I own a house built in 1942 and it’s insane how good-quality the 2x4s are – perfectly straight and true and no knots on them anywhere. They’re so good that I’ve reused them for railings on my stairs. And this house was built as very cheap temporary worker housing during the war! I find it hilarious how much better the construction quality is on my house than on these million-dollar cardboard mcmansions they’re building these days.