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.

    • @CanadaPlus@lemmy.sdf.org
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      19 days ago

      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?

      • @Acamon@lemmy.world
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        119 days ago

        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.

        • @CanadaPlus@lemmy.sdf.org
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          19 days ago

          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.

    • @MrShankles@reddthat.com
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      020 days ago

      Do you have no fear of splinters‽ Cause I know those stairs would give me a splinter just by looking at them wrong

      • @Acamon@lemmy.world
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        119 days ago

        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.

        • Cethin
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          119 days ago

          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.

  • @mrmacduggan@lemmy.ml
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    220 days ago

    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!

  • @carbs@lemmy.world
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    220 days ago

    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.

  • 𝕱𝖎𝖗𝖊𝖜𝖎𝖙𝖈𝖍
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    20 days ago

    I have a 100 year old porcelain doll. Her name is Agnes, she has real human hair and is definitely cursed. Does that count?

    Other than that, I have a pre-WW2 windup clock that still works perfectly. It’s a solid steel brick.

  • @Cowabunghole@lemmy.ml
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    15 days ago

    I use a nice handmade wooden desk every day. No idea how old it is but my mom bought it at an antique store in the 70’s, so it could be 80+ years old. And it’s still in fantastic shape!

    Edit: I heard back from my mom and she said it’s (supposedly) from the late nineteenth century, so it’s way older than I thought!

  • Boomer Humor Doomergod
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    120 days ago

    A manual coffee grinder from about 1910.

    I figure I need it because if the electric’s broke I’ll need coffee to fix it.

  • @bazzett@lemmy.world
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    120 days ago

    I have a refrigerator from around 1988 or 1989 that still works perfectly. Around 1999, it stopped working, so we bought a new one. We didn’t throw away the old fridge because we used it to store plates and cutlery, but we were sure that it was completely broken. Then, last year, a technician saw it and told us that only a component needed to be replaced for it to work again. Lo and behold, the damn thing was revived, and after a two-decade slumber it worked again as if no time had passed.

  • @ChexMax@lemmy.world
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    119 days ago

    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)