Note that I've limited my list to things that have actually become obsolescent - replaced by faster/better/more efficient alternatives. If I let myself include things that change over time due merely to changing tastes - fashion, furniture/home decor, retail stores, food, toys/games, entertainment - this list could go on forever!
(Items in italics are things that aren't quite gone, but are well on their way to obsolescence.)
TECHNOLOGY- Landline rotary telephones
- Pay telephones
- Answering machines, answering services
- Pagers, beepers, Blackberries
- Personal digital assists (ex: Palm Pilot)
- Telephone-based services for time and weather
- Telephone-based movie listings
- Telephone books, telephone operators
- Film cameras, film cartridges, flashbulbs, negatives, disposable cameras
- Film developing kiosks in parking lots
- Slides, slide projectors, slide carousels, portable screens
- Videocams, camcorders
- CRT TVs
- TV antennas, TV guides, TV signoff patterns
- VHS tapes, Betamax tapes, Laserdiscs
- Record players, vinyl records, record inserts
- Portable music players (transistor radios, walkmen, iPods)
- Cassette tapes, 8-track tapes
- Tape recorders (reel to reel, cassette), cassette tapes
- CB radios
- Telex machines, fax machines
- Computer punch cards, floppy disks, 3.5" hard disks, zip drives
- CDs, CD storage boxes & totes
- Dot matrix printers
- Catalog-based internet search engines
- Desktop computers
- Wired internet, charging cords, wired earphones
- DVDs, DVD players
- Calculators
CIGARETTES
- Cigarette vending machines
- Restaurant ashtrays
- Cigarette lighters in cars
- Matchbooks
- Metal cigarette lighters, lighter fluid, flints
SHOPPING & BANKING
- Manual cash registers
- Credit card imprint machines
- Pneumatic tubes at banks
- Bank passport books
- Bank Christmas savings accounts
- Green stamps
- Paper airplane tickets & boarding passes
- Paper theater/event tickets
- Print newspapers & magazines, newspaper vending boxes
- Shopping malls
- Walk-in banks, bank tellers, checkbooks
- Traveller's checks
- Price stickers
- Print catalogs
- Paper receipts
- Mailed billing statements
- Cash
JOBS/PROFESSIONS
- Paper delivery boys/girls
- Shoe repair shops
- Projectionists
- Human tollbooth operators
- Travel agents
- Telemarketers
- Non-AI customer service
- Cashiers
CARS
- Vent windows
- Hand-cranked windows
- Backward-facing seating in station wagons
- Gas station attendants
- Free gas station giveaways
- Paper maps
- AAA Triptiks & paper guide books
- Cassette/CD players
- Manual transmissions
- Metal car keys
- Coin operated parking meters
SCHOOL & OFFICE
- Typewriters
- Carbon paper, typewriter erasers, white-out
- Rolodexes
- Portable dictation devices
- Shorthand
- Working 9-5 in an offsite location
- Paper stamps
- Pencil boxes, paste, slide rules, report covers
- Lunchboxes with matching thermoses
- Mimeograph machines
- Overhead projectors, transparency film
- Filmstrip projectors
- Encyclopedias
- Card catalogs
- Date stamps in library books
- Jungle gyms
- Hard copy textbooks
- Paper reference books (dictionaries, thesauruses, atlases, etc.)
- Cursive handwriting
- Annual school photos
- Dewey decimal system
- Wall calendars
FOOD & RESTAURANTS
- Tiki-themed restaurants
- Cafeteria-style restaurants
- Glass straw holders
- TV meals served on TV trays
- Home milk delivery, milk boxes, milkmen
- Ice trays
- Amphetamine-based diet pills
- Hot air popcorn poppers
- Electric can openers
- Wax sandwich bags
- Manual egg beaters
- Coffee percolators
- Hardcopy restaurant menus
- Tea kettles
- Ice buckets
- Restaurant buzzers
AROUND THE HOUSE
- Fine china & silverware, china cabinets
- Incandescent light bulbs
- Photo albums
- Family address books
- Shag toilet covers
- Colored/patterned toilet paper
- Shower caps
- Metal toothbrush holders affixed to the wall
- Macrame everything
- Crocheted granny square afghans
- Curtains on hooks
- Chenille bedspreads
- Manual lawnmowers
- Snow chains on tires
- Pet turtles
- Goldfish in bowls
- Fabric wall calendars
- Metal trash cans
- Webbed lawn chairs
- Bug zappers
- Terrariums
- Cap-style hair dryers
- Mercury thermometers
- Bomb shelters
- Wristwatches, alarm clocks, analog clocks
- Metal house keys
- Home sewing machines
- Analog thermostats
- Lawn jockies
- Bar soap
SOCIALIZING
- Letters written in long-hand
- Postcards
- Air mail envelopes
- Paper party invitations
- Honeycomb crepe paper party decorations
- Tupperware parties
- Avon cosmetics
- Date books
- Autograph books
- Printed programs for theater and sporting events
- Fee-free social media
HOLIDAYS
- Mass-produced Halloween costumes with plastic masks
- Elaborate Christmas decorations in town squares and malls
- Satin Christmas balls with sequins
- Aluminum trees with color wheels
- Christmas tree tinsel
- Flocked windows
- May Day celebrations
- Columbus Day celebrations
- Dark tanning oil for sunbathing
- Home birthday parties for kids
- Cone-shaped party hats & noisemakers
- Easter Seals
OTHER
- Hotel room keys (not keycards)
- Polio vaccination scars
- Cough medicine with codeine
- Calisthenics
- Elliptical towel machines in public bathrooms
- Bubblegum machines
- Public water fountains
