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billryan
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April 8th, 2025 at 7:09:30 AM permalink
The worst ending for a show I cared about would have to be Quantum Leap, as the project was shut down and Sam was lost forever.

I can't think of any finale that I'd consider great.
The older I get, the better I recall things that never happened
EvenBob
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April 11th, 2025 at 11:14:07 PM permalink
Jay Leno finally did a show about my very first car, 57 Volkswagen bug. I love that car, we always love our very first car because it meant freedom. It was slow, the brakes were terrible, no synchromesh transmission, no heater, no radio, but it got great gas mileage and felt almost like a sports car. Jay Leno has remodified his 57 VW, the engine in mine was half the size of his. Couldn't get out of its own way, could barely make it up hills. Still it was a wonderful experience. I had two other Volkswagens after that, a 56 window van when I lived in California and in the late 80s I had a Volkswagen Rabbit which was also a very fun car.

"It's not called gambling if the math is on your side."
rxwine
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April 12th, 2025 at 4:34:36 AM permalink
Quote: billryan

The worst ending for a show I cared about would have to be Quantum Leap, as the project was shut down and Sam was lost forever.

I can't think of any finale that I'd consider great.
link to original post



I suggest someone write a series with many mysteries left unsolved. Of course, each show has to have a resolution or point, or leave you hanging to find out what happens in the next episode. But at least the Finale can wrap up all those other things.
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DRich
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April 12th, 2025 at 7:39:28 AM permalink
Quote: EvenBob

Jay Leno finally did a show about my very first car, 57 Volkswagen bug. I love that car, we always love our very first car because it meant freedom.



I did not love my first car.

You can't know everything, but you can know anything.
billryan
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April 12th, 2025 at 8:44:52 AM permalink
My first car was a broken-down 1964 or 1965 Chevy Nova wagon. My Dad picked it out for me specially. It had a blown gasket and a radiator leak. It needed constant oil and radiator fluids. My Dad told me if I could maintain the car for six months, it would show him I could care for cars, and he'd buy me something better. It smoked like crazy and took two quarts of oil per gas fillup.
It lasted less than two months. My next one was a 68 Skylark that got me through one winter before blowing the timing chain.
Sadly, at this same time, my parents bought my sister a new Oldsmobile Starfire and it burned nearly as much oil as my Nova. The car was garbage and fell apart within three years. It got junked before my parents paid off the loan.
The older I get, the better I recall things that never happened
rxwine
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April 12th, 2025 at 8:57:28 AM permalink
My first car was a well-used 69 Caprice which cost me more to keep it running for that 1 year, than it did to buy it. $150. About $500 over the year to fix stuff that happened. (if you don't count driving my parent's cars before that)
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EvenBob
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April 12th, 2025 at 9:29:01 AM permalink
One of the best cars I ever had I got at an auto auction. It was a 2000 Saturn and the auction was in 2002. 35,000 miles on it but it had a stick shift and no power windows. The starting bid was $2,000 and I was the only one who bid because nobody wanted a stick shift car with no power windows. I drove that thing for 12 years and put almost nothing into it. I always had more than one vehicle so it wasn't my main car but I still drove it all the time.
"It's not called gambling if the math is on your side."
AZDuffman
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April 12th, 2025 at 9:37:43 AM permalink
Quote: EvenBob

One of the best cars I ever had I got at an auto auction. It was a 2000 Saturn and the auction was in 2002. 35,000 miles on it but it had a stick shift and no power windows. The starting bid was $2,000 and I was the only one who bid because nobody wanted a stick shift car with no power windows. I drove that thing for 12 years and put almost nothing into it. I always had more than one vehicle so it wasn't my main car but I still drove it all the time.
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Saturn had that old school GM reputation of “it runs bad longer than most cars run.”
All animals are equal, but some are more equal than others
ChumpChange
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April 12th, 2025 at 6:36:18 PM permalink
I bought a 1975 AMC Pacer for $800 with around 93K miles on it in the mid-'80's. I liked it at the time. I drove a stick shift in driver's ed so I was keen to try a stick shift and this model had it. My mother could not drive a stick shift, so if she had to move the car to the driveway off the street, she couldn't do it. My teen neighbor crashed into it causing severe door damage and it basically totaled the car in damages but I kept the $600 check and didn't fix the door. I kept driving and it passed inspection a couple more times. I got rid of it with over 100K miles and got my parent's 1975 Buick LeSabre which had over 110K miles on it, and I drove that for a couple years until it blew out in a puff of white smoke coming out of everywhere at 125K miles at 15 years old.

