Can You Identify These Vintage Household Items?
Vintage Household Item Quiz. How old school are you?
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We are sure that many of the items you will see here you have seen before. As a kid, you spent time at your grandparent’s house and many of these household items they certainly owned. Most of them were used regularly, and today they may have been left in the past. The world changes, and things have to be upgraded. Some get their upgrade, some are used today, and some have just stopped being produced.
One worthy example is the modern refrigerator. Back in the day, it was called an icebox. Some manufacturers thought it was a good idea to put stoves on top of them in the past. This example shows you how much things have changed over the years and that companies and manufacturers have now identified what type of items evert person needs for their home. Today you have your refrigerator and your stove built separately.
This quiz you are about to see will either give you so many memories of hanging out at your grandparent’s house or maybe some of the items you owned. Let’s see how many of these vintage household items you can identify.
1. Washing clothes has never been so easy – but what is this item that they used back in the day?
Before everyone had washing machines, a washboard was used to scrape all the stains and dirt from clothes.
2. Which item was used to take the dust away?
When you see it, it looks like an old school tennis racket. It was used to beat carpets in order to loosen all the dust and dirt it had collected.
3. Which item was used to fix some holes in your clothes?
It was first created in 1755, but it wasn’t until 1830 that they were marketed.
4. In which item did people keep their bread?
It wasn’t ideal, but it kept your bread from going steal for a little bit longer.
5. Which of these items kept your hair on point all the time?
They didn’t look anything like the modern hairdryer, but they did the job.
6. Which item was used to make the fire in your home bigger?
When you wanted to make the fire a little bit bigger, you would take your bellows and blow air at the fire.
7. Which item was used to cut the grass in your front lawn?
Mowing lawns was the activity that many boys were tasked to do; some even went around the neighborhood cutting people’s lawns for money.
8. Before computers, which machine was used for writing?
Using something like this today seems funny, but back in the day, this was revolutionary.
9. Which item was used for measuring things?
These vintage scales weren’t that easy to use. But once you figured out how they work, it was a breeze.
10. Before Bluetooth speakers and all these new music playing devices, which item was used to play music?
When you went over to someone’s house and saw one of these, you knew that they had some understanding of music.
11. This item is automatic today, but back in the day, they had to do this manually – can you name the item?
With today’s automatic grinders, you just press a button, sit back, and wait for it to do its job. Back in the day, you would have an arm workout just to grind some coffee beans.
12. Which item was used to make your bread crispy?
You would place the piece of bread next to some wires that had a heating element.
13. In which items did you keep your food cool?
Before the electric model started to pop up, ice was used to keep the food cool.
14. With what item did people organize their contacts?
Business people back in the day would save their contacts on Rolodex, which stands for the rolling index.
15. With what item did people put out candles?
This item was never considered a necessity, even today, they still exist, but people just blow the candles.
16. In which item did people leave their quills?
Today inkwells are just collector’s items, and they were made from different materials.
17. Can you name this item?
Back in the day, people would get milk delivered to their doorstep. And once they finished the bottles, they would place them back on their doorstep, to be taken and refilled again.
18. Can you identify this household item?
This item was used to fix and sift any lumps that your flour or other baking goods had.
19. In which items were leftovers stored?
When they were first released, housewives wanted to collect every size and color of the containers.
20. With what item you could hear the news?
When they were first released in 1954, they made a boom, and everyone wanted this portable item that was playing music, and you could also listen to the news.
21. Which of these items was used before the invention of the small bag?
You would put the leaves in the strainer and dip it in the water. This way, no leaves would get left in the water.
22. Do you know what this is?
The only reason this item was used was to toss and serve a salad.
23. Which item was big in the 70s, and many people used it during parties?
If you haven’t gone to a fondue party, you have missed out on a lot. People would put anything in the container that held the melted cheese.
24. They were invented in 1878, but became a staple item for any office in the 40s – what is this item?
One quick fun fact; the stapling plate is called an anvil.
25. Which item was used to keep people connected?
If you missed a number, it was back to the start. It was pretty hard to use the rotary phone back in the day.
26. Which item was used to keep the pastries safe?
27. Which item you could find on tables, chairs, and counters?
Your grandmother made these all the time, and when you went to visit, you would see them on every wooden surface.
28. Which item would keep you worn before going to bed?
People would put hot coal inside the metal container and place them under the sheets.
29. Which item today just sits in the china cabinet?
They aren’t used as much today, but back in the day, the soup would be in the bowl, and there is a lid to keep in warm.
30. Can you name the item below?
They were commonly used by women who wanted to look at how a dress would look on them.
31. The vintage version of this item doesn’t even come close to the modern one – can you name it?
They were quite similar to the coffee grinders, but ice is way harder to crush, so you would have to give more force.
32. This item was used to decorate a specific thing – do you know it?
Most of them were made of wood, but you could also find some made from glass.
33. Which item was used to clean your floors?
The commercials were fun to watch for this product. Two housewives created it from Michigan in the 40s.
34. Which item could be used at home to build tapestry?
Looms were mostly used in factories, but some households had smaller versions.
35. This was an item that you would put a basic food for breakfast – can you name it?
Eggs would roll around if you place them in plates, so an egg cup was quite convenient, plus it looked quite fancy.
36. Can you recognize this item?
This item was hand-cranked, like most of the other items back in the day.
37. Which item held people’s stamps in one place?
Getting one of these meant that noting would get ink stains anymore. They were held upright and didn’t touch your desk.
38. People brought one of these to every picnic – can you name the item?
This was basically a container that kept your drinks cool.
39. Before ceramic or porcelain plates, which item was used to eat off?
They were flat disks made of wood that had a crater in the middle. That way, no food could be spilled.
40. Can you name this item that was popular in the 50s?
A salesperson would go door-to-door and sell these items. You could have your own milkshake maker at home.
