History OnceOriginalNowCommon / RealLife

** Similarly, cassette tapes quite often don't sound great, but for many years, they were the only way to listen to music or audiobooks portably, and the most common way to record audio too. Nowadays, you can do both with phones, in higher sound quality. Although, they have made a moderate comeback amongst indie musicians wishing to provide a low cost physical version of their releases.

** While being uglier, costing more to own and operate, and being able to do much less, the cell phones of yesteryear had battery power that could last for nearly a week, even when used heavily. Modern smart phones die in mere hours even with light use. The modern battery life is largely due to the 'feature war' between smartphone manufacturers, to have the brightest screen, the fastest Internet, the slimmest battery etc.

** And pinball in general easily falls into Seinfeld Is Unfunny. Its nature as a physical device limits the types of gameplay, stories ([[NoPlotNoProblem if any]]), and artistic diversity that video games can have, so it can be tough to imagine a time when video games were so technologically primitive that ''Pinball/SpaceShuttle'''s scale model was so impressive, it yanked the market share of pinball machines back from arcade video games. That being said, the real-life physics of pinball is so complex that only in the mid-2010's has home computer technology become advanced enough to accurately replicate pinball virtually. The end result is Seinfeld is Unfunny becoming a CyclicalTrope for pinball, as the gameplay of pinball is nothing like any modern video games, causing an uptick in non-virtual pinball's popularity due to curious video gamers seeking them out to play.

** Early gay rights movements often excluded trans people, drag queens, and anyone else that was gender nonconforming or outside the bounds of "normal." While this approach had its obvious flaws (especially when "normal" was also conflated with "white" and "able-bodied"), appealing to normalcy served a purpose back then. In the 1960's and earlier, homosexual acts were outright illegal, media representation was unheard of, and the vast majority of the general populace only knew of queer people (back then a pejorative) through hateful propaganda from {{Heteronormative Crusader}}s. Showing that queer people weren't all [[AllGaysArePedophiles child-molesting]] bogeymen but human beings with normal lives won many professional allies and laid down a lot of important groundwork that later queer rights were built on. It was in later decades that the movement gradually went from "Gays and lesbians can be normal people just like you who deserve respect" to "LGBTQ+ people deserve respect regardless of whether or not they fit your definition of 'normal'."

** Early gay rights movements often excluded trans people, drag queens, and anyone else that was gender nonconforming or outside the bounds of "normal." While this approach had its obvious flaws (especially when "normal" was also conflated with "white" and "able-bodied"), appealing to normalcy served a purpose back then. In the 1960's and earlier, homosexual acts were outright illegal, media representation was unheard of, and the vast majority of the general populace only knew of queer people (back then a pejorative) through hateful propaganda from {{Heteronormative Crusader}}s. Showing that queer people weren't all [[AllGaysArePedophiles child-molesting]] bogeymen but human beings with normal lives won many professional allies and laid down a lot of important groundwork that later queer rights were built on. It was in later decades that the movement gradually went from "Gays and lesbians can be normal people just like you who deserve respect" to "LGBTQ+ people shouldn't '''have''' to be 'normal' to deserve respect."

* Artistic movements. Numerous ones like impressionism, surrealism, dada and postmodernism. At the time they were [[TheNewRockAndRoll controversial for being new]] and upending tradition on varying levels. Nowadays, the simple fact of them having been around awhile negates half of their original notability, and the internet making it easy for any artist to share whatever vision they want makes it a lot harder to appreciate the other half (not to mention that their age and historical appreciation leads to them sometimes being treated as the tradition to now upend).
** Greek paintings and sculpture. Most of it looks a bit primitive and even uncharacteristically unrealistic today, but without it literally all of Western art the way we know it wouldn't exist (maybe aside from a period of truly Germanic art during TheLowMiddleAges).
** French painter Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun. During the 18th century, her self-portraits caused outrage among her contemporaries. In her paintings, she smiled with her teeth visible, while dressed in soft clothing and carrying her daughter, clearly showing affection for the child. Before then, a smile was seen as a sign of low intelligence and lack of self-control; only monkeys, drunkards, fools and poor people would smile like that in art works (in Europe anyways). At most, you could smile as a sign of mockery or irony. A toothy smile especially was out because of bad dental hygiene at the time. Fashion dictated that people would wear big poofy dresses, not form-fitting soft clothes that felt natural to wear, which made her look intimate in the paintings. As for her affection for her daughter, it was against the past view of parenting, where it was customary to let a child be raised not by its parents but by a nurse or a relative instead, and preferably far away, so her showing motherly love made her look even more intimate. [[NoSuchThingAsBadPublicity The scandal made her more famous]] and more people wanted their portraits drawn by her. As time went by, more of her colleagues would take after her. Today, she is seen as one of the greatest painters in France, but no one would think of her art as groundbreaking or controversial.

