If you know a teenager, ask them whether they’re familiar with an electronic device that has a spinning circular mat, on top of which a vinyl disc rotates at 33 1/3 revolutions per minute. What happens when you place the device’s arm onto the grooves of the spinning disc?
For any of us who grew up collecting records by the Beatles, Bob Dylan, Aretha Franklin and others, the answer is obvious: it’s a turntable that plays music.
When I asked my grandson recently, he had no idea. He’s a smart kid about to enter high school but to him a turntable was like an ice box, a buttonhook or a laundry board were to me when I was his age.
I showed him my turntable because I was about to sell my entire vinyl collection (above) to a local store. I loved my records, which evoked happy memories, but I switched long ago to CDs and then to streaming options. My LPs were collecting dust in a closet and belonged with an audiophile who still loves vinyl.
My grandson and I were both amused that he didn’t know what a turntable is so, with help from AI, I then asked him whether he could identify the following:
- Massive, heavy paper directories delivered to your doorstep every year. You had to flip through thousands of thin, yellow pages to find the phone number of a local plumber, bakery or car dealership. Answer: the Yellow Pages.
- Thin, ink-coated paper placed between two sheets of writing paper. When you type or write on the top sheet, the pressure transfers the ink to the bottom sheet to create an instant duplicate. Answer: Carbon paper.
- Small, four-sided plastic cubes that attach to the top of a camera. Every time you take a photo with a flash, the cube explodes with a tiny burst of fire and rotates to the next side. You throw it away after four shots. Answer: A flashcube.
- Large wooden cabinets in libraries filled with hundreds of small pull-out drawers, each containing cards with book listings. Answer: Card catalogs.
- Tiny paper stamps given to you by grocery stores and gas stations based on how much money you spent. You saved them, pasted them into booklets and traded them at a local redemption center for household appliances. Answer: Green stamps.
- A cylindrical metal knob inside a car that heats up until it’s glowing red. Answer: A cigarette lighter.
My grandson and I laughed together as we went through the list, which also included 8-track tapes, milk chutes, microfilm, paper maps, rabbit ears, slide rules and manual window cranks. He knew some of these, guessed correctly at others and was baffled by many. The list might also have included typewriters, floppy disks, photographic film, phone booths and more,
If you don’t believe me, try this yourself with a teenager. Just don’t trip over your grandmother’s treadle sewing machine when you go to call them on your rotary phone.
Better yet, text them.
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