random thread, for all that you can't find an appropriate thread for.

[El-Presidente]

'FENDER SKIRTS'



A term I haven't heard in a long time, and thinking about
'fender skirts' started me thinking about other words that
quietly disappear from our language with hardly a notice like
'curb feelers'


And 'steering knobs.' (AKA)
'suicide knob,' 'neckers knobs.'


Since I'd been thinking of cars,
my mind naturally went that direction first.

Any kids will probably have to find some older person
over 50 to explain some of these terms to you.

Remember 'Continental kits?'

They were rear bumper extenders and spare tire covers
that were supposed to make any car
as cool as a Lincoln Continental.



When did we quit calling them 'emergency brakes?
At some point 'parking brake' became the proper term.

But I miss the hint of drama that went with 'emergency brake.'

I'm sad, too, that almost all the old folks are gone
who would call the accelerator the 'foot feed.'

Many today do not even know what a clutch is
or that the dimmer switch used to be on the floor.

For that matter, the starter was down there too.


The choke is another word that the young wouldn’t know about.


Didn't you ever wait at the street for your daddy
to come home, so you could ride the
'running board' up to the house?



Here's a phrase I heard all the time in my youth
but never anymore - 'store-bought.'
Of course, just about everything is store-bought these days.

But once it was bragging material to have a
store-bought dress or a store-bought bag of candy.


'Coast to coast' is a phrase that once held all sorts
of excitement and now means almost nothing.

Now we take the term 'worldwide' for granted.

This floors me.



On a smaller scale, 'wall-to-wall' was once
a magical term in our homes.
In the '50s, everyone covered his or her hardwood floors
with, wow, wall-to-wall carpeting!

Today, everyone replaces their wall-to-wall carpeting
with hardwood floors. Go figure.



When was the last time you heard the quaint phrase
'in a family way?'
It's hard to imagine that the word 'pregnant'
was once considered a little too graphic,
a little too clinical for use in polite company,
so we had all that talk about stork visits and
'being in a family way' or simply 'expecting.'
Apparently 'brassiere' is a word no longer in usage.

I said it the other day and everyone cracked up.
I guess it's just 'bra' now.

'Unmentionables' probably wouldn't be understood at all.

I always loved going to the 'picture show,'
but I considered 'movie' an affectation.


Most of these words go back to the '50s,
but here's a pure '60s word I came across
the other day 'rat fink.'
Ooh, what a nasty put-down!


Here's a word I miss - 'percolator.'
That was just a fun word to say.

And what was it replaced with 'Coffee maker.'
How dull... Mr. Coffee, I blame you for this.

I miss those made-up marketing words that were
meant to sound so modern and now sound so retro.

Words like 'Dyna Flow' and 'Electrolux' and 'Frigidaire'.
We were introduced to the 1963 Admiral TV,
now it's
'Flat Screen Video'
 

Food for thought.

Was there a telethon that wiped out lumbago or rheumatism?
Nobody complains of that anymore.


Maybe that's what Castor oil cured,
because I never hear mothers threatening kids
with Castor Oil anymore.



Some words aren't gone, but are definitely
on the endangered list.

The one that grieves me most is 'supper.'
Now everybody says 'dinner.' Save a great word.
Invite someone to supper. Discuss fender skirts.

Another automotive concept that seems to have disappeared from the good ol' USA is the ability to drive a manual transmission ('stick shift' in yank speak). What the hell is up with that? Is coordinating your feet and hands really so difficult for you chaps?

Apologies skyblue if you are one of those rare beast Americans who can 'drive stick.'

[P7PSP]

The Lord Of The Rings trilogy and All Quiet On The Western Front are two works of great literature that have their roots in Tolkien's and Remarque's experiences in WWI fighting for their respective sides.

[odeon]

^Didn't know that.

[El-Presidente]

The Lord Of The Rings trilogy and All Quiet On The Western Front are two works of great literature that have their roots in Tolkien's and Remarque's experiences in WWI fighting for their respective sides.

Indeed, but Tolkiens work was also influenced by the lead up to and the reality of WW2 when the armies of darkness were despoiling Europe and exterminating its people.

[skyblue1]

What it took to pass an 8th grade education in 1895...

Remember when grandparents and great-grandparents stated that they only had an 8th grade education?
Well, check this out. Could any of us have passed the 8th grade in 1895?

This is the eighth-grade final exam from 1895 in Salina , Kansas , USA .
 
It was taken from the original document on file, from the Smokey Valley Genealogical Society and Library in Salina, Kansas, and was reprinted by the Salina Journal.

8th Grade Final Exam: Salina , KS - 1895

Grammar (Time, one hour)
1. Give nine rules for the use of capital letters.
2. Name the parts of speech and define those that have no modifications.
3. Define verse, stanza and paragraph
4. What are the principal parts of a verb? Give principal parts of 'lie,''play,' and 'run.'
5. Define case; illustrate each case.
6 What is punctuation? Give rules for principal marks of punctuation.
7 - 10. Write a composition of about 150 words and show therein that you understand the practical use of the rules of grammar.


