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They were discarded because they broke due to not being as sturdy.

Old tools could be rebuild, a screwdriver with a wood handle could be remade. A plastic one just breaks. It's the same for old motors, electronics, pretty much everything. Now you have to order a new part or buy a 3d printer.

Survivorship Bias. I'd be tempted to agree but side by side comparison shows it's not

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Simply put new stuff is made with cheaper and crappier materials than the old stuff.

It's both..... there were likely fewer low quality tools made in the past, but obviously those that were no good didn't stand the test of time.

I’m a big wine guy and one of my favourite lines is “old vines don’t make great wine because they’re old, they’re old because they make great wines”

The quality of metal used has changed due to exhausting higher quality sources and to minimize production price. Hammer heads didn't used to break in half when you hit something.

If you yank a bent nail from an older structure, you can hammer it straight and easily use it again. New nails bend like noodles and are very difficult to reuse or finish driving if they have bent even once