So here's a couple videos on somebody who bought a 1975 Pacer to check it out. He did some speed tests, and it was absurdly slow on acceleration. My new car can do 0-60 mph in about 7 seconds compared to this one at 16 seconds. Those merge lanes on the toll road are still too short where I live. The speed limit was 55 mph back in the day, so going 85 mph was not on my radar. There's a lot of glass in this car, and no air bags that I can tell.

I BOUGHT The CLEANEST AMC Pacer In The Country - JRGO


DRIVING My New AMC Pacer In 2024 Is TERRIFYING - JRGO


Even Jay Leno tried out a 1978 Pacer Wagon. I haven't seen this video yet, I will soon.
DRich
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April 12th, 2025 at 7:03:03 PM permalink
Quote: ChumpChange

I bought a 1975 AMC Pacer for $800 with around 93K miles on it in the mid-'80's. I liked it at the time. I drove a stick shift in driver's ed so I was keen to try a stick shift and this model had it. My mother could not drive a stick shift, so if she had to move the car to the driveway off the street, she couldn't do it. My teen neighbor crashed into it causing severe door damage and it basically totaled the car in damages but I kept the $600 check and didn't fix the door. I kept driving and it passed inspection a couple more times. I got rid of it with over 100K miles and got my parent's 1975 Buick LeSabre which had over 110K miles on it, and I drove that for a couple years until it blew out in a puff of white smoke coming out of everywhere at 125K miles at 15 years old.

So here's a couple videos on somebody who bought a 1975 Pacer to check it out. He did some speed tests, and it was absurdly slow on acceleration. My new car can do 0-60 mph in about 7 seconds compared to this one at 16 seconds. Those merge lanes on the toll road are still too short where I live. The speed limit was 55 mph back in the day, so going 85 mph was not on my radar. There's a lot of glass in this car, and no air bags that I can tell.

I BOUGHT The CLEANEST AMC Pacer In The Country - JRGO



DRIVING My New AMC Pacer In 2024 Is TERRIFYING - JRGO


Even Jay Leno tried out a 1978 Pacer Wagon. I haven't seen this video yet, I will soon.

link to original post



I love the look of the Pacer and wish I could own one and maintain it. Actually, I would love to get the body of a Pacer and put it on a new platform of a similar size new car where I wouldn't have to deal with mechanical issues.
You can't know everything, but you can know anything.
ChumpChange
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April 12th, 2025 at 7:37:19 PM permalink
If you see WHITE SMOKE coming out your tail pipe its over. Will this recall fix it for FREE
AutomaticMonkey
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April 12th, 2025 at 7:59:21 PM permalink
Quote: DRich



I love the look of the Pacer and wish I could own one and maintain it. Actually, I would love to get the body of a Pacer and put it on a new platform of a similar size new car where I wouldn't have to deal with mechanical issues.
link to original post



Shazam!

billryan
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April 12th, 2025 at 8:27:42 PM permalink
Quote: DRich

Quote: ChumpChange

I bought a 1975 AMC Pacer for $800 with around 93K miles on it in the mid-'80's. I liked it at the time. I drove a stick shift in driver's ed so I was keen to try a stick shift and this model had it. My mother could not drive a stick shift, so if she had to move the car to the driveway off the street, she couldn't do it. My teen neighbor crashed into it causing severe door damage and it basically totaled the car in damages but I kept the $600 check and didn't fix the door. I kept driving and it passed inspection a couple more times. I got rid of it with over 100K miles and got my parent's 1975 Buick LeSabre which had over 110K miles on it, and I drove that for a couple years until it blew out in a puff of white smoke coming out of everywhere at 125K miles at 15 years old.

So here's a couple videos on somebody who bought a 1975 Pacer to check it out. He did some speed tests, and it was absurdly slow on acceleration. My new car can do 0-60 mph in about 7 seconds compared to this one at 16 seconds. Those merge lanes on the toll road are still too short where I live. The speed limit was 55 mph back in the day, so going 85 mph was not on my radar. There's a lot of glass in this car, and no air bags that I can tell.

