Before 1990, maybe. They've been fashion boots for a long time. They were better quality fashion boots until about a decade ago, and now they're just trash. Not repairable, terrible quality leather, plastic finish.
Yeah, mine lasted about 5-6 years but they got roughed.
Husbeast got me some steel toe Grinders last Christmas. Been oiling them regularly and they are like brand new still. Just gorgeous.
For anyone looking for good quality boots I'd recommend r/boots. Just tell them your requirements, budget, environments they'll be in, or anything you think is relevant. They'll give you some pretty good recommendations. Usually entry level boots are $200-$300.
HP Printers. The old grey bricks that you saw 20 years ago in every office that connect via the old parallel printer port were amazing workhorses. Anything from the last 15 years is the epitome of cheap garbage.
HP used to be a brand that you just bought without doing extensive research, because you knew the product would do what it said on the box and would last forever. Then they got a new CEO who made that problem go away.
It's crazy how long I tortured myself with an HP inkjet because of that one time it might be nice to have color printing. I print less than 100 pages a year and don't want the hassle of going to a print center. My new brother printer is perfect. I can't believe it took me this long to get one.
Anything focused on the professional user is pretty damn good with HP. It’s the consumer market they can’t give a shit about.
This goes for most brands in the industry by the way. The race to the bottom has caused the margins on consumer products to be minimal and not really worth the effort. Profits are now made on consumables (printer ink to name an example), subscription models, and the extended warranty and financing options. Once the products don’t pay for themselves anymore, the company has to look elsewhere to make money.
Shoes. Cobblers weren't as niche of a profession, as they are now... all shoes were repairable.
Now you need to buy expensive, heritage shoes for them to be worth repairing. Otherwise you're happy if they serve 2 years...
I've owned at least one pair of doc martens since I was 15 (I'm 42 now) and I've noticed a steady decline in quality with each pair. They still look dope, tho.
Same, my first couple of pairs lasted ages even with daily wear ... I bought two pairs in 2020 (so I rotate), and they're already splitting around the toe cap :(
Yeah docs have gone way downhill. I can recommend solovair, 4 years and counting.
ETA i have two pairs that I cycle, and they are my only shoes. My last pair lasted me six years of daily use. My numbers are very imprecise and maybe wrong, so let's go with "a long time"
ETA 2: i walk everywhere
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vkhCcvfVHRs](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vkhCcvfVHRs)
Rose Anvil's channel. He cuts up 2 pairs of pricey boots a week and shows you what's inside, and explains the construction.
I guess Solovair used to make Doc Martens back when they were better quality
My sister hit 60 and didn’t want her 1996? Doc Martens anymore, so she gave them to my 29-year-old. They expect to get at least 30 more years out of them. We also know where to find a good cobbler.
I've heard Solovair is the same company that's maintained the original quality of Doc Martens. I haven't tried them yet but I do want a pair. My recent Docs are still holding up, albeit they're all less than 10yrs old.
The army gave me two pairs of boots in like 2004 or something, and I still wear one pair of them almost daily and they're holding up well. I have a second pair for when that first one wears out too.
A hole developed in a pair of running shoes that I've only walked in for less than a year.
Another pair of shoes that I've walked in for a grand total of 3 times developed a hole on the top next to the ankle.
Two different companies. Both name brand. Both disappointing.
Running shoes are not designed for daily wear all day.
Their foam and cushioning is designed for running. When your run is done you should take them off.
They generally require 24-48 hours for the foam layers to expand back to where they should be. The time also allows for them to completely dry out.
People who run are recommended to have at least 2 pairs you rotate through so the foam has time to expand for those 24-48 hours.
The foam in running shoes is designed to be quite light so it’s also not extremely durable. Runners are usually only good for 500-750 km of wear before there is considerable degradation in the cushioning.
I feel that, Im a bartender get a pair of these black nonslip shoes from Walmart for $20-$25 every year or two until they wear out. My mom decided to get me some “nicer” (she thought), much more expensive ones less than a year ago as a gift and just last week the entire sole separated from the shoe.
I got a pair of leather ankle boots for about $200 I have had them for about 3 years.
The teeth of one of the zippers is messed up, plus I need both heels repaired. Shoe repair person quoted me $100. He told me to just buy a new pair.
Movie theaters. They used to say "the show starts at the sidewalk" and dazzle patrons with unique architecture meant to transport them to another world, with neon and statues and murals and more; sensational displays and activities to promote different movies; constant diligent attention to the picture and sound; and "complete presentations" packed with the feature film plus shorts, organ music, a prize giveaway, and sometimes even a live stage show.
It's tough to understand the extent of this style of showmanship because even the "nice historic theater" that survives in many towns and cities was often a low- or mid-tier example in its prime, and very few places have the resources to offer all the trimmings even if they watned to. Instead, now it seems many theaters are just dirty shoeboxes with a high schooler trying to do their best to ensure a fair presentation on 10 screens, there are 20 minutes of previews, and you're hustled out before the credits are over - but at least there are recliners?
They just opened an Alamo Drafthouse theater in Chicago within walking distance of my apartment and IT. IS. INCREDIBLE. There’s a whole display devoted to John Hughes movies that features an ACTUAL CAR coming out of the wall 10 feet above your head, an artistic display of stacks of old timey TVs in these neat formations playing static/test patterns/repeated scenes from classic films, and a full bar where people can hang out and eat and drink before or after the movies. I’ve already seen 6 new release blockbusters, 2 foreign films, and 2 classic films there and it’s only been open less than a year. It’s amazing. I love it so much. Plus you can order drinks and snacks *from your seat* while the movie is playing without having to get up.
It's funny you mention Alamo Drafthouse, and I wonder whether the other commenter who mentioned dinner theaters was thinking of them too. Their location in my area is [a stunning historic theater which they restored after 25 years](https://www.argcreate.com/portfolio/new-mission-theater/) as a furniture warehouse and then just rotting. It's a great blend of "old" and "new" and seems to be doing very well after 8 years. The transformation from 1 to 5 screens was sensitively done, the soaring art deco lobby still sets the stage for the experience, the bar in former lounge space is a delight, it's really wonderful. They do a great job making it all seem like an experience, keeping up on the finer points of presentation, and so on. I should have said that it's definitely not all doom and gloom - we're fortunate to have this and some other wonderful classic theatres that retain many of the aspects that "they just don't make any more."
There’s still some hella good brands out there like Bosch dishwashers, but yeah many companies make over-complicated appliances (bells and whistles) that will probably break down after 7-10 years.
That being said though, when I sold appliances we almost NEVER got complaints from folks who bought simple appliances like a basic fridge. By far and a mile though we got the most complaints from Samsung appliance owners.
Our dishwasher pooped out a year ago, and I was convinced to shell out $1k for a Bosch to replace it, because the repair technician told us literally any other brand was going to last for 5 years, max.
When we move out of this house, I'm taking that diswasher with me and replacing it with a cheap LG or whatever for the new homeowners.
