Thanks for the memories esvee, KDIA never crossed my mind when I wrote my post (I’m originally from Detroit and moved here as a teen).
3 TV channels, with no breakfast TV, no daytime TV, just testcards until the news at lunchtime and then more testcards.
Medium wave (AM) radio being the norm
No VCRs, mobile phones, computers (anywhere other than big offices), TV remotes
Banda printers that were used the way photocopiers are now
Snow (OK, we still have that, but if you’d seen the winter of seventy-yadda…)
Bus conductors; I was served by the last ones in Scotland in 1982, but they came back later after privatisation
Non-Glasgow teams winning the championship
Half-penny coins
The Tories being the pro-European party
Everybody knew who was Number One
Cream-boys (not as rude as they sound)
The Beano costing 5 pence
Harold Wilson resigning
Travelling people coming round to fix pans and things
You could sit in the front seat of a car without a seatbelt
Everyone going on about CB radio
State socialism in the UK (or an attempt at it)
Telephones not being in all homes, some people having to share a line
The news was all about Rhodesia
Chicken in a basket; later banned for hygiene reasons
The “belt”; corporal punishment in schools
No BK or McD’s in the UK
It could take about 6 hours to drive from Edinburgh to Inverness (c 160 miles)
126 cameras, with square pictures
The tattie holidays; in October you’d see farm tractor trailers full of kids going to pick potatoes
Let’s see…
I was nine years old when Happy Meals made their debut at McDonald’s. The prizes then were nothing like they are now (usually movie or TV cartoon tie-ins). They were more like things you’d get out of a gumball machine.
Game shows dominated daytime TV. All the talk shows and Judge (fill in the blank) shows just aren’t the same. At least on game shows the people seemed happy, even if they lost.
Tuning in a radio station meant having to turn a knob until the signal came through clearly.
Most TV stations, including cable, were not on 24 hours.
“Regular unleaded” would have been an oxymoron (today this term is used to distinguish it from premium or super unleaded gasoline).
Getting injured while playing sports or at the playground was a risk that kids took when they played, no hair-trigger lawsuits.
Red M&M’s went through several years of non-existence.
I know there are more, but I’m sure others will eventually mention them in this thread.
My parents gave me one of those when they cleaned out the basement this summer. It still works, but I can’t find any of the flash cubes anywhere.
I remember:
… When Married With Children was still new.
… The Gulf War
… Vague memories of my parents talking about New Coke
… Tan, Brown, Green and Yellow M&M’s (Red were not there for a while)
Gasoline was 39 cents.
Years later, long lines at the pumps.
A quarter bought two candy bars and a soda. Which my sister and I shared.
Then prices went up, and a quarter only bought one candy bar and a soda. Mom and Dad grumbled for a few weeks before giving us an allowance raise to a quarter each.
My sister having an absolute fit that hamburger was 99 cents a pound.
Cartons of cigs were $8. Name brand, not generic.
It cost more per pack to buy them singly vs. buying a carton.
Everybody complaining that if packs went up to $1, they would quit. Yeah, right.
Donny & Marie debuting on TV, but we lived out in the boondocks and didn’t get Channel 8. 
My first concert was Sonny & Cher.
7/11 was called that because they were open 7A to 11P, a novel concept.
Being able to walk to 7/11, several blocks, alone, at 8p.m., with no worries. Well, except for that looong block that had tree branches overhanging the sidewalk so that they almost formed a tunnel. I watched too many horror movies.
Worrying that my brothers might get drafted for Vietnam. Then, they enlist all on their own, missing going overseas by just a few months.
Can 17 years old still enlist? (if they haven’t finished school?)
Having two gallons of milk delivered to the house, twice a week. Mom still went to the store for more, having nine kids at home.
Pet Rocks.
Rock and Roll was “so” corrupting. Then came Heavy Metal. And Rap, and Gangsta Rap. Rock and Roll is now “the good ol’ days.”
I remember…
…Pong. And it was the s**.*
…ON & IT boxes. Remember those?
…Mike Douglas.
…playing outside and not worrying about anything…except the neighbors, because back then it was perfectly okay for the neighbors to bust you doing something bad, drag you home to your parents, tell THEM all about it, and then you’d get busted by your parents too. And your parents would be so grateful to the neighbors that they’d have them over for dinner the next day or something.
…gas wars.
…Elvis Presley’s death.
…no red M&Ms.
…my dad’s first hand-held calculator. It was a little big, and it had red numbers, and it was kinda expensive. But my dad was an electronics technician (he’s seen it go from ENIAC to microchips…), and knew that this little calculator was a real cool thing.
…Pet Rocks.
…(very very vaguely) the murder of the Israeli athletes at the Olympics.
…the CB radio craze. We had one. My handle was “Little Parakeet.”
…Transformers
…Cabbage Patch Kids
…Voting for Blue M&Ms
…Big huge scrunchies tied around the bottom of a large t-shirt
…Leggings. With stirrups!