I BOUGHT The CLEANEST AMC Pacer In The Country - JRGO



DRIVING My New AMC Pacer In 2024 Is TERRIFYING - JRGO


Even Jay Leno tried out a 1978 Pacer Wagon. I haven't seen this video yet, I will soon.

link to original post



I love the look of the Pacer and wish I could own one and maintain it. Actually, I would love to get the body of a Pacer and put it on a new platform of a similar size new car where I wouldn't have to deal with mechanical issues.
link to original post



If you left a Pacer exposed to the sun in a parking lot, the interior temperatures would turn the plastic seats into deathtraps. In the 1970s, air conditioning was an expensive option that many base model buyers skipped. Modern tinting could help., but the design was a bit ahead of its time. It had panorama views when it wasn't a thing.
The older I get, the better I recall things that never happened
ChumpChange
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April 12th, 2025 at 9:15:49 PM permalink
I had an old thermometer that I used to leave on the back windowsill of a car we once had. Our driveway was shaded by trees, but if parked at a relatives' house with no shade it could hit 160 degrees when it was 90 degrees outside and sunny at noon. We'd have to open the doors for 10 -15 minutes just to cool it down.
I keep a thermometer in my current car and it can hit 110 - 120 degrees on the passenger seat with no shade on 85 degree days. The back windows are heavily tinted so that may block some sun and provide some privacy in mall parking lots.
Of course daily highs above 92 degrees are much more common now and record highs of 100 degrees are more the normal in summer with global warming in the northeast US / NYS area.
I'm all about the thermostat in my car with the digital readout and cranking it to hi or low if need be. Turning the heated steering wheel button on when it's too hot in the car does not exactly cool down the hot steering wheel, so I still have to wait for the steering wheel to cool down first before I drive anywhere.
DRich
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April 12th, 2025 at 9:35:56 PM permalink
Quote: billryan



If you left a Pacer exposed to the sun in a parking lot, the interior temperatures would turn the plastic seats into deathtraps. In the 1970s, air conditioning was an expensive option that many base model buyers skipped. Modern tinting could help., but the design was a bit ahead of its time. It had panorama views when it wasn't a thing.



Yes, it would have been miserable having a Pacer in Las Vegas during the summer.
You can't know everything, but you can know anything.
Hunterhill
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April 13th, 2025 at 3:12:42 AM permalink
Quote: billryan

My first car was a broken-down 1964 or 1965 Chevy Nova wagon. My Dad picked it out for me specially. It had a blown gasket and a radiator leak. It needed constant oil and radiator fluids. My Dad told me if I could maintain the car for six months, it would show him I could care for cars, and he'd buy me something better. It smoked like crazy and took two quarts of oil per gas fillup.
It lasted less than two months. My next one was a 68 Skylark that got me through one winter before blowing the timing chain.
Sadly, at this same time, my parents bought my sister a new Oldsmobile Starfire and it burned nearly as much oil as my Nova. The car was garbage and fell apart within three years. It got junked before my parents paid off the loan.
link to original post


I had almost the same cars you did.
My first car was a Pontiac Ventura which was a clone of the Nova, my second car was a skylark and my third car was an olds starfire.
Happy days are here again
billryan
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April 13th, 2025 at 7:44:23 AM permalink
Novas and Skylarks were extremely popular in NY. My Skylark was the less popular four-door model with an FM converter. My friends all preferred the two-door models, but I did not.
The older I get, the better I recall things that never happened
EvenBob
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April 13th, 2025 at 7:51:51 AM permalink
My best friend had a 64 Nova that he drove for 12 years which was unheard of for a '60s car. They just didn't last that long. 6 cylinder, three on the tree, it just ran and ran and ran and when it finally quit he just left it on the side of the road. Took the license plate off got his stuff out and abandoned it.

"It's not called gambling if the math is on your side."
AZDuffman
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April 30th, 2025 at 2:40:45 PM permalink
Remember when your TV had 2 dials and when the top dial was turned to "U" it lit up the bottom dial which was the UHF fro channels 14-83?

What is the highest channel anyone remembers? I think 53 is highest I ever tuned into.
All animals are equal, but some are more equal than others
billryan
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April 30th, 2025 at 3:22:31 PM permalink
Long Island 55 was a much-watched channel with shows like Uncle Floyd. When cable came along, it was bought by Cablevision and is now Cable12/55. I'd watch wrestling and boxing on Spanish-language channels 41 and 47. One was broadcast from New York and Puerto Rican-centric, while the other was from Los Angeles and very Mexican-centric. They also had some interesting variety shows.
Older televisions went up to Channel 83, but those frequencies are now closed to the general public.
The older I get, the better I recall things that never happened
Dieter
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April 30th, 2025 at 3:51:15 PM permalink
Quote: AZDuffman

Remember when your TV had 2 dials and when the top dial was turned to "U" it lit up the bottom dial which was the UHF fro channels 14-83?

