Extinct

[lilhave]

*SOON TO BE EXTINCT IN AMERICA*

*Common Sense and some research indicate that there are:*

*24 THINGS ABOUT TO BECOME EXTINCT IN **AMERICA*

* *

*24. Yellow Pages*
This year will be pivotal for the global Yellow Pages industry. Much like
newspapers, print Yellow Pages will continue to bleed dollars to their
various digital counterparts, from Internet Yellow Pages (IYPs), to local
search engines and combination search/listing services like Reach Local and
Yodel Factors like an acceleration of the print 'fade rate' and the looming
recession will contribute to the onslaught. One research firm predicts the
falloff in usage of newspapers and print Yellow Pages could even reach 10%
this year -- much higher than the 2%-3% fade rate seen in past years.
*
23. Classified Ads*
The Internet has made so many things obsolete that newspaper classified ads
might sound like just another trivial item on a long list. But this is one
of those harbingers of the future that could signal the end of civilization
as we know it. The argument is that if newspaper classifieds are replaced by
free online listings at sites like Craigslist.org and Google Base, then
newspapers are not far behind them.
*
22. Movie Rental Stores*
While Netflix is looking up at the moment, Blockbuster keeps closing store
locations by the hundreds. It still has about 6,000 left across the world,
but those keep dwindling and the stock is down considerably in 2008,
especially since the company gave up a quest of Circuit City. Movie Gallery,
which owned the Hollywood Video brand, closed up shop earlier this year.
Countless small video chains and mom-and-pop stores have given up the ghost
already.
*
21. Dial-up Internet Access*
Dial-up connections have fallen from 40% in 2001 to 10% in 2008. The
combination of an infrastructure to accommodate affordable high speed
Internet connections and the disappearing home phone have all but pounded
the final nail in the coffin of dial-up Internet access.
*
20. Phone Landlines*
According to a survey from the National Center for Health Statistics, at the
end of 2007, nearly one in six homes was cell-only and, of those homes that
had landlines, one in eight only received calls on their cells.
*
19. **Chesapeake Bay** Blue Crabs*
Maryland's icon, the blue crab, has been fading away in Chesapeake Bay. Last
year Maryland saw the lowest harvest (22 million pounds) since 1945. Just
four decades ago the bay produced 96 million pounds. The population is down
70% since 1990, when they first did a formal count. There are only about 120
million crabs in the bay and they think they need 200 million for a
sustainable population. Over-fishing, pollution, invasive species and global
warming get the blame.
*
18. VCRs*
For the better part of three decades, the VCR was a best-seller and staple
in every American household until being completely decimated by the DVD, and
now the Digital Video Recorder (DVR). In fact, the only remnants of the VHS
age at your local Wal-Mart or Radio Shack are blank VHS tapes these days.
Pre-recorded VHS tapes are largely gone and VHS decks are practically
nowhere to be found. They served us so well.
*
17. Ash Trees*
In the late 1990s, a pretty, iridescent green species of beetle, now known
as the emerald ash borer, hitched a ride to North America with ash wood
products imported from eastern Asia. In less than a decade, its larvae have
killed millions of trees in the Midwest, and continue to spread. They've
killed more than 30 million ash trees in southeastern Michigan alone, with
tens of millions more lost in Ohio and Indiana. More than 7.5 billion ash
trees are currently at risk.
*
16. Ham Radio*
Amateur radio operators enjoy personal (and often worldwide) wireless
communications with each other and are able to support their communities
with emergency and disaster communications if necessary, while increasing
their personal knowledge of electronics and radio theory. However,
proliferation of the Internet and its popularity among youth has caused the
decline of amateur radio. In the past five years alone, the number of people
holding active ham radio licenses has dropped by 50,000, even though Morse
Code is no longer a requirement.

*15. The Swimming Hole*
Thanks to our litigious society, swimming holes are becoming a thing of the
past. '20/20' reports that swimming hole owners, like Robert Every in High
Falls, NY, are shutting them down out of worry that if someone gets hurt
they'll sue. And that's exactly what happened in Seattle. The city of
Bellingham was sued by Katie Hofstetter who was paralyzed in a fall at a
popular swimming hole in Whatcom Falls Park. As injuries occur and lawsuits
follow, expect more swimming holes to post 'Keep out!' signs.
*
14. Answering Machines*
The increasing disappearance of answering machines is directly tied to No 20
our list -- the decline of landlines. According to USA Today, the number of
homes that only use cell phones jumped 159% between 2004 and 2007. It has
been particularly bad in New York; since 2000, landline usage has dropped
55%. It's logical that as cell phones rise, many of them replacing
traditional landlines, that there will be fewer answering machines.
*
13. Cameras That Use Film*
It doesn't require a statistician to prove the rapid disappearance of the
film camera in America. Just look to companies like Nikon, the
professional's choice for quality camera equipment. In 2006, it announced
that it would stop making film cameras, pointing to the shrinking market --
only 3% of its sales in 2005, compared to 75% of sales from digital cameras
and equipment.

