What modern "convenience" do you really like?

[ebinmaine 63,561]

Think about the things you do and use every day and think about what you would have done to accomplish that task say 40, or 50 years ago.

Or maybe something that had NO possibility or common knowledge of existence then.

 

I'll start with vitamins that are basically gummies and are delicious... I'm fundamentally a 5 year old. Candy is yummy. When I was a kid in the 70's I remember taking vitamins that were like bitter Horse pills.

 

And my impact driver. I have only had one for 3 years or so and I couldn't imagine doing SOOOO many of the things Trina and I have built or repaired without it now.

[rjg854 10,812]

Obviously the cell phone.  It has so many uses besides just a form of communication.  Pretty much anymore they are almost a necessity.

[SylvanLakeWH 24,318]

Harnessing energy. Electrical, mechanical etc. Everything we now “do” is assisted or done by something we created to harness and use energy better or more efficiently...

 

Think electricity, engines, motors, all tools etc...

 

[953 nut 52,254]

Staying within the parameters set forth (didn't exist fifty years ago) I guess I would have to say the internet comes to mind. 

1 hour ago, rjg854 said:

Obviously the cell phone.

      Not too sure about Randy's answer of the cell phone, it is as much of a pain in the @$$ as it is a convenience.      

 

[AMC RULES 36,961]

The plastic islands floating in our oceans are nice. 

[Reel Mower Freak 125]

The one thing that makes my life so much easier is......YouTube.  There is so much information there that was never accessible before. Whether it’s an engine rebuild, valve adjustment, dishwasher repair, you name it, somebody has taken the time to film and explain the procedure. Some aren’t as good as others but they all teach you something. Game changer in my opinion. 

[JoeM 7,745]

I like reliable electricity. What a great value.

In the hand tool area, my battery powered tools.

I am with 953 on the cell phone. I suppose I could do without.....

 

Forgot about this one, seen this on CL. Roomba for the lawn. says will cut an acre.

Edited March 1, 2019 by OILUJ52

[midpack 813]

My Dad ran a small auto repair/sale business for many years. now I know cars were simpler back then (he's been gone for over 30 years, still miss him every day...) 

I can't help but marvel how he could just "do" whatever you could imagine without the resources (internet, cell phone) that we take for granted today

[dclarke 4,011]

Garage door openers. I can remember seeing my first one at my uncle's house, couldn't believe he could open the door on his detached garage from inside his house. 

Power steering. Another thing we use every day and don't even think about. 

Air conditioning. 

[Mows4three 825]

My friend Eric:

 

Excellent topic and question.  By "modern', I assume you mean something that was invented in the last few thousand years, right?  

 

I am a big fan of the wheel, in general.   Their absence would make life so much harder.  

 

Without a wheel, my garden cart wouldn't be much fun to push.  Without a wheel, my four-wheeler would just be a "4."  

 

Without wheels, tires and a steering wheel on my truck I couldn't get to the store to buy beans and weenies or the coffee I must have daily to function.  

 

Without a wheel, my chainsaw would be reduced to a very laborious one-man saw.  

 

Without the 18 wheels on a big truck, almost nothing could get to the local shopping center where my better-half finds so much pleasure in spending my hard earned money.  

 

Without a wheel, there wouldn't be any Wheel Horses, then we'd just have horses.  I grew up with horses.  Too much work and you have all the trouble of growing hay, corn and oats to keep them in feed, plus you have to muck out stalls every day.  I hated mucking out stalls.  

 

Yeah.  I like the wheel.  It gets my vote.  And I like a cordless drill. 

 

Cheers (with tongue in cheek)!

 

Dave

[buckrancher 2,678]

automatic bread slicer

[squonk 39,161]

Electronic fuel injection.  (When it works! )   As a mechanic who fought with, hand chokes, choke stoves, heat riser valves,choke pull offs,electric chokes, fast idle cams,  I love going out on a cold day and being able to turn the key and VROOM! Walk away and not come back to a loping( if still running) or screaming truck. Spring and fall were the worst. Adjustments made in the spring now we're no good in the fall. I had a binder of a foot thick with technical bulletins trying to get a simple Chrysler tootally two 4 banger to run smoothly at partial choke.  And let's not forget the famous Mitsubishi 2.6 Caravans with the heat shield you took off in the fall to stop carb icing and put on to prevent carb boiling in the spring.

 

Remote start kits with their 25 relays would not be a thing without EFI! 

[elcamino/wheelhorse 9,120]

Being in the over 70 club I vote for computers , the internet , air nailers , portable compressors . By the way don't have a cell phone, don't want one.

[WHX?? 47,043]

4 hours ago, OILUJ52 said:

. Roomba for the lawn. says will cut an acre.

We had this discussion Julio... where's the seat time with that??

[squonk 39,161]

49 minutes ago, elcamino/wheelhorse said:

Being in the over 70 club I vote for computers , the internet , air nailers , portable compressors . By the way don't have a cell phone, don't want one.

If you had a cell phone Waldo, you could find out where you are! " Hello, where am I" " I don't know where I am, how am I supposed to tell you how to get here!" 

[roadapples 6,981]

4 hours ago, AMC RULES said:

The plastic islands floating in our oceans are nice. 

They could put deposit on a lot of that stuff like they did bottles when we were kids. Make it high enough to make it worth while...

[AMC RULES 36,961]

 ...and give humans the job back of sorting the stuff.  

[stevasaurus 22,275]

Gotta be the TV remote.    Can you imagine getting up every time to change the channel...especially with 140+ channels??  Also, just imagine how many commercials you would be stuck watching because it would be too much trouble to surf.

[WHX?? 47,043]

1 minute ago, stevasaurus said:

Gotta be the TV remote.

Here I woulda thought you woulda said having a modern kitchen Dino...

[cschannuth 3,795]

What I thought was the biggest waste ever turned out to be one of my favorites. The back up camera on my truck. Now when I’m in my older truck I can barely back up without the camera. Sounds silly but it really spoils a fella. 

[WHX?? 47,043]

Agreed Craig, I had to get a truck with a camera as yelling at the Missus WHICH WAY to drop the hitch on the ball almost ended in divorce! New truck was the least expensive of that route.  

Edited March 1, 2019 by WHX22

[JoeM 7,745]

2 hours ago, stevasaurus said:

Gotta be the TV remote.    Can you imagine getting up every time to change the channel

My Dad had the first remote control in the patch...............hey boy put it on 2, hey boy put it on 11, hey boy, hey boy, hey! thankfully we only had 3 stations!

Oh yeah, go up on the roof and turn the antenna. (later we did get a rotor)!

[stevasaurus 22,275]

@OILUJ52  I remember those days.  Actually, you know people had kids to help them as they got old...ie...help on the farm, help around the yard, somebody to yell at, etc.  When you think of it, remotes may have replaced children.  I know the younger generation is not getting married, not having kids and populations are dropping.  If it wasn't for fermentation, civilization as we know it may be in jeopardy. 

[Reel Mower Freak 125]

I have yet to find a remote that will grab me a beer. Kids need to stay around for a while longer. 

[rjg854 10,812]

Sporks