Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2018/08/04/pre-internet-analog-dash-butto.html
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And then you forget to take it off your keychain and end up with 4 bottles of Glo-Coat.
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Given how much of a pain in the ass it is to put things on a split ring, I have to imagine this was intended to be used with something closer to index card rings.
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O.K., who else read it as Redditlist?
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It actually seems like a good idea but I wonder if people back then really had the time to fool with it rather than just writing down a list on paper.
I see this as being helpful in situations where you’re headed out to the store, and either nobody’s home to ask what’s needed/wanted, and (in this age of smartphones) they’re not immediately available to respond.
The great thing is, in this age of smartphones, you can just snap a photo instead of fooling with the tabs themselves or with pen and paper.
ETA: I just remembered that when I was young (late 1960s), we had a little chalkboard and a piece of chalk on a string hung in the kitchen, a la the Brady Bunch, except ours had a nice little wooden frame.
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Select analog dash tags, put them on a ring. Throw the ring into the RFID dash tag reader. Wait for Amazon / Walmart to deliver the groceries. Return dash tags to wall.
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How many people actually used this? And for how long before they gave up on the whole affair?
Also, I don’t know anybody who uses dash buttons, nor do I know anybody who is interested in using them. Does anybody here use them, or know somebody who does?
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I know a few people who use them. Exclusively young, techy parents with infants or toddlers. Use them to order critical, always running out baby things. Like diapers. Basically its easier for them to tap the button when they realize they’re running low. Than to forget to make a note of it because things are so hectic and actually run out.
It has created a situation where mom realizes they’re low on something, hits the button. Dad realizes they’re low on the same thing and hits the button. Mom again realizes they’re low on it because it was 4 am the first time she hit the dash button. In a sort of feed back loop. And now you have more diapers than you can physically fit in your apartment.
So they tend to get retired when life calms down. I think a lot of them switched to the whole subscribe and save thing too.
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We don’t have Dash buttons, but we did “subscribe and save” on Nature’s Miracle litter boxes*. Our actual usage, while heavy, doesn’t quite match up with the subscription estimate - so there’s generally a stack of them in the garage and a new box sitting on the stoop.
* Definitely recommend these things. We do try to avoid disposables, but these are recycled and biodegradable, and they really are almost miraculous in their odor suppression. Empty them as usual for a few days, then toss them when they’re too pee-saoked.
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I have a few Subscribe and Save items; my problem is how frequently Amazon stops carrying a particular subscription item, then tries to switch me to something that’s not as good a value. I’ve gone through TP and several varieties of cat food that way. Trying to rearrange your S&S items to fit your preferred schedule is also more difficult than it needs to be.
If we had only one cat, the biodegradable litter boxes might make sense. As it is, we have 2 cats, so we rotate through 3 litter boxes, swapping out one every other week. My biggest issue right now is when Costco runs out of our favorite brand of scoopable kitty litter.
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the fridge list was a common family thing and still is in some families.
as is/was the chalk/blackboard/whiteboard by the door.
they were semi-brought back by companies selling stylish blackboard and whiteboard wall and fridge decals, and fancy paints for the same. pinterest if full of blackboard vinyl wall decals that look like just about anything you can think of…
i personally like the magnetic paper vertical list pads.
they still end up with silly drawings and love notes and other memos on them that make them a more “organic” less rigid experience than a typical digital list.
nothing takes the anger off finding your ice-cream eaten than a note with a heart apologizing and promising to come home with more. 
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FTFY. You’re welcome.
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It stands to reason that somebody placing an order with a dash button is not worried about price. And that is why Amazon likes them.
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my doorbell is a dash button. blackholed the route to the dash server on my router and another machine looks for the arp when the button wakes up. it then plays a doorbell sound, creates a pushover alert, and starts recording from the camera at the door. the battery dies about every 9 months, so i’ve got a few dash buttons waiting in the wings.
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gag gift:
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