Chums here will recall that I moved last fall, to escape a bedbug problem. In doing so, I tossed out an awful lot of videotapes, including Nikki Knockers' only release. Looking around, now, I see that it was awfully rare -- even when she was active. I could kick myself. But the pests are known to hitchhike even inside cassettes.
Now I wonder what else I dumped that can never be replaced. I had four or five Alyssa Alps tapes, too. A few of Dixie Bubbles. Sigh.
So a note to old-timers: don't ever dump your videocassettes without finding a discrete place that can dub them down to DVD. Or -- isn't there a museum or two that collects this stuff? It really should be preserved for future study. For example, 1930s and '40s films of burlesque shows are goldmines for entertainment historians. (Laughably tame by any standard today, but check out the very serious and thoughtful documentaries that have been made from those films.)
And to the youngsters: You'll go through this, too, when yet another new recording medium comes along.