What is the highest channel anyone remembers? I think 53 is highest I ever tuned into.
link to original post



Wisconsin had (has?) a channel 57. It can be hard to tell nowadays, since the ATSC / DTV kind of masks the raw channel numbers.

Back in the closing days of NTSC, I managed to get a few UHF modulators for a song, which would put a standard video device signal out on the UHF TV channel. I had them mixed into the house antenna system, so I could watch the main living room's entertainment devices on one of the other TV's. I absolutely had at least one set to Channel 62.
It was very convenient to put on an old favorite movie, and then have it synchronized on every TV in the house while wandering around doing chores.
May the cards fall in your favor.
billryan
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April 30th, 2025 at 4:33:01 PM permalink
Quote: Dieter

Quote: AZDuffman

Remember when your TV had 2 dials and when the top dial was turned to "U" it lit up the bottom dial which was the UHF fro channels 14-83?

What is the highest channel anyone remembers? I think 53 is highest I ever tuned into.
link to original post



Wisconsin had (has?) a channel 57. It can be hard to tell nowadays, since the ATSC / DTV kind of masks the raw channel numbers.

Back in the closing days of NTSC, I managed to get a few UHF modulators for a song, which would put a standard video device signal out on the UHF TV channel. I had them mixed into the house antenna system, so I could watch the main living room's entertainment devices on one of the other TV's. I absolutely had at least one set to Channel 62.
It was very convenient to put on an old favorite movie, and then have it synchronized on every TV in the house while wandering around doing chores.
link to original post



Were those the devices Radio Shack sold for a few weeks before they were banned?
The older I get, the better I recall things that never happened
Dieter
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April 30th, 2025 at 4:50:30 PM permalink
Quote: billryan

Quote: Dieter

Quote: AZDuffman

Remember when your TV had 2 dials and when the top dial was turned to "U" it lit up the bottom dial which was the UHF fro channels 14-83?

What is the highest channel anyone remembers? I think 53 is highest I ever tuned into.
link to original post



Wisconsin had (has?) a channel 57. It can be hard to tell nowadays, since the ATSC / DTV kind of masks the raw channel numbers.

Back in the closing days of NTSC, I managed to get a few UHF modulators for a song, which would put a standard video device signal out on the UHF TV channel. I had them mixed into the house antenna system, so I could watch the main living room's entertainment devices on one of the other TV's. I absolutely had at least one set to Channel 62.
It was very convenient to put on an old favorite movie, and then have it synchronized on every TV in the house while wandering around doing chores.
link to original post



Were those the devices Radio Shack sold for a few weeks before they were banned?
link to original post



Sounds about right. I was pretty careful to make sure the rooftop aerial wasn't radiating much.
May the cards fall in your favor.
EvenBob
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April 30th, 2025 at 6:25:48 PM permalink
Quote: billryan

Long Island 55 was a much-watched channel with shows like Uncle Floyd. When cable came along, it was bought by Cablevision and is now Cable12/55. I'd watch wrestling and boxing on Spanish-language channels 41 and 47. One was broadcast from New York and Puerto Rican-centric, while the other was from Los Angeles and very Mexican-centric. They also had some interesting variety shows.
Older televisions went up to Channel 83, but those frequencies are now closed to the general public.
link to original post



I spent the first 25 years of my life with only three channels to watch on TV. Four channels if you count public television but I never watch that cuz it was all crap. Then I moved to California and got cable for the first time and was thrilled with all the channels. Fast forward to the present and I haven't had cable in years because it's a whole bunch of channels with nothing to watch that I care about. Anything that's good will eventually show up on one of the subscription sites like Max and Netflix and I don't have to watch commercials and I can see every season one after another without waiting.
"It's not called gambling if the math is on your side."
smoothgrh
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April 30th, 2025 at 6:26:56 PM permalink
Quote: AZDuffman

Remember when your TV had 2 dials and when the top dial was turned to "U" it lit up the bottom dial which was the UHF fro channels 14-83?

What is the highest channel anyone remembers? I think 53 is highest I ever tuned into.
link to original post



Retro gaming illustrations almost always use the two-dial VHF and UHF TV motif.

