Someone Asked “What Eventually Disappeared And No One Noticed?” And 84 People Delivered

Postcards.

And not just in the usual places, like museum gift shops and tourist traps.

There was once a time when you could buy at any truck stop or roadside motel a postcard of the small town you were driving through. But not anymore.

No point when you can just text your friends a photo.

On the good side of things, the hole in the ozone layer. We listened to scientists and it repaired itself.

Privacy in your daily life.

Color from the world. Everything is becoming gray scale. Look at commercial buildings and fast food buildings. McDonald’s used to look fun and exciting, now they’re all gray and boring.

In my area, we had the funnest looking McDonald’s by the Dallas zoo, and now it’s being renovated (for whatever reason) to look like a standard gray colored McDonald’s. No fun.

Longevity in careers – this is a big one nobody seems to have said.

Longevity in careers has largely gone away. People used to get a job and after being there for decades reap the benefits of being seasoned employees (higher salaries and better perks).

Maybe it’s because I work in the Entertainment industry, but I feel that longevity in careers has gone away. Meaning, people can be amazing at a job, but after 5+ years the employers start wondering if they could be doing better with a younger/cheaper candidate for the job.

I understand if you ever want to move up in a works place they expect you to bring your A-game, but 30+ years of being incredible is hard. Some years will be better than others, and if employers don’t have loyalty to their employees anymore, it is likely the good employee will be fired or let go at some point.

I feel like in recent decades this has forced many people who normally wouldn’t, to switch careers. Can someone work successfully up the ladder at any job without having to shift to another company for a promotion?

A combination of employers halting upward movement of their staff while they look for new employees to fill higher roles, and the fact that they “get bored” of their seasoned employees has largely killed the idea of anyone having a single career.

Alien abduction news stories.

Seems coincidentally related to increased number of cell phones with cameras on them.

Completely paid for benefits by corporations for employees.

Having many Family photographs in homes.

Not completely gone, but homes used to be plastered in them. The only times I really notice them is in homes of older people.

Slips. Women used to have them in various lengths. I had a pair for pants. They were in the lingerie section of every store. And nylons. Every grocery store used to have a wall of them.

Internet search results related to what I typed in.

Pay phones.

One specific thing that quietly disappeared from the world without much notice is the Kodak Kodachrome film, which was a popular and iconic film used for photography for several decades. The film, known for its vibrant colors and sharpness, was discontinued in 2009 due to the rising popularity of digital photography. Despite its historical significance and loyal following, the discontinuation of Kodachrome film went relatively unnoticed by the general public.

Our need to know who our neighbors are. I listened to a podcast about human interaction recently and the host said that the internet slowly made it possible to live without knowing who the people are next door.

It used to be that we would hang out with people in our street or attend dinners, birthdays, and whatnot. Now, everyone seems to have no need to even so much as introduce themselves.

The only time we do get to know each other is if we have a complaint.

Water beds.

Audio cassette tape pulled out and tangled in the shrubs of a strip mall. It was the gold standard parking lot decoration of the 90's.

Smoking areas in restaurants. I was a 90s-00s kid and have vivid memories of going to Friches Big Boy among other places, and the waiter asking my dad if he wanted smoking or non-smoking. Being an asthmatic child I'm surprised I survived.

Fast forward to today and I can't even imagine any food establishment letting people smoke in the dining area.

Kinda surprised I haven't seen this one yet, but Ronald McDonald. You remember the old clown everywhere in and around McDonald's commercials and stores? Gone. Phased out when that "clown scare" prank trend was going around.

Landline phones in homes.

We used to have these really fat bumble bees in my backyard. No longer see them.

Phone books.