneling on walls.

    China Cabinets. EVERY house had one. Some still will... but EVERYONE had them.

    Polished brasses on the wall.

    Toby Jugs.
    I should back away from this thread now...

  24. #24
    Grand Master Dave+63's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Gurmot View Post
    Teas made
    I still have my teas made! I’ve got a wife for that.

  25. #25
    Grand Master hogthrob's Avatar
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    Anything made from wood.

  26. #26
    Radiograms.

    Cocktail cabinets with a strip light inside which came on when you opened the door.

    Twin-tub washing machines with a mangle.

    Larders.

    Back boilers.

    Rails that held the stair carpets in place.

    Pressure cookers.

    Polystyrene ceiling tiles.

    Picture rails.

    A curtain over the front door.

    R
    Ignorance breeds Fear. Fear breeds Hatred. Hatred breeds Ignorance. Break the chain.

  27. #27
    Quote Originally Posted by Omegary View Post
    Eye level grill on a cooker.

    In my first house we were left an old New World cooker from the 50's/60's and the eye level grill was just so convenient. Don't know why they seem so unpopular these days.

    Cheers,
    Gary
    They made great toast!

    My Granny had one, along with a gas fridge and mangle.

  28. #28
    Master bond's Avatar
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    Pouffes that doubled as a magazine or storage holder .

    As mentioned and I agree -
    polished brass on the wall.
    Eye level gas cooker with grill you lit for toast .
    Airing cupboards for a warm towel.
    Electric blankets .
    A parlour or best room .



    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

  29. #29
    Craftsman
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    Table lighters. My parents had a couple (both Ronson's IIRC), great big heavy metal things that you could stove someone's head in with.

    Anything made of onyx.

    Lacey material covers/protectors for the arms and head rest of sofas.

    Pipe rack on the mantelpiece.

    Living room bar complete with optics on the bottles of spirits.

    Manually operated meat mincer.

    Circular saw like device for cutting cold meats.

  30. #30
    Grand Master oldoakknives's Avatar
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    A kitchen cabinet


  31. #31
    Grand Master SimonK's Avatar
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    Sharps toffee hammers, there were always 3 or 4 in the kitchen drawer (of which there was only one).

  32. #32
    Master blackal's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by thieuster View Post
    a 'glow-in-the-dark' knob

    Menno
    I think I saw a ‘70s porno film you might have featured in..........

  33. #33
    Grand Master Glamdring's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by khumzi View Post
    Lol - I still have one of those! Haven’t gone open plan quite yet.

    Can’t remember the last time I saw a grapefruit knife though...


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
    I have one of those in my drawer. Works brilliantly for extracting segments minus pith.

  34. #34
    Quote Originally Posted by gary1064 View Post
    Lacey material covers/protectors for the arms and head rest of sofas.
    Antimacassars!

    And doilies ... what happened to all the doilies?

    And phone books next to the only telephone in the house ... in the hall.

  35. #35
    Grand Master SimonK's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by vortgern View Post

    And phone books next to the only telephone in the house ... in the hall.
    And a plastic telephone directory thingy with a sprung lid so when you moved a slider alongside a letter of the alphabet and pressed a button, it popped open at the right page.

  36. #36
    Master reggie747's Avatar
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    The clothes rack on a hoist above the fire ?

  37. #37
    Oil lamps (I'm not joking!).

    Semi-rotary hand pump for water from a well.

    Can openers that last more than a few months.

  38. #38
    'Wild West' sprung small louvered doors to the kitchen - just why??

  39. #39
    Master
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    Quote Originally Posted by reggie747 View Post
    The clothes rack on a hoist above the fire ?
    You cheeky thing! Have one of those (not over a fire, admittedly). Great for drying and airing.

  40. #40
    Grand Master Mr Curta's Avatar
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    Fuse boxes (and the wire fuses).

    Quote Originally Posted by ralphy View Post
    Pressure cookers.
    Still an essential kitchen tool for cooking at high altitudes. Water boils at around 91ºC here and only 86ºC in La Paz unless under pressure.

  41. #41
    Grand Master magirus's Avatar
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    Roaring coal fire (my dad was a miner). Toasting fork at side of coal fire and resultant toast, a different smell and taste to what comes out of a toaster.
    F.T.F.A.

  42. #42
    Grand Master
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    Suprised nobody has mentioned the lady toilet roll holder!

    and a soap press to make your own bar out of scrap ends.

  43. #43
    Grand Master Dave+63's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by reggie747 View Post
    The clothes rack on a hoist above the fire ?
    They’re very popular at the moment, particularly vintage ones!

  44. #44
    Grand Master Dave+63's Avatar
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    I’m surprised that non of our divorced members have gleefully said “a wife” yet!

  45. #45
    Quote Originally Posted by seadog1408 View Post
    Suprised nobody has mentioned the lady toilet roll holder!

    and a soap press to make your own bar out of scrap ends.
    Soap itself seems to be on the way out after being used for thousands of years.
    Personally can’t stand slimy hand wash.

  46. #46
    I spent my early childhood (in the 70s) on a middle class suburban estate, and it was surprising how faddy the families were. The houses were typical late 60s boxes, but as time went on you could see one following the other in terms of improvements and mod-cons, with a certain amount of (normally) good natured oneupmanship. Some cracking examples have already been mentioned.

    Knocking through a serving hatch between the kitchen and dining area was one that almost everyone had on our road.

    As was was adding a porch to the front of their 60s box!

    Everyone got a colour TV within months of each other - rented, obviously. (And videos were a major status symbol in the 80s).

    Teasmaids were the height of 70s sophistication, as were hostess trolleys and sodastreams.

    I remember having a second telephone via an extension was quite a big deal (usually in parents’ room).

    There was also an arms race of extensions - the simplest being a downstairs bog, to larger two floor dining room/addditional upstairs bedroom behemoths.

  47. #47
    Grand Master Chris_in_the_UK's Avatar
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    Outside toilet

    Ashtrays in every room

    Top load washing machine
    When you look long into an abyss, the abyss looks long into you.........

  48. #48
    Ha ha, yes, one of those ‘wife’ things, thankfully 😅

    My mum used to have a meat mincer, clamped onto the kitchen table. Ground up shit, and still tasted and looked like it on the plate yuk!

  49. #49
    Grand Master Seamaster73's Avatar
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    When I was a kid, I used to think those drinks cabinets in the shape of a globe were the acme of sophisticated living.

  50. #50
    Craftsman
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    Wood chip wallpaper.

    Oh, and we had something in our house as a child that I’ve never heard of anyone else having. A fag machine! Seriously, it was a wooden one bolted to the wall and people used to knock on the door at all times of the day to buy a packet of fags. I think my Dad got a cut of the takings. Even my wife doesn’t believe me but it was true.

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