Growing up, I had channel 64, but it's a Spanish-language station.

Anyone watch "Weird Al" Yankovic's movie "UHF"? I saw it in the theater!
AutomaticMonkey
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April 30th, 2025 at 9:13:55 PM permalink
Quote: billryan

Long Island 55 was a much-watched channel with shows like Uncle Floyd. When cable came along, it was bought by Cablevision and is now Cable12/55. I'd watch wrestling and boxing on Spanish-language channels 41 and 47. One was broadcast from New York and Puerto Rican-centric, while the other was from Los Angeles and very Mexican-centric. They also had some interesting variety shows.
Older televisions went up to Channel 83, but those frequencies are now closed to the general public.
link to original post



Oh yeah the Riverhead station. That station used to come in very strong in southern Connecticut, stronger than most in Connecticut, and there was a lot of good stuff on it.
AZDuffman
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May 1st, 2025 at 2:46:54 AM permalink
Quote: smoothgrh

Quote: AZDuffman

Remember when your TV had 2 dials and when the top dial was turned to "U" it lit up the bottom dial which was the UHF fro channels 14-83?

What is the highest channel anyone remembers? I think 53 is highest I ever tuned into.
link to original post



Retro gaming illustrations almost always use the two-dial VHF and UHF TV motif.

Growing up, I had channel 64, but it's a Spanish-language station.

Anyone watch "Weird Al" Yankovic's movie "UHF"? I saw it in the theater!
link to original post



Saw it once. A fun movie to see *once.* Kramer is in it before he was Kramer.

UHF channels used really have to work to fill their time. Most of us older folks probably remember watching reruns of shows like "Gomer Pyle" which was filled with ads for local trade and business-prep schools. UHF in the 70s and 80s were the home of professional wrestling during the territory days. Usually they had a local-produced kids show.

Today channels are all the same, just plug to the satellite.
All animals are equal, but some are more equal than others
Dieter
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May 1st, 2025 at 3:21:08 AM permalink
(¡snip snip!)

Quote: AZDuffman


Today channels are all the same, just plug to the satellite.
link to original post



I think that homogeneity and lack of true curation has fed the surge in on-demand streaming popularity over the last decade.

If they're not going to pick programming that will usually entertain me, I may as well do it myself.

One of the local pizza places bought a two hour block on the highest numbered station in town every Saturday night, just before the National Anthem, test pattern, and static. They'd show mediocre movies interspersed with skits and their advertisements, in a Svengoolie reminiscent style.
May the cards fall in your favor.
DRich
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May 1st, 2025 at 1:33:29 PM permalink
Quote: AZDuffman

Most of us older folks probably remember watching reruns of shows like "Gomer Pyle" which was filled with ads for local trade and business-prep schools.



I still watch Gomer Pyle occasionally. It is on right before Hogan's Heroes which I watch daily.
You can't know everything, but you can know anything.
AZDuffman
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May 1st, 2025 at 2:09:23 PM permalink
Quote: DRich

Quote: AZDuffman

Most of us older folks probably remember watching reruns of shows like "Gomer Pyle" which was filled with ads for local trade and business-prep schools.



I still watch Gomer Pyle occasionally. It is on right before Hogan's Heroes which I watch daily.
link to original post



When I was in junior college I would go back home between classes. It was like Gomer, Hogan, and I forget the other. Odd Couple was on but I didn't like it as much. Turned out a HS buddy was in avionics class where a prof put the same shows on. I kind of think maybe the stations sold out the time wholesale to agencies that put on ads for those schools on shows to appeal to males 18-25 or so.

On "Seinfeld" Kramer once mentioned the ads during Gomer....
All animals are equal, but some are more equal than others
EvenBob
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May 1st, 2025 at 2:35:26 PM permalink
Quote: DRich

Quote: AZDuffman

Most of us older folks probably remember watching reruns of shows like "Gomer Pyle" which was filled with ads for local trade and business-prep schools.



