Extinct Car Features Only Boomers Remember

Before electric washer pumps became standard, cleaning your windshield meant using your foot. A small rubber button, usually mounted near the high-beam switch, activated the washer fluid when pressed. You’d stomp on it, and a simple mechanical pump would spray fluid onto the windshield.

It wasn’t always consistent—sometimes it dribbled, sometimes it overdid it—but it got the job done. Coordinating the foot spray with the hand-operated wipers became a little dance drivers had to master. It’s a detail few modern drivers would even recognize, but it once played a key role in keeping the view ahead clear.