What's the biggest change the world has seen in your lifetime?

[Mich the Tester]

Uncontrolled and massive immigration on a scale never seen before and mostly from 3rd World countries.

The Impact of Migration on UK Population Growth | The Migration Observatory

Many 3rd world countries have had to deal with an ever bigger influx of immigrants without the resources to do so; it's an inevitable consequence of a fast growing population, enormous differences in economic resources, the over supply of AK47s in the world in relation to food and clean water and the availability of fast mass transport.

People are shifting around the world more than ever before and it isn't stopping soon. Mass migration isn't pretty, I'm not really all that happy about it either, but it'll carry on happening, so learn to live with it.

[Old Greg]

Uncontrolled and massive immigration on a scale never seen before and mostly from 3rd World countries.

The Impact of Migration on UK Population Growth | The Migration Observatory

Epidemics of cretinism.

[OwlHoot]

... However it all really took off with the 8080 in 1974.

And the x86 architecture really does trace back to that. Which explains why it's so hideous.

The 386 virtual addressing and paging architecture was a great advance on most of the crappy antiquated systems around at the time it was first released.

But as with most things, the accretions and bells and whistles bolted on over the years since, along with the need for backward compatibility, have obscured the original simplicity.

[MrMark]

Starbucks, Nail bars, Fried chicken shops and Charity shops. Everywhere you look!

[MrMark]

also, no more great London fogs. Where did they go???

[bobspud]

Apart from the passing of an era, I don't see what the tears for concorde are for. It wasn't commercially viable anymore and the planes had reached the end of their useful/safe life span.
We now know that it is possible to build a faster than sound aircraft but untill the big hurdle of having to burn huge amounts of fuel to get there a bit faster can be overcome, it's not going to be replaced.

Had neither concorde or the space shuttle been done before then I think they would probably get the green light now. The Concorde concept would be oversold as usual and airlines would be rubbing their hands in glee at the prospect of charging thousands of pounds for a slightly faster service.

Thats the same stupid mentality that says "Sod it! Lets stop building Aston Martins and Bentleys because the Kia Ceed is perfectly good enough as a car... " Not everyone wants to waste 8 hours doing something that could be achieved in 3. Concord was actually doing very well at the time of it's demise. The end came thanks to one of the parts manufacturers not wishing to hold the parts necessary to keep its airworthy certificate.

Actually we don't know anything because the expertise that actually built it the first time round, did it with a pencil and draughtmans easel, and all that expertise is gone. Now it would be down to this generation to start from scratch... I doubt anyone has a complete set of the specifications and draughts for concord. They are long gone.

[Spacecadet]

Thats the same stupid mentality that says "Sod it! Lets stop building Aston Martins and Bentleys because the Kia Ceed is perfectly good enough as a car... " Not everyone wants to waste 8 hours doing something that could be achieved in 3.

Not really, as people are still buying those in enough numbers to make them commercially successful.

Concord was actually doing very well at the time of it's demise. The end came thanks to one of the parts manufacturers not wishing to hold the parts necessary to keep its airworthy certificate..

If it was doing so well then the money would have been found. BA had never even stumped up the development costs for concorde, that expense was for the tax payer to bear.

Actually we don't know anything because the expertise that actually built it the first time round, did it with a pencil and draughtmans easel, and all that expertise is gone. Now it would be down to this generation to start from scratch... I doubt anyone has a complete set of the specifications and draughts for concord. They are long gone.

AFAIK all aircraft in service have to keep all of that information, along with the flight test data. Given that it's only been a decade since Concorde was scrapped I doubt that knowledge will have been lost

[darmstadt]

Soft 4-ply toilet paper.

[OwlHoot]

Soft 4-ply toilet paper.

Good point - You never see that ghastly tracing paper these days, with "Now please wash your hands" printed on each sheet.

[Doggy Styles]

The disappearance of small football teams like Ipswich, Burnley, Derby and Notts Forest being English champions.

And the likes of QPR, Southampton and Watford finishing second.