aNewDomain.net — While we were going through my dad’s old stuff, the kids saw a funny-looking ruler-type thing. “How do you measure anything with this?” they asked.
With a snicker I answered, “You don’t. It’s a slide rule.” I then went on to explain how you can multiply and divide with it. As best as I could.
Then they saw a small plastic box with some holes and a little gear wheel in the middle. They had no clue what this could be. It was a Super 8 movie film cartridge. Another modern marvel of its time that is now blatantly obsolete.
“What’s this plastic spiral thing?” they asked. It was an adapter so you could play a smaller 45 record on a record player at 33 rpm. That took a lot of explaining there. The list of unknown unusual obsolete items is endless and continues to grow. Will our grandchildren in the future ponder over our current everyday things? “What are these things?” they’ll say.
“That’s a TV remote control. That’s an incandescent light bulb. That’s a newspaper!”
Cartoon by Tom Sloan
For aNewDomain.net, I’m Tom Sloan.
Tom Sloan has drawn cartoons and illustrations for numerous publications — including the original BYTE magazine. Not limited to print, Tom’s cartoons and collages are displayed in museums and galleries throughout the United States. He’s also an accomplished animator. He’s created animations for such as clients Sesame Street, HBO, Nickelodeon, Captain Kangaroo, Romper Room, Burger King and McDonalds.