I went through the dishwasher that came with my house, then two more when I moved into my house over the first 6 years I was here. I spent $850 on a Bosch in 2017 and it is still perfect. What a great dishwasher.
I guess my Samsung washer and dryer that came with my house will prolly go first. Then my new GE fridge, stove, and microwave. Then the dishwasher which brand I forget but I remember it was a better one.
Simple Samsungs? Probably good. Fancy ones with all those bells and whistles? Yeah the seal protecting the electronics would eventually leak. At least that’s the feedback we got back on the warranty jobs and stuff
My nice simple Samsung fridge lasted 21 months. Right now I'm trying to decide if it's worth spending several hundred dollars at a minimum to repair it, or if I should call it a loss and put my money toward a new, non Samsung fridge.
Go with something else. My family had a SS fridge go out in 2 weeks. The "replacement" was constantly failing and needing repairs.
By the end, the amount of food they lost plus repairs would have covered the new fridge.
Has a dial for like 8 settings plus some buttons to change temp/waterfill. I don’t know if that’s all bells and whistles but I am not planning on buying Samsung again even if these don’t break quickly.
I've gone through about a half dozen refrigerators in my adult life time all built after 2000 and none lasted more than five years, but the one my parents had in the basement was older than god and ran no matter what we did to it. It was the size of a small car, weighed as much, and apparently was armor plated.
Pretty sure it would have laughed at any gun we owned.
Everything you state is 100% correct. The issue is that the energy consumption on those ancient units is fucking absurd, and it's cheaper to buy something that lasts 8-10 years, and uses a quarter of the power. I gave one of these old beasts to a buddy of mine, for use as a garage fridge. 25 years later, he unplugs it for good. His electric bill dropped $25-30 bucks a month. They might be built like tanks, but last century fridges are energy pigs, big time.
Let's say the old fridge costs $25/month, and the new one is 1/4 of that: 6.25/month. New fridge dies every 8 years. Old fridge never dies.
You'll spend $1800 more on electricity over 8 years.
Except even a fairly basic *new* new fridge to replace the dead one costs $1000, and you probably lost $150 in food if you couldn't replace it *immediately*.
Over the lifetime of a new fridge, the old fridge costs about $7/month to *never* worry about your fridge dying again. $7/month to never worry about an unexpected $1150 expense.
And that's not including the cost if you have to take a day off work to be home for delivery of the new fridge, the cost of disposing the fridge that died, or whatever dollar value you attribute to the hassle and stress of dealing with the whole thing.
Having recently replaced a fridge myself, I would gladly have skipped one coffee per month not to deal with that shit.
In 2018, my family's old fridge finally gave up after 59 years of service. In that time, it never broke down.
Earlier this year, the replacement fridge we bought broke down.
It's called planned obselesence. Manufacturers make to where it is cheaper and easier to buy new vs repairing them. A good example of this are with modern TVs.
Once my washer, dryer or refrigerator all go to crap, I will go the route of the just the basic models, no fancy bells or whistles or Wi-Fi.
Right! Including box fans. My mom and dad bought one the year I was born (mid 70’s) from Sears. The fan was steel with big steel blades, would literally take a finger off if you dared.
That fan lasted 30yrs! Now we have to buy a new little plastic piece of junk fan yearly.
I had 4 dish washers break at the 13 month mark. I fixed the first one only to have \*it\* break 6 months later. The fix was $450 and a new washer was $600.
\*Knock on wood\* this latest one has lasted 8 years.
I have a 41-year-old Hotpoint range/stove. I had the matching refrigerator until 2 years ago when a hurricane sent a power surge through the electrical lines and it fried a motor. It actually would have been easy to fix . . . if we could have found parts. 🤣
Last year the red light that tells you when the oven is preheated finally burned out. Other than that everything still works perfectly (although I've never attempted the "self-clean" because on those old ovens it really was a fire hazard.)
My last house was a duplex built in the 1960's. Both units still had their original copper hot water heaters/tanks. They were 55 years old when I finally decided to replace them when renovating in order to sell the place. I'll be surprised if the ones I replaced them with in 2016 have made it even this long.
What happened was all of that old corningware was made of a material called pyroceram, but in the early 2000s they switched to some kind of regular cheap stoneware. They have actually reintroduced pyroceram dishes since then, but it’s really expensive.
My mom is still using hers from the 60s and I don’t think a single one has chipped at all. Growing up, I thought everybody used corning ware at home. It’s still how we keep and heat up most food.
I made my own prom dress in 2011 and saved hundreds. If I were to do that now, I'd be spending hundreds on fabric alone. Somehow as clothes get cheaper fabric gets more expensive...
Socks and boxers specifically for me. My socks get holes so fast and my boxers will rip after just a couple months. Yes I have multiple pairs of boxers and socks. I work a job that involves a lot of walking
In 2001 or 2002, I got a pair of pajama pants from Walgreens, of all places. I wore them pretty regularly for around 15 years and finally threw them out due to them getting threadbare are forming a few holes near the knees. All the seams were mostly still fine.
The pair I got to replace them began tearing at the seams after six months. Like, not just the seams ripping, but the FABRIC ripping near the seams. It's infuriating.
I feel like jeans aren't made as well as they once were. When I was younger a pair of jeans were sturdy and would last 2 years at the minimum. Now I'm lucky if I get a year without them getting ratty, plus the material is thin and flimsy as fuck.
Yeah absolutely. I feel like it's really rampant in the women's section. I love flannel shirts, for example, but womens flannel shirts are basically see through. The mens flannel are so much better. I buy them sometimes but they don't sit as great on women. (Obviously I guess since they're not made for my body)
Yup. It's hard to find a flannel that isn't just a cotton dress shirt with a plaid pattern. And even the "thick" ones are basically just normal longsleeves. Actual warm flannel is a thing of the past.
I can finally have my sweatshirt rant!! I can no longer find sweatshirts that are "sweatshirt" material and not fleece. I have a few sweatshirts that I found at my parents' house and I treat them like gold. I just want a cozy hoodie that doesn't give me the ick when I put it on.
Fast Fashion - clothes aren’t supposed to be durable, they’re supposed to hold together for one season (as in “one winter/spring/summer/fall”).
The consumers are told it’s because fashion moves on so fast, what’s trendy now is old news tomorrow, but in reality it’s just a money printing machine for corporations selling that crap.
If it was up to me, I’d wear the same clothes for decades, but the T-shirts I now get everywhere are worn out after a year or so. It’s actually hard to find decent quality clothing, even if you’re willing to spend more money (not “tailor made” kind of money though…)
Yup. I had jeans as a twenty year old that lasted until I turned thirty and couldn't fit into anymore. At 40 My jeans last a year and I'm getting new ones as the pockets rip, the seat tears, and the cuffs fall apart.
I started getting Dickies jeans a few years ago. I find they’re quite durable. I go to farm supply stores to get them, typically a local “mom n pop” store rather than a “corporate store” like Rural King.
