18 Things Your Parents Once Owned That Are Now Rare Finds - Boomer insight

Micheal Brussel

18 Things Your Parents Once Owned That Are Now Rare Finds

Household items are consistently changing, whether that’s because of technology or because specific things are no longer needed. That leads to many items being surplus to requirement, which is why there are tons of things that people might’ve found in their parent’s home at one point that aren’t around anymore. Younger homeowners might not need them, so once-familiar items are often no longer seen.

Video Players

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There was a time when video players were common, with tons of people owning them to record television shows or watch movies. But with the advancement of technology, these have fallen by the wayside as the quality simply hasn’t kept up.

DVD Players

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DVD players eventually replaced video players, but even they are now considered relics of the past. People rarely own DVD players because of how convenient streaming services are. Most people will be subscribed to various services that provide tons of movies that are consistently updated and can be reached with a tap of a button, without the need to find a location for tons of DVDs to live in the home.

CD Player

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Much like the movie industry, the music business has adapted and changed dramatically over the years to the point where few people now own CDs or CD players. At one stage, owning an extensive system to play music out of would’ve been popular and the best way to access music. But given that people can now use Alexa to play songs or use streaming services such as Spotify, these items aren’t needed.

Landline Telephones

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Landline telephones were once the number one way for people to stay in contact, allowing them to quickly phone another home to check if they were in and have a lengthy conversation about life. But that’s not the case anymore. People can quickly communicate via their mobiles, which has led to these no longer being needed.

Encyclopedias

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There was a time when every household owned one of these books to provide quick answers to questions, as they proved useful for looking up information. But with the rise of Google, there’s no need for them to collect dust in people’s homes anymore, as questions can be answered much faster.

Slide Projectors

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Slide projectors were once standard in family homes, making it easy to share photographs when friends and family came to visit. That purpose was defeated when digital cameras became popular, and pictures could be placed on the internet for people to view regardless of where they were worldwide.

Phone Books

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Phone books used to be incredibly thick because they were jam-packed with every number anyone could need. Sifting through them to get to the answers would take a lot of time, and that was time-consuming. Fortunately, with the internet, getting any information, such as phone numbers, can be done far quicker, defeating the purpose of the phone book entirely.

A Record Player

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Vinyls are starting to make a comeback in recent years, with many artists putting a lot of care and attention into them. But that doesn’t mean that tons of people still own record players. A select number of individuals have begun listening to them again, but compared to how it was in previous generations, record players are a thing of the past.

iPods

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There have been tons of different iPods created over time, all of which served various purposes while still being focused on the primary task of storing music for people to listen to. They allowed people to be portable with their songs and play them quickly, but nowadays, they’re a thing of the past. These might have been littered around homes a decade ago, but now people use their phones for everything.

Fax Machine

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For those who had to work from home or needed to get information sent, fax machines were a staple. But nowadays, they would be far too time-consuming, considering files and documents can be sent via email instantly.

Typewriters

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Sitting down and typing away at a typewriter can be therapeutic for some people, but the slower pace has rendered them useless over time. With the rise of computers, the need for typewriters has decreased, which is why it’s rare to ever see one in someone’s home.

Sunken Living Rooms

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The closest people come to a sunken living room today is watching an episode of Mad Men. These were a big hit in the 1970s, with the living room designed to dip down so people could sit around and chat. But they ended up going out of fashion, and people no longer opt to have them.

Flora Sofa Patterns

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The choice of sofa design is essential in the modern climate, with people taking a long time to deliberate and get these decisions right. Nowadays, the focus is on things being quite minimalistic and plain, but that didn’t used to be the case. People of older generations often chose big floral patterns, but they haven’t held up in aesthetics.

Ashtrays

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Smoking has decreased worldwide, mainly due to restrictions. Most people generally frown upon smoking inside a home, so the idea of people owning ashtrays is something that only some people are interested in when it comes to the family home.

Rabbit Ear Aerials

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There was a time when rabbit ear aerials were essential for getting a signal, with people constantly having to tweak and move them to get the desired picture. Fortunately, that’s not something that people need to do anymore, which has led to their disappearance.

Water Beds

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There was a time when water beds were popular, but given their potential for leaks or the fact that they weren’t overly comfortable, they have become a trend that few people are interested in embracing.

Photo Albums

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At one point, every family home was packed with photo albums as people looked to keep and maintain their memories. Printing out pictures and placing them together was regularly done, but that’s no longer the case, with few people of a younger generation owning them. That’s because of the rise of digital photos and the fact that people opt to share their memories via social media or on digital screens in the home now.

Floppy Disks

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Floppy disks used to be essential if anybody wanted to store data and transfer it to someone else. These colored disks came in handy for many people, but all of a sudden, USBs were created, and considering that they were much smaller, the need for a floppy disk decreased.

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