*12. Incandescent Bulbs*
Before a few years ago, the standard 60-watt (or, yikes, 100-watt) bulb was
the mainstay of every U.S. home. With the green movement and
all-things-sustainable-energy crowd, the Compact Fluorescent Lightbulb (CFL)
is largely replacing the older, Edison-era incandescent bulb. The EPA
reports that 2007 sales for Energy Star CFLs nearly doubled from 2006,
and these sales accounted for approximately 20 percent of the U.S. light
bulb market. And according to USA Today, a new energy bill plans to phase
out incandescent bulbs in the next four to 12 years.
*
11. Stand-Alone Bowling Alleys*
BowlingBalls. US claims there are still 60 million Americans who bowl at
least once a year, but many are not bowling in stand-alone bowling alleys.
Today most new bowling alleys are part of facilities for all types or
recreation including laser tag, go-karts, bumper cars, video game arcades,
climbing walls and glow miniature golf. Bowling lanes also have been added
to many non-traditional venues such as adult communities, hotels and
resorts, and gambling casinos.
*
10. The Milkman*
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, in 1950, over half of the
milk delivered was to the home in quart bottles, by 1963, it was about a
third and by 2001, it represented only 0.4% percent. Nowadays most milk is
sold through supermarkets in gallon jugs. The steady decline in
home-delivered milk is blamed, of course, on the rise of the
supermarket, better home refrigeration and longer-lasting milk. Although
some milkmen still make the rounds in pockets of the U.S., they are
certainly a dying breed.
*
9. Hand-Written Letters*
In 2006, the Radicati Group estimated that, worldwide, 183 billion e-mails
were sent each day. Two million each second. By November of 2007, an
estimated 3.3 billion Earthlings owned cell phones, and 80% of the world's
population had access to cell phone coverage. In 2004, half-a-trillion text
messages were sent, and the number has no doubt increased exponentially
since then. So where amongst this gorge of gabble is there room for the
elegant, polite hand-written letter?
*
8. Wild Horses*
It is estimated that 100 years ago, as many as two million horses were
roaming free within the United States. In 2001, National Geographic News
estimated that the wild horse population had decreased to about 50,000 head.
Currently, the National Wild Horse and Burro Advisory board states that
there are 32,000 free roaming horses in ten Western states, with half of
them residing in Nevada. The Bureau of Land Management is seeking to reduce
the total number of free range horses to 27,000, possibly by selective
euthanasia.
*
7. Personal Checks*
According to an American Bankers Assoc. report, a net 23% of consumers plan
to decrease their use of checks over the next two years, while a net 14%
plan to increase their use of PIN debit. Bill payment remains the last
stronghold of paper-based payments -- for the time being. Checks continue to
be the most commonly used bill payment method, with 71% of consumers paying
at least one recurring bill per month by writing a check. However, on a
bill-by-bill basis, checks account for only 49% of consumers' recurring bill
payments (down from 72% in 2001 and 60% in 2003).

*6. Drive-in Theaters*
During the peak in 1958, there were more than 4,000 drive-in theaters in
this country, but in 2007 only 405 drive-ins were still operating. Exactly
zero new drive-ins have been built since 2005. Only one reopened in 2005 and
five reopened in 2006, so there isn't much of a movement toward reviving the
closed ones.
*
5. Mumps & Measles*
Despite what's been in the news lately, the measles and mumps actually,
truly are disappearing from the United States. In 1964, 212,000 cases of
mumps were reported in the U.S. By 1983, this figure had dropped to 3,000,
thanks to a vigorous vaccination program. Prior to the introduction of the
measles vaccine, approximately half a million cases of measles were reported
in the U.S. annually, resulting in 450 deaths. In 2005, only 66 cases were
recorded.
*
4. Honey Bees*
Perhaps nothing on our list of disappearing America is so dire; plummeting
so enormously; and so necessary to the survival of our food supply as the
honey bee. Very scary. 'Colony Collapse Disorder,' or CCD, has spread
throughout the U.S. and Europe over the past few years, wiping out 50% to
90% of the colonies of many beekeepers -- and along with it, their
livelihood.

