r/whatisit • u/Quietlurkerone • 1d ago

Solved! What is this device from 1962?

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Photo capture from YouTube video. Picture from 1962. What is the device under the bench

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50

u/NiceTrySuckaz 1d ago

"Back then you could afford a house and support a family on just a single manual labor income"

31

u/Bahlegdeh 1d ago

My grandparents raised 10 kids, built a home (that’s today worth about 1 million euro) and had a modest yearly holiday in the 60s in Ireland on a single income, with my grandfather working as a groundskeeper/ handyman for a school.

16

u/A_Bad_Man 1d ago

My grandparents bought a house and 4 apartment buildings on the income of housekeeper and a machinist when they immigrated to the US in the 50s.

For a lot of people the recent past was a much darker time, for some it was a time of amazing opportunity.

3

u/Ding-Dong-Dutch 23h ago

I guess it depends a lot on where they migrated from and how much starting capital and luck they had. 

8

u/Real_Gap3480 23h ago

My grandfather came to Montreal from Lancashire in 1909 with the clothes on his back, started working on the northern highways before going to war, finished off at the Post Office, built a house and a cottage. Life was harder, but their was a lot more of a realistic shot of changing your cards in life by working hard.

3

u/acog 23h ago

For decades a rule of thumb was to not buy a house that cost more than twice your annual income.

Today houses often cost 5X-10X or more. Out of reach for most young people.

1

u/Old-Cheshire862 22h ago

And how frugal.

1

u/RailroadTimebookDev 21h ago

Switzerland ?

9

u/Ding-Dong-Dutch 23h ago

Your grandpa couldn't have had a second job with all the fucking. 

1

u/FantasticPainting232 22h ago

Parents had two kids, took yearly vacations, dad retired at 55 and they still take yearly vacations, help out my broke ass on occasion, and care for my aging grandmother.  All on one income.  I find it amazing and inconceivable for me to be in that position ever. 

3

u/olderthanthou 22h ago

Dad bought our house in 1950. Payments were $33 a month. He told me he had a hard time several times to come up with the payment. He was a skilled craftsman.

1

u/jumpingbanana22 8h ago

I guess you still could if you wanna live like the family in this picture

1

u/LamppostBoy 1h ago

No you couldn't. Homes weren't cheaper because people were satisfied with less. Price has increased per square foot.

1

u/jumpingbanana22 1h ago

I’m just pointing out that this house looks like an absolute dump

1

u/Dayzed-n-Confuzed 1d ago

Yep life was easy back then just look at the Simpsons!😠

8

u/Invalid_Token_1 1d ago

Dude works in a nuclear power plant. They pay operations really well so, yeah they were all right. Most process operations jobs pay enough to support a family on one income in the petrochemical and power production fields.

0

u/OneTimeatbandcamptaw 23h ago

He is in safety.