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Live and Learn

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275. Can't say I miss that.

Reply to nadinbrzezinski (Original post)

Thu Mar 6, 2014, 04:16 AM

Mar 2014

I remember when the dreaded assignment of "research paper" or "term paper" meant a seemingly lifetime of hours spent in the library with that index box, encyclopedias and actually writing out what you found because you could neither check out many research materials and copying machine weren't around yet.

Not to mention the manual typing of the actual paper. I have memories of myself flinging a typewriter across the room on a late night "term paper" assignment.

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Ok, age check, who remembers? [View all] nadinbrzezinski Mar 2014 OP

I am 35... Earth_First Mar 2014 #1

Our 11 year old is learning it right now joeglow3 Mar 2014 #86

Hey, me too! Chan790 Mar 2014 #190

Microfiche! Earth_First Mar 2014 #200

i typed all those cards four to five per item for 25 years after teaching all day to help my roguevalley Mar 2014 #240

Yeah, it was all so concrete back then. bemildred Mar 2014 #2

I got my brother's nadinbrzezinski Mar 2014 #4

I learned all that, and then had to immediately forget it. bemildred Mar 2014 #12

I got a lot of them in electronic form since I have nowhere to put them nadinbrzezinski Mar 2014 #15

+1. nt bemildred Mar 2014 #20

I'm with you on that! lark Mar 2014 #107

It's also easier when you move too! We just moved enough books to sink the Titanic. And then RKP5637 Mar 2014 #228

LOL So true! Brainstormy Mar 2014 #284

LOL lark Mar 2014 #292

I still have mine. The Velveteen Ocelot Mar 2014 #13

There you go. No batteries. I still like to use a pencil sometimes. nt bemildred Mar 2014 #19

My favorite pen... awoke_in_2003 Mar 2014 #61

The Dewey Decimal system is still the system of organization in libraries, of course. maddiemom Mar 2014 #102

Public and school libraries, anyway. eppur_se_muova Mar 2014 #189

My favorite razors are all older than I am ... SomeGuyInEagan Mar 2014 #179

my dad worked for gillette for 40 years. mysuzuki2 Mar 2014 #227

I buy online ... SomeGuyInEagan Mar 2014 #261

I have a modern Edwin Jagger double edge... awoke_in_2003 Mar 2014 #239

I can't get the technique down for straights. SomeGuyInEagan Mar 2014 #264

Come visit us... awoke_in_2003 Mar 2014 #274

I've still got mine, but fell in love with TI's SR-10 when it came out. I still have it someplace. RKP5637 Mar 2014 #18

Yes, calculators are much better. bemildred Mar 2014 #23

My first love was an HP 33E GliderGuider Mar 2014 #115

OMG GeorgeGist Mar 2014 #279

"Thanks for lending me your calculator. Now where's the @#%$* equal sign, smartass???" GliderGuider Mar 2014 #282

I had a slide rule collection! Sancho Mar 2014 #59

I still have three. And a couple HP RPN calculators. bemildred Mar 2014 #79

Do you still have a drafting table? kentauros Mar 2014 #105

Nope, sorry, that was sold. nt bemildred Mar 2014 #139

I still have my drafting equipment from college. Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin Mar 2014 #212

The same is true for some of mine, like the drafting machine. kentauros Mar 2014 #215

I still have one. Enthusiast Mar 2014 #178

I just owed up to being that old on another thread. Jack Rabbit Mar 2014 #196

Hi Jack. Nice to see you around. bemildred Mar 2014 #199

I learned the slide rule in the mid-1970s Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin Mar 2014 #210

Yeah, you're around 10 years behind me. bemildred Mar 2014 #280

I spent many wonderful hours doing that. Autumn Mar 2014 #3

LOL, Yes, at the Library of Congress and also my universities' stacks! n/t RKP5637 Mar 2014 #5

I got to do it at the National Archives in Mexico City nadinbrzezinski Mar 2014 #10

