What is the oldest thing you have in your house?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the oldest items participants have in their homes, encompassing a range of objects from personal memorabilia to geological specimens. The scope includes historical artifacts, personal belongings, and natural items, with contributions reflecting on their age and significance.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants mention personal items like cookbooks, school reports, and family heirlooms from various decades.
  • Several participants claim to possess fossils, with ages suggested to be around 100 million years or more.
  • Others highlight geological specimens, including rocks and minerals, with some dating back billions of years.
  • Historical books and coins are noted, with specific editions mentioned, such as a Latin-English dictionary from 1851 and a Boy Scout handbook from around 1920.
  • Some participants humorously assert that they themselves are the oldest items in their homes.
  • There are mentions of everyday objects, like a cassette player from the 1980s and a vacuum cleaner from the 1970s.
  • One participant shares a humorous anecdote about a can of garbanzo beans that expired in 1963.
  • Discussion includes a variety of responses to the age of items, with some participants joking about the nature of time and existence.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express a wide range of items with varying ages, leading to multiple competing views on what constitutes the "oldest" item. The discussion remains unresolved as no consensus is reached on a definitive answer.

Contextual Notes

Some claims about the age of items are based on personal recollection or estimation, and there are no formal methods presented for verifying the ages mentioned. The discussion includes both serious and humorous contributions, reflecting a mix of genuine interest and light-hearted banter.

Who May Find This Useful

This discussion may interest those curious about historical artifacts, personal memorabilia, and geological specimens, as well as individuals who enjoy sharing and comparing personal stories related to age and history.

  • #31
A sidenote to my previous post: While I was looking through my "archives" I found some science memorabilia from the 60s and 70s, I thought I might share another two photos I just took, since some thread readers may be interested in both science and history:
  • First Man On The Moon/Moon Landing, First Day Cover (USA, 1969) - http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7620/16879655709_59fea3138f_b.jpg
  • A couple of Nobel Prize First Day Covers (Sweden, 60s - 70s) - http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7597/16443431334_186be1d428_b.jpg
Just a sidenote though. I hope to see more photos of various old things from more members in this thread...:smile:
 
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  • #32
20150407_144050.jpg
That is the oldest thing. Not just in my house, it is THE oldest thing. It was given to me just after I was born, and as far as I know the world hadn't existed before.
 
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  • #33
A fossil commonly found on my Niagara Escarpment property.
 
  • #34
Probably rocks my daughter brings in. Then... me I guess @ 34 years
 
  • #35
Bandersnatch said:
View attachment 81625
That is the oldest thing. Not just in my house, it is THE oldest thing. It was given to me just after I was born, and as far as I know the world hadn't existed before.
That's adorable!
 
  • #36
I get a few million year old photons in my house every other night. But they don't stay :(
 
  • #37
My grandfather...
I was joking.
I have a cupboard which is more than 150 years old.
 
  • #38
Pythagorean said:
Probably rocks my daughter brings in. Then... me I guess @ 34 years
Rocks definitely aren't the oldest thing in my house.

I have three rocks that are 13 1/2 years old. I plucked them from a hole on Mt Etna shortly after its eruption. They were still very warm, even though solid.

I have a slide rule that's around 70 years old.

(We were hoping to take the chair lift to the peak. We didn't speak much Italian, but were eventually able to get the idea that the chair lift was closed that day. We exited the opposite side of the building we entered and saw the lift supports laying on the ground, having been toppled by the flowing lava. We were then able to deduce that the lift would probably be closed tomorrow, as well.)
 
  • #39
I have a rock from Vesuvius somewhere.

My father was there with the RAF soon after the eruption in 1944. We all climbed up in the late 1960's when I was about 8 years old. I went back to the area with my kids in 2003. I believe it's overdue for another eruption.
 
  • #40
davenn said:
ahhh found them :)

View attachment 81538
Not to hijack the thread, but, hijacking the thread here, what does an "Ancient Roman Starter Pack" cost, and, that price being the case, are Roman coins worth more, less, or about the same as they were when originally minted?
 
  • #41
gosh ... .from memory that pack of 11 coins cost me somewhere around AU$10 - 20 ... it wasn't a huge price to pay for some really old coins :)Dave
 
  • #42
Dust on my desk:oldfrown:

Greg Bernhardt said:
I have a 3 cent Victoria coin from 1889, but I can't find any information about it.

I can help you but I need to keep them for a while!:angel:
 
  • #43
davenn said:
gosh ... .from memory that pack of 11 coins cost me somewhere around AU$10 - 20 ... it wasn't a huge price to pay for some really old coins :)Dave
So, I wonder what the modern buying power is compared to the ancient. When I saw that "Starter Pack," it occurred to me that there must be so many Roman coins still in existence that they are not particularly valuable at all. Given the 11 coins, the bulk of what you paid was undoubtedly for the silver one. But what you're really paying for is for someone to grade them, package them up, label them, advertise them, and ship them.
 
  • #44
davenn said:
gosh ... .from memory that pack of 11 coins cost me somewhere around AU$10 - 20 ... it wasn't a huge price to pay for some really old coins :)
Dave
Thanks to this post, I'm seriously thinking of getting such a pack, I really like such kind of things (by the way, I just googled for "Roman coins starter pack", and this thread came up as #4 on the list :biggrin:).
 
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  • #45
The oldest things in my house are this coin from 1943 and this watch whose date is unknown to me, but it surely is older than anything else around here (if anyone knows how to date a pocket watch let me know :D).

11164195_10204265654830126_836305029_n.jpg
11103597_10204265652790075_659086854_n.jpg
 
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  • #46
mvkWLazwEfDcSWW3dKqcqKQ.jpg

I keep it at my mothers house, got it when I was 2.
 
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  • #47
BobG said:
I have a can of garbanzo beans in my pantry that expired in 1963 (have no idea when it was bought).

Funny thing is I've always wondered why I always seem to have a can of garbanzo beans in every house I've lived in when I don't even know what they're used for. All this time, it must have been the same can.

Orodruin said:
Garbanzo is just Spanish for chickpeas. They can be used in soups, stews, or salads. You can also make hummus from them.
BobG's garbanzo beans are so old, it would probably be better to make humus out of them.
 
  • #48
davenn said:
ahhh found them :)

View attachment 81538
According to the description in the paper for davenn's Roman coins, one of them is a silver denarius. Of interest, at least to me, is that if you buy nails at the hardware store, they will have sizes like 12 penny and 16 penny, but written as 12d and 16d. The 'd' in the size has its roots in the Roman coin, denarius. In England before about 1488, the penny size was the price, in pennies, of 100 nails of that size (http://sizes.com/units/penny.htm). Oddly enough, the "100" here was actually a so-called "long hundred" which was actually 120, at least according to this site: http://sizes.com/units/hundred.htm.

When I was in Yugoslavia in 1974, the basic unit of currency was the dinar. You can guess where that word came from. It's still the currency in Serbia and Macedonia (denar), but the other former provinces have different currencies, now.
 
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  • #49
Mark44 said:
According to the description in the paper for davenn's Roman coins, one of them is a silver denarius. Of interest, at least to me, is that if you buy nails at the hardware store, they will have sizes like 12 penny and 16 penny, but written as 12d and 16d. The 'd' in the size has its roots in the Roman coin, denarius.

Cool :smile:
love hearing about these oddball things ... thanks MarkDave
 

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