Quirks, Bumps, and Bruises
Take a trip with the Morning JoyRide®️ as Melody discusses the humorous side of real issues facing families today.
Quirks, Bumps, and Bruises
Melody & Lindsay Talk Disappearing Everyday Items, Nostalgia, and Changing Traditions
In this Quirks, Bumps and Bruises episode, Melody and her daughter Lindsey dive into the surprising list of everyday items disappearing from our lives—landline phones, paper checks, fine china, diamond rings, and more. They share funny, heartfelt stories and explore how technology, generational differences, and shifting values are transforming the way we communicate, shop, and celebrate milestones. From nostalgia for traditions to embracing modern convenience, Melody and Lindsay offer a relatable, thought-provoking look at the culture changes shaping our world.
So, on this episode of Quirks, bumps and Bruises, I have my daughter, lindsay, who obviously is quite a few years younger than I am, and we're talking about different products that are just going away. They are just no longer what I had as a little girl no longer. Lindsay, you're obviously younger 30 years younger than me. So there are some things now that are completely dying, going away because you young'uns won't buy them anymore. So I want us to talk about a few of those. Now.
Speaker 1:This one is no surprise and it's a landline phone. Do you have a landline phone? No, I still do. Now let me tell you why I don't ever use that landline phone. Like everybody knows my cell phone number, everybody uses my cell phone number, everybody uses my cell phone number. But my mother, who passed away eight years ago, always said I really want you to keep that landline phone. I want you to keep it because that just makes me feel secure, knowing you have another phone. So for her, I kept it, and then we just kept it, and then we just kept it, and then we just kept it. I don't know why we need to get rid of it, but landline phones you know what A decade ago, every home just about still had a landline phone. But younger generations like yourself, who have had cell phones since birth, not really, I wouldn't give you a cell phone. Yeah, that's a whole separate topic. No, go ahead.
Speaker 2:Get it out. I was not allowed to have a cell phone until I was 16 years old, which I kind of understand. But at the same time I was playing sports before that and traveling to different games with the school and I'd have to borrow somebody's cell phone to tell you. I was almost back in town to come pick me up, and let me tell you that worked just as good as you having one using somebody else's.
Speaker 1:Here was my thing Now, back then, you have to admit, I may be a little bit different about that now because the world is cray-cray, true Cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs crazy. But back then because that would have been what year 2006. Yeah, back then it was a little different, I feel like, and so I think if you were in the sixth grade now, I think it would be different. But back then, at age 16, until you, here was my thing, I'm defending myself until you drove a car and was out in a car by yourself. That's when you got a cell phone and you would say you know, I'm the only one in my class who doesn't have a cell phone, and I would say, well, that makes you unique.
Speaker 1:You can put a spin on anything but, uh, but yeah, but landline phones, they're just going out. Everybody thinks they're outdated, they're unnecessary, and so, uh, everybody uses cell phones, all right. Now this one is a little surprising and I did not know this until recently traditional wedding rings where you have the diamond and the band. A lot of the younger generation don't want to spend that kind of money $10,000 or so on a ring anymore.
Speaker 2:That is kind of sad. It is kind of sad Because I love my ring. I wear it every day.
Speaker 1:I love it, no, but a lot of couples are, like I said, skipping those expensive engagement rings and they're doing a ring. They're just doing more affordable alternatives like just a simple band with no diamond, or some are just doing no rings at all. But I think if you're married you need to be wearing a ring At least something I agree about that. So another thing that we're seeing a decline in I don't think jewelry stores are going to like that.
Speaker 2:No, Cable TV, another thing that we're seeing a decline in. I don't think jewelry stores are going to like that cable tv?
Speaker 1:yeah, not necessary. You don't have cable tv. No, that's, that's just ridiculous. Too much money. All those channels who has time to watch? All that? It's amazing to me. I do have cable tv. Recently we called our carrier and pretty much just picked and chose. Like 10 channels is all we have now I could get on board with that. That's uh yeah, I mean, and it like halved our bill doing that. So we, that's what we have. You have a streaming tv situation at your house which is great.
Speaker 2:Yeah, we have all the channels we need, and extremely affordable, and so cable companies are losing subscribers.
Speaker 1:I think every day, people are moving away from that. But when that happens and people start going another direction, that direction that you go in is going to go up. Oh yeah, definitely, yeah, so it's. It's just, it's always changing. Everything is always changing. Another one department stores. Department stores. That is sad. That used to be the end-all, no-all place that you went to shop for clothing, for sure but younger consumers are ditching those now in favor of what? Do you think it has to be? Online shopping, online shopping and hey, I'm not young, but you know, lindsay, I'm an online shopper. Oh yeah, I mean, I love to shop online because it's convenient. I can sit in my pajamas with a cup of coffee and order my entire Christmas list and never get up. I like that, and so a click of a button, you've got what you need. And so these luxury department stores that have been around for generations are just really struggling now to attract younger consumers. So I mean, do you ever go?