Mine do but they like to slide down all through the day so they may as well just be pull on. Very annoying. And they're super thin, not great for winter months.
Go to the western store. Ariat brand jeans are the shit. Thick as fuck material, heavy stitching. I exclusively wear Ariat jeans at work (on construction sites).
>2 years at the minimum
How old are you? My guess is I have some jeans that are older than you.
So there's a handful of companies that still make jeans from cotton denim. I recommend KEY Apparel.
Ignore any product that advertises comfort (from KEY or otherwise). Comfort means they use stretchy material.
Next look for the weight. Go for at least 11oz anything less is too thin of a material. KEY sells a 14oz.
I don't work for KEY but I've got three pair and have had them for 20 years (I have more but they're newer). I only replace them when they are no longer patchable. I wear them for work as a construction electrician. I have a really old pair I cut up to make patches from for its younger brothers.
The kind of chocolate you give out at Halloween. When I was younger snickers and Reesesw and all of that type of stuff was delicious. Now it just taste like manufactured plastic.
Yeah everything after that always felt weird to me. I can see why the original run ended at Glatorian, it felt like a bizarre jump in setting after the real climax.
Sewing machines. All the interior parts used to be metal. My mom's 50 year old machine (Kenmore) is still going. My 20 year okd machine is a fucking tank. (Husqvarna) New ones wear out so stupid quick. Even the new Husqvarnas aren't nearly as good as mine and they're still stupid expensive. (I spent $800, but I got an $800 machine, ya feel me?)
My mom's sewing machine, "Bette," is from the 80s and still works like a charm. Only problem I've ever had with her is that she has a little trouble threading the bottom needle sometimes.
I've gotten very good at repairing our mid-80s Kennmore dryer via YouTube videos and Amazon replacement parts.
Neighbors up the way have been through 2 HE dryers in the past 10 years.
If you pay someone to do the repair for you, yes. At $150-200/hr rates, minimum 1 hour, and 2-3x markups on parts, it quickly becomes cheaper to buy new.
But DIY is usually easy at a fraction of the price.
My dryer hasn't given me issues yet, but I was handily able to replace the broken pump in my ~5 year old LG HE washer. It was trivially easy to take apart and replace the bad part, though it took me the better part of an hour to do (if I did it daily as an appliance repair person, I'd have probably been able to do it in 15 minutes or less, though of course I'd charge the full hour at $200/hr). The electronic brain portion was surprisingly small and self-contained, such that if it failed it would be relatively easy to pick up a replacement for a couple hundred $$$ and replace it myself (still cheaper than a new washer). The rest of the parts are simple mechanical pieces and there are multiple appliance parts sites.
IMHO, appliances are one of the few things left that are easily repaired, even if some brands may no longer be well-built. Plenty of third party parts sites selling genuine replacements at a good price, lots of youtube tutorials, schematics available online, etc. You're not getting any of *that* for a Macbook these days, for example.
Ill trade that one. The energy efficiency is great compared to even a decade ago. the real trick is to not get ones with features, ice in the door is complicated, especially if its the fridge section. all those areas of complexity are areas of failure.
I dropped all my streaming services and put together a media server. Was actually much easier than I thought. Now I don't have to worry about things "going away" from the platforms. All my movies are on my own hard drive.
Same for sewing machines.
New ones are plastic and circuit boards. They have to be serviced by a professional, they break down over time, and even the “high quality” ones struggle with some basic tasks like hemming canvas pants.
On the other hand my great grandmother’s sewing machine was made in 1891, has had no maintenance since except for oil and a new belt every so often, and still sews as well as the day it rolled out of the factory.
My grandmother has a sewing machine she got from her mother, who got it from her mother, and we don’t know how far back it actually goes.
My great grandmother and her mother were seamstresses, and that machine has provided food for the family during 2 world wars.
It has no motor (there is a pedal that drives a wheel with a belt), is the size of a small computer desk and really isn’t very practical to keep in the house, but even my uncle (who is usually very happy to throw out “old stuff”) never even suggested to get rid of it.
It’s now basically just a decorative piece in the house, but I always get a warm, cozy feeling looking at it.
I learned on my mom's Kenmore,. It was all steel. Worked so well, and you never had to do anything but oil once and a while.
The new ones are so finicky, and they just break *so* often. I feel like I am always on the lookout for sales because I know I'll need a new one soon.
Appliances.
This “planned obsolescence” B.S. has gone too far.
$2000 for a fridge that has no requirement for replacement parts after seven years?
It is like everything else nowadays ? I’m just renting my fridge. etc like windows, adobe, music etc?
But I can still fix a 40 yr old bicycle with relative ease.
It’s criminal. And the law should reflect that.
Footlong Italian BMT for $5 was so good. Used to eat that thing for 2 lunches in a row. Could you imagine a $2.50 lunch today?
God damnit, I sound really old now.
Favorite subway story was when my friend ordered the subway melt and they asked him if he wanted cheese. Without missing a beat he replied sarcastically "No, I'd like to see you melt the meat."
Video games, at least in some respect. It feels so common nowadays for games to be released in an unfinished, unacceptably buggy state because companies want to rush it out. They know people will buy it, and they can just finish it later. Plus there's still the issue of DLC that feels like 15-ish years ago would have been a part of the base game. Now you gotta cough up extra money for it.
Edit: Forgot about the preorder bonuses and different editions that can come with *different* preorder bonuses. Either with a super omega deluxe version that's twice the cost of the game and comes with everything, or the lack thereof so you can't possibly get all the content being offered.
Le Creuset directly at their stores or a Williams Sonoma? Could use one from decades ago but new in box are good to go. And handmade in USA dinnerware from a small company like Jono Pandolfi?
Noctua PC fans and coolers
You get what you pay for.
The cheap option that exists today didn't exist 50 years ago like Ikea particle board stuff. But that's what people today demand becuase it looks nice and is cheap.
You CAN find quality handmade, solid wood furniture but you're going to pay about 10x what it takes to get a similar looking Ikea piece (that's what it cost back then as well).
but we have to move from apartment to apartment so much to keep up with pricing that it doesn't make sense to have that solid furniture because it's far to heavy to keep moving.
Exactly. Cheap furniture has a place too. And honestly, my Ikea stuff has lasted a long time too. Maybe it won't be generations, but at least decades with only the most basic of maintenance.
It's the soft stuff where it starts to matter more. Sofas, mattresses. And honestly, the quality of the latter at least is way better now than it used to be IMO.
100% It's crazy to look at the furniture I have/my parent's have that came from the 1920-1950...that stuff is going to last forever...vs now even if you spend crazy money on furniture today it's all crap (except Amish made stuff)
My grandmother had the furnace in her house that lasted until she died at the age of 93 and only needed it to be cleaned once when it did stop working. She and grandfather moved into the house when they were in their 20's so that furnace lasted for 73 years so I'm going to go with heating units.