*3. News Magazines and TV News*
While the TV evening newscasts haven't gone anywhere over the last several
decades, their audiences have. In 1984, in a story about the diminishing
returns of the evening news, the New York Times reported that all three
network evening-news programs combined had only 40.9 million viewers. Fast
forward to 2008, and what they have today is half that.
*
2. Analog TV*
According to the Consumer Electronics Association, 85% of homes in the
U.S.get their television programming through cable or satellite
providers. For
the remaining 15% -- or 13 million individuals -- who are using rabbit ears
or a large outdoor antenna to get their local stations, change is in the
air. If you are one of these people you'll need to get a new TV or a
converter box in order to get the new stations which will only be broadcast
in digital.
*
1. The Family Farm*
Since the 1930s, the number of family farms has been declining rapidly.
According to the USDA, 5.3 million farms dotted the nation in 1950, but this
number had declined to 2.1 million by the 2003 farm census (data from the
2007 census hasn't yet been published). Ninety-one percent of theU.S.
FARMS are small Family Farms.

*Both interesting and saddening, isn't it? *

[Chocoholic]

Some of those really are sad when you think about it, especially the ash trees (I'm sure PETA will move to protect the beetle.), stand-alone bowling alleys, drive-in movies, and other family-owned businesses.

I think common sense is something that went extinct here a few years ago.

[Hollow]

yay for the internets.

[*Pleasant Tomorrow*]

We have a drive-in movie theater here, and it's pretty popular during the summer (of course, there's not much else to do here), and it's always fun going, so it's sad that they're disappearing.

annnnd we have a blockbuster, too...and a lot of family farms...and a stand alone bowling alley! (also popular here...again, nothing else to do). yay, home of the dying things!

So many of those are sad, though.

[MrCleveland]

Originally Posted by lilhave

*SOON TO BE EXTINCT IN AMERICA*

*Common Sense and some research indicate that there are:*

*24 THINGS ABOUT TO BECOME EXTINCT IN **AMERICA*

* *

*24. Yellow Pages*
This year will be pivotal for the global Yellow Pages industry. Much like
newspapers, print Yellow Pages will continue to bleed dollars to their
various digital counterparts, from Internet Yellow Pages (IYPs), to local
search engines and combination search/listing services like Reach Local and
Yodel Factors like an acceleration of the print 'fade rate' and the looming
recession will contribute to the onslaught. One research firm predicts the
falloff in usage of newspapers and print Yellow Pages could even reach 10%
this year -- much higher than the 2%-3% fade rate seen in past years.
*
23. Classified Ads*
The Internet has made so many things obsolete that newspaper classified ads
might sound like just another trivial item on a long list. But this is one
of those harbingers of the future that could signal the end of civilization
as we know it. The argument is that if newspaper classifieds are replaced by
free online listings at sites like Craigslist.org and Google Base, then
newspapers are not far behind them.
*
22. Movie Rental Stores*
While Netflix is looking up at the moment, Blockbuster keeps closing store
locations by the hundreds. It still has about 6,000 left across the world,
but those keep dwindling and the stock is down considerably in 2008,
especially since the company gave up a quest of Circuit City. Movie Gallery,
which owned the Hollywood Video brand, closed up shop earlier this year.
Countless small video chains and mom-and-pop stores have given up the ghost
already.
*
21. Dial-up Internet Access*
Dial-up connections have fallen from 40% in 2001 to 10% in 2008. The
combination of an infrastructure to accommodate affordable high speed
Internet connections and the disappearing home phone have all but pounded
the final nail in the coffin of dial-up Internet access.
*
20. Phone Landlines*
According to a survey from the National Center for Health Statistics, at the
end of 2007, nearly one in six homes was cell-only and, of those homes that
had landlines, one in eight only received calls on their cells.
*
19. **Chesapeake Bay** Blue Crabs*
Maryland's icon, the blue crab, has been fading away in Chesapeake Bay. Last
year Maryland saw the lowest harvest (22 million pounds) since 1945. Just
four decades ago the bay produced 96 million pounds. The population is down
70% since 1990, when they first did a formal count. There are only about 120
million crabs in the bay and they think they need 200 million for a
sustainable population. Over-fishing, pollution, invasive species and global
warming get the blame.
*
18. VCRs*
For the better part of three decades, the VCR was a best-seller and staple
in every American household until being completely decimated by the DVD, and
now the Digital Video Recorder (DVR). In fact, the only remnants of the VHS
age at your local Wal-Mart or Radio Shack are blank VHS tapes these days.
Pre-recorded VHS tapes are largely gone and VHS decks are practically
nowhere to be found. They served us so well.
*
17. Ash Trees*
In the late 1990s, a pretty, iridescent green species of beetle, now known
as the emerald ash borer, hitched a ride to North America with ash wood
products imported from eastern Asia. In less than a decade, its larvae have
killed millions of trees in the Midwest, and continue to spread. They've
killed more than 30 million ash trees in southeastern Michigan alone, with
tens of millions more lost in Ohio and Indiana. More than 7.5 billion ash
trees are currently at risk.
*
16. Ham Radio*
Amateur radio operators enjoy personal (and often worldwide) wireless
communications with each other and are able to support their communities
with emergency and disaster communications if necessary, while increasing
their personal knowledge of electronics and radio theory. However,
proliferation of the Internet and its popularity among youth has caused the
decline of amateur radio. In the past five years alone, the number of people
holding active ham radio licenses has dropped by 50,000, even though Morse
Code is no longer a requirement.

