Haptic nostalgia: A form of sensory memory specific to touch stimuli that no longer exist in your life or on the planet.
A new term for me.
So…
What’s your favorite instance of haptic nostalgia—the poignant memory of the physicality of an obsolete thing—like dialing a rotary phone?
For me:
- The shifting of a stick on my many former cars with a manual transmission
- The clunk of the channel changer on an ancient tube TV
- The metallic click of the high beam button on the floor of my 1987 Chevy Malibu
- The slide and gentle click of the reset button on an Atari 2600
- The feel of the bend and recoil of a fiberglass pole vaulting pole
