It was the fifties. The nineteen-fifties. Sixty years ago. We were so different.
I remember it well. For me, the differences are palpable.
Now, screens show video seemingly everywhere. In vivid color. Increasingly in high-resolution.
Small screens walk down the street with us, in our hands. Super-screens stand in our stadiums. Screens sit on surfaces in virtually every room at and away from home.
In the fifties, screens were rare (beyond the silver screen at movie theaters). Households were buying their first televisions. The “picture” was small, grainy, monochrome.
So many of us are shooting video now. (Thinking of submitting something for PUF short vids?) In the fifties, the “movies” were produced by the studios.
Now, lights shine seemingly everywhere. Highways, streets, public areas. Homes often have a hundred lights, some more. Commercial spaces can be preternaturally bright.
It was darker in the fifties. People did say, “don’t walk down that street.” Why? Because it was dark and dangerous at night with few lights about.
Interior spaces are far larger than in the fifties. Office buildings can have opulent lobbies and suites. A Walmart would be unimaginably large in the fifties.
Developers these days are commonly selling three thousand, four thousand and five thousand square foot homes. Many of these houses have tall ceilings.
When I was a kid, homes were generally ten to twenty thousand cubic feet. Now, some new homes approach fifty thousand cubic feet.
Almost all interior spaces are air-conditioned, here in 2017. Nearly none were in the fifties. We opened the windows and positioned a fan to cool off.
Screens, lights and air-conditioning became ubiquitous in sixty years. This wouldn’t have happened if electricity was costly. Or if it was undependable.
What I’ve witnessed since the fifties – these almost incredible changes in our way of life – is the proof.
The magazine for commentary, opinion and debate on utility regulation and policy since 1928, Public Utilities Fortnightly. “In PUF, Impact the Debate.”
Steve Mitnick, Editor-in-Chief, Public Utilities Fortnightly
E-mail me: mitnick@fortnightly.com