Familiar sounds?...going, going, GONE!

Sounds of the past are not limited just to music, which allows history to speak to us other than only through the written word. We live in a highly technological age where many items of the past have or will soon become obsolete. Each is identifiable by its unique sound for we live in a world of cacophony. Unless you are in a location to visit a museum many of these will never be 'heard' by you or your kids depending upon your age. Enjoy the memories or listen to sounds you have never heard! Better still if you have a child or grandchild at home, invite them in for a history lesson!

1800s Cash Register

Chunky push buttons and a hand crank made this cash register serviceable but clunky. Each button had its own function with the scratchy turn of the crank opening the drawer at the dinging of a bell. Cash registers are still around today but use scanners and are silent compared to their sounds of the past.  

clunk-clunk-clunk-scra-a-a-tch-ding-ding...cash sale!

1949 Television Warm-up

Can you imagine a TV without a remote? That's right NO remote control. To turn on the TV or change channels required a click-i-ty turn of a knob on the front of the set. The picture did not appear immediately so there was a buzzing sound as the picture tube warmed up. Then, with each change of the channel came a static-y sound as it moved from one number to the next searching for one of the channels available in your area.

click-buzz-z-z-z-z-click-i-ty-click-i-ty-click-i-ty-static-click-i-ty-click-i-ty-click-i-ty-static-click-i-ty...show's on!

 

1960s Rotary Dial Telephone

  

With thoughts focused on the phones of today, can you imagine dialing a number one finger rotation at a time? The combination of turns, half-turns, quarter-turns makes for a unique swoosh-stop-click-click-click sound.

swoosh-stop-click-click-click, swoosh-stop-click-click-click...ring, ring, ring!

 

 1950s-60s Manual Typewriter

The manual typewriter did not have a soft touch as the computer keyboards of today. It took a pretty hard beating when lengthy documents were typed thus taking much longer to complete the task. With its keys clacking loudly as they struck the paper, the carriage lifting with a distinct clunk, and the ping as you neared the end of a line, these sounds could never be misunderstood. Then, of course, the ziiiiip noise followed when you returned the carriage to its starting position.  

clack-clunk-ping-ziiiiip...next page!

Coffee Percolator(First coffee percolator was patented in 1865.)

The ‘percolator song’ creates giggles with excitement as the tune of the dark liquid pulsating up and down within its small glass bubble echoes throughout the kitchen. Watching intently, eyes never shift away until the last bloop has hissed.

bloop-bloopbloop-bloop-hisssssss...coffee's ready!

1961 Kodak Flash CUBE

The little flash cube rapid-fire action click-clacked its way through 4 successive snaps allowing four - that's right FOUR - quick photos to be taken. No pause. No changing flash bulbs after each shot. And, that wasn't all either. Those cute little used cubes need not be discarded. No, sir! They could be utilized to make all sorts of arrangements and decorations.  

pop in-click-clack, click-clack, click-clack, click-clack...4 photos, WOW!

1989 The Dial-up Internet

Internet dial-up service is relatively new compared to the others but already becoming obsolete. Only about 10% of Internet users still rely on dial-up. The unique screech-y scratch-y sound played on people's nerves, especially when connection was not readily made.

bee-boop-bee-boop___beeeeeeeeeee-krschhhhhhhhhhhhh___schhhhhhhhhhhhh...!

Which ones would you add to the list?

Visit the Museum of Endangered Sounds!  

Takes a few minutes to load but well worth the wait.

Join me in a cup of coffee while you wait...

 
And life goes on beating to the rhythm of changing technology...