Once upon a time, there were no remotes. I suspect you know this. I remember being impressed when my mother figured out she could incorporate an extension cord with a switch on it so she didn’t have to get out if bed to to turn the tv off when she went to sleep.
I had to go looking for an example and found it on a “vintage” site. Oof.
Then, at some point (in the early 1970’s) my parents bought a television that could be operated with something that looked like this. (from a Reddit discussion on early tv remotes)
Friends, this was not a remote. It was a “clicker.” That is, everyone I knew called it a clicker and it made a kind of metallic clicking noise when you used it to change channels. It was basic. It cycled you through all the channels until you got to the one you wanted.
This might seem daunting until you remember we only had three or four channels in those days.
For many years this device and, later, our garage door opener, were my only experience with “wireless” remote control. Period.
Perhaps this is why the proliferation of remotes in recent years has felt almost alarming to me. I remember being at someone’s house and being encouraged to pick something I wanted to watch on the television. There were so many remotes I was completely overwhelmed at the prospect.
Those of you whose houses are more or less operated by voice command these days have moved beyond this, I guess. I don’t know. I’m not there yet.
This summer when we were reconstructing our bedroom it was recommended that we install a ceiling fan to ameliorate heat buildup in the summer. I was thrilled. I had always wanted one. So now we had a ceiling fan and overhead lighting. Yay.
And a remote. Ooh.
And, it just so happened, it was more or less the same color of our new comforter. Uh oh.
Not only did I have to get used to operating a new remote, most of the time I couldn’t even find the dang thing. After a summer of weird loss and upheaval, it just seemed silly to be dealing with a camouflaged overhead fan controller. I mean, really?
I assigned myself the task of finding some brightly-colored option that would be easy to use and make sense with our decor. At long last I found one.
Meet Pocket. He’s just the right size and he’s easy to find. And he’s definitely compatible with our - - whimsical? - - decorating style. We’re fine unless he decides to hang out with our old friend Max.
How do you feel about remotes? Are they piling up at your house? Do you have an effective organizational system or do you find yourself hunting for them on a regular basis?
And, just for fun: is there something that you’d like to be able to operate with a remote that hasn’t yet been equipped with one? I wouldn’t mind a remote for running the perfect bath and turning off the water when it’s full. Bonus points for keeping the water at the right temperature, too.
What do you think?
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