You are too old if you remember.......

[Big John]

More commercially...

Too old if you remember:

The character Speedy from Hardees
When McDonalds used to update their signs every time they accumulated 5 billion more burgers sold


Mapmikey

Actually Speedy was the mascot for McDonald's prior to Ronald McDonald.

And prior to 25 billion hamburgers sold, McDonalds updated their signs for every 1 billion hamburgers sold.

[Grzrd]

Burger Chef as a major chain
Moola Coola
Kickapoo Joy Juice

[Mapmikey]

Actually Speedy was the mascot for McDonald's prior to Ronald McDonald.

This is from the Hardees entry on Wikipedia:
In the early 1970s, the regular menu featured the Huskee Junior (a two-patty burger with a unique sauce) and the Deluxe Huskee (a quarter-pound burger with mayonnaise). Growth was rapid on the strength of the distinctive taste of these two marquee menu items. Hardee's purchased Sandy's in 1972, but primarily emphasized franchise growth on the strength of its own menu. Television advertising campaigns in the early 1970s included cartoon characters of a '49er, "Gilbert Giddyup", and his nemesis, a purple-coated villain named "Speedy McGreedy".

I don't remember Gilbert Giddyup, however...

Mapmikey

[Big John]

OK, Hardees took it over when McDonald's dropped him in 1967.

http://mcdonalds.wikia.com/wiki/Speedee

[lepidopteran]

"Speedy McGreedy" .....Gilbert Giddyup

These two commercials feature both characters

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FN653T5YKho

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WvTEKLVmFNU

[lepidopteran]

-- how pumping your own fuel was unheard of (unless you live in NJ or Oregon)  And they'd volunteer to check your oil, check your tire pressure, clean your windshield, etc.  (Note that a Shell station in Ohio had a "mini-serve" island, where they only pumped your gas and not those other things)
-- the catchphrase "Fill "˜er up, with regular"
-- all gasoline contained lead; grades besides Regular were labeled "Hi-Test" , "Premium" , "Ethyl" , "Super" , "No-Nox" , etc.
-- there was a separate nozzle/hose for each grade, usually at a separate pump assembly altogether (Sunoco was a notable exception)
-- the familiar "ding-ding"  sound when you ran over the pressurized hose, to let the attendant (who was likely working under a hood in the garage) know that a customer drove up; not to be confused with the softer, single "ding"  that some pumps emitted as the amount purchased rolled over each dollar increment
-- when gas stations were known as "service stations" , and as such, a station without service bays was an anomaly
-- when roofs over the pump area, if you even knew of any, were the exception rather than the rule
-- they had analog "wheels"  on the pump dial for the number of gallons and "This sale" , some of which didn't exceed $9.99 as a total!  And only 2 digits were in the price-per-gallon window (OK, plus the fractional amount.)
-- when the gallons pumped window used fractional notation -- 1/10, 2/10, etc. -- rather than a decimal point, even though tenths mean the same thing
-- when there was sight glass on the pump
-- when there was a lit "globe"  in the shape of the logo atop the pump
-- when the nozzle was nested on the side of the pump, not the front.
-- when they accepted house credit cards only, e.g., at a Gulf station, you could only use a Gulf credit card.
-- the sound of that handheld slider device for making an imprint of your charge card
-- S&H Green Stamps, Top Value Stamps, and other trading stamps you received with your purchase
-- when about the only other thing they sold besides petrol was motor oil, the cans of which (yes, cans!) were neatly stacked in a pyramid.  If other items like candy, cigarettes, or soda pop were available, it was pretty much only through vending machines.
-- restroom entrances were on the outside of the building, and you had to ask for the key
-- Esso stations in the United States, or any open station bearing the name "Standard"  or "Standard Oil" , apart from the token locations kept to maintain trademark rights
-- rotating signs (especially the Union 76 rotating ball).  Or signs with flashing light elements
-- free air.  The pump had large, hand-cranked numbers for the tire pressure setting, and there might have been an attached water hose available as well
-- free road maps
-- free glasses

[lepidopteran]