Arithmetic (Time,1 hour 15 minutes)
1. Name and define the Fundamental Rules of Arithmetic.
2. A wagon box is 2 ft. Deep, 10 feet long, and 3 ft. Wide. How many bushels of wheat will it hold?
3. If a load of wheat weighs 3,942 lbs., what is it worth at 50cts/bushel, deducting 1,050 lbs. For tare?
4. District No 33 has a valuation of $35,000.. What is the necessary levy to carry on a school seven months at $50 per month, and have $104 for incidentals?
5. Find the cost of 6,720 lbs. Coal at $6.00 per ton.
6. Find the interest of $512.60 for 8 months and 18 days at 7 percent.
7. What is the cost of 40 boards 12 inches wide and 16 ft.. Long at $20 per metre?
8. Find bank discount on $300 for 90 days (no grace) at 10 percent.
9. What is the cost of a square farm at $15 per acre, the distance of which is 640 rods?
10. Write a Bank Check, a Promissory Note, and a Receipt


U.S. History (Time, 45 minutes)
1. Give the epochs into which U.S. History is divided
2. Give an account of the discovery of America by Columbus
3. Relate the causes and results of the Revolutionary War.
4. Show the territorial growth of the United States
5. Tell what you can of the history of Kansas
6. Describe three of the most prominent battles of the Rebellion.
7. Who were the following: Morse, Whitney, Fulton , Bell , Lincoln , Penn, and Howe?
8. Name events connected with the following dates: 1607, 1620, 1800, 1849, 1865.


Orthography (Time, one hour)
[Do we even know what this is??]
1. What is meant by the following: alphabet, phonetic, orthography, etymology, syllabication
2. What are elementary sounds? How classified?
3. What are the following, and give examples of each: trigraph, subvocals, diphthong, cognate letters, linguals
4. Give four substitutes for caret 'u.' (HUH?)
5. Give two rules for spelling words with final 'e.' Name two exceptions under each rule.
6. Give two uses of silent letters in spelling. Illustrate each.
7. Define the following prefixes and use in connection with a word: bi, dis-mis, pre, semi, post, non, inter, mono, sup.
8. Mark diacritically and divide into syllables the following, and name the sign that indicates the sound: card, ball, mercy, sir, odd, cell, rise, blood, fare, last.
9. Use the following correctly in sentences: cite, site, sight, fane, fain, feign, vane , vain, vein, raze, raise, rays.
10. Write 10 words frequently mispronounced and indicate pronunciation by use of diacritical marks
and by syllabication.


Geography (Time, one hour)
1 What is climate? Upon what does climate depend?
2. How do you account for the extremes of climate in Kansas ?
3. Of what use are rivers? Of what use is the ocean?
4. Describe the mountains of North America
5. Name and describe the following: Monrovia , Odessa , Denver , Manitoba , Hecla , Yukon , St. Helena, Juan Fernandez, Aspinwall and Orinoco
6. Name and locate the principal trade centers of the U.S. Name all the republics of Europe and give the capital of each..
8. Why is the Atlantic Coast colder than the Pacific in the same latitude?
9. Describe the process by which the water of the ocean returns to the sources of rivers.
10. Describe the movements of the earth. Give the inclination of the earth.

Notice that the exam took FIVE HOURS to complete.

Gives the saying 'he only had an 8th grade education' a whole new meaning, doesn't it?!


No wonder they dropped out after 8th grade. They already knew more than they needed to know!

No, I don't have the answers! And I don't think I ever did!

[Queen Victoria]

Yes, we could have passed the 8th grade in 1895 if we had been taught the curriculum. 

[Genesis]

I avoid my budgies mating season for particular reasons:

1. My mother doesn't want too many animals in the house

2. I would need a nesting box, and several cages if 6-8 babies survive.

3. I have an aggravator in my one bird, and so far he is doing a good job of it.

[Kapkao]

Cows help make the world a warmer place...

['andersom']

 

[Kapkao]

[Queen Victoria]

I passed the sample citizenship test in the London Telegraph with a 100%.  Yea, me!

[odeon]

I'm in a spammy mood.

[odeon]

The cinema in my garage is getting new sound this summer. New Dolby processor, including Dolby Digital, new pre-amps for the mag sound. I'm also hoping to replace the front speakers and will rewire everything.

[El-Presidente]

I like kitties. My cat (Persian of course) is called Ayatollah Snuggle-Puss. He enjoys hugs, catnip and attending the public executions of apostates.

[McGiver]

The cinema in my garage is getting new sound this summer. New Dolby processor, including Dolby Digital, new pre-amps for the mag sound. I'm also hoping to replace the front speakers and will rewire everything.

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