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[-] LinkOpensChest_wav@lemmy.dbzer0.com 63 points 10 months ago

Chronic alcoholism, and their tinsel was filled with lead

the 1950s and its consequences has been a disaster for the human race

[-] Slagathor@lemmy.world 17 points 10 months ago

The lead made the tinsel taste better though.

[-] Peppycito@sh.itjust.works 15 points 10 months ago

The idea to decrease alcohol consumption is an incredibly recent development in human history.

[-] LinkOpensChest_wav@lemmy.dbzer0.com 6 points 10 months ago

Which started long before the 1950s. The temperance movement in the US started in the first half of the 19th century.

So relatively recent yeah, but not really relevant in this comment thread.

[-] Peppycito@sh.itjust.works 14 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago)

Did you know that human history includes historic events that happened in the second half of the 18th century? It's true!

Some historic events didn't even include Americans!

[-] LillyPip@lemmy.ca 2 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago)

Didn’t alcohol use actually go up during temperance? I swear I read some studies on that. Like that was the reason it failed – alcohol use not only increased, but the alcohol that was available became more dangerous, so temperance was reversed and regulations on how it was made and licensing were instated.

[-] Aggravationstation@lemmy.world 2 points 10 months ago

You may be thinking of prohibition when alcohol was made illegal in the USA in the 1920s.

[-] LillyPip@lemmy.ca 1 points 10 months ago

Yep, you’re right.

[-] Geobloke@lemmy.world 6 points 10 months ago
[-] Peppycito@sh.itjust.works 4 points 10 months ago

You're right, elimination is a decrease. Point taken.

[-] ThirdWorldOrder@lemm.ee 2 points 10 months ago

Probably because alcohol and automobiles don’t mix too well

[-] AutistoMephisto@lemmy.world 9 points 10 months ago

If there is one thing I could bring back from that era, it would be the durability of their appliances and materials. Much better than this throwaway culture we have, where everything is made to last a couple years past warranty, then thrown out at the first sign of malfunction. Shit from the 1950's was built to endure decades of regular use, and repairs were simple and cheap.

[-] vrighter@discuss.tchncs.de 6 points 10 months ago

so how come they're so rare nowadays? I mean everyone had one back then, why aren't the overwhelming majority of these appliances still with us? Survivorship bias, that's why

[-] Vqhm@lemmy.world 6 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago)

I've lived in at least 20 residences across 4 continents and only one of those was from the 1920s.

It still had an original stove.

That stove was the fucking best shit ever. It was amazing. I swear to God I have never been able to cook bacon so amazingly as on that stove top.

I don't disagree that survivorship bias is a thing. And perhaps I had the best possible option of that era. I mean, yes with an induction top I can do great things. With an MSR dragonfly gas stove I can cook the camp a great breakfast anywhere in the world. I've cooked on wood fire stoves. I've cooked primitive fires in outback Australia and the himiliaya mountains... But there was something special about that 1920s stove that I've won't ever forget.

[-] biddy@feddit.nl 2 points 10 months ago

Side note, MSR dragonflys are the shit. I love everything about them, the literal drink bottle of petrol you have to carry around, the crazy aluminium foil windshield, the pumping, the way they spray fuel everywhere as you light them, then the tower of flame that almost burns down the building as it primes. Cheap to run, indestructible, perfection.

[-] TokenBoomer@lemmy.world 2 points 10 months ago

You either live an interesting life, or are a great storyteller. I choose to believe both.

[-] TokenBoomer@lemmy.world 1 points 10 months ago

How do you downvote a compliment?

[-] bamboo@lemmy.blahaj.zone 2 points 10 months ago

I recently heard an interesting take on a podcast that prior to electronic calculators and especially computers, doing calculations was very tedious, time consuming, and not as precise for complex calculations. This resulted in things being over engineered to compensate.

Once it was easier to make calculations, you could easily figure out the minimum amount of resources needed to make a product last during the warranty period. With spreadsheets, you could have a complex view of all variables and tweak the materials to maximize profit, largely at the expense of durability.

This is I think one of many factors, including survivorship bias, why people feel like they don't make em like they used to.

[-] SleepingTower@lemmy.world 1 points 10 months ago

My dude, they said "1950's", and "decades". They're no longer around cause it's been decades since the last one has been produced.

[-] vrighter@discuss.tchncs.de 4 points 10 months ago

but if they were "built to last" then surely we shouldn't have needed much more produced after market saturation. And yet, they actually are vanishingly rare today. Which means most did break down

[-] SleepingTower@lemmy.world 3 points 10 months ago

Sure, I'll agree that they did break down. Everything does at some point or another. Back then it was easier to repair your equipment and you had the right to. That's why they were "built to last"

Then, as time passed, that changed. It became difficult to find the necessary parts for repairs.

Example: My father is a heavy equipment mechanic. I'd say somewhere in the last ten to twenty years, his suppliers started to refuse selling specific parts he needed because he's an independent.

He also described to me how some jobs he takes today feel like he's handling a bomb. If he so much as trips a stray sensor, a representative from the machine's manufacturer will come sniffing around the yard to catch him.

Then there's the knowledge required to perform the necessary repairs. The common sentiment I hear from people is that it's cheaper to replace than to repair. They're not wrong, however this way of thinking demotivates the need to learn how to repair it.

So yeah. Those built to last machines have broken down. Knowledge and parts for them have become difficult to acquire, however an enthusiast willing to put the time in to repair them will have a machine that hums for the rest of their lives.

[-] Furedadmins@lemmy.world 2 points 10 months ago

Tons were thrown out for fashion or modernization, not because they broke down. Kitchens have trends that last around 7 years and even back then people wanted the latest designs.

[-] lightnsfw@reddthat.com 1 points 10 months ago

Don't discount how much marketing convinces people they need to just buy new shit every few years either. I've seen a lot of perfectly functioning appliances replaced just because someone saw something they thought was nicer "on sale".

[-] lightnsfw@reddthat.com 2 points 10 months ago

I don't know, their lamp seemed pretty fragile.

[-] Gordon@lemmy.world 1 points 10 months ago

Sounds Italian

[-] Anticorp@lemmy.ml 4 points 10 months ago
[-] LinkOpensChest_wav@lemmy.dbzer0.com 7 points 10 months ago

As long as you weren't Black, Native, gay, trans, homeless, a woman, or any other marginalized group -- then yeah, the 50s were grand

this post was submitted on 30 Dec 2023
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