* UsefulNotes/{{UNIX}} seems to fall victim to this trope. Multitasking and on-line documentation are now standard, and the command-line interface is admittedly difficult. But clunky as it was, a person using a computer interactively was a major breakthrough in the early to mid-'70s when the computer world was still based on batch processing[[note]]Not to be confused with ''Blast'' processing, which powered the UsefulNotes/SegaGenesis[[/note]]. The command line was actually considered user-friendly compared to using punch cards.

* Technologies in general. Remember how a bunch of gigabytes were supposed to take up an area the size of a floor tile? Yeah... take one look at modern ''terabyte'' storage devices and hard drives and try not to laugh at those prospectives.

* The phrase "An eye for an eye" and its use in real early legal systems (such as the Code of Hammurabi). Nowadays it's thought of as symbolizing the CycleOfRevenge ("eye for an eye makes the whole world blind") and/or bizarre RevengeByProxy ("So if someone kills my daughter, in return ''their daughter'' should die?!") However, the principle was actually a major improvement over two systems which preceded it:
** Completely arbitrary punishments doled out by the king/governor, where if he liked the criminal more [[ScrewTheRulesIHaveConnections or they were upper-class]], there might be just a token punishment or none at all.
** EscalatingWar blood feuds that ended up causing chaos and destruction. (Alice breaks Bob's leg in a work accident, Bob beats her half to death, Alice's brother kills Bob, Bob's father kills Alice and her children, Alice's cousins burn down the Bob Family farm...)
** Thus, "an eye for an eye" was quite revolutionary compared to the ideas of "whatever the boss says for an eye" and "''more than'' an eye for an eye".

* In an age of UsefulNotes/HighSpeedRail it is almost hard to believe that steam trains that are barely faster than a fit person on a bike used to be big effing deals. They were after all the first feasible method of land transport that didn't tire, ran on "anything that burns" instead of precious hay or other animal fodder and back in those days ''there were no roads'' that would allow even moderate speeds on bikes - and there were no bikes either. And last but not least the main use for trains in the early days was for cargo - in an era when hauling boats with horses was considered the ''least'' cumbersome method of transportation a huffing and puffing steam locomotive was downright revolutionary.

* Sigmund Freud is heavily discredited by modern psychology, making it hard to remember how ''revolutionary'' he was. He was the first person to suggest that the solution for mental illness is to have a nice talk rather than throw people in an asylum to rot.
* Karl Marx is highly contentious (if not outright discredited) figure in both academia and politics for (and among other things) [[CommieLand rather]] [[DirtyCommunists obvious]] [[ArtisticLicenseEconomics reasons]], but he essentially invented sociology, and impressively came up with the idea that society is mainly motivated by economics rather than higher principles. Which was quite a radical and (even today arguably) very controversial idea, even among those who embraced his teachings.

** Among these was the standard for what is a Mary Sue. The original Mary Sue was an AuthorAvatar who outshined canon characters with established levels of competency because they're just that awesome. The standards then changed as it went outside star trek circles (At first to fandom or genre-specific standards), then to common speech (It's even a trope on this wiki). Others have pointed out not only do canon characters fit the changing definition of Mary Sue, but so do many of the earliest examples.

* Throughout the TheNewTens, Yoga pants were ultimately attractive and glorified as such by the media. Nowadays, attitudes have become more open and dynamic with other clothes that it’s hard to look at yoga pants in the same way. While they still are considered attractive, fashion and media-wise they are tame, everyday clothes.

** The same is true for the saying "An eye for an eye" and its many variations. Before it, justice didn't exist so much as arbitrary punishments and in nearly all cases, someone of noble standing would get off with much easier punishment, if any. Being punished the same way the crime was done and societal standing being irrelevant was completely revolutionary. Nowadays people only see the aspect of "So if my daughter gets killed by a person, in return ''[[RevengeByProxy their daughter]]'' should die?" Another interpretation is that it was introduced to prevent the problem of [[CycleOfRevenge escalating blood feuds]] (Alice accidentally breaks Bob's leg, Bob cuts her head off, Alice's brother kills Bob and both of his brothers, Bob's father traps Alice's entire surviving family in their farmhouse and burns the place down...) that caused chaos in earlier societies.
* Gaming magazines that featured ''partial walkthroughs'' would seem like a scam today, but at the time that was popular, that was probably your only way to get help on a game... that ''didn't'' involve an 800 number or purchasing an expensive guide.