It was similar at the Library of Congress. I used to get a bunch of stuff at one time, so RKP5637 Mar 2014 #26

They have put a lot of it in electronic form nadinbrzezinski Mar 2014 #32

That makes good sense, of course, but it kind of takes the mystery of touch out of it ... n/t RKP5637 Mar 2014 #48

Yeah, but some of those documents are extremely delicate nadinbrzezinski Mar 2014 #51

Yep! n/t RKP5637 Mar 2014 #53

Yes, throughout my school years and beyond. RebelOne Mar 2014 #6

Yes indeed Bobbie Jo Mar 2014 #7

Ugh, remember erasing carbon triplicates? Warpy Mar 2014 #33

Word processing.... Bobbie Jo Mar 2014 #44

Oh, I hated using Word Star, it just got in the way Warpy Mar 2014 #180

Remember when bosses wanted computers to SOUND like a typewriter? Spitfire of ATJ Mar 2014 #257

Triple quadruple ugh! A wonderful bygone technology! n/t RKP5637 Mar 2014 #52

OMG, so many times I typed a stupid page over again because of too many mistakes. n/t RKP5637 Mar 2014 #37

I made nice spending money back then, typing stuff for college kids Skittles Mar 2014 #127

I'll keep that in mind for my next term paper! LOL! RKP5637 Mar 2014 #201

I learned to type in the military while transcribing morse code Skittles Mar 2014 #203

Wow, that's cool! I learned morse code way back then, but nothing close to RKP5637 Mar 2014 #206

I did some typing in England & high school Skittles Mar 2014 #219

My dad did the same. I was in the sciences in high school and was headed off to RKP5637 Mar 2014 #225

Yep.... Bobbie Jo Mar 2014 #258

yup, I saved one guy bigtime Skittles Mar 2014 #263

Yes and if you had carbons it was worse. Cleita Mar 2014 #145

I took an IBM Standard with me to college. Manifestor_of_Light Mar 2014 #161

I got a job once because I could do statistical typing on an IBM Executive Cleita Mar 2014 #185

I used to manage to smear the carbon onto my fingers and somehow ever so gracefully smear RKP5637 Mar 2014 #202

Yeah, it was a state of the art typewriter, and then Xerox and white out came out Cleita Mar 2014 #217

I would have killed to have an electric typewriter... virgdem Mar 2014 #64

I had one of those as a portable, a manual Smith Corona typewriter. Was I ever glad RKP5637 Mar 2014 #233

Yes, but it kept letters-- and legal opinions--short. SunSeeker Mar 2014 #82

Ah, yes . . . IBM typewriters. Brigid Mar 2014 #141

I'm 42 and remember card catalogs AND the IBM Selectric mike dub Mar 2014 #194

Nice selectric Riftaxe Mar 2014 #253

Ah, the Dewey Decimal System. I remember. panader0 Mar 2014 #8

My favorites were the 900s-history and biographies. SunSeeker Mar 2014 #87

We built a huge addition on to our central library here. Brigid Mar 2014 #148

Heaven! SunSeeker Mar 2014 #165

Well, it is the top floor. Brigid Mar 2014 #293

Was in a research library just recently... Jeff In Milwaukee Mar 2014 #9

I remember it very well. And the Dewey Decimal System. The Velveteen Ocelot Mar 2014 #11

But wait, youngster: some of us remember back to the carbon copiers! maddiemom Mar 2014 #108

Oh, yes, the mimeograph machine. The Velveteen Ocelot Mar 2014 #119

We used to call a variant of that Ditto Machines... mike dub Mar 2014 #195

Well yeah, that too. Too brief to qualify as a "high," however. The ink remover thing maddiemom Mar 2014 #205

Dewey Decimal System alittlelark Mar 2014 #14

Obligatory Weird Al Video Clip... mwooldri Mar 2014 #237

Journalists used Reader's Guide to Periodical Literature for double super secret background research Brother Buzz Mar 2014 #16

my local library has them still, altho I don't know why... CTyankee Mar 2014 #118

