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And yet, you must admit that Bob Dylan was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature for a reason! At least for the phrase The Times, They Are a-Changin', which perfectly embodies the ruthless flow of time. And indeed - just yesterday something or someone was literally on everyone's lips - and now it is already in the past. Just like Dylan himself...

But old Bob is still with us, and there are things that have disappeared completely without a trace, although it would seem that only yesterday they worried our minds and were of interest to the whole world. And this viral thread in the AskReddit community is dedicated to just such things. So please fasten your seatbelts, our time machine is about to dive into the misty depths of the past...

More info: Reddit

#1

Person Wonders “What Eventually Disappeared Without Anyone Noticing?”, Receives 35 Various Replies Fireflies aka *lightning bugs. I live rural and I used to see hundreds on a warm summer night. Now I get excited if I see just one. I mentioned it to other people who live in the same area as I do and they were just like "Huh. Yeah. You're right!"

motohod671 , Takashi Ota Report

#3

Person Wonders “What Eventually Disappeared Without Anyone Noticing?”, Receives 35 Various Replies Somewhere along the way 9-5 turned into 8-5

jivemic240 , KoolShooters Report

Some of the things you'll find in this Bored Panda selection have lost their meaning simply because the phenomena they were directly associated with are gone. For example, telephone booths - just because there is no more need for street pay phones. Some have moved into the category of museum exhibits simply because they found a replacement - like video game cartridges. And some are still with us, but we do not pay the same attention to them as before.

#4

Person Wonders “What Eventually Disappeared Without Anyone Noticing?”, Receives 35 Various Replies I never see swarms of Monarch butterflies anymore.

morana9870 , Renee Grayson Report

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#5

Person Wonders “What Eventually Disappeared Without Anyone Noticing?”, Receives 35 Various Replies Places children and teenagers can hang out without supervision

Portlander , Greg Goebel Report

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Almost sunny
Community Member
8 months ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Thanks to the wrong people! Edit: I meant obviously your there supervising but not watching them like a hawk every second, like I have had to do with my son because I was terrified of anything happening. My comments get taken way out of text people.

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For example, postcards. Back in the '90s, postal services around the world sent millions and probably billions of postcards for festive occasions... and for no reason at all. But communication standards have changed several times since then - and who would think of waiting a whole week for a postcard when you can just call and see anyone's face on Zoom? Postcards have gradually become an anachronism - although you will agree that getting this small modest piece of cardboard with handwritten (another anachronism, isn't it?) words is still damn nice.

#8

Person Wonders “What Eventually Disappeared Without Anyone Noticing?”, Receives 35 Various Replies Privacy

Helpful-Natural6300 , Pixabay Report

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Lea
Community Member
8 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

But did it ever really exist in the first place? Or has the nature of privacy just changed? Small towns long before the internet everyone knew everyone's secrets.

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#9

Person Wonders “What Eventually Disappeared Without Anyone Noticing?”, Receives 35 Various Replies Those coin-operated rocking horses you used to see in front of grocery stores.

kanna172014 , wallpaperflare Report

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By the way, have you noticed how we gradually forgot how to write by hand? Moreover, with the spread of voice messages, even the skill of typing is gradually losing its importance and significance. And still, nostalgia is not the same as grumpy lamentations, as it was good before. In the end, in the years of my student youth, when we had to take notes a lot, I would have literally sold my soul for one of the voice transcription services widely available nowadays...

#10

Person Wonders “What Eventually Disappeared Without Anyone Noticing?”, Receives 35 Various Replies 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.

jivemic240 , Rodolfo Clix Report

Be that as it may, times are changing, and we are changing with them. And yes, for the first time this phrase was uttered back in the days of Ancient Rome, and it cannot be said that all the innovations of humanity since then have been to its detriment. So please feel free to scroll this list to its very end, enjoy this slightest touch of nostalgia and be sure - the best is yet to come!

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#13

Person Wonders “What Eventually Disappeared Without Anyone Noticing?”, Receives 35 Various Replies 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.

yelexiw438 , Rool Paap Report

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Steve D
Community Member
8 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Employers expect loyalty from employees but they show none to their employees. It doesn't work that way, folks.

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#14

The magnetic tape from a crushed audio cassette blowing across the sidewalks and roadways.

TacoLita Report

#15

Person Wonders “What Eventually Disappeared Without Anyone Noticing?”, Receives 35 Various Replies Phone books

QosmoQueen , Sue Thompson Report

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Jeffrey Keffer
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8 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Phone books !! I never had a personal phone book at one time I could remember like 20 different numbers .. Now I have a hard time remembering mine... the only number I still remember is the old time and temp number and it shut down in 2018 😞

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#16

Walmart opened for 24 hours.

