Yahoo Lifestyle "It Won't Last A Year": People Are Pointing Out The Things That Have Seriously Dropped In Quality Over The Years, And They Are So Correct
Modern inventions are great and all, but there are admittedly some things that were just better and more durable back in the day (RIP to my smartwatch that died after one year). Recently, redditor u/Flaky_Show6239 asked the r/AskReddit community to share the "they don't make them like they used to" items we've grown so used to. Here's what they had to say.
1."Search engines: sure, they were wonky and unreliable in the Wild West internet era (e.g., HotBot, Lycos, Webcrawler), but Google came along and revolutionized everything. Peak search engine reliability was probably in the mid-2010s, and it's been in a steep decline since then. Nowadays, when I search for anything on Google, it omits random keywords of mine, gives me irrelevant AI-generated answers, shows me Pinterest images, and pulls up irrelevant PDF files from things I distinctly did not search for."
2."Printers. The old grey bricks that you saw 20 years ago in every office that connected via the old parallel printer port were amazing workhorses. Anything from the last 15 years is the epitome of cheap garbage."
3."Jeans. I can feel how thin the denim is and how much faster they've rubbed away in the thighs, yet they've nearly doubled in price for some designers."
"I used to have a pair of jeans that lasted me five or six years of constant use (I normally keep three or four pairs in my rotation, so they get worn often), and now I feel lucky to get 6–12 months out of a pair."
4."Freaking strawberries. They domesticated them to be bigger and stuff, but now they're way less sweet. They used to be bright red and very sweet; I would do anything for an OG strawberry right now."
5."Furniture! Used to be solid and worth having for years."
"I have a couple of pieces of wood furniture that my grandmother gave to my mother, and she gave to me. They're at least 60 years old. Still going strong."
6."Pyrex. The old stuff was borosilicate glass, highly resistant to heat stress and therefore great in the kitchen. The new stuff is tempered soda lime glass, which is stronger if you drop it but can just shatter unexpectedly under certain heat-related circumstances, such as putting a cold Pyrex dish in the oven or a hot one under tap water, which were things you could usually do with old Pyrex with no problems."
7."Oreos. The Double Stuf is now the thickness of the originals from 20 years ago, while the regular only has a thin white smear between the cookies. A pathetic example of shrinkflation."
8."Tomatoes. When I was a kid in the '70s, they were sweet, flavorful, and delicious. You could just cut one open, sprinkle a little salt on it, and chomp into it with content. Tomatoes these days are hard, flavorless garbage."
9."Fast food used to be delicious — good portions, fairly cheap, and fast. Now, I sit in a drive-thru for 20 minutes at Taco Bell, and my burrito supreme is like $8, the size of that tornado thing you get at 7-11, and it tastes like bad grease. This is in no way an attack on employees but more on the higher-ups who make these decisions."
10."Staplers. We lost our ~20-year-old solid metal stapler, and all the new replacements were cheap plastic. I finally went on eBay and bought one identical to the one we lost because I couldn't deal with the plastic one."
"Yes. I've gone through, like, three staplers in a year. I know people who collect old office equipment, and I'm seriously considering buying a stapler from the 1940s."
11."Washing machines. You've done well if yours lasts more than five years now."
12."Kids' toys. My parents have toys at their house that survived their entire childhood AND mine and are still going strong. I buy something for my kids, and it's broken in weeks. I know my kids are high energy, but so were my siblings, and we didn't destroy things at this rate!"
13."Plastic disposable utensils. The hospital I work for has a cafeteria that only provides plastic utensils, the knives do not cut meat, and they bend into a U with hot foods. I am also positive I've swallowed a few prong tips from forks that break off in a bite."
14."Houses. You used to build houses for yourself and your family and had the means to invest in materials that would have lasted the test of time. Now, it's about building to flip or sell, and the corners that are cut in design and execution are astounding."
"My house was built in 1913 and is solid and beautiful. Modern garbage houses made of cardboard don't compare even in the slightest. I will take a 100-year-old home over a new build any day."
15."TV seasons. You used to get 20–24 episode seasons every single year. Now we get 6–10 episode seasons that feel like long movies, sometimes every few years. I want a show I can binge for a long time, and so many shows get canceled before they get past their first short season."
16."Fridges. My grandma's fridge from the '70s? Still humming along perfectly. I bought a brand new one a few months back, and it's already broken twice."
17."Hand tools. I just got a giant toolbox full of '70s steel tools made before the mills shut down. They are in perfect shape and will last another 50 years."
"My grandpa gave me some of his tools before he died. I have a power sander from some time in the early '80s. That thing is amazing; it's the best sander I've ever had. I had one I got in 2018. Piece of shit in comparison."
18."I bought underwear two years ago that is still in great shape. I have been losing weight and needed to go down a size. I bought the exact same brand two months ago, and half of them are coming apart at the seams."
19."Almost anything that demands a subscription where it could previously have been bought outright."
20."Mattresses. They used to be solid, last longer, and more comfy. Flippable, too."
"When I was young, mattresses were double-sided, and you would flip them and turn them to get a lifetime of use from them. Now, they're one side and have maybe six or eight years of use."
21."Shoes. If you're unwilling to spend over $200, you're going to get plastic shoes that will last a year if you're lucky. From sneakers to loafers to boots to heels, that woven sneaker material with the plastic molded soles is designed to be replaced frequently and destined to create more landfill mountains."
22."My family had the same GE microwave for 16-ish years. It finally stopped making things hot. I found out they still make that 'exact' microwave and bought it. Within a month, the buttons were broken. The old unit had features that the new one had programmed out of it. It is already grinding, clicking, and groaning. It won't last a year, let alone 16."
23."Cotton t-shirts. My shirts used to last for years. Now, they don't hold up and start getting little holes within six months to a year."
"That's when you can find cotton t-shirts. Most shirts now are polyester-bend rags that hardly last a year. Not to mention how polyester spreads microplastics everywhere."
What do you believe has lowered in quality over the years? Let us know in the comments, or fill out this anonymous form.
Note: Responses have been edited for length and/or clarity.
