2013, Anytown, USA.
Grandpa: You know Timmy, they used have parking meters all over town.
Timmy: Gee, Gramps, what are parking meters?
Grandpa: Coin collection boxes on steel posts and every parking space had one. There were millions of ‘em. On every block. And each one had a timer to show how much parking time was left.
Timmy: Gee, sounds like a lot of infrastructure just to collect money for a parking space.
Grandpa: Yeah, it was. And each one had to be emptied by hand every week. And they broke down a lot.
Timmy: Well, what happened to them?
Grandpa: Somebody finally figured out how to have only one meter in each block so you punch in your space number and pay with a credit card. Pretty slick.
Timmy: But don’t you miss the old meters?
Grandpa: Well, the meters were part of the downtown streetscape, but they made for a lot of visual clutter. But I do miss the broken ones so I could park for free.