I have mentioned before that cassette tapes are back. I will admit that I really do find that a bit baffling. Sure, tapes are fun, more or less, but as anybody familiar with the 1970s knows, cassette tapes can be a pain.
So, what is going on in the photo to the right?
What you are looking at (for you whippersnappers) is an “emergency rewind system”. Cassette tapes are notorious for not rewinding or fast forwarding. There are several components to this problem, one of which is the built-in lubricant of the cassette shells “drying out”. Probably drying out is not the proper term. “Wearing out” might be better.
Another part to the problem is the aging of the mechanisms of the tape machines. Many of our tape decks and players (such as the famous Walkman) are nearly ancient, and their internal parts are feeling their ages. The machines don’t want to fast forward or rewind anymore.
Whatever the cause, when a cassette tape has difficulty the easiest solution is to stick a pencil through the appropriate hole in the cassette and twirl it around. It works like a gem, as anybody beyond a certain age knows.