[penguicon-general] Programing

[Garry Stahl]

Clay Dowling wrote:
> Well, the sudden difficulty in obtaining reliable birth control would be a
> notable shock.  Not to mention the fact that microwaves weren't available
> in 1960 outside of the very wealthy, costing $1200 in 1960's dollars and
> being the size of a conventional oven.  Probably hating on the car as
> well, since the very best cars of 1960 were outsized, inefficient and
> unreliable behemoths compared to the cheapest car of today. 
> Telecommunications isn't going to be happy either, since long distance
> calling is still pricey, and mobile phones are limited to the largest
> cities and are roughly the size of a small valise.
>   

Entertainment and Communication:  No computer, no VCR, three channels of
TV if you are lucky, open broadcast reception only, and B&W at that. 
Nothing with a microchip in it.  Medical care was in the dark ages
compared to today.  Scrap most of the small appliance market. 
Transistor radios are a new thing.  Any home electronics for that
matter.  You have electrical devices.  If you have money you have a
private line for the phone.  A few fans around here are old enough to
remember the party line.  We had one until 1968.  No one dials an area
code.  Most places express their phone number as an exchange and four
digits.  "LIvonia 5555" for example.  You can still send a telegram.

Cars?  Yea, I remember in the late sixties my Dad getting then brand new
Michelin radial tires with a stunning 10,000 mile warranty.  The '66
Galaxy 500 big enough to raise a family in, and he added after market
seat belts.  Bias belted low mileage tires drum brakes, not likely to
have power anything including steering and brakes.  And believe me
horsing a 1960s car around with no power steering is work.  The first
car I got to drive was a '65 Ford 500 with no power.  Makes you
appreciate cars you can steer with one finger.

Kitchen:  Range, plumbing, and fridge is about it for most kitchens. 
The woman would be lucky to have a power mixer.  I remember my mother
using a wringer washer nearly into the 70s.  And hanging clothes out to
dry.  The arrival of the automatic washer and dryer was big news.  Food
is all of the kind we now call "fresh".  No microfiber mops or anything
for that matter.  No filter on the vacuum that mainly made a lot of
noise and redistributed the fine dust onto higher surfaces, to be dusted
of course.

I could go on and on.  1960 might have only been 47 years ago, but in
terms of technology it was an eon.

-- 
Garry  AKA  --Phoenix--  Rising above the Flames.

Si hoc legere scis nimium eruditionis habes
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