July 19, 2008
Now you see ‘em…now you don’t
Written by Cindy Kirk in Jaunty Post
It’s flashback time. Think of some of the things you remember from your childhood. Now consider how many of those things that you thought would be around forever (cameras with film, for example) are slowly disappearing.
WalletPop (www.walletpop.com) took a look at 25 such things that are quickly disappearing from our country. From honey bees to checks to bowling alleys to incandescent light bulbs, they counted down 25 things you may not be able to find in the U.S. for very much longer. I was surprised by some and others, well, even I could see the end is near.
Top 25 Things Vanishing from America
25. Outdoor toilets- By the 2000 Census, the number of Americans who lacked indoor plumbing was down to 0.6%. In 1950, 27% of households (and over half of rural households) didn’t have complete indoor plumbing.
24. Yellow Pages- This one surprised me. One research firm predicts the falloff in usage of newspapers and print Yellow Pages could even reach 10% this year.
23. Classified Ads- If newspaper classifieds are replaced by free online listings, can newspapers be far behind?
22. Movie Rental Stores- Netflix is looking up, Blockbuster is closing stores. It still has about 6,000 left across the world, but those keep dwindling. Movie Gallery, which owned the Hollywood Video brand, closed earlier this year. Countless small video chains and mom-and-pop stores have already closed.
21. Dial-up Internet Access- Dial-up connections fell from 40% in 2001 to 10% in 2008.
20. Phone Land lines-According to a survey from the National Center for Health Statistics, at the end of 2007, nearly one in six homes was cell-only and, of those homes that had landlines, one in eight only received calls on their cells. I actually just went to this plan…where you can receive calls on your land-line but if you call out it’s 10 cents a minute. I did it because I like being in the phone book and a lot of people have my home number but not my cell.
19. Chesapeake Bay Blue Crabs- Overfishing, pollution, invasive species and global warming get the blame. I never had these, so I guess you can’t miss what you’ve never had.
18. VCRs- Pre-recorded VHS tapes are largely gone and VHS decks are hard to find…but my local Target had some for $39. I have a friend who bought a VCR when they first came out in the late 70’s….they paid $1200.
17. Ash trees- The emerald ash borer is to blame and it makes me sad to see these trees die. They’re one of my favorites.
16. Ham Radio- In the past five years alone, the number of people holding active ham radio licenses has dropped by 50,000, even though Morse Code is no longer a requirement.
15. The Swimming Hole- Due to injuries and subsequent lawsuits, many property owners are posting “Keep out!” signs.
14. Answering Machines- This only makes sense. Cell phones up. Land lines down. Less need for answering machines.
13. Cameras that use film- In 2006, iNikon announced it would stop making film cameras, pointing to the shrinking market — only 3% of its sales in 2005, compared to 75% of sales from digital cameras and equipment. This is one change I couldn’t have imagined ten years ago.
12. Incandescent Bulbs- According to USA Today, expect a new energy bill plans to phase out incandescent bulbs in the next four to 12 years.
11. Stand-Alone Bowling Alleys- Bowling lanes also have been added to many non-traditional venues such as adult communities, hotels and resorts, and gambling casinos.
10. The Milkman- Does this job still exist anywhere??
9. Hand-Written letters-In 2006, the Radicati Group estimated that, worldwide, 183 billion e-mails were sent each day. Two million each second. By November of 2007, an estimated 3.3 billion Earthlings owned cell phones, and 80% of the world’s population had access to cell phone coverage. In 2004, half-a-trillion text messages were sent, and the number has no doubt increased exponentially since then.
8. Wild Horses- It is estimated that 100 years ago, as many as two million horses were roaming free within the United States. In 2001, National Geographic News estimated that the wild horse population had decreased to about 50,000 head. Currently, the National Wild Horse and Burro Advisory board states that there are 32,000 free roaming horses in ten Western states, with half of them residing in Nevada.
7. Personal Checks- According to an American Bankers Assoc. report, a net 23% of consumers plan to decrease their use of checks over the next two years. I rarely write checks anymore. How ’bout you?
6. Drive-in theaters- in 2007 only 405 drive-ins were still operating. No new drive-ins have been built since 2005.
5. Mumps and measles- In 2005, only 66 cases were recorded.
4. Honey bees- ‘Colony Collapse Disorder,’ or CCD, has spread throughout the U.S. and Europe over the past few years, wiping out 50% to 90% of the colonies of many beekeepers — and along with it, their livelihood. Have you ever stepped on a honey bee? My hand is in the air.
3. News Magazines and TV news- In 1984, in a story about the diminishing returns of the evening news, the New York Times reported that all three network evening-news programs combined had only 40.9 million viewers. Fast forward to 2008, and what they have today is half that.
2. Analog television- 85% of homes in the U.S. get their television programming through cable or satellite providers. For the remaining 15% — or 13 million individuals — who are using rabbit ears or a large outdoor antenna to get their local stations, change is in the air. We have an antennae in our attic.
1. Family Farm-Since the 1930s, the number of family farms has been declining rapidly. According to the USDA, 5.3 million farms dotted the nation in 1950, but this number had declined to 2.1 million by the 2003 farm census (data from the 2007 census hasn’t yet been published). Ninety-one percent of the U.S. farms are small family farms.
Any surprises??? Which do you hate to see go?? Which ones won’t you miss at all?