Ah, yes. Brigid Mar 2014 #146

Totally Remember this RockaFowler Mar 2014 #17

Damn, like it was yesterday! 11 Bravo Mar 2014 #21

K&R nt. NCTraveler Mar 2014 #22

I spent years sitting on the floor or standing in libraries at home and overseas malaise Mar 2014 #24

You kids these days AgingAmerican Mar 2014 #25

Me! How about old-style Wiki? hedgehog Mar 2014 #27

Ah yes, that ancient wiki nadinbrzezinski Mar 2014 #34

In our grade school, the third/fourth grade room had HubertHeaver Mar 2014 #248

We had them at home nadinbrzezinski Mar 2014 #250

I learned so much from World Book! Good times. randome Mar 2014 #40

+1 Blue_Tires Mar 2014 #41

I would spend hours and hours at home geardaddy Mar 2014 #67

When I was a little kid, Blue_In_AK Mar 2014 #73

I wonder how many of us who did that ended up here! hedgehog Mar 2014 #74

We're ALL weird kids now. Blue_In_AK Mar 2014 #75

LOL, I discovered that when I first found DU. All the weird kids got together! And I said RKP5637 Mar 2014 #238

I did that too. hunter Mar 2014 #192

It was Funk and Wagnals in our house Savannahmann Mar 2014 #140

Old-style wiki was not always so good. Brigid Mar 2014 #150

Card catalogues, microfiche, microfilm... malthaussen Mar 2014 #28

Microfiche was cool too RockaFowler Mar 2014 #57

I made microfiche at a bank Skittles Mar 2014 #128

What do you mean, "was"? I used a microfiche two days ago. Jim Lane Mar 2014 #223

I worked in a law library..... llmart Mar 2014 #245

Online, schmonline. Jim Lane Mar 2014 #255

Agreed! llmart Mar 2014 #283

I love card catalogs, and miss them greatly. MineralMan Mar 2014 #29

Money for funding libraries is disappearing. Budget cuts have caused our library to Cleita Mar 2014 #42

They still exist in virtual form ... frazzled Mar 2014 #50

My greatest card catalog experience. longship Mar 2014 #30

Beautiful! Those pictures brought back so many memories of my days at the LC as a student. n/t RKP5637 Mar 2014 #43

It is one of the best tours in DC. longship Mar 2014 #62

I lived in D.C. for years in my youth. I've been to many places. Somehow, in my youth, I RKP5637 Mar 2014 #84

I agree the Library of Congress and the Archives are my favorites.... CherokeeDem Mar 2014 #109

I love the Library of Congress! NastyRiffraff Mar 2014 #231

Will we ever be allowed to build anything this beautiful again? It's OK to spend trillions Dark n Stormy Knight Mar 2014 #270

I was born in 1983 but depended on prehistoric googling for my MA thesis. Democracyinkind Mar 2014 #31

Yes I remember. hrmjustin Mar 2014 #35

Actually, I miss being able to do that at the library. I actually found it Cleita Mar 2014 #36

I worked at UNM libraries dsteve01 Mar 2014 #38

Actually I find no written word in print junk even pornography. Cleita Mar 2014 #45

I wonder if eons from today DU will be a prehistoric find to savor, lol. Yes, I agree RKP5637 Mar 2014 #71

Not even eons. Maybe a century, but how much electronic media Cleita Mar 2014 #110

Gee you're old ;) NM_Birder Mar 2014 #176

Akin to a treasure hunt, in a way ... Auggie Mar 2014 #39

If Google's Data Centers used Punch Cards demwing Mar 2014 #46

Wow, just wow. RKP5637 Mar 2014 #241

I was just discussing this with my 20-something nephew....... Swede Atlanta Mar 2014 #47