-- one traffic signal face in each direction
-- signals mounted only on corner stanchions rather than overhead, or even in the middle of the intersection
-- 4-way "box"  signals, sometimes called "pagoda"  signals
-- a short dark interval between indications
-- an overlap between green-yellow or yellow-red sequences, intentionally or not
-- Protected lefts required a separate face, and only the green indication was an arrow
-- when the red stayed lit on a protected left on a 3-section face (Pennsylvania still has some of these) and the only time the red indication was dark is when the yellow was lit.
-- an audible load switch sound from the control box when a traffic signal changed indications
-- 8-inch arrows
-- two arrows in the same lens
-- arrows that were taped/painted(?) on the lens, rather than cut out
-- liberal use of four-section signals (R-Y-G-GA), including use of the yellow ball following an arrow-only indication, leading to some confusing sequences, e.g., GA->Y->G while the other signals in that direction were green all along, or G-GA with the GA suddenly disappearing
-- when right turn on red was permitted only if a sign said so, rather than vice-versa
-- the words STOP, CAUTION, or GO embossed on the red, yellow, or green lens respectively.  And for that matter, horizontal (R), diagonal (Y), and vertical (G) bars on the lenses
-- when pedestrian signals used the same WALK section for when the DONT was or wasn't lit, it was just illuminated in a different color. (This applied to lots of places, but New York City in particular)
-- WALK indications were in green rather than lunar white
-- when DONT WALKs didn't flash
-- when WALKs did flash
-- use of the word "WAIT"  in lieu of DONT WALK, often with ped signals in the same round shape as regular vehicular traffic signals
-- pedestrian signals with text indications (this one is more recent, though)
-- Wiley signals (in San Francisco) or Acme signals (with semaphore arms reading STOP and GO)
-- yellow-free signals, except in NYC where the last ones only vanished less than 10 years ago

[vdeane]

Today though, the gas station is independant of the repair shop, unlike in the past when it was common for the guy pumping your gas to be the same guy working on the vehicles.

There's one like that in Potsdam, NY!  I wouldn't recommend it though... expensive gas, sketchy place.

EDIT: Actually, there might be two.

[vtk]

-- when WALKs did flash

I just saw a flashing walk indication Saturday night in PA.  Somewhere on SR 68 west of I-376. It was a white walking-man icon, but it flashed.

[allniter89]

...the orange Styrofoam balls from Union 76 that you put on your car antennae or between your bike spokes if you were younger.
I remember when most gas stations gave away promotional items with the company logo on them for buying xx gallons. Maps of course, key chains, drinking glasses.
Didnt Esso give away a small stuffed tiger toy in support of their slogan "put a tiger in your tank"?

[NE2]

A flashing walk means there may be turning traffic, right?

[Mergingtraffic]

More Connecticut:

SR 533 marker on an I-86 eastbound BGS. Really wish I had taken a photo of that.
General I-86 construction where both directions (2 lanes each way) were sharing one side of the new under-construction right of way.

I'd love to see that.  Wasn't there an old I-86 shiled on the back of an I-84 shield?

And, the white "formerly Exit 100" type signs after I-86 vanished.

I'm looking for photos of old CT I-86.

[roadman65]

If you remember that park roads had a white center line.  Back in the early 70's I remember Skyline Drive in Shendenoah National Park having a white center line as one in particular.

[OracleUsr]

I remember the flashing WALK lamp.  Virginia and DC were two I remember having it, as late as 1999.

[jeffandnicole]

If I recall, the Walk had a slightly slower flash than the Don't Walk.

[thenetwork]

...Toll Roads & Bridges with their own style of Trapezoidial or colored signage.

...When all Grocery Stores and Supermarkets would be closed by 9PM every day, and you were lucky if it was open on Sundays (ah, the old "blue laws").

...When crosswalk WALK lights had a horizontal stripe above and below the word WALK on the lens.

...Gas stations which had ladies (sometimes on roller skates) pumping your gas and washing your car windows.

...Gas at under 60 cents a gallon.

...Gas stations with FREE air pumps that always worked.  I'm lucky to find a station with a WORKING coin-op air hose!!

...Most roadside signs, especially larger road signs, could go 20+ years without being replaced (Sorry, I don't live in California  ). 

...You can remember where all the the freeway's "Temporary" ends were before it was completely finished.

[roadman]

The "Barricade 1000 Feet" signs on the Northeast Expressway (now US 1) in Revere (MA) prior to the MA 60 interchange, and the wooden barricades themselves across what was to be the extension of I-95.

[mgk920]

In Wisconsin...

