The reason a lot of these designs are discontinued is because a bunch of you assholes found a way to smash your fingers or dick or your kids head in them and they needed to make the appliance literally idiot proof or face bankruptcy due to a wave of recalls and lawsuits
Actually this era was when they came up with planned obsolescence, but then there was a period where that was illegal and regulators paid attention to it, now its illegal but good luck getting the government to notice that every dishwasher implodes 3-months after the warranty expires.
My fridge shelves slide out. I'm guessing most people's do too. But everyone probably uses that feature very rarely, enough to forget. The fact they use a fraction of the power and no Freon too is pretty nice. My modern cars also have soft close on all the doors, just not the hood. And my can opener cuts along the side leaving no sharp edges.
Sliding shelves is a way better solution than the spinning ones in the video anyways because they seem neat until you realize how much space you lose by not having rectangular shelves that go all the way back to the corners.
my fridge shelves slide out for cleaning, but certainly not for reaching things at the back of the shelf. If I tried to slide them out with stuff still on them I'd knock everything over and probably crack the shelf in half to boot.
This isn't the "old" way of doing this, this is the way rich people did things 60 or 70 years ago. Those fridges and stoves cost, in today's money, $5000+ brand new. A modern $5000 stove has similar, safer, and better features if you want to compare stuff 1:1
I would buy this today vintage. Energy would be offset by not having to buy a new one every 5-6 years. And no this model does not have WIFI, app, screen….count me in.
Yep. Lots of kids thought they'd hide in the fridge and the locking door trapped them inside. I'm not sure how many is lots, but enough that laws were made.
also the tear and wear on the moving parts in these "good old" fridges is incredible: rubber crack from the cold, iron rust, steel would be cost ineffective and so on. Moreover, again on the fridges, you lose a lot of space for stuff AND risk to make said stuff fall and crack. Imagine the chaos that a jam jar would make if it fall and break inside the fridge.
a lot of these are still features you can get today but they're very high end models. Why? because more moving parts are more costly to manufacture. I get this nostalgic things used to better mindset but we already cant afford base model appliances and the ones we finance out are done so because they're ""affordable"". Progress wasn't lost, we just can't afford it.
You think this is what normal people had? Check the pricetag on it, and then convert it to the current price. If you pay $30 000 for a fridge, you're going to get some fancy shit.
exactly my same point. These features largely still are up for sale just as very high end models. Hell when msotnof these appliances were made people were still using ice boxes or Potbelly stoves because even during the economic boom of the mid 40s and up that's what your average person could afford. This video is like showing a person in 2060 what a rollsyroce had in 2005. If you got money you can still get most of these now. the others are outlawed because they straight up we're safety hazards
it is and when the latch didn't catch properly the door would fall off and injure someone with how HEAVY it was. neighbors had one like that and the door could easily fall off. same thing with the floor kick lever, great for smacking someone in the face as opposed to the safety of having you hand on the handle.
it still does in some things, problem is good craftmanship costs big money. and dont get me wrong they deserved to be paid for the hard work and quality. but its to rich for my wallet
perhaps you mistake manufacturing limits with craftsmanship. lots of stuff was overbuilt because it wasn't economically feasible to manufacture it any other way. trust me, vendors would absolutely have cut corners and reduced materials if it was possible to do so. but there wasn't any CAD software or more flexible manufacturing techniques back then.
That style fridge latch isn't allowed any more because kids were getting trapped in fridges. And the modern can opener that's got two vinyl covered handles that you squeeze together and a large thing that you twist is a huge improvement over what's in the video.
Are the modern can openers better? I feel like the design in the video with a softer grip on the outer ring would more comfortable allow me to distribute my hand strength while turning, vs having to put all the pressure on a few finger tips. I hate modern can openers, I bought an electric one just to avoid using the twist style ones anymore.
But it wouldn't just be 2x. These were luxury appliances at a time when a basic model refrigerator cost the equivalent of a few thousand dollars today. You'd be spending more like 10x for one with all the bells and whistles.