I still watch Gomer Pyle occasionally. It is on right before Hogan's Heroes which I watch daily.
link to original post



I remember when I heard that Jim Nabors was gay. In those days that was not a cool thing to be and everybody was shocked.
"It's not called gambling if the math is on your side."
rxwine
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May 5th, 2025 at 5:58:06 AM permalink
Tetherball -- I kind of remember trying to play this game but it was mostly slamming the ball to wrap around the pole. I think eventually, the ball got knocked off completely and it was just a pole.
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billryan
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May 5th, 2025 at 7:33:52 AM permalink
Quote: rxwine

Tetherball -- I kind of remember trying to play this game but it was mostly slamming the ball to wrap around the pole. I think eventually, the ball got knocked off completely and it was just a pole.
link to original post



Our town pool had three tetherball courts in the 1970s, and they got a lot of use. There was a girl a year or two younger than us that kicked everyone's ass. By the mid-1980s, they weren't used much, and eventually they were replaced with a volleyball court, which pickleball courts replaced.
The older I get, the better I recall things that never happened
FatGeezus
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May 5th, 2025 at 9:28:12 AM permalink
Quote: billryan

Quote: rxwine

Tetherball -- I kind of remember trying to play this game but it was mostly slamming the ball to wrap around the pole. I think eventually, the ball got knocked off completely and it was just a pole.
link to original post



Our town pool had three tetherball courts in the 1970s, and they got a lot of use. There was a girl a year or two younger than us that kicked everyone's ass. By the mid-1980s, they weren't used much, and eventually they were replaced with a volleyball court, which pickleball courts replaced.
link to original post



In the 1950's we played Tetherball all the time. All the playgrounds had their local champs.

To start the game, the challenger had the choice of "sides" or "serve".

If you chose Serve, you would serve to start the game. If you chose Side, you got to chose how the tethered ball swung. Clockwise or Counter clockwise.
billryan
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May 5th, 2025 at 2:04:43 PM permalink
We had a strange way of deciding who got the ball first, but I can't remember what it was. It's fifty years since I played it and can only recall thinking it was a strange way to chose.
The older I get, the better I recall things that never happened
EvenBob
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May 7th, 2025 at 10:10:01 PM permalink
Remember the gas stoves that had to be lit with a kitchen match. Everybody in the 1950s that we knew had a stove that had to be lit with a kitchen match, a strike anywhere kitchen match. I remember one time my mother thought she lit the oven and opened the door 10 minutes later and it wasn't lit so she's stupidly lit a match and blew herself 8 ft across the kitchen. This was at night and my dad always went to bed early and he slept in the nude and he came running out of the bedroom totally naked. We got a big laugh out of that for years.

Pilot lights we're not invented until 1922 and if you bought a stove in the 1930s or 40s it didn't have a pilot light because they didn't catch on right away and people did not like them because they wasted gas. It was a small gas flame that was always burning 24 hours a day. And when I was a kid in the 1950s everybody had an old stove it's not something that you needed to replace. Us kids had the greatest fun with kitchen matches those things were dangerous. We made match guns where you shoot the match at the sidewalk and it catches on fire. But that was the 50s we did all kinds of stuff that now would either cause parents to pass out or be totally illegal.
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rxwine
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May 8th, 2025 at 8:53:45 AM permalink
I only remember having a pilot light gas stove. These stoves were all small. My sister had a tiny apartment in college, and she had a two burner gas stove. It was full height but only about a foot wide. Her kitchen counter was only about a foot and half.
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billryan
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May 8th, 2025 at 12:32:48 PM permalink
When I bought my co-op in Queens in 1992, it had a stove with a pilot light. I replaced it a few years later. I think the stove at my family's summer house still has a pilot light.
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AutomaticMonkey
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May 8th, 2025 at 12:55:53 PM permalink
Yes in 1999 I moved out of an apartment with a stove you needed to light manually. It was also what they call a gas-on-gas, where the cooking stove also serves as a heater for the apartment.

Now building inspectors do not approve of such things, but they used to be very common in apartments in northern cities, where there was gas service available. After they were banned the rule as I understood it was that existing gas-on-gas stoves didn't need to be removed, because they were perfectly fine as cook stoves, but there had to be some other heating available so that the general heating function did not need to be used.
Dieter
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May 8th, 2025 at 1:10:50 PM permalink
I seem to remember a story about one of the Olympic torchbearers lighting a candle at the end of his run, taking it home, and relighting the pilot light in his water heater with the Olympic flame.

My youngest daughter was amazed that there was a fire that made hot water. I understand she goes downstairs and looks through the little window to see it from time to time.

Pilot lights make sense for gas water heaters. Unlike a stove, there isn't usually someone at the controls demanding heat to strike a piezoelectric igniter.

I always found the safety mechanism interesting. If the gas is interrupted and the pilot light goes out, the valve is supposed to close so that the house doesn't fill with gas when the gas supply is restored.
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