-Yellow-fronted '12-8-8' stop-and-go lights were the norm.
-US(I)-41 had cross-road intersections between College Ave (WI 125) at Appleton and Winchester Rd at Neenah - as well as five at-grade railroad crossings between Appleton and Milwaukee.
-There was no median barrier on the narrow part of US 41 from Cecil St to Winchester Rd around Neenah.
-Also when Winchester Rd was WI 150, with 'WI 150 being marked all the way into downtown Neenah.
-The US10/WI 441 bridge over Little Lake Butte des Morts between Appleton and Neenah was marked as Winnebago County 'Q'.
-Standard WisDOT-issue route markers had 'US' and 'WIS', in addition to the still used 'COUNTY', across their tops.
-The north-south part of the Madison Beltline on Madison's far west side was a two-lane rural surface highway with intersections.
-'Tire stud' ruts on concrete highways throughout the state.
-US 16
-When I-43 on Milwaukee's north side and on northward was US 141.
-When National Ave and I-43 from Milwaukee southwestward towards Beloit were WI 15.
-WI 29 was a two-lane highway that went through the towns along the way between I-94 and US(I)-41 ('Bloody 29').
-Ashland and Lombardi Aves were US 41 in the Green Bay area.
-The two-lane low-level drawspan on US(I)-41 on the Lake Butte des Morts causeway in Oshkosh.

In Illinois

-The Lake County part of the Tri-State Tollway (I-94) was a four-lane highway (as in '2 x 2').



Mike

[1995hoo]

While this isn't road-related, I like it too much not to include it in this thread.

[agentsteel53]

the handset, as in that thing that vaguely looks like a cell phone but isn't.

[1995hoo]

the handset, as in that thing that vaguely looks like a cell phone but isn't.

A cell phone? You mean that thing that works like a normal phone but would be a pain if you relied solely on it because you'd have to carry it with you at all times around the house because it doesn't let you have five or six phones sharing the same number so you can put extensions in multiple rooms around the house?

[agentsteel53]

while the technology definitely necessitated it ... I find it entertaining that for over 100 years, individual phones were associated with locations, not people.

[deathtopumpkins]

the handset, as in that thing that vaguely looks like a cell phone but isn't.

A cell phone? You mean that thing that works like a normal phone but would be a pain if you relied solely on it because you'd have to carry it with you at all times around the house because it doesn't let you have five or six phones sharing the same number so you can put extensions in multiple rooms around the house?

You could either:

1) put it in your pocket and leave it there

2) turn the volume up such that you can still hear it in another room

3) port your number to a service like Google Voice, which lets you use your phone on any Internet-enabled device.


Also, does anyone actually ever need more than one or two home phones to cover their entire house? Everywhere I lived before we dropped our home phone years ago we only needed one, though my father had a separate phone for upstairs and downstairs. You could hear both ringing.
Since dropping it we've gotten by just fine without. No one ever used it besides telemarketers anyway, since we had cell phones.

[agentsteel53]

I have not had a land line since 2003.  I wonder what portion of the population is landline-free, and how that's changed in the last ~15 years.

[1995hoo]

the handset, as in that thing that vaguely looks like a cell phone but isn't.

A cell phone? You mean that thing that works like a normal phone but would be a pain if you relied solely on it because you'd have to carry it with you at all times around the house because it doesn't let you have five or six phones sharing the same number so you can put extensions in multiple rooms around the house?

You could either:

1) put it in your pocket and leave it there

2) turn the volume up such that you can still hear it in another room

3) port your number to a service like Google Voice, which lets you use your phone on any Internet-enabled device.


Also, does anyone actually ever need more than one or two home phones to cover their entire house? Everywhere I lived before we dropped our home phone years ago we only needed one, though my father had a separate phone for upstairs and downstairs. You could hear both ringing.
Since dropping it we've gotten by just fine without. No one ever used it besides telemarketers anyway, since we had cell phones.

The point isn't so much whether you can hear a phone ringing somewhere. It's more one of convenience. Our house is three stories. If I'm downstairs and the only phone in the house is two stories up (which isn't the case), I'm going to miss phone calls. I'm not going to keep a mobile phone in my pocket 24/7. If I'm at home, I don't want to carry a mobile phone at all times. I don't carry one with me at all times when I'm not at home, so I'm certainly not going to do so at home. (Examples of places I do not take a mobile phone include movie theatres or churches.)

Frankly, the other thing about mobile phones is that I jealously guard my mobile phone number and am extremely careful to whom I give it. I don't particularly care for this idea some people have that they're entitled to reach you 24/7 wherever you may be. I decide who's able to reach me 24/7 (that universe is limited to certain immediate family members).

One other reason we like having regular phones is that it enables us both to be on the phone at the same time with our relatives without having to use a speakerphone or initiate a conference call.