As for reliability, I'll remind everyone of survivorship bias. Today we only see the appliances that survived. We don't see all the ones that failed, and were dumped in landfills with their toxic refrigerants.
A few thousand dollars today??? Have you shopped for fridges lately? They are 500-2k and last 5 years. IF I spent 2500 and it lasted a lifetime then its worth it
Yes, but that "500" fridge today would have been the "2500" fridge of yesterday, is what I'm saying. There was no $500 equivalent; if you wanted a fridge, you were paying $2500, and it may well only last a year because you're still buying the cheapest fridge available, made with the cheapest parts.
Things made "back then" didn't last longer by default. We're biased because we're only exposed to the ones that *did* last until now. We might see one fridge out of twenty that were sold in 1975.
You cant say the old fridges were luxury and would cost several thousand today and then say the shitty $500 fridge that will last 5 years would be thousands back then. The $500 fridge then would be probably the same cost as back then if the good ones were in the thousands
brandonblk
for that rotating fridge it feels like you have sacrificed 50% of the space for a novilty
ProcrastinatingWork
Wow that shelve is going to be tough to clean when there is a spill or mess. Modern shelves way easy to clean
Howlingowl
The reason a lot of these designs are discontinued is because a bunch of you assholes found a way to smash your fingers or dick or your kids head in them and they needed to make the appliance literally idiot proof or face bankruptcy due to a wave of recalls and lawsuits
GrandmaSlappy
Ok now someone list all the reasons why these are actually bad ideas. I can already spot a few.
JohnSmithterms
The appliances also never broke. The companies today use planned obsolescence to give your equipment a 7 or so year lifetime.
SOLARvsFACISM
Actually this era was when they came up with planned obsolescence, but then there was a period where that was illegal and regulators paid attention to it, now its illegal but good luck getting the government to notice that every dishwasher implodes 3-months after the warranty expires.
nclu
My fridge shelves slide out. I'm guessing most people's do too. But everyone probably uses that feature very rarely, enough to forget. The fact they use a fraction of the power and no Freon too is pretty nice. My modern cars also have soft close on all the doors, just not the hood. And my can opener cuts along the side leaving no sharp edges.
ilavalamp
Sliding shelves is a way better solution than the spinning ones in the video anyways because they seem neat until you realize how much space you lose by not having rectangular shelves that go all the way back to the corners.
SoGrosslyIncandescent
my fridge shelves slide out for cleaning, but certainly not for reaching things at the back of the shelf. If I tried to slide them out with stuff still on them I'd knock everything over and probably crack the shelf in half to boot.
anerdwithaknife
That looks nice and all but do any of those even play ads?
Guisso14
When they made things to last before they decided, they needed to break the things to make profit
Trunkmonkay
This isn't the "old" way of doing this, this is the way rich people did things 60 or 70 years ago. Those fridges and stoves cost, in today's money, $5000+ brand new. A modern $5000 stove has similar, safer, and better features if you want to compare stuff 1:1
Ooti
I would buy this today vintage. Energy would be offset by not having to buy a new one every 5-6 years. And no this model does not have WIFI, app, screen….count me in.
EricAirheart
A lot of them are for safety or easier to clean without.
WoodORama
Yep. Lots of kids thought they'd hide in the fridge and the locking door trapped them inside. I'm not sure how many is lots, but enough that laws were made.
Ozimbah
And a Punky Brewster episode! I remember watching it as a kid, her friend nearly died.
ignotoCiResto
also the tear and wear on the moving parts in these "good old" fridges is incredible: rubber crack from the cold, iron rust, steel would be cost ineffective and so on.
Moreover, again on the fridges, you lose a lot of space for stuff AND risk to make said stuff fall and crack. Imagine the chaos that a jam jar would make if it fall and break inside the fridge.
Dimension09
You might be in a bit of a jam but luckily not a pickle!
viva93
a lot of these are still features you can get today but they're very high end models. Why? because more moving parts are more costly to manufacture. I get this nostalgic things used to better mindset but we already cant afford base model appliances and the ones we finance out are done so because they're ""affordable"". Progress wasn't lost, we just can't afford it.