I remember that nadinbrzezinski Mar 2014 #49

Back around 1980... malthaussen Mar 2014 #63

The Apple II was way too expensive nadinbrzezinski Mar 2014 #72

I used a college grant to buy the Apple... malthaussen Mar 2014 #76

Ah but as a green card holder nadinbrzezinski Mar 2014 #78

Couldn't agree with you more. malthaussen Mar 2014 #88

Yes they did nadinbrzezinski Mar 2014 #94

Best typewriter ever wryter2000 Mar 2014 #163

Yes! The lovely card catalog. shenmue Mar 2014 #54

Haha, my college library had two floors Dewey Decimal and two floors Library of Congress! Sancho Mar 2014 #55

It took me years to figure that system out then they threw it out liberal N proud Mar 2014 #56

That was the only way to research anything when I was a child. In_The_Wind Mar 2014 #58

I miss the card catalogs. Finding a book was so quick and easy. Not so any more. Paper Roses Mar 2014 #60

The good thing about the "old school" days CJCRANE Mar 2014 #65

It is a little late since most have been bought up already gvstn Mar 2014 #66

Oh WOW!!!!!! nadinbrzezinski Mar 2014 #69

I was a directory assistance operator for two years using these: IDemo Mar 2014 #68

Now that looks positively painful nadinbrzezinski Mar 2014 #80

Most of us had 500 or more numbers memorized IDemo Mar 2014 #207

That is one observation my cousin made nadinbrzezinski Mar 2014 #209

look for the union label IDemo Mar 2014 #216

I remember that sakabatou Mar 2014 #70

47 1/2... and i want... Rhythm Mar 2014 #77

In the larger scheme of things... TeeYiYi Mar 2014 #81

The smell of the ink on those things nadinbrzezinski Mar 2014 #83

Required freshman course (1st qtr) was: "Use of Library 101" DemoTex Mar 2014 #85

LOL, my co-worker & I were talking about just that with our student worker! catbyte Mar 2014 #89

Ha! Literature major in the '70s. Feral Child Mar 2014 #90

No, that is not me, but I still have a sweater like that nadinbrzezinski Mar 2014 #162

Cool. Feral Child Mar 2014 #166

I gave away my EMS uniforms before we moved to Honolulu nadinbrzezinski Mar 2014 #168

I remember it all too well Nitram Mar 2014 #91

OOo Dewy decimal and LCC woot woot...did my undergraduate thesis research at LC Drew Richards Mar 2014 #92

I have fonder memories of one of these: kentauros Mar 2014 #93

We have a T square somewhere still nadinbrzezinski Mar 2014 #97

I think I've got two, somehow. kentauros Mar 2014 #100

Yes, I remember card catalogs and phone books as well. sinkingfeeling Mar 2014 #95

41 and I practically Aerows Mar 2014 #96

And how. I actually rather enjoyed filing back when I was younger. But not now. JDPriestly Mar 2014 #98

Oh, yes, I remember...the library was wonderland for me! Glorfindel Mar 2014 #99

Many for me too!!!! get the red out Mar 2014 #101

Our state historical library still has a card catalog in addition to the digital search. Sognefjord Mar 2014 #103

Yes, and the "computer" was never down. ellie Mar 2014 #104

I remember the Dewey Decimal System and the cards so well lark Mar 2014 #106

The library was my favorite place! Avalux Mar 2014 #111

These marvels of Modern Technology were amazing at the time. bvar22 Mar 2014 #112

I never personally used them, and my college had long migrated away nadinbrzezinski Mar 2014 #114

Frankly, I fear that in 50 years, people will be unrecognizable. malthaussen Mar 2014 #116

That is kinda frightening. bvar22 Mar 2014 #121

My sentiments exactly... malthaussen Mar 2014 #126

They are already playing with this nadinbrzezinski Mar 2014 #133

Yes, it brings out the Luddite in me. malthaussen Mar 2014 #134

I see the good thing in it nadinbrzezinski Mar 2014 #135

Must be your gut telling you something, eh? malthaussen Mar 2014 #143

I watch UFO programs because they are a rich trove for fiction nadinbrzezinski Mar 2014 #149

