Still Running

82 things with 5,125 years of service between them. Every one of them still gets used.

No. 0094Around the house

Door handle

Wobbly knobs, 150 years old, original to the house An old turned brass doorknob on a wooden door in Quebec City, the paint worn away around the grip. Not the one in the story.

An old turned brass doorknob on a wooden door in Quebec City, the paint worn away around the grip. Not the one in the story.

Running about 157 years

No. 0096Around the house

1899

Singer sewing machine, Sphinx decals

Priced as a 1940s machine, the serial said 1899 The gold Sphinx decals on the arm of an old Singer Model 27. Not the machine in the story.

Running 127 years

No. 0027Around the house

1910

Singer sewing machine

The thanks for clearing out a house A 1910 Singer Model 27 in its treadle cabinet. Not the one in the story.

Running 116 years

No. 0095Around the house

1910

Singer Model 27

Serial G88: December 1910, electric sometime later A 1910 Singer Model 27 in its oak treadle cabinet, still set up for foot power. Not the one in the story.

Running 116 years

No. 0099Around the house

1920

Star-Rite electric fan

$75 from a local ad, 100 years old that month

An early General Electric desk fan with brass blades, from the first decades of the 20th century. Not a Star-Rite, and not the one in the story.

Running 106 years

No. 0097Around the house

1925

Electric sewing machine with knee control

A knee lever, and a cord you wired your own plug to An old Singer Model 128 sewing machine fitted with an electric motor, on its bentwood case base. Not the one in the story.

An old Singer Model 128 sewing machine fitted with an electric motor, on its bentwood case base. Not the one in the story.

Running 101 years

No. 0028Around the house

c. 1940

On high, anything not tied down ends up across the room A General Electric Vortalex desk fan from around 1950, at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History. Not a Hunter, and not the one in the story.

A General Electric Vortalex desk fan from around 1950, at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History. Not a Hunter, and not the one in the story.

Running about 86 years

No. 0030Around the house

c. 1960

Carpet sweeper

Played with it as a kid, so Grandma handed it over A Leifheit carpet sweeper, newer than the one in the story but built on the same idea: push it and the brushes turn.

Running about 66 years

No. 0117Around the house

1975

Bryant furnace

A home inspector rarely sees one past 20 years A 1960s McClary-Easy natural gas furnace in a Winnipeg basement. Not a Bryant, and not the one in the story.

A 1960s McClary-Easy natural gas furnace in a Winnipeg basement. Not a Bryant, and not the one in the story.

Running 51 years

No. 0029Around the house

1980

Rheem water heater

Only checked its age when the hot water stopped A Rheem electric water heater, much newer than the one in the story.

Running 46 years

Got something old that still works?

Tell us what it is, what year it's from, and one thing about it nobody would guess. A photo helps. A person reads every one before it goes on the wall.

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