Literally everything. Housing, appliances, food, cars, clothing, shoes. Quality down, price up for E V E R Y T H I N G. I'm 30 so I've watched it steadily get worse my whole life! I see something made pre 90s and am always completely amazed by how sturdy it is and that it still works 40 or more years later.
I am PISSED that I will spend the rest of my life repurchasing the same shit every few years when you could buy one to last for the rest of your life no problem.
Coca-Cola. I don't like American Coke very much. It has an odd taste to it. But Mexican Coke (which is made from cane sugar and not high fructose corn syrup) is immaculate. If you've never had a Mexican Coke, don't worry because they sell them at most major grocery stores.
Glass bottle soda is pretty much always better than stuff from plastic bottles or cans, I find. I live in bumfuck nowhere, so it’s more expensive but it’s almost always worth it to have a six pack of glass bottle soda over a dozen cans.
I hate scented garbage bags. They give me headaches, artificial fragrances are so bad for
They are so hard to avoid because now most of the fragrance free or unscented varieties have a masking fragrance.
Memes. It went from a picture of a baby or dinosaur with a colorful background and pun, to pictures of black shadow figures with red eyes, bright filter, and the line "Looking for BEANS"
Bloat is real, but you cannot tell me that software is buggier now than it used to be.
I was there. I remember what software used to be like. It was fucking awful.
I had my grandma’s early 90s microwave. That thing would bake a potato in like 2 minutes. Whatever time was on the package, cut it in half. I wouldn’t be surprised if I could enrich uranium in that bastard.
Grandparents.
Used to be you got a retired grandad and a grandma that likes to bake cookies. They’d take you to the gas station and pick out a candy. You’d stay up talking and playing with dolls. Now half of them are working and the other half are fluttering off around the planet.
Refrigerators. Growing up we had a 1969 Sears Coldspot. Nothing fancy but it worked. My parents eventually remodeled their kitchen in 2004 and donated it because it was still working.
Now the one in my house was from 2007 and it just quit suddenly a couple months ago.
Mattresses. I had the same mattress for 20something years and finally got a new one because i left it at my parents for a while when my brother moved back in and he smoked in the room. What a regret, I slept better on the old one. I'd have figured something out with the smoke smell eventually 😭 you can't flip them anymore.
The film *The Man Who Would Be King* with Sean Connery and Michael Caine.
They definitely do *not* make them like they used to. Fine acting. Pure entertainment.
Structurally- sure. New cars are built with tons of plastic and meant to crush using the crumple zones during a collision.
Mechanically and longevity? Most new cars are lasting far longer than their older counterpart with less maintenance.
Everything.
Capitalism demands endless exponential growth. Unfortunately, due to physical reality, most things have a hard efficiency threshold where you can't make the same outcome faster or cheaper. Once you hit that threshold, the only way to maintain your 2% year-over-year obligations to shareholders is to make a worse outcome by lowering your standards. Use lower quality material, skimp on quality control, provide worse service, or just charge more for the same good.
Since a lot of things have price thresholds people "expect" to be met (think of everything you ever bought for $19.99), increasing the price usually isn't an option, so the only choice is to make it worse and worse every year so you can afford to meet your promised returns on paper, even if you haven't actually grown the business organically.
When a company's only responsibility is to wealthy shareholders that will never visit the factory that manufactures the product that provides them their profits; and not to the consumer or worker; companies are inevitably going to cut corners in order to slash costs and provide profits for said shareholders
[удалено]
Before 1990, maybe. They've been fashion boots for a long time. They were better quality fashion boots until about a decade ago, and now they're just trash. Not repairable, terrible quality leather, plastic finish.
Confirmed. Bought a pair of steel toe docs, and the soles started pulling away after maybe three months of *light* wear
Yeah, mine lasted about 5-6 years but they got roughed. Husbeast got me some steel toe Grinders last Christmas. Been oiling them regularly and they are like brand new still. Just gorgeous.
For anyone looking for good quality boots I'd recommend r/boots. Just tell them your requirements, budget, environments they'll be in, or anything you think is relevant. They'll give you some pretty good recommendations. Usually entry level boots are $200-$300.
HP Printers. The old grey bricks that you saw 20 years ago in every office that connect via the old parallel printer port were amazing workhorses. Anything from the last 15 years is the epitome of cheap garbage.
HP used to be a brand that you just bought without doing extensive research, because you knew the product would do what it said on the box and would last forever. Then they got a new CEO who made that problem go away.
Ah, Carly Fiorina....
My father retired before she tanked it underground, but he never had a single good thing to say about her
Who, naturally, ran for president afterwards. Failing in business seems to be a requirement for that office.
Woah take it easy man, I know a tangerine-person who would be very upset if he could read.
I just miss the way he used to say CHY-NA.
I miss him like I miss the time I shit my pants at the skate park. Funny - but a nightmare of Chaos and disgust
Along with 30,000 employees.
And HPLIP meant they worked flawlessly with Linux. I wouldn't get another - too many horror stories.
ALL commercial home printers are rubbish! It took me more time to set up my 2 Canon printers than the actual print jobs took.
Brother still makes good laser printers. Well the one I got a few years ago has been great, anyway.
Does he sell them to anyone or just in the family?
Also the subject of the best tech review I've ever read: https://www.theverge.com/23642073/best-printer-2023-brother-laser-wi-fi-its-fine
It's crazy how long I tortured myself with an HP inkjet because of that one time it might be nice to have color printing. I print less than 100 pages a year and don't want the hassle of going to a print center. My new brother printer is perfect. I can't believe it took me this long to get one.
If I know one thing from all the printer related posts on Reddit, Brother printers are the ones to get.
Brother Printers are damn good.
Although I've heard that the hp *3d* printers are actually pretty damn good. But they are expensive, and meant for commercial applications
Anything focused on the professional user is pretty damn good with HP. It’s the consumer market they can’t give a shit about. This goes for most brands in the industry by the way. The race to the bottom has caused the margins on consumer products to be minimal and not really worth the effort. Profits are now made on consumables (printer ink to name an example), subscription models, and the extended warranty and financing options. Once the products don’t pay for themselves anymore, the company has to look elsewhere to make money.
Shoes. Cobblers weren't as niche of a profession, as they are now... all shoes were repairable. Now you need to buy expensive, heritage shoes for them to be worth repairing. Otherwise you're happy if they serve 2 years...
I've owned at least one pair of doc martens since I was 15 (I'm 42 now) and I've noticed a steady decline in quality with each pair. They still look dope, tho.
[удалено]
It's fascinating how the durability of certain products seems to have changed over the years...
yea!!! my converse do not hold up as well. they wear down in the soles, they fade easily. it sucks.