Speaker 2:in a department store. Well, the problem is when you order clothes is what I always think about. You just kind of need to try that on, and if you do order it online and you don't like it, you got to have a place to send it back to or take it back to. Well, amazon makes that easy. Amazon does, but not everybody else does.
Speaker 1:And I really don't order from anywhere else except for maybe amazon or if the store is kind of close by me where I could hop in there, right?
Speaker 2:yeah, we joke that you get an amazon package a day. Yeah, if you don't get one, something's wrong.
Speaker 1:I'm very good though it's not that I'm just buying to buy. I have now learned like, even with shampoo and conditioner, it's cheaper for me to buy through amazon, the the brand that I use, than to go to the drugstore to get it, or to get it even at somewhere like Walmart. It's interesting, yeah, but I've had to learn not everything's like that, no. So I'm not just buying things to buy things. I'm buying things that I actually do use All right. Another one that's interesting is fabric softener. Now, I'm sorry that I actually do use All right. Another one that's interesting is fabric softener. Now, I'm sorry, but I use Downy. I do too, and I did not realize this. But now apparently there are new high-efficiency washing machines that have built-in softening agents in the machine, where you don't have to pour that in there anymore. I don't trust that. I'm like what so? Fabric softeners are just kind of disappearing from everybody's shopping list now.
Speaker 2:Maybe that's why my washing machine doesn't have a place to put fabric softener. We had to buy a downy ball and we have to put it in the downy ball. There's not like a spot to put your fabric softener. Is it a new washing machine? We got it in the last year. Yeah, I bet it has a built-in softener and I always wondered why I didn't have that and I had to buy a downy ball to use fabric softener.
Speaker 1:Don't use that next time. Ditch all that and just look at the directions, that'll work. Here's another one and I get this Printed magazines and newspapers. Yeah, now, growing up, lindsay, back in the day, we got a newspaper every morning and when you opened that newspaper it would, it was sprawling, it was big. Now when you open up a newspaper because I did it recently it was like a pamphlet. Yeah, little bitty, not worth it looks like a brochure. I'm like. People are still paying for this. So it was once a daily habit. But digital media has taken over because now you can just go look at your magazines and newspapers online. Yeah, if you want it that bad, you can just look at it online. So lots of declining subscriptions out there for magazines and newspapers. Hard to make those work anymore. So I do kind of get that one.
Speaker 1:Single use plastic water bottles. Now, that used to be the thing everybody was walking around with like a specific brand of water bottles, but they're ditching those disposable plastic bottles in favor of walking around with those stanley cups the size of texas that cost ten thousand dollars yes, those big cups. So now a lot of the young people just see that single-use plastic thing is just being very wasteful and unnecessary, which I kind of get, yeah, and so it's really pushing beverage companies to rethink how they package things and how they're doing things. So disposable water bottles, all right. Here's one that I can totally agree with Expensive china dishware. Now again, back in the day, everybody got china as a wedding gift. 13 place settings is what I have of china. I got the 13th one in case anything broke. Oh, interesting.
Speaker 1:Wasn't that smart yeah that is smart, ended up actually getting 17 place settings of gifts, but I was able to return those to get other things like salt and pepper shakers and gravy boats and things to match the china. So I have it now. I did do this smartly. I bought a very simple pattern. Yeah, I love your china. It's just very simple, very very, very classy.
Speaker 2:Yeah, match it with anything.
Speaker 1:Yes, you can, if you had a themed party, you can match it and I probably should use it more than I do. But now nobody's buying china, so you got married six years ago.
Speaker 2:Do you have china? No, we just registered for really nice plates, but just everyday plates, not fancy china.
Speaker 1:Yeah well, she didn't, because she knows she's gonna get mine one day. Oh, I know, it's so pretty, so interesting. Bar soap is another one. Now we've talked about China and cable and water bottles and landline phones and cable TV, all that stuff, but bar soap, that's interesting. So I'm going to ask you, lindsay, you being the younger of us, do you still buy bars of?
Speaker 2:soap. I buy bars of soap, but not for my to wash my hands with. I use liquid hand soap.
Speaker 1:That's exactly right, younger consumers preferring the liquid body wash too. Yeah, not soap. And they think soap dries out their skin. They think multiple people using the same bar of soap isn't very appealing. A lot of these new body washes have moisturizers in them and that kind of thing Really nice smells, easier to apply and they think that just traditional bars of soap are losing their place in the bathrooms of America. I still use a bar of soap.
Speaker 2:To wash your hands?
Speaker 1:No, I use pump soap for that, yeah, but to take a bath in?
Speaker 2:the shower I have a bar of soap. Well, I do too. I use both in the shower, I guess, Yep.
Speaker 1:All right, the world. I have a bar of soap? Well, I do too. I use both in the shower, I guess. Yep, Alright, the world is changing y'all. Y'all better keep up with me here. Alright, paper checks. Now this is a touchy subject.
