Things That Once Amazed Us but We Now Take for Granted

[flukx]

While I am still rather amazed at some of the things we are doing in space, I think it is easy to take it for granted. For example, I think (though was not born) that back during the "space race", some of these things must have been quite amazing (the first satellites, the moon, etc). Now, we have robots roaming around on mars taking soil samples, pictures, air samples and we have probes smashing into asteroids moving at tens of thousands of miles per hour. Pretty amazing stuff that doesnt get much attention anymore.

[DrThunder88]

I remember...monochrome video display adapters...barely. Sorry, I'm 25.

Camera phones are pretty amazing though. Definitely a sci-fi concept. That's one thing I look forward to when I eventually get a cellphone.

[auntdot]

Thanks attie, yep TV.

When I was a young kid we had none. Then we got a GE, I think it measured about a yard in length, was very heavy (diodes, triodes, all kinds or resistors and capasitors) and the screen was about 8 inches. Yep.

And we loved it. Had to have the TV repairman in all the time until we realized we could take out the vacuum tubes and take them to the pharmacy and test them. That was great about half the time, but the there were too many other components that went on the blink. The TV repair guy was there with great regularity.

I suppose I have become inured to the amazement of the TV.

But to turn my interest to cooking, it is Teflon. Wow, has that changed everything.

Although I rarely use it now.

[suziquzie]

I guess I gotta go with cell phones.
My uncle had one of those first ones, the size of a brick, I thought it was so cool! Now mine is the size of a credit card AND i can take pics and video with it!
Also video games. We had Radio Shack version of "pong" it had 4 games on it and the dials were conected. all just lines and dots. To see the graphics and things DH can do on his xbox 360 is something else!
Oh, and internet. Wow.

[LadyCook61]

I think digital cameras are amazing. I worked with film cameras for over 40 yrs. Got my first digital camera in 2003.

[Andy M.]

Barbara, thanks for this thread. It really got me thinking.

We have been living in a most amazing period of history. The twentieth century was an unparalleled period of technological growth. While I wasn't around for the whole century, I have witnessed the arrival of many of the most amazing devices that have become commonplace.

Consider these:

Television
Color Television
Portable radios
Air Conditioning
Personal computers
VCRs
DVDs
Microwaves
Blenders
Food Processors
Frost free refrigerators
Electric Can openers

Cars - Look at how cars have changed! Think of a Model T Ford that had to be hand cranked to start up, and compare that to a 2008 average car. They have automatic transmissions, navigation systems, sound systems, AC, heat, power everything...

The list goes on.

[quicksilver]

Transitor radios. Still, anything wireless. It just amazes me. Who was weird enough to figure that out?

[expatgirl]

which brings up another question....would you want to go back???? I'm not sure....I love computers too much though I'm not very adept at using them....no, I like things the way they are

[LadyCook61]

Originally Posted by expatgirl

which brings up another question....would you want to go back???? I'm not sure....I love computers too much though I'm not very adept at using them....no, I like things the way they are

I would not want to go back. I like new technology.

[AllenOK]

Andy, add to your list:

Indoor Plumbing
Flush Toilets

My mother can tell me that they didn't get indoor plumbing at her parent's farm until sometime within the last 60 years.

I am old enough to remember records and record players. I mean, actual vinyl! Cassettes were just becoming the thing. My father had a fairly decent record player, as well as a reel-to-reel machine. Then, CD's hit the market.

My first couple of radio's were the "walk-man" type. Small, extremely portable, most cassette player than radio, as the circuitry for radios kept getting smaller and small.

Now, we have portable MP3 players. You don't even need to take your CD's with you when you travel, that is, if you even purchase music on a CD anymore.

Here's another way to look at it. Go and watch one of the original Star Trek eppies. You all already mentioned cell-phones. Our cell phones can do much more than a Star Trek Communicator. There was one eppy where you see some nurse use a weird device to spray some kind of liquid over a patient. That device quickly became common-place. It was a spray-mister, used for cleaning chemicals today.

Can you imagine what is going to happen in the next 50 years?