First a background on our disposable society
http://www.investopedia.com/articles/pf/07/disposablesociety.asp
...Creating products that aren't meant to last is a very viable business strategy as this means that consumers will need to buy replacement products.
http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article/made-to-break-are-we-sinking-under-the-weight-of-our-disposable-society/ Long before factories across the globe began churning out disposable razors, diapers, and soda cans, American businessmen worried about overstocked warehouses and strategized ways to keep people buying. America’s “throwaway ethic” began in the mid-19th century
...American business actively resisted the Treasury Department’s national frugality campaign during World War I, with stores across the nation displaying signs that read, “Business as Usual. 566
Beware of Thrift and Unwise Economy.” Local newspapers, eager to coddle their largest advertisers, wrote editorials in support of shopping, while in 1921, New York retailers launched the National Prosperity Committee to combat thrift. Articles written about thriftiness from this time period, Slade found, were combative in their language: “Miserliness is despicable, hoarding is vulgar; both are selfish, fatal to character and a danger to the community and the nation,” wrote <PERSON>, author of The Business of the Household.
Fortunately some things still last:
calculators from the 1970's one year warranty but still working after thirty years (as long as it is stored long term without batteries)
* calculators http://www.mrmartinweb.com/calculator.html
* http://www.vintagecalculators.com/html/the_pocket_calculator_race.html
* http://www.vintagecalculators.com/html/calculator_displays.html
* http://www.hpmuseum.org/cgi-sys/cgiwrap/hpmuseum/archv019.cgi?read=157392
* electronic calculators https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AaLPT0G32MY
How about products old and new with attached 25year or 50 year warranties to them. http://www.reddit.com/r/BuyItForLife/comments/1tgx37/new_lifetime_warranty_thread_post_any_items_you/
* foot powered or Treadle sewing machines http://beforeitsnews.com/self-sufficiency/2013/02/treadle-sewing-machine-advice-2453546.html
* Mechanical typewriters
* Wristwatches http://www.moneysense.ca/spend/watches-with-lifetime-warranties-make-timeless-gifts and http://www.ablogtowatch.com/watch-choice-for-survival-top-pick-for-deserted-island-scenario/
* Grandfather clocks
Simple items
* mercury thermometers
* Fisher Space pen http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_Pen
* Fisher space pen working after 38 years in storage http://fisherspacepen.com/pages/testimonials
* Leatherman
* coleman lanterns or petromax lanterns
* Zippo lighters 157