Even more niche things that younger writers in the fandom don't know:
That they don't know what the white, yellow, then pink, papers are for
That you respect the sanctity of a sharp No. 2 pencil WITH an eraser
That they don't know the purpose of *89 or *69
That you could call a landline, leave a message and also listen to the message you left there
The satisfying CLINK of hanging up a payphone
Take a penny, leave a penny
Toothpick dispensers
A scantron
Blank plastic transparency sheets
Banging out chalkboard erasers
The joy of chalk that is any color but white
The sound of a metal school bell
That some typewriters had a 'delete' button
That all phone numbers were just seven numbers. You didn't have to dial the area code if you were in-state/in the area
Hacky sacks
Galileo thermometers
Mercury thermometers
An egg timer
Clear/Patterned thick plastic tablecloths
The green armchair
The absolute stranglehold of La-Z-Boy
Overstimulation in the TV section of the electronics center
Plug-in battery rechargers
Why you should NEVER put a magnet on or near a VHS or Cassette tape
How to put the tape back into the cassette tape
Floppy discs
IBM computers
What exposed or double-exposed film is
That you had to wind the camera in order to take another picture
The OG 'click' sound of a film camera
What a dark room is
What and where the phone jack is
The Swatch
Handheld video games with grey/green screens
Metal ice cube trays
The difference between film cameras and Polaroids
Water beds
Analog cash registers that you had to type every item SKU into
8-track tapes
Cigarette dispensers
Transistor radios
A credit card imprinter and the satisfying sound it makes
View-Masters
The camcorder
A mixtape
Starter jackets vs Windbreakers
Sam Goody
SEARS catalogs
Waldenbooks
Pencil boxes
The boredom saver that was liquid glue
Overhead projectors
Woody cars
The TV cart at school
Carpeted walls
Tetherball
Trading card games
What an 'after-school special' is
What a latch-key kid is
Cordless landline phones with a retractable antenna
What the batteries for landlines looked like
Multi-editioned encyclopedias
Webster's Dictionary
Who Casey Kasem is
How to record a live show/movie on TV with your VCR machine