Havok1717 Report

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Bloobee bloobee bloo bloo bloo
Community Member
8 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

As someone who works overnights I miss that so much. It was so nice to get off work and go shopping without my kids. Especially at Christmas/birthday time

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#17

Person Wonders “What Eventually Disappeared Without Anyone Noticing?”, Receives 35 Various Replies Epstein's client list

wetforhouseplants , Ivan Samkov Report

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Ima Manimal
Community Member
8 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

There’s some rich people who are very nervous about that……… time to spill the beans.

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#18

Person Wonders “What Eventually Disappeared Without Anyone Noticing?”, Receives 35 Various Replies Ask Jeeves

PsychologicalBit5422 , ask Report

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Ron Man
Community Member
8 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Nope, this never went away. It just changed it's name from Ask Jeeves to Ask.

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#19

Person Wonders “What Eventually Disappeared Without Anyone Noticing?”, Receives 35 Various Replies Those plastic lanyards people used to braid and make.

Cacacaaaacac , Douglas Paul Perkins Report

#20

my favorite illegal streaming websites

pebiv28351 Report

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TheGoodBoi
Community Member
8 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I miss the days of being able to watch a new movie before it even comes out in theaters. Terrible quality but still lol

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#21

Person Wonders “What Eventually Disappeared Without Anyone Noticing?”, Receives 35 Various Replies Custom ringtones.

(obviously I know some people have them but we somehow went from virtually everyone having them to almost no one giving a s**t.)

Xarpotheosis , Abdulla Al Muhairi Report

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Doctor Strange
Community Member
8 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I don't know anyone who Doesn't have them, save for my one friend's work provided phone.

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#22

Person Wonders “What Eventually Disappeared Without Anyone Noticing?”, Receives 35 Various Replies We're in the process of full size can of Arizona teas for $.99 disappearing.

I'm seeing a lot of places starting to carry the smaller plastic bottles for $.99 or the larger plastic bottles for more. I'm honestly surprised that they've lasted for this long at the same price.

pebiv28351 , Kirsi Report

#23

Person Wonders “What Eventually Disappeared Without Anyone Noticing?”, Receives 35 Various Replies 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.

morana9870 , Quinn Dombrowski Report

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Ron Man
Community Member
8 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Just went on a big road trip down the west coast, and saw lots and lots of post cards for sale everywhere.

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#24

Newspaper machines at random corners

judasmaiden15 Report

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Tina Kathrarg
Community Member
8 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Cigarette machines outside of stores & sometimes next to the gumball machines in store entrance. And the gumball machines were 1 cent for a handful of gum/candy or 5 cents for a plastic "egg" with some kind of toy in it.

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#25

Person Wonders “What Eventually Disappeared Without Anyone Noticing?”, Receives 35 Various Replies TV bumpers. There used to be a little sequence between the show and commercials. Some of them were really interesting and creative. I think my generation remembers the "wand IDs" on the Disney channel (where a Disney celeb would use a wand to make the logo). There were also bumpers that were PSAs or other actual content.

Edit: yes I watched THAT documentary on YouTube. It's amazing. Everyone go to Defunctland's channel and watch the one on the Disney channel jingle. Just trust me. Don't look up spoilers.

motohod671 , altotemi Report

#27

"Ringback" tones or "CallerTunes". Where you could assign a song to play when people called you instead of them hearing ringing.

RichLyonsXXX Report

#29

Person Wonders “What Eventually Disappeared Without Anyone Noticing?”, Receives 35 Various Replies Lobster tanks in grocery stores! Not that I particularly want them back, but those are nostalgic af

yelexiw438 , Jack at Wikipedia Report

#30

Person Wonders “What Eventually Disappeared Without Anyone Noticing?”, Receives 35 Various Replies People fainting when something unexpected happens. And people carrying smelling salts for just such an occasion. It’s so 19th century…

jivemic240 , David Pursehouse Report

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#33

Blimps, helium is expensive and drones can do some of their missions.

jivemic240 Report

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Lyoness
Community Member
8 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This is a good thing. Helium is a non renewable resource and it has way more important uses than flying blimps or filling balloons.

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#34

The spirit of the 90s that was alive in Portland.

MartyFreeze Report

#35

Person Wonders “What Eventually Disappeared Without Anyone Noticing?”, Receives 35 Various Replies Sobe drinks.

motohod671 , AlienFood Report

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Maggie Fanelli
Community Member
8 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

They still exist but not in the same numbers. Also they only have like 5 flavors now.

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Note: this post originally had 42 images. It’s been shortened to the top 35 images based on user votes.