Alien threat raises questions of brotherhood of all sapience. malthaussen Mar 2014 #153

Like you, I think likewise nadinbrzezinski Mar 2014 #154

Popular theory... malthaussen Mar 2014 #155

H.G. Wells had the right idea about pathogens imagine any alien or human exposed to alien pathogens. gordianot Mar 2014 #183

And likely, if and when we do, it will be with drones and robots nadinbrzezinski Mar 2014 #184

Even if an alien culture were able able to travel here strong odds are we are toxic. gordianot Mar 2014 #186

The biology is there as a problem nadinbrzezinski Mar 2014 #188

Punch Cards Savannahmann Mar 2014 #147

yep, yep! heaven05 Mar 2014 #113

You had a college cafeteria that produced edible food? malthaussen Mar 2014 #117

We used to get lots of mystery meet with brown gravy on it, with a side dish of RKP5637 Mar 2014 #236

Some things man was not meant to know... n/t malthaussen Mar 2014 #286

We used to get something else about once per week. I guess it was some kind of RKP5637 Mar 2014 #288

well heaven05 Mar 2014 #285

Writing college research papers passiveporcupine Mar 2014 #120

I was in my late 50s when I went back for a Master's. Even then, in 2000 CTyankee Mar 2014 #151

Not only do I remember those, but despite not having used it in years, I still recall 920 ET Awful Mar 2014 #122

Still in use in many archives that I frequent! blackspade Mar 2014 #123

Afternoons tooeyeten Mar 2014 #124

ME, ME!!! Skittles Mar 2014 #125

I used to work in the school library when I was in high school Skidmore Mar 2014 #129

Took twice mgardener Mar 2014 #130

They still have card catalogs Metro135 Mar 2014 #131

I remember this. It was a long time ago. I was still young then.\nt Mass Mar 2014 #132

I remember card catalogs fondly. Shrike47 Mar 2014 #136

One day, about 3 years ago, I passed a large dumpster... Javaman Mar 2014 #137

It pre-dates color images!!! Yikes!!! rppper Mar 2014 #138

I personally like good black and white photography nadinbrzezinski Mar 2014 #142

Brings back memories of high school.... rppper Mar 2014 #169

Hubby used his K1000 for military photography nadinbrzezinski Mar 2014 #172

I had a sweater exactly like that in ivory, amandabeech Mar 2014 #144

Ahhhh. Some of the best hours in my life. Jakes Progress Mar 2014 #152

Dewey!!! denbot Mar 2014 #156

Ex-Researcher Here tea and oranges Mar 2014 #157

I remember that. Graduate thesis advisor recommended it. nadinbrzezinski Mar 2014 #159

Rubber Bands tea and oranges Mar 2014 #182

I'm old enough to remember all the things mentioned in this thread so far, but I don't get the color kath Mar 2014 #271

Rubber Band Thing Is tea and oranges Mar 2014 #291

In my day the file cases were all wood and didn't have the "fancy" handles. LoisB Mar 2014 #158

Oh, lordy wryter2000 Mar 2014 #160

I used those in elementary school. liberal_at_heart Mar 2014 #164

Don't forget prehistoric newspaper archives! Shandris Mar 2014 #167

K&R!!! DeSwiss Mar 2014 #170

I constructed and produced (read: typed) catalogue cards as cataloger in the 70's. No Vested Interest Mar 2014 #171

Dang, I did that as a volunteer in High School... malthaussen Mar 2014 #174

No need for envy - the pay wasn't that great. - just pin money really. No Vested Interest Mar 2014 #175

