A Trip Down Memory Lane
For some reason I got all focused on this the other day. Question is, how many of you younger folks have never seen one of these before? I can't recall when these were phased out but I wonder how many younger kids have never seen them, or even know what they are.Give it your best shot, but be sure to let us know your age. I'm just curious about this, kinda like when I was surprised that some of the visitors here had never heard of 60 Minutes', Point- Counterpoint and the resulting spinoff on Saturday Night Live, with the "Jane, you ignorant slut!", line.
As Tish Wilburn reminded me a while back, it's called the generation gap. Still, I can't remember the last time I'd even seen one of these, although I was quite familiar with them years ago when they were commonplace.
posted by Fred Mangels @ 2:18 PM
17 comments
17 Comments:
Yes, and remember when we had to have a "church key" to open them.
The same era as the flip-top lid on beer and soda pop cans.
You have to admit, the new screw top containers with their own spout sure beats dragging out the funnel and hoping you didn't spill it all over your engine.
Where did you scare that up at? That and leaded fuel is what made America great!
yes, we know what motor oil is.
Just like none of the future generations will understand the term "broken record."
You have to admit, the new screw top containers with their own spout sure beats dragging out the funnel and hoping you didn't spill it all over your engine.
See, that's what you did wrong, all you had to do was punch the funnel/can opener into the can and use that!
Motor oil? Does the motor burn it to produce power? Sounds messy.
Well I remember (and love) the SNL skit with Jane Curtin and Dan Acyroid ....... "Jane you ignorant slut" ...... that was great and pretty racy for it's day.
I remember the church key for opening beer.
V for Victory. That must be machine oil for a WWII bomber.
As for church keys, I don't drink beer in church, only on the john.
2:29 wrote, "You have to admit, the new screw top containers with their own spout sure beats dragging out the funnel and hoping you didn't spill it all over your engine.".
As has been mentioned, if you use those oil can spouts, there might be less spillage that just using a can opener. That depends on how the engine was set up.
Sometimes, just like today, there'd be so much engine junk in the way, you couldn't get to the right place without spilling oil.
One thing that sucked about the oil can opener/ nozzles, was then you had oil all over it and had to find a special place to store it, unless you didn't mind getting oil all over everything.
I think these new plastic oil bottles are an improvement, but you still have the same problem if there's so much crap around the oil fill spot on the engine where you can't get the top of the bottle right to where you pour the oil easily.
And as a little oil can trivia for you younger folk: What did you do with the oil cans back then once you emptied them out? You threw them in the trash.
2:39 wrote: "The same era as the flip-top lid on beer and soda pop cans.".
Not sure which one you're referring to. I vaguely remember having to use can openers to open canned beverages. That was way back a while.
Then, they switched to the pull tabs (or whatever they were called), which seemed a vast improvement. Those, for you younger folks, was an aluminum tab you pulled off the can so you could drink from it.
A couple problems with those, though: A litter problem, since once they were pulled off you needed somewhere to throw it away and many would just toss them wherever.
The bigger problem was that, because of the litter problem, people would take the pull tab and drop it inside the can they were drinking from- throw away the can, you also throw away the tab.
Seemed like a good idea at the time, until more and more people ended up sucking the tabs out, along with their coke or beer, and ended up choking on the tabs.
I think that was the motivation for the pull tabs we have today that remain part of the can.
One thing that sucked about the oil can opener/ nozzles, was then you had oil all over it and had to find a special place to store it, unless you didn't mind getting oil all over everything.
That's why God made Garages. The Modern Man-Caves! No wimmen folk here. Back when people would (or could) change their own oil and pour it on the fenceposts to keep them from rotting.
Seems to me, although this was a bit before my time, to get rid of used motor oil, it wasn't uncommon to dig a hole in your back yard, pour the oil in and fill the hole with dirt.
I also remember watching a movie on mosquito abatement in elementary school. One of the suggestions was to pour used motor oil in swampy areas with mosquitos. It would suffocate the mosquito larvae.
They showed a picture of some swamp that was covered with motor oil. No mosquitos breeding there. Probably nothing else, either.
I've never seen one. (I'm in my 30's)
Growing up in a logging community it was commonplace to oil the roads in the summer to keep the dust down. You would see miles and miles of oiled roads and driveways. The great fun was watching the psychedelic light shows that were emitting in the mud puddles from the oil in the water.
I have a few in my garage from my first job working at a gas station when I was 16 and gas was 24 cents a gallon. I'm 51.
I'm 51, too, and I remember those days.
fred why would you ever quote anything from tish wilburn who is a crazy street person...
A crazy street person? I believe she spends most of her time at home, on Progress Street in Eureka.
Crazy? I'm not the one to judge. Street person? I doubt it.
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