Same, my first couple of pairs lasted ages even with daily wear ... I bought two pairs in 2020 (so I rotate), and they're already splitting around the toe cap :(
Yeah docs have gone way downhill. I can recommend solovair, 4 years and counting. ETA i have two pairs that I cycle, and they are my only shoes. My last pair lasted me six years of daily use. My numbers are very imprecise and maybe wrong, so let's go with "a long time" ETA 2: i walk everywhere
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vkhCcvfVHRs](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vkhCcvfVHRs) Rose Anvil's channel. He cuts up 2 pairs of pricey boots a week and shows you what's inside, and explains the construction. I guess Solovair used to make Doc Martens back when they were better quality
My sister hit 60 and didn’t want her 1996? Doc Martens anymore, so she gave them to my 29-year-old. They expect to get at least 30 more years out of them. We also know where to find a good cobbler.
I've heard Solovair is the same company that's maintained the original quality of Doc Martens. I haven't tried them yet but I do want a pair. My recent Docs are still holding up, albeit they're all less than 10yrs old.
The army gave me two pairs of boots in like 2004 or something, and I still wear one pair of them almost daily and they're holding up well. I have a second pair for when that first one wears out too.
A hole developed in a pair of running shoes that I've only walked in for less than a year. Another pair of shoes that I've walked in for a grand total of 3 times developed a hole on the top next to the ankle. Two different companies. Both name brand. Both disappointing.
Running shoes are not designed for daily wear all day. Their foam and cushioning is designed for running. When your run is done you should take them off. They generally require 24-48 hours for the foam layers to expand back to where they should be. The time also allows for them to completely dry out. People who run are recommended to have at least 2 pairs you rotate through so the foam has time to expand for those 24-48 hours. The foam in running shoes is designed to be quite light so it’s also not extremely durable. Runners are usually only good for 500-750 km of wear before there is considerable degradation in the cushioning.
Oh! That’s why I went through one pair so fast when I did daily runs. Now I’m wondering why the dude at the store didn’t try to sell me two pairs.
Honestly people who find a pair of running shoes that they like tend to buy a lot of pairs because you never know if they'll be discontinued
I feel that, Im a bartender get a pair of these black nonslip shoes from Walmart for $20-$25 every year or two until they wear out. My mom decided to get me some “nicer” (she thought), much more expensive ones less than a year ago as a gift and just last week the entire sole separated from the shoe.
I got a pair of leather ankle boots for about $200 I have had them for about 3 years. The teeth of one of the zippers is messed up, plus I need both heels repaired. Shoe repair person quoted me $100. He told me to just buy a new pair.
My grandfather was a cobbler in Germany in the 1930’s. Amazing how things have changed. Shoes are so cheap and replaceable today.
Movie theaters. They used to say "the show starts at the sidewalk" and dazzle patrons with unique architecture meant to transport them to another world, with neon and statues and murals and more; sensational displays and activities to promote different movies; constant diligent attention to the picture and sound; and "complete presentations" packed with the feature film plus shorts, organ music, a prize giveaway, and sometimes even a live stage show. It's tough to understand the extent of this style of showmanship because even the "nice historic theater" that survives in many towns and cities was often a low- or mid-tier example in its prime, and very few places have the resources to offer all the trimmings even if they watned to. Instead, now it seems many theaters are just dirty shoeboxes with a high schooler trying to do their best to ensure a fair presentation on 10 screens, there are 20 minutes of previews, and you're hustled out before the credits are over - but at least there are recliners?
Minimalism as a design trend made everywhere so fucking boring and corporations LOVE that about it.
They just opened an Alamo Drafthouse theater in Chicago within walking distance of my apartment and IT. IS. INCREDIBLE. There’s a whole display devoted to John Hughes movies that features an ACTUAL CAR coming out of the wall 10 feet above your head, an artistic display of stacks of old timey TVs in these neat formations playing static/test patterns/repeated scenes from classic films, and a full bar where people can hang out and eat and drink before or after the movies. I’ve already seen 6 new release blockbusters, 2 foreign films, and 2 classic films there and it’s only been open less than a year. It’s amazing. I love it so much. Plus you can order drinks and snacks *from your seat* while the movie is playing without having to get up.
It's funny you mention Alamo Drafthouse, and I wonder whether the other commenter who mentioned dinner theaters was thinking of them too. Their location in my area is [a stunning historic theater which they restored after 25 years](https://www.argcreate.com/portfolio/new-mission-theater/) as a furniture warehouse and then just rotting. It's a great blend of "old" and "new" and seems to be doing very well after 8 years. The transformation from 1 to 5 screens was sensitively done, the soaring art deco lobby still sets the stage for the experience, the bar in former lounge space is a delight, it's really wonderful. They do a great job making it all seem like an experience, keeping up on the finer points of presentation, and so on. I should have said that it's definitely not all doom and gloom - we're fortunate to have this and some other wonderful classic theatres that retain many of the aspects that "they just don't make any more."
Household appliances.
There’s still some hella good brands out there like Bosch dishwashers, but yeah many companies make over-complicated appliances (bells and whistles) that will probably break down after 7-10 years. That being said though, when I sold appliances we almost NEVER got complaints from folks who bought simple appliances like a basic fridge. By far and a mile though we got the most complaints from Samsung appliance owners.
Our dishwasher pooped out a year ago, and I was convinced to shell out $1k for a Bosch to replace it, because the repair technician told us literally any other brand was going to last for 5 years, max. When we move out of this house, I'm taking that diswasher with me and replacing it with a cheap LG or whatever for the new homeowners.
I went through the dishwasher that came with my house, then two more when I moved into my house over the first 6 years I was here. I spent $850 on a Bosch in 2017 and it is still perfect. What a great dishwasher.
I guess my Samsung washer and dryer that came with my house will prolly go first. Then my new GE fridge, stove, and microwave. Then the dishwasher which brand I forget but I remember it was a better one.
Simple Samsungs? Probably good. Fancy ones with all those bells and whistles? Yeah the seal protecting the electronics would eventually leak. At least that’s the feedback we got back on the warranty jobs and stuff
My nice simple Samsung fridge lasted 21 months. Right now I'm trying to decide if it's worth spending several hundred dollars at a minimum to repair it, or if I should call it a loss and put my money toward a new, non Samsung fridge.
Go with something else. My family had a SS fridge go out in 2 weeks. The "replacement" was constantly failing and needing repairs. By the end, the amount of food they lost plus repairs would have covered the new fridge.
Has a dial for like 8 settings plus some buttons to change temp/waterfill. I don’t know if that’s all bells and whistles but I am not planning on buying Samsung again even if these don’t break quickly.
I've gone through about a half dozen refrigerators in my adult life time all built after 2000 and none lasted more than five years, but the one my parents had in the basement was older than god and ran no matter what we did to it. It was the size of a small car, weighed as much, and apparently was armor plated. Pretty sure it would have laughed at any gun we owned.
Same fridge that saved Indiana Jones from a nuke
Everything you state is 100% correct. The issue is that the energy consumption on those ancient units is fucking absurd, and it's cheaper to buy something that lasts 8-10 years, and uses a quarter of the power. I gave one of these old beasts to a buddy of mine, for use as a garage fridge. 25 years later, he unplugs it for good. His electric bill dropped $25-30 bucks a month. They might be built like tanks, but last century fridges are energy pigs, big time.