Not to mention the hot girl I worked with... malthaussen Mar 2014 #177

Well, that's another story...... nt No Vested Interest Mar 2014 #187

I bought one of those...lol. It's been sitting in my cellar for about 10 years while I try to seaglass Mar 2014 #173

I had a book of lined paper and a No. 2 pencil. asjr Mar 2014 #181

I helped maintain one of those ... eppur_se_muova Mar 2014 #191

I remember those, carbon paper, manual typewriters, real ink pens: the age of paper northoftheborder Mar 2014 #193

When I was in college the card catalog was still actively maintained. hunter Mar 2014 #197

Me. and then I went to law school!!! elleng Mar 2014 #198

I can smell it now! Blue Owl Mar 2014 #204

Ha! I remember well... davekriss Mar 2014 #208

Thank goodness for progress. pacalo Mar 2014 #211

Yes and no, next week we are going to cover covering disasters nadinbrzezinski Mar 2014 #214

I hope you don't have any problems when you're doing your job. pacalo Mar 2014 #222

Most of the time nadinbrzezinski Mar 2014 #224

I Had to Learn Dewey and LOC ProfessorGAC Mar 2014 #213

Academic libraries use LOC. llmart Mar 2014 #247

One of the things I like best about the Los Angeles Central Library is how petronius Mar 2014 #218

31...I remember those cards TxDemChem Mar 2014 #220

dewey decimal.... spanone Mar 2014 #221

I'm 44 and I remember those days too. The microfiche was also fun. muntrv Mar 2014 #226

I feel sorry for all the people who never had to go through those catalogs to hunt down Baitball Blogger Mar 2014 #229

In my day... baldguy Mar 2014 #230

I DO! nt LiberalElite Mar 2014 #232

Ahhhhh, the smell of fresh mimeographed copies!!! I still remember well in grade school, we RKP5637 Mar 2014 #234

Ah, the card catalog plus open-stack libraries. Jim Lane Mar 2014 #235

The card catalog was digital by the time I was using it, but I still made much use of the library... Hippo_Tron Mar 2014 #242

All I can say laundry_queen Mar 2014 #243

Research was a treasure hunt for knowledge. nt Ilsa Mar 2014 #244

I loved the card catalogue. efhmc Mar 2014 #246

DDS blkmusclmachine Mar 2014 #249

I remember seeing that, but ... Martin Eden Mar 2014 #251

I admit, nobody ever hit on me at the library. nadinbrzezinski Mar 2014 #252

And library's GP6971 Mar 2014 #254

You know, I am almost 50 and I find the new way of googling so much more efficient tandot Mar 2014 #256

aw lost art form mind you sad-cafe Mar 2014 #259

Microfiche, 8mm movies, slide projectors, dittos and transparency overheads. I remember them all Nanjing to Seoul Mar 2014 #260

36 (nt) bigwillq Mar 2014 #262

Here's an age check - I could have been part of the demise of card catalogs csziggy Mar 2014 #265

I am glad you chose to follow your dream though nadinbrzezinski Mar 2014 #266

I am too - I would have regretted not living my dream more csziggy Mar 2014 #267

It is always good to have dreams. nadinbrzezinski Mar 2014 #268

I do. ;-) ReRe Mar 2014 #269

Yes, that's how I got through college. That, and reading the Congressional Record in the library R B Garr Mar 2014 #272

I wasn't born yet!!!! But seriously, finding the book I want on a computer just doesn't compare. DesertDiamond Mar 2014 #273

Can't say I miss that. Live and Learn Mar 2014 #275

Back when research actually burned calories. gtar100 Mar 2014 #276

Almost 59 here. MarianJack Mar 2014 #277

I remember those sweaters too. gollygee Mar 2014 #278

Dive Tables? DiverDave Mar 2014 #281

I really miss that. Greybnk48 Mar 2014 #287

Type in "Google 1998" and hit enter. JohnnyRingo Mar 2014 #289

WOW, Bring Back The Memories! ChiciB1 Mar 2014 #290