In the 21st century, one would not expect to see one of these in a classroom, and yet, there it was, affixed to the wall in my classroom. Do you think young people even know what it is?

Pencil sharpener. In case you don’t know.

But it got me thinking about all the things now obsolete that were hot technology in their day. Things that the younger generation might not recognize.  Here are  a few:

Yes, I remember these.

This is the telephone of my early childhood. Phone numbers were things like BUtler 8-3002 or HUbbard 2-0504.

8-track cassette

These klugey things played music at home in in cars during 1960s and 70s. They didn’t last long; smaller cassette tapes replaced them.

Reel to reel tape recorder predated 8-tracks. Talk about klugey!

It’s an old radio

My parents’ generation, not mine. This was how they listened to “fireside chats.”

This console TV was a revered piece of furniture in many living rooms. We didn’t have one, though.

This console TV was the height of edgy modern style

Wow.  Isn’t it cool? I’d love to have this now! I’ll bet it costs a pretty penny today.

This was a late 1990s Palm Pilot. I had one.

1967 car phone.  Hardly anyone had ever seen one, much less owned one.

These “mobile” phones were carried around in bags.

Car phones were affixed to the car. I had one.

Modern mobile phone, in its day.

yes, it’s a Mac.

This was my very first computer, in the late 1980s.

Photo credit

This was an early 1980s Xerox printer. Look how big it was!

So, what do you remember that you’d add to this list??