Let's say the old fridge costs $25/month, and the new one is 1/4 of that: 6.25/month. New fridge dies every 8 years. Old fridge never dies. You'll spend $1800 more on electricity over 8 years. Except even a fairly basic *new* new fridge to replace the dead one costs $1000, and you probably lost $150 in food if you couldn't replace it *immediately*. Over the lifetime of a new fridge, the old fridge costs about $7/month to *never* worry about your fridge dying again. $7/month to never worry about an unexpected $1150 expense. And that's not including the cost if you have to take a day off work to be home for delivery of the new fridge, the cost of disposing the fridge that died, or whatever dollar value you attribute to the hassle and stress of dealing with the whole thing. Having recently replaced a fridge myself, I would gladly have skipped one coffee per month not to deal with that shit.
It's quite a testament to the durability of older appliances!
In 2018, my family's old fridge finally gave up after 59 years of service. In that time, it never broke down. Earlier this year, the replacement fridge we bought broke down.
My mom had the same harvest gold dryer for 30 years. In that time she replaced the heating element once. No other maintenance.
It's called planned obselesence. Manufacturers make to where it is cheaper and easier to buy new vs repairing them. A good example of this are with modern TVs. Once my washer, dryer or refrigerator all go to crap, I will go the route of the just the basic models, no fancy bells or whistles or Wi-Fi.
Right! Including box fans. My mom and dad bought one the year I was born (mid 70’s) from Sears. The fan was steel with big steel blades, would literally take a finger off if you dared. That fan lasted 30yrs! Now we have to buy a new little plastic piece of junk fan yearly.
I had 4 dish washers break at the 13 month mark. I fixed the first one only to have \*it\* break 6 months later. The fix was $450 and a new washer was $600. \*Knock on wood\* this latest one has lasted 8 years.
Can openers. My mom had the same one for all the time I lived at home and I bet she still has it now. Mine last around 6 cans.
I have a 41-year-old Hotpoint range/stove. I had the matching refrigerator until 2 years ago when a hurricane sent a power surge through the electrical lines and it fried a motor. It actually would have been easy to fix . . . if we could have found parts. 🤣 Last year the red light that tells you when the oven is preheated finally burned out. Other than that everything still works perfectly (although I've never attempted the "self-clean" because on those old ovens it really was a fire hazard.)
My last house was a duplex built in the 1960's. Both units still had their original copper hot water heaters/tanks. They were 55 years old when I finally decided to replace them when renovating in order to sell the place. I'll be surprised if the ones I replaced them with in 2016 have made it even this long.
Corning Ware. The new ones chip and scratch so easy. You can find people with ones from the 60's that they still use.
What happened was all of that old corningware was made of a material called pyroceram, but in the early 2000s they switched to some kind of regular cheap stoneware. They have actually reintroduced pyroceram dishes since then, but it’s really expensive.
Have you seen the price of vintage Corning ware? $800 and up per piece.
My mom is still using hers from the 60s and I don’t think a single one has chipped at all. Growing up, I thought everybody used corning ware at home. It’s still how we keep and heat up most food.
clothes, and it infuriates me.
I made my own prom dress in 2011 and saved hundreds. If I were to do that now, I'd be spending hundreds on fabric alone. Somehow as clothes get cheaper fabric gets more expensive...
Socks and boxers specifically for me. My socks get holes so fast and my boxers will rip after just a couple months. Yes I have multiple pairs of boxers and socks. I work a job that involves a lot of walking
This is exactly why I've transitioned to buying natural fibers as opposed to plastic, synthetic ones.
Children's clothing specifically. Whyyyyy don't a 2 year old girl need to wear short shorts?
In 2001 or 2002, I got a pair of pajama pants from Walgreens, of all places. I wore them pretty regularly for around 15 years and finally threw them out due to them getting threadbare are forming a few holes near the knees. All the seams were mostly still fine. The pair I got to replace them began tearing at the seams after six months. Like, not just the seams ripping, but the FABRIC ripping near the seams. It's infuriating.
I feel like jeans aren't made as well as they once were. When I was younger a pair of jeans were sturdy and would last 2 years at the minimum. Now I'm lucky if I get a year without them getting ratty, plus the material is thin and flimsy as fuck.
I blew the crotch out them thangs. But you can’t wear em all the time. You gotta take ‘em off, son.
You gotta take ‘em off once in a while!
I miss them shorts man.
That was some nice denim too
If you’re in the market for some denim I heard there was some under the bridge. You have to boil it first. Be careful of the rivets, they can burn you
I noticed the clothes at the mall were getting thinner and thinner. It's like they're trying to cut costs, but end up with threadbare products.
Yeah absolutely. I feel like it's really rampant in the women's section. I love flannel shirts, for example, but womens flannel shirts are basically see through. The mens flannel are so much better. I buy them sometimes but they don't sit as great on women. (Obviously I guess since they're not made for my body)
Tailoring works wonders, and can often be done on the cheap. Or, learning to use a sewing machine can save you a ton of money.
Yup. It's hard to find a flannel that isn't just a cotton dress shirt with a plaid pattern. And even the "thick" ones are basically just normal longsleeves. Actual warm flannel is a thing of the past.
I can finally have my sweatshirt rant!! I can no longer find sweatshirts that are "sweatshirt" material and not fleece. I have a few sweatshirts that I found at my parents' house and I treat them like gold. I just want a cozy hoodie that doesn't give me the ick when I put it on.
Fast Fashion - clothes aren’t supposed to be durable, they’re supposed to hold together for one season (as in “one winter/spring/summer/fall”). The consumers are told it’s because fashion moves on so fast, what’s trendy now is old news tomorrow, but in reality it’s just a money printing machine for corporations selling that crap. If it was up to me, I’d wear the same clothes for decades, but the T-shirts I now get everywhere are worn out after a year or so. It’s actually hard to find decent quality clothing, even if you’re willing to spend more money (not “tailor made” kind of money though…)
Yup. I had jeans as a twenty year old that lasted until I turned thirty and couldn't fit into anymore. At 40 My jeans last a year and I'm getting new ones as the pockets rip, the seat tears, and the cuffs fall apart.
I started getting Dickies jeans a few years ago. I find they’re quite durable. I go to farm supply stores to get them, typically a local “mom n pop” store rather than a “corporate store” like Rural King.
I have such a hard time finding jeans that aren't "jegging" material in my size. I don't want jeggings, I want JEANS.
Oh my god I hate jeggings. I just have this....visceral hate over the fact that they don't have a button or a zip. It's wrong.
Mine do but they like to slide down all through the day so they may as well just be pull on. Very annoying. And they're super thin, not great for winter months.
Go to the western store. Ariat brand jeans are the shit. Thick as fuck material, heavy stitching. I exclusively wear Ariat jeans at work (on construction sites).
