Just wondering what passes the test of time? I personally have an old Casio watch and if you count fruit trees, those are pretty old too.
Probably my legs, or something 😜
- My house was built in 1960
- My car was made in 1974 (A land rover series 3)
- I go to sleep listening to podcasts on a Sansa MP3 player from 2000 that I’ve used every night since.
- My body, issued in 1971.
The old, big chest we store stuff in under the stairs is from 1883
‘Stuff’.
No questions please.Yeah, stuff. You know - stray boxes of Lego, some shoes, keys nobody knows what opens any longer…
I think there might be some pillows in there? Probably spiders.
Our staircase was built over two centuries ago, and still does its job!
Do you have no fear of splinters‽ Cause I know those stairs would give me a splinter just by looking at them wrong
Hah! I don’t know if it’s because of how old the wood is, but it’s not very splintery, it has a smooth fossilised feel even though it’s so uneven.
Yeah, I’m sure anything that would have splintered off already has by now with how worn it looks. It shouldn’t be an issue now unless a chunk breaks off.
Mmm, delicious non OSHA-compliance. No handrails, no problem!
I’m fascinated with those joints. Are they nailed at all, or is it just held together by gravity, friction and the exterior walls?
No nails, gravity and large wooden stakes / dowels. It’s amazing to me that people made this by hand, and by the looks of it it was some exquisite craftsmanship, but it’s still functional hundreds of years later, unlike most things created today.
Ah, the old style of woodwork. People have almost forgotten it now - really, anyone uninterested in history has, although the traditions lasted longer than you’d think - but nails were once expensive. Scraping things to fit and using wood’s natural flexibility can get you a good way, and the fact it shrinks and hardens after being cut down can also be used to great effect. Although, in this case the fact the female part is a full log makes me somewhat doubtful greenwood techniques were used, aside from maybe to make the dowels.
They would have made this thing entirely without power tools as well (so it’s no wonder they skipped the nice finish). Two centuries ago they probably were using modern hand saws and the like, although certain archaic tools like the drawknife could have been in their kit as well.
Looks dangerous as fuck but pretty cool!
How? We have stairs like this near a few pubs and restaurants. Though made of metal.
If you tripped, there’s not much to grab onto, and it looks both steep and very uneven.
I would have no problem climbing this myself. Habitually climbing it carelessly and/or while burdened would present some risk, though, and it’s probably not going to be great for grandma. We don’t build like this anymore out of inclusion, a higher level of value on life and just not wanting or needing to have architecture that requires skill to use.
My '97 car?
Clothing? Furniture?I have a cherry wood cabinet from the 1890s that I use to store food. Every day I take a box of cereal from it and put it back.
About 15 years go I had to go somewhere that was much much colder than I anticipated, so we made an emergency drive to the closest town, and I bought the warmest jacket they had. It was like $300, but I never regretted it. Its the most practical, comfy, jacket ive ever owned and doesn’t look half bad - even has a hoody you can clip on and off. Got me through snow as well, but its not water proof.
Love that jacket.
I have a cheap plastic hair brush my mum bought me over 40 years ago when I was about 6 or 7, she said it cost a dollar and surprised I still use it daily.
There is nothing wrong with it, so it lives on.
My brain (since 1990), or at least I have been trying.
My wallet is the last piece of leather I will ever own.
My violin was made in 1614, but to be honest I use my practice violin daily and use that as my concert violin, and tune and play it weekly.
How paranoid are you about dropping it or falling while holding it? That’s literally what I think every time I hear about instruments like this.
That would be among the few things left over from the age of knights and the black death (or the end of that period, anyway), and even modern instruments can be unbelievably valuable.
Not particularly. The wood sat in the harbor nearest to Brefchia to age for two years before Magini ever even touched it. It’s pretty sturdy all things considered. The violin held up better than the original bow and wooden case. We fumigated all of them because they had become infected with bow mites. The original case and bow are in the attic, mostly she currently lives in a crushed velvet lined climate controlled case. Not playing her would do more damage than breaking her out and keeping her in tune.
Lol, it looks like that particular dude died in a plague outbreak.
Are all the previous owners known? I can only imagine the stories such an object might tell us if it could speak (as well as sing).
Not exactly. There’s a break in the chain of ownership, when it came to the new world in the late 1700s. We’re not entirely certain how my great great great grandfather came into possession of it, but we believe that he either won it in a game of poker, or he possibly stole it during the commotion of the last quarter century of the 1700s.
Thanks for the info on Magini. I just knew he made my violin, or more likely one of his apprentices. And that he and another dude in Florence
arewere simultaneously credited for inventing the thing independently of each other.Edit: there’s a fuckton more info on the guy than I could find back in 1993 when I looked into him
Glad to help!
or he possibly stole it during the commotion of the last quarter century of the 1700s.
commie
I see the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, lol.
That right there is one of the stories I’d love to know the details of.
Expensive piece of kit! I assume you’re a professional musician?
Sadly, no. I was told by my cousins, who are professional violinists, that I had the ability, but they didn’t inform me of that until I was already 25 and a chef.
I inherited the thing because I found it in my grandma’s closet when I was 6 and helping her clean her room. I asked her who owned it, and she said it was my dead grandpa’s violin. So I asked again, then who’s is it? She thought about it and said “I dunno, I guess whichever of you grandkids learns to play it first.”
I inherited the thing because I found it in my grandma’s closet when I was 6 and helping her clean her room. I asked her who owned it, and she said it was my dead grandpa’s violin. So I asked again, then who’s is it? She thought about it and said “I dunno, I guess whichever of you grandkids learns to play it first.”
Have you had it insured? I see they go for roughly 20.000 to 150.000 USD, so I assume it’s an ‘of course I have’ moment, but you seem to be quite nonchalant with it so far :D
Got it insured by Lloyd’s of London when they authenticated it’s age and tag. That’s the source of my nonchalance.
Edit: I will say their insurance policies are astounding in what they cover, but they are pricey.
My ass. No way. How do you know it’s authentic, let alone date it to that time period? Secondly show us!
Lloyd’s of London authenticated the tag inside, and the age. If I remember to, I will post a picture when I pull it out this next week.
I use my great grandfather’s bottle opener. It’s magnetic and sticks to my fridge, and it’s over 100 years old. Works great!
I have a Brazilian bottle opener that was a marketing gift from a store. The phone number has 4 digits.
Is it any different than regular bottle openers?
Just a very old bottle opener that has never rusted or been damaged in any way. It’s probably 53 years old.
The foundation of the building I live in is from the 1880’s. Does that count?
1640s here!
.uk
What, it’s not built on a Roman wall? Boooring. /s
It’s crazy to me how commonplace truly deep history is over the pond. Like, there’s been multiple different cities in the same place at different times, basically.
Used to use a double edge razor from the 1960s, I still have it. Gillette Slim.
I just use a modern DE instead, 2015 I think. Feather AS-D2.
Both of them will probably outlast me. Especially the Feather, even though it’s newer and therefore theoretically made with less care, it was made in Japan, and it’s entirely stainless steel, not pot metal. Very strong. You’d need to run it over with a truck to break it.
If cared for, nothing is stopping the Gillette from going another 60 years either.
I put a little string of fake pearls on my daughter about every day, and they were mine and my sisters’ when I was a toddler, so they’re about 30. I don’t know how they’ve survived so many toddlers cause they’d break with any real pulling. She loves them though and is very careful with them. She also uses tiny baby sized silverware from my mom’s babyhood(early 70s) It’s cute and funny to watch her use miniature stuff that’s just her size
I think that’s the oldest thing other than furniture (we use my great grandfather’s bedroom suite)
