And yet, you must admit that Bob Dylan was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature for a reason! At least for the phrase The Times, They Are a-Changin’, which perfectly embodies the ruthless flow of time. And indeed – just yesterday something or someone was literally on everyone’s lips – and now it is already in the past. Just like Dylan himself…
But old Bob is still with us, and there are things that have disappeared completely without a trace, although it would seem that only yesterday they worried our minds and were of interest to the whole world. And this viral thread in the AskReddit community is dedicated to just such things. So please fasten your seatbelts, our time machine is about to dive into the misty depths of the past…
More info: Reddit
#1
Fireflies aka *lightning bugs. I live rural and I used to see hundreds on a warm summer night. Now I get excited if I see just one. I mentioned it to other people who live in the same area as I do and they were just like “Huh. Yeah. You’re right!”
Image source: motohod671, Takashi Ota
#2
Saturday Morning Cartoons
Image source: jay_man4_20, Tim Green
#3
Somewhere along the way 9-5 turned into 8-5
Image source: jivemic240, KoolShooters
#4
I never see swarms of Monarch butterflies anymore.
Image source: morana9870, Renee Grayson
#5
Places children and teenagers can hang out without supervision
Image source: Portlander, Greg Goebel
#6
Someone answering the phone at businesses.
Image source: motohod671, Markus Winkler
#7
A healthy sense of shame
Image source: Endlessbeachday, Samson Katt
#8
Privacy
Image source: Helpful-Natural6300, Pixabay
#9
Those coin-operated rocking horses you used to see in front of grocery stores.
Image source: kanna172014, wallpaperflare
#10
Having many Family photographs in homes.
Not completely gone, but homes used to be plastered in them. The only times I really notice them is in homes of older people.
Image source: jivemic240, Rodolfo Clix
#11
Video Game Manuals
Image source: pops992, Generic Brand Productions
#12
Telephone booths.
Image source: RogerKnights, Erik Mclean
#13
Longevity in careers – this is a big one nobody seems to have said.
Longevity in careers has largely gone away. People used to get a job and after being there for decades reap the benefits of being seasoned employees (higher salaries and better perks).
Maybe it’s because I work in the Entertainment industry, but I feel that longevity in careers has gone away. Meaning, people can be amazing at a job, but after 5+ years the employers start wondering if they could be doing better with a younger/cheaper candidate for the job.
I understand if you ever want to move up in a works place they expect you to bring your A-game, but 30+ years of being incredible is hard. Some years will be better than others, and if employers don’t have loyalty to their employees anymore, it is likely the good employee will be fired or let go at some point.
I feel like in recent decades this has forced many people who normally wouldn’t, to switch careers. Can someone work successfully up the ladder at any job without having to shift to another company for a promotion?
A combination of employers halting upward movement of their staff while they look for new employees to fill higher roles, and the fact that they “get bored” of their seasoned employees has largely killed the idea of anyone having a single career.
Image source: yelexiw438, Rool Paap
#14
The magnetic tape from a crushed audio cassette blowing across the sidewalks and roadways.
Image source: TacoLita
#15
Phone books
Image source: QosmoQueen, Sue Thompson
#16
Walmart opened for 24 hours.
Image source: Havok1717
#17
Epstein’s client list
Image source: wetforhouseplants, Ivan Samkov
#18
Ask Jeeves
Image source: PsychologicalBit5422, ask
#19
Those plastic lanyards people used to braid and make.
Image source: Cacacaaaacac, Douglas Paul Perkins
#20
my favorite illegal streaming websites
Image source: pebiv28351
#21
Custom ringtones.
(obviously I know some people have them but we somehow went from virtually everyone having them to almost no one giving a s**t.)
Image source: Xarpotheosis, Abdulla Al Muhairi
#22
We’re in the process of full size can of Arizona teas for $.99 disappearing.
I’m seeing a lot of places starting to carry the smaller plastic bottles for $.99 or the larger plastic bottles for more. I’m honestly surprised that they’ve lasted for this long at the same price.
Image source: pebiv28351, Kirsi
#23
Postcards.
And not just in the usual places, like museum gift shops and tourist traps.
There was once a time when you could buy at any truck stop or roadside motel a postcard of the small town you were driving through. But not anymore.
No point when you can just text your friends a photo.
Image source: morana9870, Quinn Dombrowski
#24
Newspaper machines at random corners
Image source: judasmaiden15
#25
TV bumpers. There used to be a little sequence between the show and commercials. Some of them were really interesting and creative. I think my generation remembers the “wand IDs” on the Disney channel (where a Disney celeb would use a wand to make the logo). There were also bumpers that were PSAs or other actual content.
Edit: yes I watched THAT documentary on YouTube. It’s amazing. Everyone go to Defunctland’s channel and watch the one on the Disney channel jingle. Just trust me. Don’t look up spoilers.
Image source: motohod671, altotemi
#26
Limewire
Image source: muddled1
#27
“Ringback” tones or “CallerTunes”. Where you could assign a song to play when people called you instead of them hearing ringing.
Image source: RichLyonsXXX
#28
The hole in the ozone.
Image source: Chuffer_Nutters, Markus Spiske
#29
Lobster tanks in grocery stores! Not that I particularly want them back, but those are nostalgic af
Image source: yelexiw438, Jack at Wikipedia
#30
People fainting when something unexpected happens. And people carrying smelling salts for just such an occasion. It’s so 19th century…
Image source: jivemic240, David Pursehouse
#31
Automatic seatbelts
Image source: Steamforge, Luke Miller
#32
McDonald’s salads.
Image source: justhereforthefunnyZ
#33
Blimps, helium is expensive and drones can do some of their missions.
Image source: jivemic240
#34
The spirit of the 90s that was alive in Portland.
Image source: MartyFreeze
#35
Sobe drinks.
Image source: motohod671, AlienFood
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