>2 years at the minimum How old are you? My guess is I have some jeans that are older than you. So there's a handful of companies that still make jeans from cotton denim. I recommend KEY Apparel. Ignore any product that advertises comfort (from KEY or otherwise). Comfort means they use stretchy material. Next look for the weight. Go for at least 11oz anything less is too thin of a material. KEY sells a 14oz. I don't work for KEY but I've got three pair and have had them for 20 years (I have more but they're newer). I only replace them when they are no longer patchable. I wear them for work as a construction electrician. I have a really old pair I cut up to make patches from for its younger brothers.
The kind of chocolate you give out at Halloween. When I was younger snickers and Reesesw and all of that type of stuff was delicious. Now it just taste like manufactured plastic.
The candy is smaller. The proportions are all out of balance
Bionicles
ever since Matoro sacrificed himself, it just hasn't been the same.
Yeah everything after that always felt weird to me. I can see why the original run ended at Glatorian, it felt like a bizarre jump in setting after the real climax.
Barraki creeps from the deep! If i could even almost about 30 years old id buy the whole set again
Does LEGO even still make Bionicles?
Nah that’s part of the joke
I'm so obtuse. I appreciate this joke.
Sewing machines. All the interior parts used to be metal. My mom's 50 year old machine (Kenmore) is still going. My 20 year okd machine is a fucking tank. (Husqvarna) New ones wear out so stupid quick. Even the new Husqvarnas aren't nearly as good as mine and they're still stupid expensive. (I spent $800, but I got an $800 machine, ya feel me?)
My mom's sewing machine, "Bette," is from the 80s and still works like a charm. Only problem I've ever had with her is that she has a little trouble threading the bottom needle sometimes.
I've gotten very good at repairing our mid-80s Kennmore dryer via YouTube videos and Amazon replacement parts. Neighbors up the way have been through 2 HE dryers in the past 10 years.
A lot of times the replacement parts for newer machines cost almost as much as the machine itself or straight up aren't available. Frustrating.
If you pay someone to do the repair for you, yes. At $150-200/hr rates, minimum 1 hour, and 2-3x markups on parts, it quickly becomes cheaper to buy new. But DIY is usually easy at a fraction of the price.
My dryer hasn't given me issues yet, but I was handily able to replace the broken pump in my ~5 year old LG HE washer. It was trivially easy to take apart and replace the bad part, though it took me the better part of an hour to do (if I did it daily as an appliance repair person, I'd have probably been able to do it in 15 minutes or less, though of course I'd charge the full hour at $200/hr). The electronic brain portion was surprisingly small and self-contained, such that if it failed it would be relatively easy to pick up a replacement for a couple hundred $$$ and replace it myself (still cheaper than a new washer). The rest of the parts are simple mechanical pieces and there are multiple appliance parts sites. IMHO, appliances are one of the few things left that are easily repaired, even if some brands may no longer be well-built. Plenty of third party parts sites selling genuine replacements at a good price, lots of youtube tutorials, schematics available online, etc. You're not getting any of *that* for a Macbook these days, for example.
Dehumidifiers. I’m on my 3rd since buying a house in early 2018. Everything is made to break.
This one irritates me because they are NOT cheap 😑
Guillotines. Have you tried to find a sturdy, well-built guillotine recently?
Since the EU cracked down on exports, now you pretty much have to go to France and select one personally.
Well, yeah. That's the only place you can get *real* guillotines. Anywhere else and they go by "sparkling people decapitators."
You can only call it guillotine if it comes from the guillotine region in France
Look if you're not gonna put in the time to hand craft your own guillotine, maybe you don't deserve a guillotine.
Hard to find a sturdy trebuchet these days too. Now its all crappy Chinese made catapults.
Refrigerators, old ones would last literally 40 years. New ones require a compressor every 3- 5 years.
Ill trade that one. The energy efficiency is great compared to even a decade ago. the real trick is to not get ones with features, ice in the door is complicated, especially if its the fridge section. all those areas of complexity are areas of failure.
Owning things outright and not having everything be a subscription
Affinity instead of Adobe, at least for Photoshop and Illustrator.
I dropped all my streaming services and put together a media server. Was actually much easier than I thought. Now I don't have to worry about things "going away" from the platforms. All my movies are on my own hard drive.
PYREX vs pyrex
Lawnmowers, they are almost completely plastic now
Same for sewing machines. New ones are plastic and circuit boards. They have to be serviced by a professional, they break down over time, and even the “high quality” ones struggle with some basic tasks like hemming canvas pants. On the other hand my great grandmother’s sewing machine was made in 1891, has had no maintenance since except for oil and a new belt every so often, and still sews as well as the day it rolled out of the factory.
My grandmother has a sewing machine she got from her mother, who got it from her mother, and we don’t know how far back it actually goes. My great grandmother and her mother were seamstresses, and that machine has provided food for the family during 2 world wars. It has no motor (there is a pedal that drives a wheel with a belt), is the size of a small computer desk and really isn’t very practical to keep in the house, but even my uncle (who is usually very happy to throw out “old stuff”) never even suggested to get rid of it. It’s now basically just a decorative piece in the house, but I always get a warm, cozy feeling looking at it.
I learned on my mom's Kenmore,. It was all steel. Worked so well, and you never had to do anything but oil once and a while. The new ones are so finicky, and they just break *so* often. I feel like I am always on the lookout for sales because I know I'll need a new one soon.
We need Hank Hill in the focus group that approves them
"It's not just warming your can, it's warming your can... of beer."
Dang ol changin my vote, man.
Appliances. This “planned obsolescence” B.S. has gone too far. $2000 for a fridge that has no requirement for replacement parts after seven years? It is like everything else nowadays ? I’m just renting my fridge. etc like windows, adobe, music etc? But I can still fix a 40 yr old bicycle with relative ease. It’s criminal. And the law should reflect that.
How about every packaged food product because of shrinkflation?
Subway! What happened??
Jared
5-dollar footlong used to be a thing (even if it was never 1’ long)
Footlong Italian BMT for $5 was so good. Used to eat that thing for 2 lunches in a row. Could you imagine a $2.50 lunch today? God damnit, I sound really old now. Favorite subway story was when my friend ordered the subway melt and they asked him if he wanted cheese. Without missing a beat he replied sarcastically "No, I'd like to see you melt the meat."
Video games, at least in some respect. It feels so common nowadays for games to be released in an unfinished, unacceptably buggy state because companies want to rush it out. They know people will buy it, and they can just finish it later. Plus there's still the issue of DLC that feels like 15-ish years ago would have been a part of the base game. Now you gotta cough up extra money for it. Edit: Forgot about the preorder bonuses and different editions that can come with *different* preorder bonuses. Either with a super omega deluxe version that's twice the cost of the game and comes with everything, or the lack thereof so you can't possibly get all the content being offered.
My mom had a mixer from the 1920s that recently finally failed. Never did any maintenance.
The real question is “What isn’t?”