Speaker 2:Why is that? Because you've made comments to me before about how I need to get more checks, but I don't keep checks.
Speaker 1:I actually only write one check.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I don't write any anymore.
Speaker 1:I, yeah, I don't write any anymore. I don't think, and I have to because she won't take a card and that's the person that cuts my hair. Yeah, so I write one check about every three months so I can keep checks like forever. So I don't know why I told you you needed more checks.
Speaker 2:We were, I think we needed one for something, or I was going to write you a check.
Speaker 1:I don't remember what the deal was, but now, if you run out of checks and you just literally don't have any checks. You probably need to just order one package. Well, that's me.
Speaker 2:I don't have, I do not own any checks right now. Okay, well, Because I would either just give you cash or I would electronically send it.
Speaker 1:You could do that you could do cash, but if it was something a larger amount, you may not want to do the cash. But hey, you do you. But paper checks that's definitely going away and I would love it if I didn't have any checks as well. But now, banking online, you can do everything online.
Speaker 2:There's payment apps as well. Our kids do need to know how to balance a checkbook. Even if you don't write checks, you need to know how to balance your own checkbook and that is the teacher in her talking.
Speaker 1:Don't even get her talking about cursive or electronic books. Oh yeah, don't get. Oh yeah, yeah, that's another whole show. Times are changing y'all, and I mean changing fast.
Speaker 2:But here is another one alarm clocks yeah, that makes sense, because your phone has one now I set three clocks, three clocks.
Speaker 1:I set my phone, I have a battery operated clock and then I have a it's. I've had this for years. I think I had it when I was maybe in high school, but it's a clock radio. Oh, it has a radio.
Speaker 2:Ancient. Looking it is ancient, but that thing still works. Moses may have woken up to that in the morning.
Speaker 1:He probably did but it works and I hate to get rid of it because it still works and it has a radio. I listen to Joy FM sometimes getting ready, so I set three clocks. Little tidbit of information here while we're talking about this. I have been on this show for 18 years. I have never overslept.
Speaker 2:Well, it's because you set 84 clocks every morning exactly but everybody else here.
Speaker 1:Let's just go through the gamut of co-hosts daniel, gabe and candy. All, all of them overslept all the time.
Speaker 2:All millennials because we were all using our phones.
Speaker 1:All right, just a couple of more things that are dying and going away, and this one is interesting. Now, we've talked about a lot of things. Some things were not surprises. Landlines that's not surprising. Cable TV not surprising. Now, the traditional wedding ring was surprising to me. And that washers now have built-in softeners attached to them. I did not know that. And that you have to buy something called a downy ball. Never heard of it, but this one is interesting. Canned tuna Now, apparently you younger consumers are not buying canned tuna like many of the previous generations before you have done. No, I guess not. A couple of reasons why. First of all, they don't like the smell. Oh, boo-hoo, boo-hoo. Others are concerned about the mercury levels Again, really. But because there are fresher and healthier options available, they're choosing more alternative ways to eat tuna, like fresh, or they want plant based proteins ready to eat meals you know a lot of those meals that just come to your doorstep now and so tuna is just not doing well on the store shelves anymore interesting right?
Speaker 2:yeah, well, you forgot one.
Speaker 1:It's also disgusting lindsey doesn't like tuna. I don't know if you could tell. And this one last one I want to talk about this is not a surprise at all Traditional greeting cards. Now, lizzie used to make fun of me all the time. I'm a card girl.
Speaker 2:Yeah, you like cards. You like to send cards and get cards. I do like to send handwritten cards.
Speaker 1:In fact, you know, my dad passed away recently and there were so many beautiful flowers at the funeral, there were so many memorials that were given to him or given to our church in his memory, and so everybody got handwritten notes. Takes a long time I think I wrote about close to 50. And so they are going away. I do like them. I do think it shows you've put some thought into something. But these paper cards, especially if you're going to like a card store 6.95 for a card, oh yeah. And now you can go to the dollar store type places and you can get two cards for a dollar, or now a dollar 25, but still, and they're nice cards. Now, it didn't used to be that way. When you went to these cheaper stores to buy a card, those cards were. They left much to be desired. But now the cards that are in like Dollar Tree stores and that kind of thing.
Speaker 2:Those are really nice, yeah, and there's a bunch of options to choose from too Lots of options.
Speaker 1:So they've really upped on that. So I can see why just paper greeting cards are, especially, like I said, if you're going to a card store where you're having to pay eight bucks for one card that somebody's going to read and then throw in the trash.
Speaker 2:Yeah, not doing it, ain't?
Speaker 1:going to have it. Yeah, so those are some interesting consumer products that are going away. They're dying. If you think of one you'd like to add to the list, we'd love to hear from you. Here on the Joyride, you can call us or text us and let us know. You can do that by calling 888-985-6936. But, lindsay, thank you for being with us on this latest episode of Quirks, bups and Bruises.
