Were things better made in the past?

Yes, of course, things were better made in the past. Take me, for example - one the finest specimens of vintage 1945, still mostly functioning, with faster and more accurate mental arithmetic than anyone born since calculators.

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Some things were better made in some ways. There was obviously more metal and wood and less plastic in most things, so they had a more substantial, less flimsy appearance. But products are built around what the designer perceives as the customer's expectations for its life expectancy. Most people expect a vacuum cleaner to last about 15 years; they might pay a little more for one that will last 20, but almost nothing more for one that will last 30, since they'll be looking for the latest model by that time. This is part of the reason why post-war refrigerators have shorter lifespans than prewar ones; before the war, the public was suspicious of the longevity of these expensive appliance; some had reliability problems, but the ones that didn't tended to be overbuilt and lasted forever. After the war, the industry concluded that most people would be looking to "upgrade" after 15 or 20 years, so they lightened up and parts that were designed for a longer life. This made the models of that era bigger, lighter, cheaper and even more efficient, but their life was shorter. Of course, there were exceptions to that rule, and the 50 year-old refrigerator you see on YouTube is probably better built than most of what was sold back then. TVs from that era seem more permanent than today's models, with metal chassis and real wood cases, but they needed to be repaired once or twice a year. Today's TVs work reliably while they last, but many of the parts go out of production after a year or two, so if they die after that, they are unrepairable. Some of the things we buy today will survive beyond anyone's expectations, but we don't know which ones they are. When people find those items, they'll marvel at how much better things were made today than at that point 20 or 30 years into the future.

I also think more pride went in to producing a good quality product. I know my mom bought a washer/dryer from my aunt and uncle back in 1972. The set was new in 1960, and my parents had them until the early 90's when they finally played out, but they had rarely any maintenence during those 20+ yrs as second owners. I can truly say, they don't make em like that anymore. With the plastic replacing so much of the metal components, I think they did last longer. Then someone came along, and said, 'hey wait just a darn minute. If we begin using materials that cost us less, and don't hold up as long, we will sell more products, because consumers will have to replace them more often.' I can go through a non expensive coffeemaker once a year, but my folks had the same old metal purcolator for a few years.

I sure think so. I used my first vacuum for more than 15 years and it was old when I got it. It was also an Electrolux cylinder. It was on rails, not wheels. I had an old stand mixer from the 40s that I used until it was stolen sometime in the late 60s. So many of our everyday products are mass produced overseas these days. Many are fine, but I think most are junk. They just don't last. I bet I have gone though AT LEAST eight coffee makers in the last twenty years. I don't break them, they just quit working.

Devices were better made because they were not engineered for planned obsolescence to keep people buying more stuff. That's a fact in our own modern history. Mass production is the core problem in all things in general being of poorer quality and the arts being more banal. The people that run entertainment are a bunch of empty-headed 30-50 somethings with no attention span for anything but what might make the next big buck. They are simply products of the system that produced them. Commercialism is as bad as communism when it comes to censoring thought and repressing free speech. Philosophically, the West is dead inside and it's just waiting to be buried. People function for sex, drugs and cheating. This is all they care about, so the entertainment provides. No more contemplations from the age of enlightenment, and no more ideas. But notice, pop culture indeed shows a third world paradigm- the thug/pimp/sex slave culture. That's because we are an Empire in decline, and we are becoming third world socially before it hits us financially. In fact, it is finally hitting us financially, which means these horrors of popular culture will soon become our everyday reality in every neighborhood.

Things were made more sturdy and to last. They were also made in America by workers who took pride in their jobs. Especially after the depression, people repaired things and expected them to last a long time. No one had the extra money to be wasteful. My parents just sold their house with a running refrigerator in the basement from the 1940's and sold a vacuum cleaner at a garage sale that still worked from the same era. I have replaced countless appliances in my home - both large and small ones. We are a very disposable society. Things arent made to be repaired but to be thrown away. I always say that there are some little people in China who push a button the day after your warranty expires and things quit working.

Can't agree with you about vacuum cleaners,they may have lasted longer but they were so much less effective,I can remember using a dustpan and brush BEFORE vacuuming with my electrolux.My dyson is wonderful and has never gone wrong.I long for my microwave to go wrong because I want to justify buying anew one.I honestly think most things are far superior these days...the t.v repair man and the washing machine man used to be my friends coz I saw them so much.

I have a freezer in my kitchen that was made the same year I was, 1974. When bringing it into the house from the driveway it was dropped down about 8 concrete steps....still works like a charm.

I bought a Cuisenart immersion blender/chopper about a month ago. I have used the chopper part about 4 times, it does not work anymore.

I think you are right. Thing were made better in the past.

It seems that most things were. I have a vacuum that was made over 25 years ago and it picks up much better than my 3 year old new vacuum. Remember when all furniture was made out of real wood and not the particle board. I'm right there with mister ed on the garden tools. Cheap and cheap, not worth a nickle.

Yes. Everything was made better, because we made it. Your examples sound like mine and everybody else's. My mother's Kirby vacuum cleaner was rebuilt and lasted another twenty years, when I got older than it was, and it was too heavy to be easy anymore. I got an Oreck on its payment plan that works great and is so lightweight I can't believe how well it works.

An example outside your category is Timex watches. I've bought those for decades, the best only lasting a couple years. >Boing!< Planned obsolescence.

In your category, a Sony mini bookshelf system -- receiver, CD and cassette player. Uh huh. Serviceman says, "It's cheaper just to buy another one."