Reimagine this classic dialogue: ‘You hang up first.’ ‘No, you hang up first.’ It’s not quite as sentimental when you fumble for the end call button on your smartphone, right? As technology advances, so do the phrases we use. Let’s take a stroll down memory lane, seeking something unique in our pursuit of tech knowledge. See how many of these phrases you’ve uttered at least once in your lifetime.
● Roll down the window: Cars have had automatic windows for years, making the manual act of “rolling down” a thing of the past. However, I still catch myself saying this in my beloved 1964 Mustang.
● Check the answering machine: Cell phones with voicemail have rendered physical answering machines obsolete. Apple’s iOS 17 even allows you to listen to voicemails while they’re being recorded, giving you the option to answer. Groundbreaking? Not really.
● Dial 411: My mother played a role in designing the 411 directory system for Bell Labs. Nowadays, all you have to do is look someone up online to get their contact details.
● Beep me: Pagers were once all the rage, but now they are mainly used in healthcare or specific industries.
● I’ll tape it: The days of “taping” shows with DVRs and streaming services are long gone. You simply hit record on your device or watch it later on-demand.
● Rewind/Fast-forward: These terms made perfect sense for cassettes and VHS tapes. Although we still use them metaphorically, you’re no longer physically winding anything.
● Find a payphone: With a cell phone in nearly every pocket, payphones have become an urban relic.
● Get the film developed or Don’t waste the film: Ah, the good old days of waiting days to see a picture you looked terrible in. Thanks to digital cameras and smartphones, that’s a thing of the past.
● Look it up in the White or Yellow Pages: Online directories have replaced those hefty books.
● I’ll fax it to you: Fax machines are almost extinct.
● Drop a coin in the jukebox: Before Spotify and Apple Music, we had to pay to play our favorite songs at diners and bars using these music machines. Imagine explaining to a Gen Z-er that you physically selected a song and waited for it to play!
● Burn a CD: At some point, burning CDs as a mixtape gift was all the rage. With cloud sharing and playlists, the art of creating a mix for someone is becoming ancient history.
● Dial-up tone: Kids today will never understand the agony of waiting for a connection, only to get disconnected because someone picked up the phone.
● Turn the channel knob: Some of us remember when changing the channel meant getting off the couch! No remote, just a clicky round dial.
● You’ve got mail: AOL’s iconic phrase signifying the arrival of an email would now be an annoyance with the countless notifications we receive daily.
● Save it on a floppy: These disks couldn’t even hold a single song by today’s standards. Now, we carry terabytes in our pockets.
● Dial-up tone: Kids today will never understand the agony of waiting for a connection, only to get disconnected because someone picked up the phone.
● Hit the pound key: The focus now is on hashtags.
● I need new batteries for my Walkman: The predecessor to the iPod, this device revolutionized music for us. Nowadays, we charge our devices instead of replacing batteries.
● Remember to defrag your computer: It used to be a regular ritual to ensure your PC ran smoothly. With technology advancements, most of this maintenance is automated.
● Put the antenna up: Whether it was the rabbit ears on top of the TV or a telescoping antenna on a boombox, positioning was crucial. Remember the days of trying to hold it just right for a clear picture or signal? Classic!
I bet there are kids and even 20-somethings in your life who would be completely baffled by these phrases. This makes me wonder what phrases we use now that will eventually become a thing of the past. “Drop me a pin,” “Swipe left,” and “Tap to pay” immediately come to mind.
Did You Know? The Origins of ‘CC’ and ‘BCC’ in Emails
When you’re sending emails, you’ve probably utilized the ‘CC’ (carbon copy) or ‘BCC’ (blind carbon copy) fields. But have you ever considered their origins? These terms were born during the typewriter era. When someone wanted an exact duplicate of a typewritten document, they would insert a sheet of carbon paper between two sheets of regular paper. The pressure from typing transferred ink from the carbon sheet to the second sheet, creating a “carbon copy.”
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