What modern invention/innovation do you wish had *never* been developed?

[LizzieMaine]

We still had Strowger here until the early '90s. I still find myself dialing five digits and getting frustrated when the call doesn't go thru.

 

[sheeplady]

It's going to be a lot longer than that here -- vast swaths of the US are still served primarily by copper wire lines, not just for telephone service but for internet as well. Even cell towers, to an extent, are still dependent on this system.

Unless, of course, the big companies lobby us out of POTS. Which they have been trying for years.

 

[TimeWarpWife]

I just got my first "smart" phone today. I hate it. It's smarter than me...or should that be I? I've come to the realization that I'm officially an old fogey because I don't like change. My motto is if ain't broke, don't fix it. Oh, how I miss my dumb phone! :cry: And btw, can someone explain to me why electronics no longer come with instructions? My Kindle, computers, iPhone - none of it came with instructions! Are we just supposed to be that smart and know how to use this stuff? How I long for the days when people talked to each other, called each other on the phone, and actually made eye contact with possibly a polite hello when out in public. Now everyone has their head down with their fingers flying, paying absolutely no attention to the world going on around them. This is how I got cheese on my burger at Wendy's the last time I was there even though I specifically asked for it without cheese and confirmed the screen was right. I open my burger and there are TWO slices of cheese on it! Grrrrrrr!!! My dh said he saw the kid who was fixing my burger with his head down texting on his phone. Which also makes me wax poetic for the days when you could shove a burger in someone's face without being arrested for assault.

 

[nick123]

 

[Paisley]

Instant messaging. We got this delightful feature at work a couple of years ago, and it's as charming as a two-year-old screaming for attention. I now have five different places (literally) I have to look for information to complete an assignment.

 

[Stearmen]

Warning stickers all over vehicles! Turns out, it's not the government, but the car company lawyers.

 

[HudsonHawk]

Warning stickers all over vehicles! Turns out, it's not the government, but the car company lawyers.

I got really cheezed off when I bought my new truck earlier this year. Of course, it had warning stickers everywhere about airbags, glove boxes, texting, playing in traffic, using a toaster in the shower, etc. So I peeled them off, as I assumed you should. They call came off, except one. Apparently the big, huge, annoying orange sticker on the visor doesn't come off. Only no one told me that. So in trying I peeled part of it off, and it left a mess of sticky goo. When I called the dealership, they said "oh you're not supposed to remove *that* one.". Gee, thanks for the warning.

 

[jamespowers]

I got really cheezed off when I bought my new truck earlier this year. Of course, it had warning stickers everywhere about airbags, glove boxes, texting, playing in traffic, using a toaster in the shower, etc. So I peeled them off, as I assumed you should. They call came off, except one. Apparently the big, huge, annoying orange sticker on the visor doesn't come off. Only no one told me that. So in trying I peeled part of it off, and it left a mess of sticky goo. When I called the dealership, they said "oh you're not supposed to remove *that* one.". Gee, thanks for the warning.

I am amazed you actually go that one off. I never even tried to remove it. Turns out laziness is a GOOD thing.

 

[LizzieMaine]

They ought to put a big orange unremovable sticker on the visor of every car, reading GET YOUR FRIGGIN EYES BACK ON THE ROAD.

 

[HudsonHawk]

I am amazed you actually go that one off. I never even tried to remove it. Turns out laziness is a GOOD thing.

I got *part* of it off. Which looks worse than the whole thing still on.

They should put a label warning me not to remove the warning label.

 

[jamespowers]

They should put a label warning me not to remove the warning label.

:rofl:

I see a lawsuit coming.

 

[Zombie_61]

:rofl:

I see a lawsuit coming.

And after the dust clears, all models will have that removable label warning you not to remove the warning label that shouldn't be removed. :mmph:

 

[rjb1]

Does this remind anyone else of those old mattress tags?: "DO NOT REMOVE THIS TAG UNDER PENALTY OF LAW"

("National Lampoon" had a cover-cartoon of cops busting in on a guy who was in the process of removing the mattress tag.)

 

[LizzieMaine]

There's a good reason for those tags. Back in the unregulated open-market days of the early twentieth century, it was common for mattress and furniture manufacturers to stuff their goods with any old filth they could get cheap -- unsanitized horse hair, cornshucks, paper waste, dried moss, dirty rags -- and even a brand new mattress or chair was an easy route to bringing bedbugs, fleas, fungus, mold, and disease into your home. The tags serve to assure you of exactly what's inside your purchase, and the manufacturer can be held liable for any "extra ingredients" that might get mixed inside. The "under penalty of law" clause applies only to the manufacturer, wholesaler and retailer of the item carrying the tag.

 

[rjb1]

I haven't looked at a new mattress in detail recently, but didn't they change the exact wording of the tag so that it was clear that the warning only applied to the mattress sellers, not the final buyer?
If my recollection on that is correct, I believe there was discussion at the time of the change about the "old days" mattress hazards that Lizzie described.

(However, I still think the "National Lampoon" cover was funny.)

 

[jamespowers]

And after the dust clears, all models will have that removable label warning you not to remove the warning label that shouldn't be removed. :mmph:

And that you CAN remove the label warning you not to remove the other label.

 

[Gregg Axley]

And after the dust clears, all models will have that removable label warning you not to remove the warning label that shouldn't be removed. :mmph:

Stacked like Post It Notes.
Low tire indicator light.
I gave up an "old school" Jeep, for a newer Dodge SUV and it's got one of those dern lights on it.
Oh no, it doesn't tell you WHICH tire is low, it just has a yellow exclamation point SCREAMING at you on the dash.
Then again, I've got black electrical tape around here somewhere.

 

[sheeplady]

Stacked like Post It Notes.
Low tire indicator light.
I gave up an "old school" Jeep, for a newer Dodge SUV and it's got one of those dern lights on it.
Oh no, it doesn't tell you WHICH tire is low, it just has a yellow exclamation point SCREAMING at you on the dash.
Then again, I've got black electrical tape around here somewhere.

And then you have to invest in tires with a pressure gauge on each one. I ignore the light from November to April because not getting the pressure gauge saved us $100 on my snow tires.

 

[Gregg Axley]

And then you have to invest in tires with a pressure gauge on each one. I ignore the light from November to April because not getting the pressure gauge saved us $100 on my snow tires.

Bah, I don't do that.
The truck isn't actually mine, but owned by the agency I'm with.
Once I'm sure the tires don't actually have a puncture or small leak, I have a good mind to run the truck by a tire shop and get nitrogen put in them instead of regular air. Had that in my Saturn's tires for 3yrs and never lost a pound.

 

[Stearmen]

Does this remind anyone else of those old mattress tags?: "DO NOT REMOVE THIS TAG UNDER PENALTY OF LAW"

("National Lampoon" had a cover-cartoon of cops busting in on a guy who was in the process of removing the mattress tag.)

[video=youtube;ErbKAWueD3g]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ErbKAWueD3g[/video]