A timely thought

[sid]

As the days of analog timepieces fade into history, will the directions "Turn clockwise to tighten" soon lose all meaning?

Will the expression persist, complete with scholarly footnotes and diagrams?

What could possibly replace it?

Any youngsters out there who can give a current status report?

And, just for fun, what other words or phrases can you think of that belong to the past but live on in the present? (It's late, and all I can think of right now is "Hold your horses!")

Comments

[jazzfish]

I've been waiting for analog clocks to fade into history since I read that line in Hitchhiker's Guide about how earthlings "still think digital watches are a pretty neat idea." No sign of it happening anytime soon: the low-end ones are cheaper than digital clocks, and the high-end ones are classier than any digital clock you can think of.

One 'phrase' that's teetering on the brink of irrelevance: "YOU SPIN ME RIGHT ROUND BABY RIGHT ROUND, LIKE A... wtf is a record anyway?"

Heh.

[onyxlynx]

Speaking of which, what will replace the ancient riposte to the verbose: "Were you vaccinated with a phonograph needle?"

(The sheer number of explanatory footnotes for any Stephen King novel will be epic!)

There was apparently a major push for analog because it was felt (presumably by the usual cabal of conservatives) that digital was just too exact. (I own a pocket watch now (analog with Roman numerals) for when I can't use the phone--and there's another--and got into the digital conversation. Also the clockwise and the Roman numeral conversation, because people apparently only see those in movie copyright notices. Ha.) Hmmm. Just realized that the phrase "My hat's off to you!" is ineffective when almost no one neither Hasidic nor Amish actually wears a hat anymore.

Re: Heh.

[sid]

Speaking of which, what will replace the ancient riposte to the verbose: "Were you vaccinated with a phonograph needle?"

Even "where's your off-switch?" is old hat. (Old hat! What does that mean? LOL) Now you'd be looking for their mute button. :-D

I wear a wristwatch most of the time. I don't need exactness. One of my watches doesn't even have numbers!

Roman numerals are impossible for me to take in at a glance - I need time to work them out. I wonder why they've stayed in use for so long?

Re: Heh.

[lilacsigil]

On clocks and watches, at least, it's a marketing thing. Apparently clocks with Roman numerals look more expensive than ones with Arabic numberals, and using the incorrect IIII instead of IV is more visually balanced.

Re: Heh.

[sid]

Clocks with Arabic numerals can seem so institutional. Schools, hospitals, offices, etc.

[sid]

Hee, I'm trying to picture a digital grandfather clock! It would probably have a "ring tone" instead of chimes. :-)

And whatever happened to record shops?