Card No. 34

The answers

1. Since 1983

   Sony-brand 3.5-inch floppy disks sold in Japan

   Done for 2011

   Sony ended domestic sales of all six of its 3.5-inch floppy models in March 2011, after 28 years in the business. Wired called it the death of the floppy disk.

2. Since 1973

   Swintec, a company selling see-through typewriters to prisons

   Still going

   Swintec still sells them, for $335.50 to $369.50. The clear case keeps contraband out, and the New York model is limited to 7,000 characters of memory.

3. Since 1968

   A car-carrying hovercraft across the English Channel

   Done for 2000

   Gone since October 1, 2000. The big SR.N4 craft carried up to 60 cars and 418 passengers, and one made the crossing in 22 minutes in 1995.

4. Since 1896

   The Glasgow Subway, a 15-station underground loop

   Still going

   The Subway opened in December 1896 and was pulled by cable until 1935. The track gauge is just 4 feet, and a new fleet of Stadler trains fully took over in June 2024.

5. Since 1962

   A monorail in downtown Seattle

   Still going

   Still running on its two original 1962 Alweg trains, Red and Blue. The 0.9-mile ride takes about two minutes, and it carried about 2.16 million riders in 2024.