Just wondering what passes the test of time? I personally have an old Casio watch and if you count fruit trees, those are pretty old too.
Probably my Granddads 1950s East German office chair. Got it when he passed since I always used to sit in it when drawing at his desk.
Gas spring is a bit leaky and the leather is a bit faded but it’s more solid and comfy than anything new under €500 I tried.
I put a little string of fake pearls on my daughter about every day, and they were mine and my sisters’ when I was a toddler, so they’re about 30. I don’t know how they’ve survived so many toddlers cause they’d break with any real pulling. She loves them though and is very careful with them. She also uses tiny baby sized silverware from my mom’s babyhood(early 70s) It’s cute and funny to watch her use miniature stuff that’s just her size
I think that’s the oldest thing other than furniture (we use my great grandfather’s bedroom suite)
I have a refrigerator from around 1988 or 1989 that still works perfectly. Around 1999, it stopped working, so we bought a new one. We didn’t throw away the old fridge because we used it to store plates and cutlery, but we were sure that it was completely broken. Then, last year, a technician saw it and told us that only a component needed to be replaced for it to work again. Lo and behold, the damn thing was revived, and after a two-decade slumber it worked again as if no time had passed.
Our staircase was built over two centuries ago, and still does its job!
Looks dangerous as fuck but pretty cool!
How? We have stairs like this near a few pubs and restaurants. Though made of metal.
If you tripped, there’s not much to grab onto, and it looks both steep and very uneven.
I would have no problem climbing this myself. Habitually climbing it carelessly and/or while burdened would present some risk, though, and it’s probably not going to be great for grandma. We don’t build like this anymore out of inclusion, a higher level of value on life and just not wanting or needing to have architecture that requires skill to use.
Do you have no fear of splinters‽ Cause I know those stairs would give me a splinter just by looking at them wrong
Hah! I don’t know if it’s because of how old the wood is, but it’s not very splintery, it has a smooth fossilised feel even though it’s so uneven.
Yeah, I’m sure anything that would have splintered off already has by now with how worn it looks. It shouldn’t be an issue now unless a chunk breaks off.
Mmm, delicious non OSHA-compliance. No handrails, no problem!
I’m fascinated with those joints. Are they nailed at all, or is it just held together by gravity, friction and the exterior walls?
No nails, gravity and large wooden stakes / dowels. It’s amazing to me that people made this by hand, and by the looks of it it was some exquisite craftsmanship, but it’s still functional hundreds of years later, unlike most things created today.
Ah, the old style of woodwork. People have almost forgotten it now - really, anyone uninterested in history has, although the traditions lasted longer than you’d think - but nails were once expensive. Scraping things to fit and using wood’s natural flexibility can get you a good way, and the fact it shrinks and hardens after being cut down can also be used to great effect. Although, in this case the fact the female part is a full log makes me somewhat doubtful greenwood techniques were used, aside from maybe to make the dowels.
They would have made this thing entirely without power tools as well (so it’s no wonder they skipped the nice finish). Two centuries ago they probably were using modern hand saws and the like, although certain archaic tools like the drawknife could have been in their kit as well.
I have a cheap plastic hair brush my mum bought me over 40 years ago when I was about 6 or 7, she said it cost a dollar and surprised I still use it daily.
There is nothing wrong with it, so it lives on.
My flat was built in the 70s. So probably that. My violin is much older but I don’t play much these days (certainly not daily).
I’ve got a couple of cast iron skillets from the early sixties that I use pretty much every day.
I use my grandma’s and great grandma’s cast iron weekly.
Not daily my l but I’ve gone hunting every year with a rifle from 1971 I think it said on the licence of the old man who gave it to me.
I have a Marvin the Martian mug I got in 1995 for my 10th birthday. I don’t use it daily, but every few days for sure.
My brain (since 1990), or at least I have been trying.
I have my grandma’s speed square I use it every day, it’s from 1987
Common sense probably.
Most of the things I use are a few years old but nothing crazy old. Some t-shirts are maybe 10-15 years old in some cases, I guess that’s old for some. I have a lot of hand tools that are maybe 50-100 years old but they get less use.
I have some old wooden chairs at the dining table that could be old. Certainly before 1940s.
I have balls of yarn, knitting needles, and crochet hooks from the 60s and 70s. Also, most of my home appliances, like fridge, tv, washing machine, and microwave/oven, are about 20 years old and working perfectly.
My dad was friends with the guy who designed the Aztec Hotel. He didn’t want regular light fixtures originally, so he came up with an idea for lighted columns, and he made a prototype table-lamp sized. The was in 1925. The prototype is in my living room and I use it every day.
Interesting, got any pics?
I went downstairs and took one just for you:
His thing was that he didn’t want obvious electric lights in the lobby because Aztecs didn’t have electric lights. But it was decided that giant glass columns in earthquake country in the 20s was a bad idea, so they didn’t do it
Aww, that’s a shame they didn’t go through with it. I don’t see why it would be an issue structurally. You’d just need to build the structural spiller in the center, then put lights around that, then glass around that. LEDs would make this so much easier, but it still should have been doable. You could even make the glass “floating” so the floor/ceiling shaking wouldn’t break it.
I think in 1925 their ability to cushion big hunks of glass was lower, and they didn’t have safety glass. It was probably a good call, even though it was a cool idea.
Wow, that looks great. Thanks for showing!