* When Franchise/{{Barbie}} first hit toy shelves at the tail end of TheFifties and the beginning of TheSixties, there wasn't really anything like it. At the time, most toys targeted at girls (especially dolls) were based around infancy, motherhood, and other housewife things. Barbie was intended to be an adult, and would perform roles outside of "Mother" or "Housewife". These days, Barbie is frequently criticised as ''promoting'' negative stereotypes associated with femininity and is often the subject of mean-spirited parodies and bad faith criticism. All of this is lampshaded in ''Film/Barbie2023''.

** Accessing the root account used to be a big deal, as only the admins on minicomputers and mainframes could do so, conferring an air of privilege on Unix admins. The rise of Unix-like systems on [=PCs=] makes "going root" mundane. It's still a big deal on servers, though.

** GNU/Linux was considered revolutionary because it was a free full UNIX-like system that could run on a single off-the-shelf PC. Other free UNIX-like [=OSes=] have since been ported to the platform (particularly [=NetBSD=], which aims to be incredibly portable). Even then, GNU/Linux wasn't the first version of UNIX that could run on a PC. (That said, it's still more popular than other free UNIX-like operating systems.) People who grew up after the rise of open source [=OSes=] running on personal computers may not appreciate how much of a luxury having a Unix system to yourself was before the 1990s. Even workstations were often too expensive to justify dedicating to a single user outside of high-powered tasks like CAD/CAM or CGI animation, so users in labs or offices would typically be connecting to a central machine either through text terminals or graphical "X terminals" that were the forerunner of modern thin clients.

** GNU/Linux was considered revolutionary because it was a free full UNIX-like system that could run on a single off-the-shelf PC. Other free UNIX-like [=OSes=] have since been ported to the platform (particularly [=NetBSD=], which aims to be incredibly portable). Even then, GNU/Linux wasn't the first version of UNIX that could run on a PC. (That said, it's still more popular than other free UNIX-like operating systems.)

* Speaking of audiobooks? Whilst many [[OlderThanTheyThink only heard of Audiobooks after the new tens]], Audiobooks have been a thing since as early as the [=1930s=]. But prior to digital and streaming? They were very ''very'' cumbersome - Needing to be recorded on cylinders, records, cassette tapes, and compact discs. This ''really'' limited distribution - and prior to services like Bookshare, [=LibriVox=], Listening Books, Audible, Amazon, and other non-profits? Your picks for an audio book were basically "Whatever the store or library had in stock". If you lost or damaged a single volume? You'd have entire gaps. It's hard to imagine a time without streaming services that can deliver audiobooks right to your phone, computer, or even your phone.

* When Franchise/{{Barbie}} first hit toy shelves at the tail end of TheFifties and the beginning of TheSixties, there wasn't really anything like it. At the time? Most toys targeted at girls, especially dolls, were based around infancy, motherhood, and other housewife things. Barbie was intended to be an adult - and would perform roles outside of "Mother" or "Housewife". These days? Barbie is frequently criticised as ''promoting'' negative stereotypes associated with femininity and is often the subject of mean-spirited parodies and bad faith criticism. All of this is lampshaded in ''Film/Barbie2023''.

* The idea of an [=MP3=] player seems almost ''cumbersome'' and limited today when almost everyone has a computer program or a phone that can do the exact same thing - without the need for using a different device. Hilariously? The sheer amounts of battery drain & data usage that streaming music from a phone has actually driven some people to "think of" a device that's used specifically for such a purpose in places such as a workplace or the home - which is what [=MP3=] players were for.

** Speaking of the American Revolution, one of the things that initially set the United States apart from other countries, particularly those in the Eastern Hemisphere, was it's active promotion and encouragement of immigration to the country. And being [[UsefulNote/MeltingPot a nation of immigrants]] was and still is a huge source of [[ImmigrantPatriotism national pride]] for a lot of Americans. However, in the decades and centuries following the USA's creation, other countries in Americas and eventually Europe, would do almost exactly the same thing. In much of the world today (at least in Europe and the Americas), a country allowing immigrants into said country is not only considered normal practice, but for many there; it's a straight-up ''human right''.