*15. The Swimming Hole*
Thanks to our litigious society, swimming holes are becoming a thing of the
past. '20/20' reports that swimming hole owners, like Robert Every in High
Falls, NY, are shutting them down out of worry that if someone gets hurt
they'll sue. And that's exactly what happened in Seattle. The city of
Bellingham was sued by Katie Hofstetter who was paralyzed in a fall at a
popular swimming hole in Whatcom Falls Park. As injuries occur and lawsuits
follow, expect more swimming holes to post 'Keep out!' signs.
*
14. Answering Machines*
The increasing disappearance of answering machines is directly tied to No 20
our list -- the decline of landlines. According to USA Today, the number of
homes that only use cell phones jumped 159% between 2004 and 2007. It has
been particularly bad in New York; since 2000, landline usage has dropped
55%. It's logical that as cell phones rise, many of them replacing
traditional landlines, that there will be fewer answering machines.
*
13. Cameras That Use Film*
It doesn't require a statistician to prove the rapid disappearance of the
film camera in America. Just look to companies like Nikon, the
professional's choice for quality camera equipment. In 2006, it announced
that it would stop making film cameras, pointing to the shrinking market --
only 3% of its sales in 2005, compared to 75% of sales from digital cameras
and equipment.

*12. Incandescent Bulbs*
Before a few years ago, the standard 60-watt (or, yikes, 100-watt) bulb was
the mainstay of every U.S. home. With the green movement and
all-things-sustainable-energy crowd, the Compact Fluorescent Lightbulb (CFL)
is largely replacing the older, Edison-era incandescent bulb. The EPA
reports that 2007 sales for Energy Star CFLs nearly doubled from 2006,
and these sales accounted for approximately 20 percent of the U.S. light
bulb market. And according to USA Today, a new energy bill plans to phase
out incandescent bulbs in the next four to 12 years.
*
11. Stand-Alone Bowling Alleys*
BowlingBalls. US claims there are still 60 million Americans who bowl at
least once a year, but many are not bowling in stand-alone bowling alleys.
Today most new bowling alleys are part of facilities for all types or
recreation including laser tag, go-karts, bumper cars, video game arcades,
climbing walls and glow miniature golf. Bowling lanes also have been added
to many non-traditional venues such as adult communities, hotels and
resorts, and gambling casinos.
*
10. The Milkman*
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, in 1950, over half of the
milk delivered was to the home in quart bottles, by 1963, it was about a
third and by 2001, it represented only 0.4% percent. Nowadays most milk is
sold through supermarkets in gallon jugs. The steady decline in
home-delivered milk is blamed, of course, on the rise of the
supermarket, better home refrigeration and longer-lasting milk. Although
some milkmen still make the rounds in pockets of the U.S., they are
certainly a dying breed.
*
9. Hand-Written Letters*
In 2006, the Radicati Group estimated that, worldwide, 183 billion e-mails
were sent each day. Two million each second. By November of 2007, an
estimated 3.3 billion Earthlings owned cell phones, and 80% of the world's
population had access to cell phone coverage. In 2004, half-a-trillion text
messages were sent, and the number has no doubt increased exponentially
since then. So where amongst this gorge of gabble is there room for the
elegant, polite hand-written letter?
*
8. Wild Horses*
It is estimated that 100 years ago, as many as two million horses were
roaming free within the United States. In 2001, National Geographic News
estimated that the wild horse population had decreased to about 50,000 head.
Currently, the National Wild Horse and Burro Advisory board states that
there are 32,000 free roaming horses in ten Western states, with half of
them residing in Nevada. The Bureau of Land Management is seeking to reduce
the total number of free range horses to 27,000, possibly by selective
euthanasia.
*
7. Personal Checks*
According to an American Bankers Assoc. report, a net 23% of consumers plan
to decrease their use of checks over the next two years, while a net 14%
plan to increase their use of PIN debit. Bill payment remains the last
stronghold of paper-based payments -- for the time being. Checks continue to
be the most commonly used bill payment method, with 71% of consumers paying
at least one recurring bill per month by writing a check. However, on a
bill-by-bill basis, checks account for only 49% of consumers' recurring bill
payments (down from 72% in 2001 and 60% in 2003).