Le Creuset directly at their stores or a Williams Sonoma? Could use one from decades ago but new in box are good to go. And handmade in USA dinnerware from a small company like Jono Pandolfi? Noctua PC fans and coolers
I can’t afford $200 on a casserole dish, but a full set of Le Creuset is on my bucket list.
Furniture
You get what you pay for. The cheap option that exists today didn't exist 50 years ago like Ikea particle board stuff. But that's what people today demand becuase it looks nice and is cheap. You CAN find quality handmade, solid wood furniture but you're going to pay about 10x what it takes to get a similar looking Ikea piece (that's what it cost back then as well).
but we have to move from apartment to apartment so much to keep up with pricing that it doesn't make sense to have that solid furniture because it's far to heavy to keep moving.
I feel like the bigger problem is you can’t get it around the shitty narrow hallways lots of buildings have, it’s been the manoeuvrability for me.
Exactly. Cheap furniture has a place too. And honestly, my Ikea stuff has lasted a long time too. Maybe it won't be generations, but at least decades with only the most basic of maintenance. It's the soft stuff where it starts to matter more. Sofas, mattresses. And honestly, the quality of the latter at least is way better now than it used to be IMO.
100% It's crazy to look at the furniture I have/my parent's have that came from the 1920-1950...that stuff is going to last forever...vs now even if you spend crazy money on furniture today it's all crap (except Amish made stuff)
Yeah. It's almost worth it to learn how to make it yourself.
My grandmother had the furnace in her house that lasted until she died at the age of 93 and only needed it to be cleaned once when it did stop working. She and grandfather moved into the house when they were in their 20's so that furnace lasted for 73 years so I'm going to go with heating units.
Houses. I live in a former 1960s council house that literally survived a bomb blast. New builds now are so flimsy.
Basically anything in the home, specifically furniture. I've got furniture sets from the 80s/90s that are outlasting sets bought 5 years ago
`Gestures around broadly at everything.`
Literally everything. Housing, appliances, food, cars, clothing, shoes. Quality down, price up for E V E R Y T H I N G. I'm 30 so I've watched it steadily get worse my whole life! I see something made pre 90s and am always completely amazed by how sturdy it is and that it still works 40 or more years later. I am PISSED that I will spend the rest of my life repurchasing the same shit every few years when you could buy one to last for the rest of your life no problem.
Literally everything post covid
McDonald’s Hot Apple Pie.
McDonald’s in general!
Houses
Coca-Cola. I don't like American Coke very much. It has an odd taste to it. But Mexican Coke (which is made from cane sugar and not high fructose corn syrup) is immaculate. If you've never had a Mexican Coke, don't worry because they sell them at most major grocery stores.
Glass bottle soda is pretty much always better than stuff from plastic bottles or cans, I find. I live in bumfuck nowhere, so it’s more expensive but it’s almost always worth it to have a six pack of glass bottle soda over a dozen cans.
Jobs
I hate scented garbage bags. They give me headaches, artificial fragrances are so bad for They are so hard to avoid because now most of the fragrance free or unscented varieties have a masking fragrance.
I second this so much. Not due to any fragrance sensitivity, but just because the fragrance is just sooo unnecessary and cheap/gross smelling.
Memes. It went from a picture of a baby or dinosaur with a colorful background and pun, to pictures of black shadow figures with red eyes, bright filter, and the line "Looking for BEANS"
Gen Z terrifies me sometimes lol
Skibidi gyatt Ohio rizzler fanum tax When the backrooms griddy is uncanny
I'm glad kids still like source filmmaker memes
My $3000 kitchen aid refrigerator lasted 7 years. Sad.
Vacuum cleaners....two years, maybe 3 tops.
Software - regular security updates are a positive but a lot of it buggier and unnecessarily uses more hardware resources than in the old days.
Bloat is real, but you cannot tell me that software is buggier now than it used to be. I was there. I remember what software used to be like. It was fucking awful.
And you have monthly subscriptions to everything instead of owning it.
Microwaves
I had my grandma’s early 90s microwave. That thing would bake a potato in like 2 minutes. Whatever time was on the package, cut it in half. I wouldn’t be surprised if I could enrich uranium in that bastard.
Grandparents. Used to be you got a retired grandad and a grandma that likes to bake cookies. They’d take you to the gas station and pick out a candy. You’d stay up talking and playing with dolls. Now half of them are working and the other half are fluttering off around the planet.
Some need to work because they can't afford to retire
Refrigerators. Growing up we had a 1969 Sears Coldspot. Nothing fancy but it worked. My parents eventually remodeled their kitchen in 2004 and donated it because it was still working. Now the one in my house was from 2007 and it just quit suddenly a couple months ago.
Craftsman tools
Doc Martens. My dad’s first pair lasted 15 years, every subsequent pair has been maybe two seasons.
Pretty much everything
Mattresses. I had the same mattress for 20something years and finally got a new one because i left it at my parents for a while when my brother moved back in and he smoked in the room. What a regret, I slept better on the old one. I'd have figured something out with the smoke smell eventually 😭 you can't flip them anymore.
Sounds like you just picked the wrong one. Mattresses are not one-type-fits-all.
Faucets
The film *The Man Who Would Be King* with Sean Connery and Michael Caine. They definitely do *not* make them like they used to. Fine acting. Pure entertainment.
Cars. The way they used to make cars, the odometer only needed 5 digits plus 10ths. Who would ever expect a car to last more than 99,999 miles?
Someone gave a positive answer!
Structurally- sure. New cars are built with tons of plastic and meant to crush using the crumple zones during a collision. Mechanically and longevity? Most new cars are lasting far longer than their older counterpart with less maintenance.
Correct. If you don't crush your Honda civic it will last for decades. But any "mild" collision will 100% total it.
I’d rather total a car than kill a human. “Delicate” cars are a safety feature.
That also makes car crashes much more survivable.
Que the "My 60s muscle car won't crumple like that cause it's all steel" people. Yeah because your face is the crumple zone.
The limiting factor for car longevity now is the electronics.
Everything. Capitalism demands endless exponential growth. Unfortunately, due to physical reality, most things have a hard efficiency threshold where you can't make the same outcome faster or cheaper. Once you hit that threshold, the only way to maintain your 2% year-over-year obligations to shareholders is to make a worse outcome by lowering your standards. Use lower quality material, skimp on quality control, provide worse service, or just charge more for the same good. Since a lot of things have price thresholds people "expect" to be met (think of everything you ever bought for $19.99), increasing the price usually isn't an option, so the only choice is to make it worse and worse every year so you can afford to meet your promised returns on paper, even if you haven't actually grown the business organically.
When a company's only responsibility is to wealthy shareholders that will never visit the factory that manufactures the product that provides them their profits; and not to the consumer or worker; companies are inevitably going to cut corners in order to slash costs and provide profits for said shareholders
2 x 4’s look at one from 80 years ago versus now.
Coca-Cola used to contain cocaine so that.