Thanks to the digital age, everyday-items from the past have become forgotten or extinct, while others have transformed significantly. However, the great thing about the internet is that it can remind us just how much things have changed!

Below we’ve found 5 everyday-items that have either diminished entirely or drastically changed since their time. How many can you recognize?

Starting With…

That silver case thingymabob, snuggled in the side-door handle of this vehicle, is a built-in ashtray.

That’s right. More like an automobile staple, these built-in ashtrays became very famous in the 1950s. For smokers of the past, this was a glamorous flip-up case conveniently located in all vehicles. However, like all things that have a beginning and an end, this built-in ashtray’s end was 1996.

We All Know This One…

Before digital made listening to, and downloading music, an easy-at your-fingertips-thing, we had the humble cassette tape!

Rewind back (pun intended) 27 years ago, we all have memories of waiting for our favorite song to come on the radio so that we could record it on a cassette. Invented in 1963, the cassette tape was the most popular form of prerecorded music from 1983 until 1991.

Remember This?

This thick yellow book, which once sat beside the phone in everyone’s home, was the most reliable source to find local products and services.

Launched in 1966, The Yellow Pages has now become an afterthought in a world where information is a digital click away.

However, despite our world going digital, it has not gone extinct yet! Thanks to the older demographic who still find this directory source useful, The Yellow Pages still lives on.

And This?

Before the Apple computer, there was the typewriter!

The first known typewriter was invented in the US in 1830. At the time, the typewriter was not very appealing to use. Upon first glance, it looked like this big, heavy, clunky piece of machinery. After the 1930s, however, they were offered in colors to appeal to homeowners and secretaries who wanted something a little less oppressive looking.

And Finally…

“Sir wake me up at 6:00 am” is how some of us set our alarm clock today. But before the ubiquity of smartphone/alarm apps, there was the great radio alarm clock!

Invented in the 1940’s, the radio alarm clock was huge, heavy, and like most old devices from the past, wooden.

In 2012, customers were surveyed about the ways their smartphones had replaced other devices, and they found that the alarm clock was the most commonly replaced.

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