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Hourglass
An hourglass, also known as a sandglass, is a time-keeping tool consisting of two glass bulbs connected by a neck, controlled by gravity. The bulb size, neck width, and particulate matter size affect the precise time the hourglass measures. The hourglass, frequently used around 1500, fell due to the rise of mechanical clocks, but it remained a useful tool for timekeeping. -
The Sword
A sword is a hand-cutting weapon with a longer blade. During the Napoleonic Wars, they were effective, but by the 1800s, they were no longer used in conflicts. The tercio marked the rise of pikes and shots. -
Airship
An airship or dirigible balloon is a type of aerostat or lighter-than-air aircraft that can autonomously fly through the air. Aerostats are lifted by a less dense lifting gas compared to the surrounding air. The 1937 Hindenburg explosion and improvements in heavier-than-air aircraft in the 1930s and 1940s rendered dirigibles commercially useless for most uses. -
Steamship
A steamship is a seaworthy, ocean-going ship powered by steam engines rotating paddlewheels or propellers. The first steamships were introduced in the early 1800s, but there were earlier exceptions. After World War II, diesel engines replaced steamers and windjammers, with the final Victory ships already equipped with marine diesels. Since the 1960s, commercial ocean-going steamers with reciprocating engines have not been built due to their economic depletion. -
Mechanical calculators
A mechanical calculator, also known as a calculating machine, is a machine that automatically performs fundamental mathematical operations, similar to an analogue computer or slide rule. Mechanical calculators, which were typically small desktop computers, have been replaced by electronic calculators and digital computers. Handheld mechanical calculators such as the 1948 Curta continued to be used until they were displaced by electronic calculators in the 1970s. -
Typewriter
A typewriter is a mechanical device that types characters by striking an inked ribbon against paper using various keys. Typewriters were common in offices until the 1980s but were replaced by personal computers with word editing software. -
Pager
A pager is a wireless communication device that receives and displays alphanumeric or voice messages, with response and two-way pagers capable of acknowledging, responding, and sending messages. The late 1990s saw the decline of the pager industry, with mobile phones making direct talk accessible and pager use obsolete. -
Cassette tape
The Compact Cassette, also known as a cassette tape, is an analog magnetic tape recording device for audio recording and playback, developed by Lou Ottens at Philips in 1963. It can be blank or fully recorded, with two sides for reversed use. CD sales surged in the 1990s, surpassing compact cassette sales. Cassette tapes disappeared by the early 2000s, with more albums exclusively on vinyl or CD. -
Telephone Books
A telephone directory is a list of telephone subscribers in a specific area or company service, aimed at locating their phone numbers by name and address. The phone book's extinction officially began on October 14, 2010, when New York regulators granted Verizon's request to halt mass-printing residential phone books.
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BlockBuster Video
Blockbuster Video, founded by David Cook in 1985, is an American video rental chain offering DVD-by-mail, streaming, video on demand, and movie theatre services. In the 1990s, Blockbuster made significant progress, with 9,094 locations and 84,300 employees at its peak in 2004.
The business had revenue losses in the late 2000s, and in 2010, it sought bankruptcy protection. By the end of the following year, in 2014, the final 300 company-owned outlets had been shut down.