DWolf
Nice choice of music. Pluses and minuses on all these, as others have mentioned.
I miss wing windows on cars and a few other things.
youreathing
Not a single fucking app in site. Bliss.
rezpawner
You think this is what normal people had? Check the pricetag on it, and then convert it to the current price. If you pay $30 000 for a fridge, you're going to get some fancy shit.
viva93
exactly my same point. These features largely still are up for sale just as very high end models. Hell when msotnof these appliances were made people were still using ice boxes or Potbelly stoves because even during the economic boom of the mid 40s and up that's what your average person could afford. This video is like showing a person in 2060 what a rollsyroce had in 2005. If you got money you can still get most of these now. the others are outlawed because they straight up we're safety hazards
Racealistic
The fridge thing is cool but I can't stop but wonder if the mechanism isn't taking up unnecessary space.
wkearney99
it is and when the latch didn't catch properly the door would fall off and injure someone with how HEAVY it was. neighbors had one like that and the door could easily fall off. same thing with the floor kick lever, great for smacking someone in the face as opposed to the safety of having you hand on the handle.
iDrawStuff
Back when craftsmanship mattered.
LumpPump
it still does in some things, problem is good craftmanship costs big money. and dont get me wrong they deserved to be paid for the hard work and quality. but its to rich for my wallet
wkearney99
perhaps you mistake manufacturing limits with craftsmanship. lots of stuff was overbuilt because it wasn't economically feasible to manufacture it any other way. trust me, vendors would absolutely have cut corners and reduced materials if it was possible to do so. but there wasn't any CAD software or more flexible manufacturing techniques back then.
bikergeek6249
That style fridge latch isn't allowed any more because kids were getting trapped in fridges. And the modern can opener that's got two vinyl covered handles that you squeeze together and a large thing that you twist is a huge improvement over what's in the video.
SoGrosslyIncandescent
Are the modern can openers better? I feel like the design in the video with a softer grip on the outer ring would more comfortable allow me to distribute my hand strength while turning, vs having to put all the pressure on a few finger tips. I hate modern can openers, I bought an electric one just to avoid using the twist style ones anymore.
Goatfer
Look up crank handle can openers. I got one for my mom after her heart attack as she lost a lot of streangth in her hands.
Zeeall
Would you be willing to pay for the added mechanical complexity and maintenence? KISS isnt just a thing you do on a date.
Aquacomforter
Yes, yes I would.
probablywontbearoundlong
If I made 1/35th of what my CEO at my company makes (like people did on average back then) then yes, I'd totally be willing to pay for that.
TheMomaw
I've owned 3 different refrigerators so far. If I spent 2x for a single refrigerator that lasted my entire lifetime, the savings would be huge.
frozenlake247
Or if I could just buy replacement parts at the same price paid by the manufacturer.
NaughtButOne
But it wouldn't just be 2x. These were luxury appliances at a time when a basic model refrigerator cost the equivalent of a few thousand dollars today. You'd be spending more like 10x for one with all the bells and whistles.
As for reliability, I'll remind everyone of survivorship bias. Today we only see the appliances that survived. We don't see all the ones that failed, and were dumped in landfills with their toxic refrigerants.
RyanSilver612
A few thousand dollars today??? Have you shopped for fridges lately? They are 500-2k and last 5 years. IF I spent 2500 and it lasted a lifetime then its worth it
NaughtButOne
Yes, but that "500" fridge today would have been the "2500" fridge of yesterday, is what I'm saying. There was no $500 equivalent; if you wanted a fridge, you were paying $2500, and it may well only last a year because you're still buying the cheapest fridge available, made with the cheapest parts.
Things made "back then" didn't last longer by default. We're biased because we're only exposed to the ones that *did* last until now. We might see one fridge out of twenty that were sold in 1975.
RyanSilver612
You cant say the old fridges were luxury and would cost several thousand today and then say the shitty $500 fridge that will last 5 years would be thousands back then. The $500 fridge then would be probably the same cost as back then if the good ones were in the thousands