We got our first TV when the neighbors down the hill got tired of all the neighborhood kids congregating at their house to watch their TV. That, of course, brings to mind Howdy Doody, rabbit ears and the national anthem when the stations signed off shortly after midnight. Lots of shows and commercials were live. First up in the morning was the farm report.
When we had to bring a note to school advising the teacher as to how many minutes notice of nuclear attack she was release us to go home. Almost everybody had a nnote sayingg 20 minutes, but my Mom said 5. I just knew I was going to get toasted hauling butt down Kirby Drive.
And I and my classmates would watch the horizon to the southeast, because we all knew the missiles would be coming from Cuba. Actually, I suspect their descent might’ve been closer to near vertical, but there weren’t a lot of rocket scientists in fourth grade.
Houses with air conditioning had cooling towers out back that were irresistable jungle gyms. Most of us discovered that you were virtually guaranteed to encounter at least one rotten board on a journey to the top.
Schools didn’t have air conditioning.
I got my driver’s license at 14. GM, Ford and Mopar were all actively engaged in racing.
“White” and “Colored” restrooms and water fountains.
I lived in Japan when the Gulf of Tonkin incident occured, and the engrish language paper, the Mainichi Shimbun followed that and the subsequent ‘escalation’ and military operations with near daily front page stories. When I returned to the States in mid-'65 I was surprised to find that most of my classmates were unaware that we had a hot war going on.
You couldn’t buy a drink at a bar until ~1970 in Texas. Before that you brought your own bottle and got “set-ups” (cup, ice and mixer) from the bar.
On preview I see Persphone’s note about the neighbors, and it worked that way in my neck of the woods, as well. Not just the neighbors, but total strangers would call you down for mischief. If they didn’t know you, you could run.
We didn’t lock our doors in the city.
Somehow I think this might not happen this way anymore, but it was not unusual then for a cop to just take a teenage miscreant home (for minor stuff like booze or drag racing) and inform the parents, rather than actually putting the kid into the system.
Saddle shoes.
5¢ Coke machines.
Oh yeah, I’m sure this still happens; I remember going to Disneyland and being too short for the really cool rides.
10 cent pinball! With 5 balls!
My uncle’s house, with no electricity, and a pump in the kitchen for water. Kerosene lamps for illumination. Outhouse behind the chicken coop. Thunder jug by the bed.
I remember:
Swinging so high that you thought you were going to flip over the top of the swing.
When you tanned using baby oil instead of SPF 45.
Running through the sprinkler was the greatest summer passtime, instead of now paying $20.00 for the day at the water park.
Great big poofy teased bangs, the the rest of your hair was kinda flat in the back, and the blonder the better.
Jeans so tight you had to either lie down to get them on, or put them on wet.
When my socks had to be the exact same shade as whatever shirt I was wearing.
Duran Duran.
My first “real” kiss. I thought it was so disguesting that he put his tongue in my mouth. I have resolved that issue with lots of practice.
When $0.25 was enough money to go to the store and get a treat and $5.00 allowance was alot of money.
…Burger Chef introduced Fun Meals (before McDonald’s had Happy Meals)
…Sesame Street debuted
…top-loading coke machines, and coke machines where the drinks were lying prone on the left side of the machine.
…Quisp and Quake
…Hodge Podge Lodge
…‘Jot’ cartoons
My high school still does not have air conditioning. Same with most of the schools around here.
Well nowadays, here in Houston, they close the schools if the A/C goes out. Of course, newer school buildings are not designed to ventilate without A/C.
Coming home from school to watch American Bandstand
Mickey Mouse Club - Annette, 'nuff said
Beach Boys played at my high school for a lunch time rally
Rolling Stones for $3.50 at the San Jose Civic Auditorium (and there were only 2000 kids there)
a McDonalds hamburger (13), fries (12), and milk shake (25) -
total cost 50 cents
dress code in high school - boys with collar shirts and slacks, girls with dresses and NO PATENT LEATHER shoes…try to follow this…if the girl was to kneel down on the ground, the hem of her dress had to touch the ground…hair for boys could not touch their ears or collar
skateboards made out of…skates and boards !!!
just a personal thing - I never owned a pair of Levi’s until I was a senior in high school (could not wear them to school, they were for weekends) - my father was raised poor and Levi’s were for the poor people because they were cheaper…he changed his mind later in life…
I too remember when milk was delivered to the door, but the milkman arrived with a horse and cart.
When Levi cords were $9.99 a pair.
When LP’s cost $3.99, and singles were 99c.
When $1 could feed a family of 4 with fish 'n chips on a Friday night.
When ‘Space Invaders’ and ‘Ping’ were the peak of technological advancement.
When footy was only played on a Saturday afternoon.
When burnt orange and purple decor was reeeallllly cool.
When TV finished transmission at about 11.00 at night, with a rendition of God Save the Queen to stir our patriotism.
When typewriters were only manual.
When Christmas advertising started in mid-December instead of at the end of August like it does now!
The Beano costing 2d (old money).
Topper, Cor!, The Beezer, Warlord, 2000AD when it first came out, Monster Fun, Buster, Wizzard and Chips (I was a Chipite), Whoopee!, Shiver and Shake, Cheeky, Jackpot and British Marvel comic reprints like Mighty World of Marvel.
