Casualties of Modern Technology (10 of 12)- Drive-In Theatres

Today's Casualty of Modern Technology is the drive-in theatre which has actually been enjoying a bit of a renaissance, much like vinyl records, but there is no mistake that the hey-day of the drive-in (1955-1979) has long passed. Many drive-ins have become bowling alleys, shopping malls, flea markets and even Wal-Marts.

According to Wikipedia, the drive-in theatre consists of a big outdoor screen, and the venues are known for concession stands, which generally serve ball park foods, such as hot dogs and pizzas. Patrons can also listen to a film's sound on a small-range FM radio station.

The first drive-in opened in Camden, NJ, in 1932. And, some notable drive-in films include the likes of "Werewolves on Wheels" (1971), " The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" (1974) and "Smokey and the Bandit" (1977).

This weekend, the Eden Drive-In in Eden, NC, will screen a double-header on Friday and Saturday consisting of "The Lucky One" and "The Avengers." Some 120 miles away in Christiansburg, Va., the Starlite Drive-In in Christiansburg, Va., will screen a single feature in "The Three Stooges."

In other parts of the United States, the Mendon Twin Drive-In (pictured here) will show a double-header with "The Avengers" and "The Hunger Games" on screen one; while "Battleship" and "Dark Shadows" will be shown on screen two.

The historic Bengies Drive-In in Baltimore, Maryland, which has one of the largest screens in the United State, will show "The Avengers,"  "Chimpanzee" and "The Raven."

http://www.screengems.org

http://www.edendrivein.com

http://www.starlitedrivein.info

http://www.mendondrivein.com

http://www.bengies.com

Casulaties of Modern Technology (8 of 12)_ Etch A Sketch

Of course, we love Albert Einstein here at The Daily Vampire, but the reason for this entry, which was originally going to feature Hallmark greeting cards, is for a politically honest gaffe made by Eric Fehrnstorm, a spokesperson for Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney's campaign.

This week, Fehrnstorm told CNN following Romney's win in Illinois in response to a question about the possibility of the Republican Mike Dukakis (forgive the editorial comment) shifting his stump speeches to win over independent voters as opposed to staunch right-wingers who have seemingly split the vote between Romney's two main Republican foes, Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum.

And, in case you were in a village in Uzbekistan, and you missed what Fehrnstorum said, it was this: "You hit a reset button for the fall campaign. Everything changes. It's almost like an Etch-A-Sketch. You kind of shake it up and start all over again."

As for the product itself, its origins go back to th elate 1950s, according to the manufacturers, the Ohio Art Company (which relocated production to Shenzhen, China, in 2001), when Andre Cassagnes, a French electrician discovered that a drawing toy could be created with joysticks, aluminum powder and glass.

As a result, the first Etch-A-Sketch went into production in 1960, and it became very popular with baby boomers. The Etch-A-Sketch was inducted into the National Toy Hall of Fame in Rochester, NY, in 2008.

To be fair, the Etch-A-Sketch, which was not as popular as it was in its heyday until Fehrnstorm gave new attention to something that most of us played with the backseats of station wagons as kids, is not really a Casualty of Modern Technology. But, it has evolved since the toy was introduced to the market. The modern Etch-A-Sketch also allows for coloring.

Casualties of Modern Technology (5 of 12)_View-Masters

Today, we are continue to feature two items which are still on the market, at least here in the United States, but it is a safe assumption that both View-Masters, which we are featuring here, and board games, such as Monopoly, are used less often than they were 30-35 years ago.

When I was a child in the 1970s, View-Masters were extremely popular, and there were 3-D slides for many popular tv shows and movies, such as "The Lone Ranger."

My mom, who is an antiques dealer, has also sold earlier versions of the View-Master that were sold at tourist destinations, including Niagara Falls and the Grand Canyon. This form of the View-Master was introduced at the 1939 World's Fair in New York, according to Wikipedia.

In 1966, the products were merchandised with popular tv shows, including "Star Trek" and "Rowan and Martin's Laugh In."

Though they are found less often in the open market, Fisher Price still produces View-Masters, and there are slides with images from popular children's films, such as "Toy Story 3."

The used View-Masters we grew up with are available through sites like e-bay, and from what I noticed, they typically seem to sell for about $10 each.

Casualties of Modern Technology- The Payphone (Entry 1 of 12)

Earlier this year when I was in Athens, Ga., I went looking for this cool payphone I saw the last time I was in town, which was back in 2008. This particular payphone near the University of Georgia campus had all sorts of funky grafitti and bumper stickers around it. But, low and behold, the thing had vanished like a rare elephant breed in Tanzania.

A similar experience happened to me when I was a rest stop near Kannapolis, NC, on I-85. Every single payphone in the place had been removed though tehir booths still remained, and all that was left were these Yellowbook pages for phones which no longer existed.

Today, it is safe to say that Clark Kent will now need to find other ways to become Superman. Though Wikipedia states that payphones are still popular in developing countries, such as Uganda where one can find bicycle payphones, the same is not true here in the United States.

According to Wikipedia, there were over two million payphone here is les etats unis in the year 2000. Today, that number has dwindled to 700,000 as both Verizon and AT & T have ceased payphone services.

Hence, the payphone, which first became popular circa 1925, is our first 'Casualty of Modern Technology,' and with ever-expanding communication methods, a person traveling down a highway without a cellphone may just have to resort to using smoke signals.