Ineresting point ...
"Back in the 60's, 70's, 80's and even 90's people were much more aware of how to keep something going and knew a lot more about what they were using rather than today when people don't even know how a Vacuum Cleaner works."
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As someone who grew up in the '70s, a couple of observations:
1. Dads back in the '70s knew how to fix stuff. ALL of them (or at least nearly all of them). It was just part of being a man. Along with learning how to pee standing up and flushing the toilets in public restrooms without using your hands, all young men were expected to know the basics of pounding a nail, screwing a screw, the basics of an automobile under the hood, and taking stuff apart and fixing it. Now granted, 40 years ago stuff was immeasurably simpler; the average guy really could figure out how to fix his car ... his refrigerator ... his wife's (yes, because it WAS the wife's) washer and dryer, etc. Nothing was computerized, and everything was purely mechanical. So it's not surprising that MOST men could figure it out. Also, quite frankly, the previous generations weren't so obsessed with political correctness, and guys were allowed to focus on what guys do best -- taking stuff apart and fixing it -- rather than the forced feminization that boys endure today, wasting so much of their time on learning how to do "girl" stuff so that the girls can have a "fair" shot at getting their testosterone fix and wearing the pants in the house.
2. Back in the '60s and '70s, while our appliances may have been purely mechanical and much simpler than today, they were also very well-built. And back then, as today, well-built didn't come cheap. My mom was given her Hoover Convertible 1060 as a wedding gift in 1968. Back then, it retailed for around $90. This was in an era where the median household income was just $8,600/year (which was a solid middle class, three bedroom house, new car in the driveway, mom-stays-at-home income). That Hoover back in 1968 was close to a week's pay for most folks; that's pretty dear (in fact, my parent's monthly rent for a two-bedroom apartment outside of Pittsburgh that year was $68!). Adjusted for inflation, today that Hoover would cost $585. So as you can see, there was a huge incentive to get stuff repaired, rather than chucking a $600 sweeper after its belt broke or its headlamp burned out. And since EVERYONE needed stuff fixed, every town had at least a handful of general repair shops (or the more popular "sew and vac" stores).
3. Back in the '60s and '70s, stuff was taken care of much better because Mom stayed at home. This sounds sexist, but it makes perfect sense: As CEO of Home, Inc., Mom had all day, every day to make her own schedule. There was no need to rush through chores like people do today. And as Ben Franklin wisely said hundreds of years ago, "Haste makes waste." When we rush, we tend to be rough on stuff. [this post was last edited: 7/22/2013-22:36]