The Double Deckers.
Swop Shop.
Tiswas.
Bagpuss.
Mary, Mungo and Midge.
Ivor the Engine.
Morecambe and Wise Christmas shows.
It’s a Knockout.
An American teacher at a school I went to letting me read “Ranger Rick” magazines.
Going to the cinema on Saturday mornings and watching Children’s Film Foundation films.
Screen Test.
Crackerjack.
John Noakes getting almost killing himself riding a bobsleigh on Blue Peter.
Hiding being the sofa when the Daleks were on Doctor Who.
Co-op Green Shield stamps.
Spud guns.
Roobarb.
Why don’t you?
The Goodies.
When happiness was climbing the biggest tree you could find.
Trebor Refreshers adverts (a young boy pushing his granny in a wheelchair. She’d eat a refresher and go whizzing around the screen).
The Sunday Mirror giving away a free iron-on transfer for the Silver Jubilee.
Ricochet racers.
Stock car smash up.
Being a member of the Airfix Club when the president was Dick Emery.
Texan chew bars (A man’s gotta chew…).
The Wonderful World of Disney.
The first time I ever saw Black people in the flesh. I was about 4, in a cinema with my two older sisters. A few rows in front of us were a group of West Indian teenage boys. When I spotted them, I jumped up and shouted at the top of my voice, “Look, it’s the Jackson Five!!” Yes, I was a :wally
My dad taking me to a school in Birmingham when I was 7 or 8 and the teachers calling the police to remove me.
The Bogieman.
Crying because I wanted a Captain Scarlet car for Christmas but got a Noddy car instead.
My dad (who couldn’t read) working for a waste paper company and bringing me comics home. The only problem: They were in Spanish, but I read them anyway.
Hunting rabbits with a catapult.
Clackers.
Mrs Best - The teacher who taught me how to write.
I remember
…meeting astronauts when they had gone no further than the Holiday Inn at Cocoa Beach and Mrs. Glenn making us get their autographs.
…being ushered into the school auditorium and then sent home early the day JFK died.
…the Beatles on the Ed Sullivan show and not being able to hear the music above the screams.
…our babysitter’s boyfriend being drafted and never coming back.
…my gold Stingray bike with a banana seat.
…Callan (“You don’t ‘alf pong, Lonely”).
…Biafra.
…a crowd cheering Prime Minister Salazar at a bullfight.
…the first 45 I ever bought was by Amen Corner.
…coming home from a demonstration at the American Embassy with a Bobby’s helmet.
…that first kiss that lead to something more.
…how to use a slide rule.
…teenage lusting after Jessica Savitch (and all my objects of affection have been downhill from there).
…standing on a beach one night watching Apollo 17 take off.
…leaving my summer job one night to find ragtops full of people cruising the streets, honking horns, and holding up signs that said ‘The King is Dead’ & ‘We Love You, Elvis’ and I thought Elvis Costello was too young and too good to die.
…being downwind of Three Mile Island at the wrong moment in time and throwing a Dance-Until-You-Glow party w/ the music of Gloria Gaynor, the Dead Kennedys, The Stoogies, Parliament, the Brothers Johnson, et al.
…Studio 54 before there were long lines outside.
…being so disillusioned to find that East Berlin was far more dismal than the West.
… you had to hand crank up the gramaphone so you could play your records.
… we finally got electricity and telephone service.
… Santa Claus was real.
… Aztec was a mind blowing game.
… When TVs were not only taller then me
… ‘Gag me with a spoon’ was a new phrase.
… the Reagan creamed Mondale.
… I opened this thread.
… Disney’s full length animated movies weren’t that big of a deal.
… ‘Heavy Metal’ was first played in a classroom at UH Hilo after dark on a projector.
… ‘Robotech’ appeared on American TVs.
…digital watches had red numbers.
…I loved going to Pizza Hut to eat because it meant I could play Asteroids
…playing Pong at the neighbor kid’s house and being so jealous of him for having it
…Pac Man coming out and being sooo much cooler than Asteroids and Space Invaders
…the totally amazing graphics of the video game Tron
…The Land of the Lost was the coolest show ever
…riding in a bicycle race with my stuffed red-white-and-blue dog on the back of my tricycle with a sign with his name on it: Tricky Dick the Dirty Dog [my mom was rather political]
…getting evicted from UofA family housing because my dad left my mom and we were therefore not “a family” anymore. [though, to be honest, I remember this mostly from newspaper clippings which I had seen all through my childhood.)
…the drinking age was 18
…you could see the Milky Way at night
…the Gemini and Apollo missions
…and the first man on the moom
…Janis Joplin was alive
…songs were released on 45 rpm records
…I heard about revolution in Panama City (and wondering why there would be a revolution in the Florida beach town where we vacationed!)
…we got our first window air condtioner
…I flew as a kid to the Dominican Republic in a propeller driven airplane
…Ted Turner’s local TV station showed Spanish bull fights
…Chuck Berry performed at Six Flags over Georgia
…Lava Lamps were new