*6. Drive-in Theaters*
During the peak in 1958, there were more than 4,000 drive-in theaters in
this country, but in 2007 only 405 drive-ins were still operating. Exactly
zero new drive-ins have been built since 2005. Only one reopened in 2005 and
five reopened in 2006, so there isn't much of a movement toward reviving the
closed ones.
*
5. Mumps & Measles*
Despite what's been in the news lately, the measles and mumps actually,
truly are disappearing from the United States. In 1964, 212,000 cases of
mumps were reported in the U.S. By 1983, this figure had dropped to 3,000,
thanks to a vigorous vaccination program. Prior to the introduction of the
measles vaccine, approximately half a million cases of measles were reported
in the U.S. annually, resulting in 450 deaths. In 2005, only 66 cases were
recorded.
*
4. Honey Bees*
Perhaps nothing on our list of disappearing America is so dire; plummeting
so enormously; and so necessary to the survival of our food supply as the
honey bee. Very scary. 'Colony Collapse Disorder,' or CCD, has spread
throughout the U.S. and Europe over the past few years, wiping out 50% to
90% of the colonies of many beekeepers -- and along with it, their
livelihood.

*3. News Magazines and TV News*
While the TV evening newscasts haven't gone anywhere over the last several
decades, their audiences have. In 1984, in a story about the diminishing
returns of the evening news, the New York Times reported that all three
network evening-news programs combined had only 40.9 million viewers. Fast
forward to 2008, and what they have today is half that.
*
2. Analog TV*
According to the Consumer Electronics Association, 85% of homes in the
U.S.get their television programming through cable or satellite
providers. For
the remaining 15% -- or 13 million individuals -- who are using rabbit ears
or a large outdoor antenna to get their local stations, change is in the
air. If you are one of these people you'll need to get a new TV or a
converter box in order to get the new stations which will only be broadcast
in digital.
*
1. The Family Farm*
Since the 1930s, the number of family farms has been declining rapidly.
According to the USDA, 5.3 million farms dotted the nation in 1950, but this
number had declined to 2.1 million by the 2003 farm census (data from the
2007 census hasn't yet been published). Ninety-one percent of the U.S.
FARMS are small Family Farms.

*Both interesting and saddening, isn't it? *

24-I rarely use the Yellow Pages anyhow.
23-Even newspaper sites have Classifieds.
22-I only hope that Blockbuster Online STILL stays.
21-AOL Looks gloomy too.
20-Cell Phone Nation is soon to be the way.
19-Save the Blue Crabs!
18-I hope I can get a DVD Recorder than can record stuff up to 6 hours.
17-Save the Ash Tree, get more woodpeckers!
16-Figures.
15-No more skinny-dippin, damn Liberals.
14-That 'Seinfeld' skit should STILL be used for cells.
13-I have a camera that uses film, now I must get a Digital one?
12-The Energy Bulbs aren't as safe as you think.
11-I hope Dave and Busters add a Bowling Alley.
10-Some Seniors deserve a Milkman!
9-And I still have to write "Thank-You Letters" by hand!
8-Wild Horses...are now dragging away...from the States.
7-I now pay bills online, it's easier.
6-I still miss the one that was in my neighborhood.
5-I had the mumps despite having an MMR Shot!
4-Honey and food will be skyrocketing.
3-No news today, so let's get right to the commercials!
2-I hope Converter Boxes give me more stations than 15 right now!
1-There's a great way to get money.

Another note-Railroads. That has been disappearing since the 50's.