15 Things That Were Everywhere Until One Tiny Change Made Them Disappear

Some everyday objects disappear so gradually that nobody notices until years later. They are not always replaced by some revolutionary new invention, either. Sometimes one small improvement is enough to make something that seemed permanent suddenly feel unnecessary. A new button can eliminate an entire device, a slightly better format can empty store shelves, and a simple change in how we shop or communicate can wipe out objects people once encountered every single day. Looking back, it is strange how quickly something can go from completely unavoidable to something younger generations might not even recognize. Here are 15 things that were everywhere until one tiny change made them disappear.

Phone Books

Nearly every household once received a massive directory filled with local phone numbers. Search engines and online directories made looking someone up so much easier that the printed version quickly became unnecessary.

Disposable Cameras

Disposable cameras were once a vacation and party essential. As soon as phones started taking decent photos, carrying a separate camera that needed developing became much harder to justify.

CD Binders

Huge zippered binders packed with CDs were once a common sight in cars. MP3 players suddenly allowed thousands of songs to fit inside a device smaller than a single disc.

Paper Maps

Glove compartments were once stuffed with folded road maps for getting around unfamiliar places. GPS navigation made it possible to simply follow directions without unfolding anything at all.

Classified Ads

Newspaper classified sections were once the place to find everything from apartments to used furniture. Online listings made those tiny blocks of printed text searchable, faster, and far easier to update.

Rolodexes

A spinning Rolodex could hold an entire professional network on someone’s desk. Digital contact lists made updating a phone number possible without replacing a tiny paper card.

Floppy Disks

For years, the floppy disk was an ordinary way to move files between computers. Writable CDs and USB drives offered dramatically more storage, and computers soon stopped including floppy drives altogether.

VHS Rewinders

Separate VHS rewinders saved people from using their VCR just to rewind a movie. DVDs eliminated rewinding completely, taking this incredibly specific little appliance with them.

Answering Machines

Coming home and pressing a blinking button was once how people discovered who had called. Voicemail moved the same basic function into the phone network and eventually into the phone itself.

Printed Boarding Passes

Flying once meant keeping track of another important piece of paper throughout the airport. Mobile boarding passes turned the same information into a barcode sitting on your phone.

Car Cigarette Lighters

Cars routinely came with an actual electric lighter built into the dashboard. As smoking became less central to car design, the socket survived while the lighter itself increasingly disappeared.

Video Rental Membership Cards

A little plastic card once stood between you and Friday night’s movie. Streaming eliminated the trip to the rental store, making the membership card disappear along with most of the stores themselves.

Newspaper TV Listings

People once checked printed grids to figure out what was on television that night. On-screen program guides made the same information available without opening a newspaper.

Film Canisters

Those little plastic containers were everywhere when rolls of 35mm film were everywhere. Digital cameras removed the film, and the familiar canisters vanished right along with it.

Payphones

Payphones once lined streets, train stations, malls, and airports because being away from home meant being away from your telephone. Cell phones changed that one basic limitation, and suddenly public phones had very little reason to exist.