** Speaking of the American Revolution, one of the things that initially set the United States apart from other countries, particularly those in the Eastern Hemisphere, was it's active promotion and encouragement of immigration to the country. And being [[UsefulNote/MeltingPot a nation of immigrants]] was and still is a huge source of [[ImmigrantPatriotism national pride]] for a lot of Americans. However, in the decades and centuries following the USA's creation, other countries in Americas and eventually Europe, would do almost exactly the same thing. In much of the world today (at least in Europe and the Americas), a country allowing immigrants into said country is not only considered normal practice, but for many, it's a straight-up ''human right''.

* When Franchise/{{Barbie}} first hit toy shelves at the tail end of TheFifties and the beginning of TheSixties, there wasn't really anything like it. At the time? Most toys targeted at girls, especially dolls, were based around infancy, motherhood, and other housewife things. Barbie was intended to be an adult - and would perform roles outside of "Mother" or "Housewife". These days? Barbie is frequently criticised as ''promoting'' negative stereotypes associated with femininity and is often the subject of mean-spirited parodies and bad faith criticism. All of this is lampshaded in Film/Barbie2023.

** In general, democracy as we know it (one man one vote), while widely cherished internationally as an ideal today, even by conservatives, was once considered a pipe dream argued only by impractical dreamers and regarded as quasi-Utopian. Even the Founding Fathers likened it to "mob rule". The vote was scrupulously restricted to property owners (all white and male naturally) and some nations didn't widen the franchise until well into the 20th Century. It's become such a given that it takes some getting used to accept the fact that it's only in the recent era of history that democracy (full universal suffrage, men and women) was truly practised on what was originally regarded as an utopian scale.

* Karl Marx is heavily discredited for [[DirtyCommies obvious reasons]], but he essentially invented sociology, and impressively came up with the idea that society is mainly motivated by economics rather than higher principles, which was quite innovative.

*** Tell me if you heard this before - a hero with divine heritage sets out on the hero's journey. Everyone who opposes them is a villain who you aren't supposed to sympathise with, or a monster for them to defeat. Along the way they defeat monsters that were supposed to be impossible to defeat and barely has to struggle for their victories. They win because they're just ''that'' badass. And they save a royal figure who they end up marrying. Sounds like a Mary Sue, right? Except this pretty much describes [[Myth/ClassicalMythology Perseus]]. As mentioned by WebAnimation/OverlySarcasticProductions, Perseus more or less ''has'' no flaws - but he's forgiven against accusations of being a Mary Sue if only due to this trope and ValuesDissonance.

** And for those who either didn't want to purchase a game guide (Provided you could even ''find'' one!), you had Website/GameFAQs - arguably one of the ''best'' sources for information on a game ''period''. During TheNineties and the TurnOfTheMillennium, if you couldn't find a game guide for something, your best bet was to look it up on [=GameFAQs=]. However, even ''this'' has fallen out of favour... and reading some of these [=FAQs=] today may come off as clunky due to the only form of visual cues being ASCII, textual descriptions of landmarks rather than screenshots, a single page that requires you to search for something specific when that's all you need (With or without a search key), and [[TotallyRadical a lot of informal speech that comes off as bizarre today]]. All of which were actually ''selling points'' of [=GameFAQs=] back in the day. In TheNewTwenties, when one can just look up a video walkthrough/Longplay or even a [[TheWikiRule wiki]] that contains detailed walkthroughs.... it's hard to truly appreciate how ''much'' [=GameFAQs=] was.

* When Franchise/{{Barbie}} first hit toy shelves at the tail end of TheFifties and the beginning of TheSixties, there wasn't really anything like it. At the time? Most toys targeted at girls, especially dolls, were based around infancy, motherhood, and other housewife things. Barbie was intended to be an adult - and would perform roles outside of "Mother" or "Housewife". These days? Barbie is frequently criticised as ''promoting'' negative stereotypes associated with femininity and is often the subject of mean-spirited parodies and bad faith criticism. All of this is lampshaded by Film/Barbie(2023).

* When Franchise/{{Barbie}} first hit toy shelves at the tail end of TheFifties and the beginning of TheSixties, there wasn't really anything like it. At the time? Most toys targeted at girls, especially dolls, were based around infancy, motherhood, and other housewife things. Barbie was intended to be an adult - and would perform roles outside of "Mother" or "Housewife". These days? Barbie is frequently criticised as ''promoting'' negative stereotypes associated with femininity and is often the subject of mean-spirited parodies and bad faith criticism.

** Surrealism, non-sequiturs, and a rambling rhetorical style are so widespread among stand-up comics of the late 1990s / early 2000s that it's easy to overlook how influential Creator/EddieIzzard was when he first coined that style. And even he simply imitated what certain American stand-up comedians (particularly Creator/EmoPhilips) and Creator/MontyPython did decades earlier.