Whatever time you happened to be born into, where you live, and whoever you are, there’s going to be a gadget out there somewhere from times gone by that your parents or grandparents will recognize but that will leave you gobsmacked. Technology isn’t new, and people are inventing things to make life easier all the time. This has been going on for eons. Think about it. When you were a kid, you probably had some commonplace gadgets that kids today wouldn’t recognize. They’d be scratching their heads trying to figure out what the heck it is. Changes happy quickly and it can be hard to keep up.
While it’s frustrating to try to keep up with change, it’s also fun to look around and try to figure out what some of these old gadgets were used for. It’s also fun to show our kids and try to watch them figure it out. It’s impossible. They can’t wrap their minds around the uses for these gadgets because not only are the gadgets obsolete but in some cases, the purpose of the gadget is also obsolete. With that said, it’s a lot of fun to stumble upon a photo of something we used to use every day and haven’t seen in years. Sharing photos of these old items on social media is lots of fun as you prompt your friends to “remember when.”
Let’s check out some of these old objects. We’ll put a clue above the image and below the image, we’ll tell the name of the image and what it was used for.
1. Hint: these were invented to help with a ridiculously difficult task…
Threading a needle. Yes, that’s right. This is a needle threader. While it might resemble old coins, this little gizmo helped young girls learn how to thread their needles for sewing. They weren’t just for beginners, however. They were also great for older sewers whose eyes weren’t what they used to be. You could find one in every sewing basket along with a pincushion, a measuring tape, and scissors.
2. This is actually still used in a special kind of shop.
If you’ve gotten married in the last 15 or 20 years, you may know what this is. At first glance, it looks like an odd-shaped piece of plastic. However, it’s chalk. Specifically, it’s tailor’s chalk. Tailors use it to mark places on clothing where adjustments will be done. The chalk leaves a solid mark for the tailor but wipes off easily.
3. This is a church-key. But what in the world is a church-key?
Interestingly, a church-key isn’t the key to a church. It’s a device that’s used to open bottles. If you’re a beer drinker, you may actually recognize this gizmo. However, what you may not know is that the sharp end of the device is a puncture tool. Back in the old days, chocolate syrup came in cans, and we would use this device to puncture a pour-shaped hold in the cans. It was also used to open cans of evaporated milk.
4. Hint: it can help you make music.
This weird little tool is not a fidget spinner. It snaps inside an old 45 record so that we could play our small 45’s on our record players. It served to decrease the size of the hold in the middle of the record.
5. Hint: they don’t work.
If you’ve been dieting as long as I have, you probably recognize this ridiculous weight-loss gimmick that’s known as “Wonder Sauna Hot Pants.” And no, they don’t work. Trust me on this.
